Devotion
All In
Chipo Biti
Marriage is meant to be one of the earthly representations of love. When a man and woman decide to come together as one, as one unit, one flesh, one family, and they decide to take on the world together. The best marriages are the marriages that are rooted in the love of God. Couples who choose to make Christ the center of their relationship make the journey slightly easier for themselves. Marriage is an illustration of God's relationship with the church - we are the church.
Patience and forgiveness are major parts of marriage. Without them, no marriage is able to survive. You need to understand that there will be times where your spouse will disappoint you and you will disappoint your spouse. You will discover things about each other that will require a lot of adjusting. There are times where you will share opposing points-of-view. Instead of burning the house down with words of anger, you will have to work out your issues in love. Love is more than a feeling. It is more than the butterflies or sweet sensations you experience in your stomach. Love is a choice. Every day, you make the decision to love you partner and work with them as a team.
Love means that you are well aware of your partner's flaws and shortcomings but you choose to see the better parts of them. Marriage is a joint effort at becoming better people. You challenge each other. You cheer each other one. When one of you is down, the other one pulls them up and vice-versa. Marriage is not 50/50. It is not about splitting the effort in half. Marriage is 100/100 - you both have to be all in all the time.
Prayer
You can't walk out of your marriage when the going gets tough and come back when things appear to be easier. You have to be all in - the same way God is all in with you.
Night Prayer
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Inspiration
God planned our redemption from the very beginning. He explains that He is the only God and salvation is the only way to receive eternal life. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. We depend on His love and strength to overcome our sinful nature. He is our shelter, refuge, and perfect dwelling place. We accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and continue to grow closer to God each day.
Prayer
Dear Father, We are humbled in Your glory. Please forgive our sin, and guide us closer to You daily. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Devotion
It’s Never Enough
Frances Taylor
Complain, complain, complain! First it's not enough water, then no food and now not enough of a variety! The Israelites remind me of my children, especially when they were teenagers, opening a refrigerator and saying there was nothing to eat, even though they could have heated up leftovers or made a sandwich, etc. I guess that freedom from slavery wasn't enough for them. God continued to be generous to the Israelites and provided them with meat. When we complain, God continues to be generous with us as well. The question is, when is it enough for us?
Think about a Christmas morning with a pile of gifts in stockings or under the tree. You may have a very small child and another about six or seven years older. How often does the older one count the toys the little one gets and compares the amount to those he or she gets without even considering the amount of money spent on the gifts he or she gets? In fact, you probably spent more money on the ...
Morning Prayer
And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Inspiration
The Jews of Jesus' time understood about the glory of the Messianic Kingdom, but they seldom understood that the Messiah would also suffer and die for the sins of the world. When Jesus openly declared this, Peter began to rebuke him and say these things must not occur. But Jesus rebuked Peter. Jesus came into the world to be God's suffering Servant and to lay down his life as a ransom for many.
Prayer
O Father, you have called us to be servants and often called us to suffer. You do not allure the world with promises of health and wealth but offer us a cross. If suffering for you offends us, we are not of the right spirit of mind. Humble us, Lord, for why should we be "too good" to suffer when even your Son suffered so much? Amen.
