Peacemaking in our Marriages

"So how do we begin to restore our relationships?  How do we overcome the sinful desires that are causing fights and quarrels in our marriages?  If we are to restore and overcome, if we are to become people who desire God above all, it will be by hearing again and again the glorious story of God's pursuit of us!  The call to love (Eph. 5:1-2) and the call for husbands to love their wives (v. 25) both follow the announcement that Christ has and continues to love us (v. 2)."
                                                                                   The Peacemaking Pastor by Alfred Poirier

Fight for Purity in Heart

Romans 8:13 says, "If you put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, you will live."

This means that when you are struck with some type of impure thought of any kind (not just sexual, it could be gossip or hatred) you need to fight with your mind to say "no" to the image or thought!  Then mightily labor to fill your mind with counter-images or counter-words that kill off the temptation.  Scripture is a good replacement. Too many people think they have struggled with temptation when they have prayed for deliverance, and hoped the desire would go away.  That is too passive.  Yes, it is true that God works in us to will and to work for His good pleasure. But the effect is that we must "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12-13).  Gouging out your eye in Matthew 5:28-29 may be a metaphor, but it still means we should do something very drastic.  Our minds are "muscles" to be flexed for purity, and in the Christian they are supercharged with the Spirit of Christ.  Don't give impure thoughts even 5 seconds before you have mounted a violent counter attack with the mind.  Cry out "no!" Pray! And fix your mind on counter-images and thoughts. Demand of your mind to fix its gaze on Christ on the cross.

A Study on Mercy

"God's mercy is his tenderhearted, loving compassion for His people.  It is His tenderness of heart toward the needy.  If grace contemplates man as sinful, guilty, and condemned, mercy sees him as miserable and needy. The psalmist said, "As a father pities His children, so the Lord pities those who fear him." (Ps. 103:13)  Similar ideas are found in Deuteronomy 5:10; Psalm 57:10; and Psalm 86:5.  The attribute of mercy is seen in the pitying concern of Jehovah for the people of Israel who were in bondage to the Egyptians.  He heard their cry and knew their sufferings (Exod. 3:7).It is also seen in the compassion which Jesus felt when people suffering from physical ailments came to him (Mark 1:41).  Their spiritual condition also moved Him.  (Matt. 9:36).  Sometimes both kinds of needs are involved.  Thus, in describing the same incident, Matthew speaks of Jesus having compassion and healing the sick (Matt. 14:14), while Mark speaks of His having compassion and teaching many things (Mark6:34).  Matthew elsewhere combines the two ideas.  When Jesus saw the crowds were helpless like sheep without a shepherd, He had compassion on them.  So he went about "teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity"  (Matt. 9:35-36)."

                                                                         from Christian Theology by Millard J. Erickson

Personal Devotions and Purposeful Study

I want to encourage you today to pursue having daily prayerful meditation where you seek personal application of God's Gospel truths to your own heart and life.  I also want to encourage you to regular study in a class, or with a book, where you learn from teachers who have seen and lived things that that you may not have and can give you insight in 30 minutes that might otherwise take you ten years to see.  I encourage this because I care about you and want you to find ways to sustain the joy we have in Jesus.