A Marriage Made in Heaven!

When Danny and I got married I instantly had access to many things I didn’t have on my own. He had a truck, a car and a motorcycle.  He had furniture, a bank account and a savings account.  He didn’t keep his things to himself.  He put me on his checking account. It no longer read “Danny Beene”, but the checks said “Mr. or Mrs. Danny Beene”.  Really everything he had when we married, I was privileged to have access to when we said our vows.

No longer was I known by my maiden name. I took Danny’s last name as my own. I took his entire family as mine as well.  Although I’d never known my own grandparents, Danny shared his two grandmothers, his two grandfathers, and his great grandmother with me. There were aunts and uncles and cousins as well. Although I was born into my own family, because of our marriage, I became a member of a completely different family.  

Although they didn’t do everything the way I had been taught by my family traditions, I learned new ways of living and doing things. All in all, I made a commitment to take on his name, his family and his ways.  Literally, I was no longer my own, but I was his. Everything I had was his as well. I held nothing back – I gave it all to him.  Because I put all my trust in my husband, he took complete care of me. I really had no needs, for he provided everything for me.

When we’re born again, we become members of a completely new family – the family of God. This family is comprised of other believers who have made a commitment to Jesus Christ – to follow Him and live according to His precepts throughout the world. We have taken on His name, His nature and His identity. Everything that Christ has – we have access to.   We are no longer our own and as we hold nothing back and give everything to Him, He takes our lives and completely changes us.  Because of this amazing access to the riches and blessings and precepts of God, we have everything provided for us – we are completely taken care of all the rest of our lives.

Are you lacking anything this morning? Have you put your trust in Christ? Have you said yes, I do, to Him and given your whole heart to let Him live through you? Maybe you’ve been trying to meet your own needs – working, planning, doing – and still coming up short.  You may have been in relationships where the other party didn’t treat you so well.  Whether marriage, family or friendship – the other party kept back some of their love, their kindness, their compassion, their forgiveness. They stopped short of complete acceptance and complete commitment. 

Oh beloved, run to God’s Word and read! Rejoice in your marriage to Christ this morning! You who are in Christ are very rich indeed! He is speaking to your heart this morning and He says, beloved, all you have need of My hands have provided! All my good and perfect gifts I give to you from My Father.  Everything you will ever need for your physical and spiritual life I have provided.  I AM everything for you! I will be your access to perfect love, perfect peace and complete joy. I AM yours and you are Mine. I love you and because I laid down My life for you, all your past has gone into the grave with Me. I love you and because I rose to live again, you have a completely new life in Me.  I love you and because I live to make intercession for you, you are protected, provided for and redeemed. You are safe in My arms, always in My heart and always on My mind.  

 

Whatever your needs are this morning, beloved, give those needs to the Lord. He will either fix the situation, replace the broken condition or make all things new. Everything He does for you will be oh so very good because He loves you and He’s for you and that’s your access to all you will ever need, even all the way to heaven!

2 Corinthians 5:17-18  This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ...

2 Peter 1:3-4 By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.  And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

Colossians 1:12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light.

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

Check the Mailbox of God's Love

Where I work I deal with loads of mail generated from our office. From soil samples to manure samples to water samples. There are fact sheets and information brochures along with flyers and newsletters and reports. Lots of mail. We even have our own postage meter to deal with the large volume of mail.

The fact that we generate lots of mail means that eventually and occasionally something we send out gets lost in the mail. It happened recently. A water sample mailed at the end of last month never showed up at the appropriate lab.  Thankfully the check that was mailed with it wasn’t cashed, but still no sample and therefore no results available.

Work gets stressful when people don't understand that these things happen.  I checked and double checked the address (it was new) and the information I had made copies of and called the lab.  After reassuring myself that I had done everything right, I went on to reassure others that it was simply lost in the system.  You want to blame someone, to get to the root of it – so it doesn’t happen again, but it’s impossible to ensure this because the system itself is fragile and while no one at my end, at the postal service end or the laboratory end wants something lost, it’s going to happen sometimes.

Life gets stressful and we don’t always understand why things happen. Things get lost. People get lost. Lives are lost. Hopes are lost.  It’s bound to happen – the loss of friends, spouses, children, jobs, money, treasures, and more. Admittedly, some things are more treasured than others, but a loss is a loss. Try as we might to get something we considered quite valuable back, it’s out of our hands.  We often wring our hands and cry out that we just want it back. If we’re not careful we’ll spend the rest of our days in mourning for the loss of something we can do nothing about.

People can get stressed, angry, unforgiving and suspicious when they don’t get their wants- but life in Christ never causes stress for His promises are never lost!  

Are you mourning the loss of someone or something you know you’ll never get back in this lifetime?  Are you wringing your hands and worrying about what you’re going to do without that treasured object or a treasured loved one? It’s hard to go it alone, it’s hard to move on, it’s difficult to smile and not let stress overtake you. But life in Christ will never leave you stressing for His promises are never lost! Even when things look bleak, when you’re awake in the wee hours of the morning or you’re in the middle of the day and you remember, God’s promises are right on time. They are ready for you every time you need them! Unlike the mail system, that might lose something in the mail, you never lose God’s promises for they are right with you always!

Oh beloved, run to the mailbox of God’s love - the Word-this morning and let Him show you the treasures of your life from His Word. Everything you need to live is written by the hand of the Lord just for you! Before the foundation of the world God Himself set up His richest storehouse of treasures to give liberally to His beloved ones! You don’t have to travel, you don’t need postage and you don’t have to wait until you are good enough to enjoy it all. Lean on the Lord! He knows your heart is broken, He knows you may be angry or agitated that things got lost, but your relationship with Him is solid. He is for you and His Word is hope for your heart in a day when all may look lost – look into the treasures God gave to you and rejoice. His love and care are yours no matter what.

2 Samuel 22:31 God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?

Psalm 12:6 The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.

Psalm 119:140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much.

Psalm 138:2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness; for Your promises are backed by all the honor of Your name.

Psalm 119:89 Your eternal word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.

Stormy Weather

It's been storming and the floods covered some roads. The sky has been dark and clouds roll ominously. Some have watched the skies for the telltale signs of something worse. After only a couple of days, most of us are tired of it and wishing for sunshine and clear blues skies. Oh beloved, storms come in so many ways - sickness, sorrow, depression, rejection, fear, heartbreak, temptation and more. Just as the power goes off during many storms, we find ourselves powerless during hard times. But oh beloved, there is One Who is the Captain of our Way, the Keeper of our Lives and the Power in our powelessness. Call out His Name! Speak out His Word! He loves you and He's on your side and nothing else really matters and no storm will overtake us when we trust in Him! Psalm 31:21 Praise be to the LORD,for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. Psalm 62:7 My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. Deuteronomy 4:7 Deuteronomy 4:7 For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him? Psalm 91:15 Psalm 91:15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.