Navigating Spiritual Mine Fields

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Take away the frightening warning sign, and the beach pictured above looks completely harmless, peaceful, and serene.

But when someone planted explosive mines along this beach, they did not post any signs warning people of their presence. That’s the purpose of hiding land mines—to catch your enemy off guard and destroy him.

Such are the pitfalls in the spiritual world—the unseen realm.

Many Christians will concede that there must be a Devil, because the Bible says so. But most, it seems, fail to acknowledge his existence and destructive presence in their personal lives. And in so doing, many have already lost the spiritual battle, because they failed to acknowledge there is a battle to begin with.

The Apostle warns us:

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

Satan is not just an adversary. He is your adversary. It’s personal with him. He is out to destroy you and yours. Jesus said of Satan:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:)

However, many people today seem to have forgotten these warnings in Scripture. Since they can’t see the Devil they act like he doesn’t even exist. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

Watch out.

Satan has placed carefully hidden spiritual land mines in the areas of your life where he knows he can hurt you the most. And he knows that he will eventually get to you because most people aren’t looking for them. We carelessly stroll along the beach of life, oblivious to the schemes of the wicked one, and the warnings given of him in God’s Word.

Is it any wonder that so many of us are getting our spiritual butts kicked?

The Apostle Paul gives us this stern admonition:

“So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph 5:17)

Some of Satan’s most effective land mines, carefully disguised to destroy God’s people are: lust, greed, envy, pride, division, idolatry and unforgiveness. In the Garden of Eden, Satan had three primary arrows stashed in his devilish quiver, ready to unleash against God’s people: "The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Doubt and unbelief are also very effective weapons Satan is using against God’s people. “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1)

What is the “will of the Lord” that Paul admonishes us to understand?

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph 5:1-2)

Jesus loved us by sacrificing Himself, and by warning people of Hell, and He told us to repent and turn from our sin. He did not condemn people, but He also never told people that their sin was okay. Jesus came to save us from our sin. Love always tells people the Truth of God’s Word.

After telling us what to do, Paul warns us what not to do:

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partakers with them.” (Eph 5:3-7)

I believe one of Satan’s most effective weapons used against many Christians today, is to deceive them through empty words—watered-down teaching, diluting and diminishing God’s Word, rationalizing some sin as okay because it is so acceptable in today’s twisted culture. “Well, (that sin) is a gray area, and I don’t want to judge.”

This is the same lie that Satan used in the Garden: “Did God really say?” He convinced God’s people to doubt His Word. And this is happening today more and more. Paul warned us that a time is coming, and now is, when people will no longer endure sound doctrine, but will, because of their desires, find themselves teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. (2 Tim 4:3)

“Everything exposed by the light becomes visible.” (Eph 5:13)

We’re told in the New Testament to expose false doctrine. Light exposes darkness. It’s not “love” to let people go on believing a lie because we don’t want to risk offending them. God’s wrath comes on the disobedient, not on the obedient.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (James 3:13-16)

You see this in so many divorce battles today. Bitter envy and selfishness are accompanied by disorder and every kind of evil behavior and hypocrisy. Someone who is hell-bent on destroying their spouse is usually living the most sinful lifestyle imaginable, and through their greed and disobedience, will bring God’s wrath on their life.

But the person whose life and actions reflect goodness and humility, have demonstrated that they are truly wise and understanding. They know what the will of the Lord is.

“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:17-18)

Peace will be upon everything you do, if you walk in the wisdom of God, which is always pure, peaceable and gentle, willing to yield, and devoid of hypocrisy.

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Cor 10:3-5)

Part of waging spiritual war, is to first ask God for His wisdom of what spiritual strongholds are present in your personal life, family, and even in the culture of your city and country. And to acknowledge that these strongholds must be pulled down and demolished.

Then, only through using our spiritual weapons which are mighty in God—namely; prayer, love, fellowship and God’s Word—can we begin to pull down and demolish spiritual strongholds that can never effectively be fought against using fleshly or worldly methods.

I recently watched a very moving television special about the many soldiers suffering from serious Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The interviewer asked a large group of men, by a show of hands, if given the chance, how many would want to go right back to the fight? All the men but one immediately shot up their hands. The interviewer asked, “Why?” One soldier said, “Because of the camaraderie; because you were with your band of brothers day and night.” The soldier then said, “But once you lose that, you can never get it back.”

For Christians, we have to get that kind of brotherhood back. We can’t afford not to. Too many guys are going Lone Ranger out there. Suffering from spiritual PTSD, they have pulled back, isolating themselves from fellowship.

Spiritually, we’re in the foxhole of life together. We need each other, to hold each other up. To pray for one another, for our families, and for God’s wisdom. To watch each other’s backs.

As my good friend used to say often:

“This is life or death.”



—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Spiritual Awakening Part 2

"Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?" (John 14:5)

To be spiritually awakened, you must first take an honest assessment of where you're at in your relationship with Jesus Christ right now.

Do you know?

I think for many people, their stance is, "Hey, if things are going okay for me, why rock the boat?"

And so, like the proverbial frog in the kettle, many of us end up settling for a benign, but comfortable lukewarmness, unaware of the perils of our true spiritual condition.

Knowing that Jesus often used the analogy of a relationship between bride and groom to speak of His relationship with the Church, what do you suppose a marriage would be like if the bride and groom never spent any time together? Never spoke to one another? Never got to know each other on a deeper level? Never experienced any spiritual, emotional or physical intimacy together?

That would be one boring, lifeless marriage, to be sure. 

And so God (our Bridegroom) commands us with the following incredible invitation, which has an even more incredible promise attached:

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

Isn't that what we all ultimately want? To have God draw near to us.

So why aren't we experiencing Him on a personal level more often, if at all?

Because He tells us we have to make the first move.

The directive is clear and conditional: Draw near to God and (then) He will draw near to you.

We just sit there on the bench waiting for God to ask us to dance. But He wants us to want Him. He wants us to ask Him to dance.

Do you get it?

He wants sincere, passionate, devotion and worship from us. He doesn't want to be treated like He is merely a dutiful obligation, like there are a bunch of other things we'd much rather be doing than worshiping Him.

Going back to the analogy of a bride and bridegroom, if you had laid your life down for your spouse, constantly going out of your way to bless them with every thing they need, showering them with kindness, love and affection, and he or she never showed any gratitude or affection, never loving you in return, what kind of marriage would that be?

A joyless marriage for sure.

And one that would wither to the point that the marriage would likely end in divorce, like over half of all marriages sadly do today.

This is exactly why so many people lead a lifeless and joyless spiritual life.

We sit comfortably on the throne of our life, and we neatly arrange all the things we have around us; marriage, family, job, material possessions, finances, hobbies. And oh yeah, God is down there somewhere, in a place where He won't take too much of our time away from the other things we enjoy. Somewhere where He won't inconvenience us too much.

And we wonder why our life feels so spiritually dull, or dead.

Jesus said the first and greatest commandment is:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37)

If God laid down His life for us, and goes out of His way to bless us with everything we need, showering us with His kindness, love and affection, why should He have to command us to love Him in return?

It's because we're selfish, self-centered people, who would rather take than give. Who would rather do our own thing, and stay on our own throne, and conveniently arrange all the aspects of our life, including God, to suit us, according to our own likes and dislikes. According to our own understanding.

And by so doing, we have created a "god" to personally suit us. 

I'm not casting stones at anyone here.

Because I have done this to God many times throughout my life as a "Christian." I'm not judging you by writing this blog today. It was intended to convict and awaken me first, because I need to hear it, and heed its message.

To the lukewarm church in Laodicea, Jesus gave the following command:

"So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see." (Revelation 3:16-18)

Jesus goes on to say to the church at Laodicea:

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelation 3:19-21)

And in case you might think that this rebuke and command was only meant for the church at Laodicea, 2,000 years ago, Jesus lets us know that this rebuke and command was meant for all the churches:

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:22)

This painful rebuke and chastening was given by Jesus to the people He loves. As many as He loves, He rebukes and chastens. And He said, If a man loves Me he will keep my commandments."

It's all about love.

If you, if I, truly love Jesus, we will obey His commands. If we love Him we will choose to draw near to Him daily. moment by moment.

And His amazing promise is that He in return will draw near to us.

If you have ears to hear, you will hear Him gently knocking on the door of your heart today. 

Now, will you open the door of your heart to Him and invite Him in?

The promise of fellowship and intimacy with God is right there to you in His Word.

—It's your move...

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Spiritual Awakening Part 1

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."

—Jesus

Those who are empty are they who hunger. Those who are parched are they who thirst.

And the empty and parched are called blessed by Jesus, which in this context literally means "happy." Happy are you—the empty and parched—if you hunger and thirst for righteousness—for you shall be filled.

How counter-intuitive this is to the world's thinking. 

The world would call you "blessed" if you make a million dollars a year and would say you "have it made."  If you're the author of best selling books and conduct popular seminars on the power of positive thinking the world would say you "have arrived." 

But if you hunger and thirst for Jesus' righteousness, the world will say you're a joke, a miserable wretch—a deceived little "sheeple" who blindly trusts in religious fairy tales.

David wrote the following Psalm when he was in the wilderness of Judah:

“O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

As a fifty five year old man who has known Jesus as my Lord and Savior for over two decades, with each passing year, month, and week, I keep coming more and more to the painful realization that nothing of this world brings lasting satisfaction, peace, joy, or happiness. 

And godly sorrow over this leads me to repentance—to turn from all the things in my life that I have made into idols. To turn from the things that I have looked to, to fill up the empty and parched places in my soul: which have only left me even more parched and empty.

And in much brokenness, with tear-stained face, looking upward, beholding the Lord Jesus in His kindness, love and mercy, I look fully to Him—the author and finisher of our faith.

Jesus said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

The "poor in spirit" Jesus refers to here, are the broken people who see their absolute, and desperate need for God.

Today I asked the Lord for forgiveness, for my looking to other things and other people to fill up the empty places in my soul. For making other things and people idols in my life. For allowing other things and people to take His rightful place in my heart.

Some of the most challenging words in the Bible is Jesus saying to the multitudes:

"Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:33)

A wonderful truth and wisdom in Jesus' directive to His followers that they cannot be His disciples unless they forsake all, is that He knows that nothing of this world can bring us peace, joy or fulfillment. Only He can fill up our hearts and souls. Only He can quench our spiritual thirst. Only He can satisfy our spiritual hunger. And He will not take second place to anything or anyone else in our lives. Until we get off the throne of our life, and invite Him to rule and reign from His rightful place on the throne of our heart, we cannot be His disciple. 

Jesus didn't command us to forsake all and follow Him to make our lives unhappy. He wants to set us free from all of the lifeless things that will ultimately only make us unhappy.

Sadly, much of modern Christianity is spiritually asleep at the wheel—living busy lives they call "blessed" because they are living the American Dream. Big house, nice family, great careers, nice cars, vacation house, lots of toys, boats, jet skis, big 401-K accounts. They think they "have it made" because they have filled up their lives with all the good things life offers. The "blessings."  

But inside, so many who claim to know Jesus, are unfulfilled. They do not know lasting peace or happiness. There is no joy in their hearts. Marriages are crumbling, dying, or already gone. Relationships are superficial at best. Most people are simply going through the motions, unaware of spiritual warfare, going to church once a week, listening to Christian music, and praying at dinner time; but with no real purpose or power in their Christian walk.

Jesus said:

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Our much needed spiritual awakening must include:

1. Contrite brokenness, hungry and thirsty for God's righteousness. 
2. An honest confession that the things of this world cannot fulfill.
3. Repentance to God for making other things idols in our lives.
4. A sincere profession that without Jesus we can do nothing.
5. Passionate commitment to draw near to Jesus Christ every day.
6. Ask God daily for wisdom and anointing power of the Holy Spirit.

What is the "anointing power" of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus said:

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Without the daily empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we will spin our wheels in the fruitlessness of trying to do things in the futility of our own strength.

True spiritual transformation will never come through just going through the motions of going to church. And what most people think is the "American Dream", in reality, is an anchor around your soul, and will only take you down.

With Holy Spirit-breathed wisdom, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church:

"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:11-12)

Those who have awakened out of their spiritual slumber, are Jesus-focused, and others-focused. We are not self-focused or self-absorbed. We realize that we are aliens in this fallen world, just passing through, but with a God-given assignment to fulfill during our temporary stay here.

We are to be like arrows pointing towards Heaven—empowered by the Holy Spirit—pointing people to our loving, merciful Savior Jesus Christ.

Getting your piece of the so-called American Dream is not God's purpose for putting you on this earth.

It is high time we awaken out of sleep...

"Holy Fire, burn away, my desire, for anything, that is not of You, but is of me, I want more of You and less of me. Empty me...empty me. Fill me... with You, with You."

(To be continued...)

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

For God So Loved...

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed." (Luke 4:18)

"Jesus."

His name means salvation. "He will save His people from their sins."

A loving Savior only comes to save people who need saving—and that is all of us. The whole of humanity was or is dead in their sins.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." (John 3:16-21)

Jesus came in love to save you.

But you have to let Him.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Living in the Mystery of God's Will

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

"You won't understand it—let it go."

That was the most memorable line from a favorite song of mine many years ago.

And it has rung true, loud and clear, as each year passes, as I continue on this journey with the Lord. 

Today, I learned of a friend who has cancer and is soon facing their day of departure. None of us know our final day on earth. Another friend of ours lost her significant other just a few weeks ago. Like me, he was only 55 years old. He woke up one day, and later had a massive stroke. Went into a deep coma, and was taken off life support several days later.

We live our normal life, day to day, enjoying life, or, far too often, merely going through the motions. No one ever expects to have an instant heart attack or stroke when they wake up one morning.

So live each day as it is your last.

I believe God allows us to suffer through life's tragedies and disappointments to constantly remind us that this earth is not where it's at. We are only passing through this world. It is not our home. We are aliens here.

Jesus left this fallen, sin-sick world to go and prepare an eternal dwelling for each of us, and that eternal dwelling place will be with Him.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-4)

The longer I walk on this earth, day by day, it loses its pull on me. The temporal things of this life are passing away. And after fifty five years on this planet, it has become painfully and abundantly clear that the superficial things of earth do not bring any lasting peace, happiness or satisfaction.

Knowing beforehand that we will not be able to understand why bad things happen to us, why things don't turn out the way we had hoped, and that life on this fallen planet is extremely difficult and painful, Jesus said, "Let not your hearts be troubled."

He knew that our hearts will be troubled at times. He knew that we would experience painful suffering, searing loss of loved ones, and disappointments in this life. So He pointed us to Him, and to our everlasting future with Him in a place so incredible, that our hearts cannot currently imagine all that it will be.

Heaven with Jesus is where it's at. In this life we have no continuing residence.

"For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come." (Hebrews 13:14)

So as you feel the weight and sadness of failure, disappointment and loss in this difficult life, please remember that the short time we have here on earth is only temporary.

Treasure and love those who God has placed in your life. Make every moment count.

Love completely. Trust in God for all things, and in every situation, no matter how difficult. And choose to set your heart and your mind on the glorious things of eternity, and not on the things of this earth which is passing away.

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth shall grow faintly dim. In the light of His glory and grace."

"Looking unto Jesus; the Author and Finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2)

—God is Love and Love Never Fails

Almost Home

"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." (Luke 21:28)

In these dark, depressing, and perilous times—The Last Days—as described in the Bible; a culture was foretold over 2,500 years ago by the Prophet Isaiah, of a perverse and corrupt people who will call evil good, and good evil. I doubt there is anyone who follows Christ today, who would disagree that we are living in those times.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20)

Almost daily, I hear of something or someone who accuses godliness of being wicked, and the perverse as being good or normal. I know I am not alone in my great distress in the continual shift of the entire culture towards darkness, perversity and corruption.

Today, as I heard yet one more example of just how sick and twisted our culture and society have become, I nearly lost it. A righteous anger boils up within me that cries out, “How much longer is this sick lawlessness going to continue?”

But then I turned my heart and focus to Christ and sought to encourage myself in the Lord. And He graciously led me to the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation is the only book which specifically has its own special blessing attached, for all those who read, hear and keep the things written in that prophetic book in the Bible.

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

And as I have so many other times, today I needed that encouraging reminder again from the promises of God’s Word, that this twisted, fallen world will not continue for much longer. Evil shall not triumph. Satan was defeated at the Cross of Christ. And God will soon put all this evil and corruption under His feet, once and for all.

All the signposts have been put in place. We see events happening every day that signal the end is near. The second coming of Christ is imminent. The evidence and promises are all throughout the Bible, and it culminates in the unveiling of Jesus Christ—the Book of Revelation. There is far too much material to try and write an overview here. So I encourage you to do what God led me to do today, and that is to read the Book of Revelation for yourself. The blessing of doing so is promised in the book.

And blessed we are.

Jesus is coming soon for His own special people whom He called to be His own; those people who freely chose to turn from their sin and turn to God, through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.

A time is coming when we will be with Him face-to-face. No longer will ours be a relationship by faith alone. Sometimes it feels like a long distance relationship, because now, we cannot physically see, hear, or touch Jesus Christ.

Soon we will physically be with Him and we will never be apart. We will be with God Himself, and there never again be any pain, sorrow, sickness, sin, or death. No evil shall ever again reside. Satan and all the wicked ones who served him will be cast into the Lake of Fire, where they will be tormented forever and ever.

As the twisted culture of earth continues to circle the drain, be encouraged that our time here on earth is drawing to an end. And aren’t you thankful for that!

I sure am.

Lately my wife and I have felt like what Lot must have felt like when he witnessed the twisted perversity of Sodom and Gomorrah every day. And just when the cultural pendulum seems like it could not swing any further left, perversity and wickedness smacks you in the face with an increased intensity everywhere you turn. It seems like there is no escaping it.

But rest assured—evils’ days are numbered. And God will deliver us out of this perverse world.

“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment—especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness…” (2 Peter 2:4-10)

We have been placed in this dark world to shine as lights for Christ—to point people to Him. Those who want to believe in Him will. Those who don’t want to believe won’t. Ours is to love those who hate us, and invite them to come and drink freely of the water of life. But only God can bring the increase.

“And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)

Our time here is not even a blink of an eye, compared to eternity.

Heaven awaits.

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches.” (Revelation 22:12-16)



—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Priorities

"Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not easily broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)



What are your priorities in your marriage?

Or rather, who is your priority?

For many, our priority is ourselves. We seek after personal satisfaction and fulfillment in marriage, always trying to get what we want out of the relationship. 

We tend to be takers more than givers.

Many people today think that the secret of having a good marriage is about "finding the right person."

While it's true that your marriage likely won't succeed if you are with someone who really is the 'wrong' person, the truth is, having a good marriage is much more about being the right person.

How can we do that?

First, the question needs to be asked, "What are you seeking?"

If your main focus is having all of your needs met by your wife or husband, then you are in for major disappointment.  And that is because you are looking to another imperfect human being to do and be everything that you need them to be in your life for you to be happy.

No human being can possibly fulfill that role.

If you profess to be a follower of Christ, is He your number one priority in life? 

Closely examine the triangle diagram above. God is at the top. 

As we seek Him first, and the closer we get to Him, the closer we will grow together in our marriage. 

However, in many marriages we tend to put our spouse at the top, and we seek them first, and place God off to one side... only seeking Him when things in our life fall apart.

This a recipe for failure.

Because when we place our spouse over God at the top of our list of priorities, we in effect make them an idol—which is anything or anyone that becomes more important to us than God.

Don't get me wrong, my wife is a wonderful gift from God and I am thankful to Him every day for placing her in my life, to love her and serve her.  But if I am seeking her first as my primary source of happiness and fulfillment, while demoting God to a lesser place in my heart, then I am guilty of making my wife and marriage an idol.

A timely passage from the Bible that my wife and I are both reading right now is from the book of Revelation, chapter 2, verses 1-4:

"These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;  and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you... you have left your first love." 

Jesus Himself spoke these words to a church who was doing all the right things; patiently laboring to be good Christians.  But He said they have "left their first love." They put religious duty, identifying apostates and righteous living above a loving, personal relationship with Jesus.

Notice it doesn't say they lost their first love.

No, they left their first love.

When Jesus willingly went to die on a cross to save us, His primary goal was to restore us to a relationship with God. He loves us and desires that we love Him and always place Him first in our hearts.

However, so often we place other people, such as our spouse, above Him by looking to them first for our happiness and fulfillment instead of surrendering all of our needs and desires to Christ.   He alone can fill the empty spaces in our hearts that we look to others to fill who cannot possibly meet that expectation.

Looking again at the triangle diagram, as we seek first Jesus and a closer, spiritually intimate relationship with Him, the closer we will be to Him, and then the closer we will be with our spouse.  Because as we grow closer to God, loving Him and seeking His heart, the more He will change us to have His heart, and in so doing we become more and more the right person for our spouse. 

The longer that I am with my wife, and God matures her spiritually as she seeks to love Him and desires His presence and leading in her life, the more I see Jesus in her. God demonstrates His love and goodness to me through my wife.

Do you want a closer and more loving marriage?

Then seek and draw near to Jesus as your First Love.

And as you love Him and spend time with Him, taking on more of His character, the more you will become the right person, and your spouse will desire to be closer to you because they see more of Jesus in you.

There is nothing more wonderful than when husband and wife are seeking Jesus first together as their First Love. The Bible illustrates this kind of marriage with Christ as the center as a 'threefold cord that is not quickly or easily broken.'

Make note that it doesn't say the threefold cord cannot be broken.

It says it is not easily broken.

This threefold marriage relationship can be broken... if we choose to leave Jesus, our First Love, and place all of our need for love and fulfillment in our spouse, or in something or someone else.

If you have left your First Love... return to Him and make Him first in your heart. Jesus alone deserves all of our heart, our worship, and our love.

And as you and your spouse seek Him first together as your First Love, the closer you will become to each other.

Guaranteed.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.