Come Into The Deep End... with ImHisServant (3)

[rosiecotton]

What song or bible verse inspires your faith? Is the faith of a child in your heart?

It's hard to pick a song!! Probably any by Third Day!
My favorite verse is Jeremiah 29:11-13.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." then the first part of 14- "I will be found by you."

It reminds me that God knows my future. He has a plan for me and I just have to trust Him and know He'll get me there.
Also, I love "you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you." That reminds me that God is always there....I just have to 'seek' Him.

 

[rosiecotton]

I don't know why some of this wouldn't go larger like the rest of it. ​

How's Your Love Life?, Part 8​

Series: How's Your Love Life?​

Leslie Basham: If someone grows up never receiving love as a child, how can they learn to show love as an adult?

We're in the middle of a series called How's Your Love Life? Nancy's been teaching us the characteristics of love found in 1 Corinthians 13. Today we'll take a break from that teaching to hear from a woman who's been listening along with us. She never learned to love as a child, but God did something special in her life. Let's listen to Bobbie's story.

Bobbie: I was raised in a foster home from the time I was 3 years old. My mother and father were divorced due to my mother going through, I believe at this point, a postpartum depression. The real thrust of what caused me to think about possibly sharing this is that whole thought about love.

I grew up in an environment where I never knew love on a personal basis. I was taken care of. I had to be--the state paid to put clothes on me and to feed me and so forth. My foster family--she was a single mom. Her husband had died of cancer so she was taking care of us because she needed the money.

My dad, who was very, very capable of taking care of us would not. He was a chemical engineer, and he just would not do it. There were three other sisters; in other words, there was four of us all together in our family. Through the course of the years, we all ended up in the same foster home. My dad had visiting rights for two weeks. My mother was in a mental institution so I never knew her as a mother. I never knew what it was like to have a mother who loved me--or a dad.

My senior year in high school, the Holy Spirit convicted me that I was lost. There wasn't anyone who said, "You're a sinner. You need to get saved," that kind of thing. It was just like God reached down--you know what I mean?--just in the midst of everything (and) pulled me out of that. I went home and got on my knees in front of my bed and told the Lord that I knew I needed to be saved. From that time on God started working in my life.

The whole thing is that I never had love. I never knew what it was like to have someone come up to you and hug you and say, "I love you." I went to a Christian university and met a very fine Christian man. I realize now as I look back on it, he was the first person who ever loved me. I said, "God, this has got to be it. He loves me. I'm marrying somebody who loves me."

My husband had grown up in an abusive home, where his mother and father had left him, had abandoned him. His mother had abused him, and he didn't know anything about love. He was a Christian, but just a baby Christian. He had just gotten saved. Here I was looking for love in a person who himself didn't know what love was. He was looking for love from me; I had had no love either.

Now they counsel you against doing those things because it's marital suicide; but at the time, we didn't know any better. We didn't have any counsel; we didn't have anyone say to us, "You shouldn't do this. This is not going to work." The first years of our marriage were very, very difficult years. God brought me to the place where I realized that all I cared about in life was, Who was going to love me? Who was going to do for me what I had not had?

I wouldn't say that to you, but that's really what I was doing. I was expecting my husband to love me for all the love that I had been missing for all those years. God brought me to the place where I realized that I knew nothing about love. I didn't even know how to love Him. I didn't know what it was to love somebody. One day I got on my knees before God in my heart; and I said, "Lord, You're going to have to teach me how to love"--because I knew what my husband needed was God's love in his life. He didn't need a wife who was clinging to him for the kind of love that I never had. It was too much to expect from him.

The Lord led me to Scripture, and I started reading the Book of Luke. I asked God to show me how the Lord Jesus loves. I went through the gospels and started taking examples of how God loves us through His Son. I started taking notes on that and started praying that God would help me to love my husband the way He loves us. God took me through a search through Scripture on all the ways He loves people. It has revolutionized my life. It has totally changed me because now when I look at circumstances and situations; I think God, how do You love this person? What would You do in a situation like this? What kind of love would You demonstrate to them?

Several weeks ago, maybe it's been a little over a month ago--I didn't realize the impact that it had had on my husband because we were both working on it together. He got behind the pulpit one Sunday and said that he had learned the love of Christ through my life. I thought, The Lord has done that! It was simply applying the Word of God to my life and saying, "Lord, how can I love other people rather than waiting for other people to love me?"

If you look at the Lord Jesus, He is the greatest example of love. People around us will not love us like our expectations are. It doesn't even have to be a husband. It can be a friend, or it can be a mother or a father. Nobody loves like the Lord Jesus does. When we wake up and realize and start drinking in the love of Christ for us, then He in turn--His love feeds through us; and it changes the lives of people around us. It changes us first, then it changes others.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: Bobbie has just come back to what we've been saying over and over again as we've been hearing each other's stories about learning to love with Christ's love--and that is that we don't have the kind of love we need naturally within us. We cannot love apart from Christ, particularly, if we've never seen the love of Christ or experienced it through other humans toward us. If you've had a parent who didn't know how to express love, a mate who didn't know how to express love, then you have this big hole in your heart. And for us to try and get that filled through anyone or any source--other than the Lord--leaves us being takers rather than givers.

The taking is selfishness. We're saying, "You fill me. I love you because of what you can do for me." It's a conditional love. I love you because you meet some need in my life." A lot of people end up in marriage for that reason. They think it's love; it really isn't; it's lust. It may not be in a sexual sense, but in a taking sense. "I want you because you fill something up in me." That kind of "love" doesn't last. Well, it lasts as long as that person decides they want to keep filling you up, but there's that hole in our heart that is so big that no human being can fill it up.

No matter how hard your husband may try to fill that hole in your heart, he can't because the hole is bigger than your husband. It's a God-sized hole. Your heart was made for God and for His love. It was designed that way, so as He fills your heart with His love, then He gives you a reservoir--a spring--out of which you can love your husband, your children, your parents, people who don't love you.

You can love your enemies, which Jesus has commanded us to do. Don't tell me you can't love your husband, because even if he's your worst enemy, Jesus still says you're supposed to love him. How can you do that? You get filled up with Jesus' love, and then you let Him love through you. You love by faith.

You may find that you need to ask the Lord to give you that kind of love. If you lack it, ask Him for it. Then begin to love by faith. Don't wait for the feelings. Begin to love out of His love that's in you--to let that overflow--and you do it by acting loving. Remember what we said about love? Love is long-suffering. It's kind. It isn't jealous. It's not selfish. It's not rude. It doesn't keep account of wrongs suffered. It's not provoked. It bears all things. It doesn't rejoice in evil, but it rejoices in the truth. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It endures all things.

You keep loving that way. You talk kindly. You communicate when you don't feel like communicating. You serve when you want to be served. You give when you want to receive. You deny your flesh. And you say, "yes" to the cross. You realize that love always takes you to a cross. Jesus said, "If you want to be My disciple, come after Me. Take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Me." For any marriage to work, whether it's one or both partners wanting it to work--requires you to go to the cross. That's the fullest demonstration of God's love--seen right there on Calvary. You say, "I am willing to die to my own rights, to die to my own needs."

We're so need-oriented in our generation, so focused on "I need this; I need that." God's Word has said that if we have something we need and we're His child, He will supply what we need. I can't look to other people to meet my needs. God is my need-meeter. If I will let Him do that, then He will give me something, the overflow of which will be enough to give to minister to the needs of others.

 

[Smileyill]

I don't know why some of this wouldn't go larger like the rest of it. ​

How's Your Love Life?, Part 8​

Series: How's Your Love Life?​

Leslie Basham: If someone grows up never receiving love as a child, how can they learn to show love as an adult?

We're in the middle of a series called How's Your Love Life? Nancy's been teaching us the characteristics of love found in 1 Corinthians 13. Today we'll take a break from that teaching to hear from a woman who's been listening along with us. She never learned to love as a child, but God did something special in her life. Let's listen to Bobbie's story.

Bobbie: I was raised in a foster home from the time I was 3 years old. My mother and father were divorced due to my mother going through, I believe at this point, a postpartum depression. The real thrust of what caused me to think about possibly sharing this is that whole thought about love.

I grew up in an environment where I never knew love on a personal basis. I was taken care of. I had to be--the state paid to put clothes on me and to feed me and so forth. My foster family--she was a single mom. Her husband had died of cancer so she was taking care of us because she needed the money.

My dad, who was very, very capable of taking care of us would not. He was a chemical engineer, and he just would not do it. There were three other sisters; in other words, there was four of us all together in our family. Through the course of the years, we all ended up in the same foster home. My dad had visiting rights for two weeks. My mother was in a mental institution so I never knew her as a mother. I never knew what it was like to have a mother who loved me--or a dad.

My senior year in high school, the Holy Spirit convicted me that I was lost. There wasn't anyone who said, "You're a sinner. You need to get saved," that kind of thing. It was just like God reached down--you know what I mean?--just in the midst of everything (and) pulled me out of that. I went home and got on my knees in front of my bed and told the Lord that I knew I needed to be saved. From that time on God started working in my life.

The whole thing is that I never had love. I never knew what it was like to have someone come up to you and hug you and say, "I love you." I went to a Christian university and met a very fine Christian man. I realize now as I look back on it, he was the first person who ever loved me. I said, "God, this has got to be it. He loves me. I'm marrying somebody who loves me."

My husband had grown up in an abusive home, where his mother and father had left him, had abandoned him. His mother had abused him, and he didn't know anything about love. He was a Christian, but just a baby Christian. He had just gotten saved. Here I was looking for love in a person who himself didn't know what love was. He was looking for love from me; I had had no love either.

Now they counsel you against doing those things because it's marital suicide; but at the time, we didn't know any better. We didn't have any counsel; we didn't have anyone say to us, "You shouldn't do this. This is not going to work." The first years of our marriage were very, very difficult years. God brought me to the place where I realized that all I cared about in life was, Who was going to love me? Who was going to do for me what I had not had?

I wouldn't say that to you, but that's really what I was doing. I was expecting my husband to love me for all the love that I had been missing for all those years. God brought me to the place where I realized that I knew nothing about love. I didn't even know how to love Him. I didn't know what it was to love somebody. One day I got on my knees before God in my heart; and I said, "Lord, You're going to have to teach me how to love"--because I knew what my husband needed was God's love in his life. He didn't need a wife who was clinging to him for the kind of love that I never had. It was too much to expect from him.

The Lord led me to Scripture, and I started reading the Book of Luke. I asked God to show me how the Lord Jesus loves. I went through the gospels and started taking examples of how God loves us through His Son. I started taking notes on that and started praying that God would help me to love my husband the way He loves us. God took me through a search through Scripture on all the ways He loves people. It has revolutionized my life. It has totally changed me because now when I look at circumstances and situations; I think God, how do You love this person? What would You do in a situation like this? What kind of love would You demonstrate to them?

Several weeks ago, maybe it's been a little over a month ago--I didn't realize the impact that it had had on my husband because we were both working on it together. He got behind the pulpit one Sunday and said that he had learned the love of Christ through my life. I thought, The Lord has done that! It was simply applying the Word of God to my life and saying, "Lord, how can I love other people rather than waiting for other people to love me?"

If you look at the Lord Jesus, He is the greatest example of love. People around us will not love us like our expectations are. It doesn't even have to be a husband. It can be a friend, or it can be a mother or a father. Nobody loves like the Lord Jesus does. When we wake up and realize and start drinking in the love of Christ for us, then He in turn--His love feeds through us; and it changes the lives of people around us. It changes us first, then it changes others.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: Bobbie has just come back to what we've been saying over and over again as we've been hearing each other's stories about learning to love with Christ's love--and that is that we don't have the kind of love we need naturally within us. We cannot love apart from Christ, particularly, if we've never seen the love of Christ or experienced it through other humans toward us. If you've had a parent who didn't know how to express love, a mate who didn't know how to express love, then you have this big hole in your heart. And for us to try and get that filled through anyone or any source--other than the Lord--leaves us being takers rather than givers.

The taking is selfishness. We're saying, "You fill me. I love you because of what you can do for me." It's a conditional love. I love you because you meet some need in my life." A lot of people end up in marriage for that reason. They think it's love; it really isn't; it's lust. It may not be in a sexual sense, but in a taking sense. "I want you because you fill something up in me." That kind of "love" doesn't last. Well, it lasts as long as that person decides they want to keep filling you up, but there's that hole in our heart that is so big that no human being can fill it up.

No matter how hard your husband may try to fill that hole in your heart, he can't because the hole is bigger than your husband. It's a God-sized hole. Your heart was made for God and for His love. It was designed that way, so as He fills your heart with His love, then He gives you a reservoir--a spring--out of which you can love your husband, your children, your parents, people who don't love you.

You can love your enemies, which Jesus has commanded us to do. Don't tell me you can't love your husband, because even if he's your worst enemy, Jesus still says you're supposed to love him. How can you do that? You get filled up with Jesus' love, and then you let Him love through you. You love by faith.

You may find that you need to ask the Lord to give you that kind of love. If you lack it, ask Him for it. Then begin to love by faith. Don't wait for the feelings. Begin to love out of His love that's in you--to let that overflow--and you do it by acting loving. Remember what we said about love? Love is long-suffering. It's kind. It isn't jealous. It's not selfish. It's not rude. It doesn't keep account of wrongs suffered. It's not provoked. It bears all things. It doesn't rejoice in evil, but it rejoices in the truth. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It endures all things.

You keep loving that way. You talk kindly. You communicate when you don't feel like communicating. You serve when you want to be served. You give when you want to receive. You deny your flesh. And you say, "yes" to the cross. You realize that love always takes you to a cross. Jesus said, "If you want to be My disciple, come after Me. Take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Me." For any marriage to work, whether it's one or both partners wanting it to work--requires you to go to the cross. That's the fullest demonstration of God's love--seen right there on Calvary. You say, "I am willing to die to my own rights, to die to my own needs."

We're so need-oriented in our generation, so focused on "I need this; I need that." God's Word has said that if we have something we need and we're His child, He will supply what we need. I can't look to other people to meet my needs. God is my need-meeter. If I will let Him do that, then He will give me something, the overflow of which will be enough to give to minister to the needs of others.

I really enjoyed this, but it's for women. Although men need love, they need respect much more. It really hurts when a woman seems to love you, but not respect your wishes. I've went round and round with my Mom because she loves me, probably more than any other person, but still won't leave my decisions alone.

She's one of the two people I've every hung-up one (besides my telemarketing job). I hung-up on her because I'd made a decision, the right one in hindsight, and she refused to stop nagging me about it even though she promised too a dozen times. She didn't respect me and that hurts more than a lack of love.

 

[LivingLifeHisWay]

I really enjoyed this, but it's for women. Although men need love, they need respect much more. It really hurts when a woman seems to love you, but not respect your wishes. I've went round and round with my Mom because she loves me, probably more than any other person, but still won't leave my decisions alone.

She's one of the two people I've every hung-up one (besides my telemarketing job). I hung-up on her because I'd made a decision, the right one in hindsight, and she refused to stop nagging me about it even though she promised too a dozen times. She didn't respect me and that hurts more than a lack of love.

I do agree that men need respect more then love. Men feeled loved when they are respected. So sorry about the situation with your mom. Speaking from a fellow mom...it's hard to let go of your kids sometimes. I'll be praying for you.

 

[LivingLifeHisWay]

Rosie, this topic was awesome!

I can relate so much to what she is saying because growing up I never felt loved. In turn I looked for love in all the wrong places. Now I know that God's love is all I need. He makes me whole. At times when I forget and start feeling alone and unloved He gently (or not-so gently) reminds me. God is so good.

 

[Smileyill]

I do agree that men need respect more then love. Men feeled loved when they are respected. So sorry about the situation with your mom. Speaking from a fellow mom...it's hard to let go of your kids sometimes. I'll be praying for you.

Thank you so much. Although I doubt you let your children make many decisions just yet, and rightly so.

Also, love is a different feeling than respect; respect has a unique feeling by itself. My employer last summer complimented me on my legal analysis. He showed me respect, but not love. I need that much more than love.

 

[woman.at.the.well]

Yes indeed Rosie this is a fantastic topic. Excellent read! I really enjoyed. It coincides with something I've been praying about with God. I've had some situations arise over the last several months that all point to God showing me how to love the unlovely like He does. It's hard; it really is. But I think I'm getting it quicker now. Reps coming all your ways! Great posts!

 

[burn97]

Excellent topic Rosie

When thinking about God, I tend to lean towards the example of my parents( more towards my dad of course) My mother, was full of love, but due to 'mental illness' my Father never truly loved myself, nor my siblings.
When I thought of God, I though about distance, I thought about anger, I thought about unforgiveness and broken promises, I figured that God, being the Father, was just a bigger version of my earth father. I think perhaps that it is why it took so long for me to become a Christian, to see Him as He truly is, because I was afraid of abandonment and hatred.
Though you read the bible, and see the verses, 'God is love' or 'God forgives completely' or 'God will never leave you', it isn't that simple, when you've been hurt deeply by a parent, by the person that is 'suppose' to love you. And Praise God, because He knows that, and He is Patient, and His is Kind. He doesn't reach into your hiding place, and yank you out, but waits, speaking soft words, and building your trust, waiting with open arms for you to come to him.
I look at all He's done in my life, all the patience He's had and I can't help but be amazed. When doubt enters my mind (and it does unfortunately), whether it be over His Love, His Forgiveness, or whatnot, He's always shown me, that He is the True Father, the Dependable Father, the One that Loves without Limit.

 

[Criada]

God's love is so awesome, we can never even begin to understand it! It is soo far above anything we mere humans can feel or do.
And yet He chooses to lavish it on us!
However loving a parent may be, they will always make mistakes, always at some point make their children feel unloved or misunderstood. But He loves us perfectly, He is always there when we turn to Him, never too busy, never too tired, always loving!!

The world sees His love through us- which can be a slightly scary thought!! But praise God, He has put His love in our hearts, and if we let Him, He will love others through us.

I just need to stop getting in the way, and let Him do it!

 

[JPPT1974]

God never stops loving His children
Despite we fall short of God's glory
He wants us to remember that He will
Lead and guide us and to uplift us from
The darkest of pits. That is why He sent
Jesus on the cross for us.

 

[burn97]

A deeper look at Psalm 23: part 9
​

April 12, 2007

I Will Fear No Evil
'When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.'

"I will fear no evil." How could David make such a claim? Because he knew where to look, " You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
Rather than turn to the other sheep, David turned to the Shepherd. Rather than stare at the problems, he stared at the rod and staff. Because he knew where to look, David was able to say," I will fear no evil."
I know a fellow who has a fear of crowds. When encircled by large groups, his breath grows short, panic surfaces, and he gins to sweat like a sumo wrestler in a sauna. He received some help, curiously, from a golfing buddy.
The two were at a movie theater, waiting their turn to enter, when fear struck again. The crowd closed in like a forest. He wanted out and out fast. His buddy told him to take a few breaths. Then he helped manage the crisis by reminding him of the golf course.
"When you are hitting your ball out of the rough, and you are surrounded by trees, what do you do?"
"I look for an opening."
"You don't stare at the trees?"
"Of course not. I find an opening and focus on hitting the ball through it."
"Do the same in the crowd. When you feel the panic, don't focus on the people; focus on the opening."
Good counsel in gold. Good counsel in life. Rather than focus on the fear, focus on the solution.
That's what Jesus did.
That's what David did.
And that's what the writer of Hebrews urges us to do." Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith"(Heb 12:1-2). . . .
Don't measure the size of the mountain; talk to the One who can move it. Instead of carrying the world on your shoulders, talk to the One who holds the universe on his. Hope is a look away.
​

Faith is trusting
what the eye can't see.
Eyes see the prowling lion,
Faith sees Daniel's angel.
Eyes see the Storm.
Faith sees Noah's Rainbow.
Eyes see giants,
Faith sees Cannan.
Your eyes see your faults,
Your faith sees your Savior.
Your eyes see your guilty,
Your faith sees His Blood.
Your eyes see your grave,
Your Faith sees a city who's builder and maker is God.
Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure, a promise-breaker,
but by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed Prodigal bearing the ring of Grace on your finger and the Kiss of Your Father on your face.

​

 

[woman.at.the.well]

April 17, 2007​

Herd Instinct

READ: John 10:14-30


My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. —John 10:27



Near the village of Gevas in eastern Turkey, while shepherds ate their breakfast, one of their sheep jumped off a 45-foot cliff to its death. Then, as the stunned shepherds looked on, the rest of the flock followed. In all, 1,500 sheep mindlessly stumbled off the cliff. The only good news was that the last 1,000 were cushioned in their fall by the growing woolly pile of those who jumped first. According to The Washington Post, 450 sheep died.
The Bible often refers to human beings as sheep (Ps. 100:3; Isa. 53:6; Matt. 9:36). Easily distracted and susceptible to group influence, we would rather follow the crowd than the wisdom of the Shepherd.
I’m glad the Bible also describes sheep in a positive way. Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd . . . . My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:14,27).
So the big question for us is: Whom are we following? One another? Self-centered shepherds? Or the voice and direction of the Good Shepherd?
Our challenge is to avoid the mistake of the sheep who blindly followed one another over a cliff. We must make it our daily purpose to ask ourselves: Am I listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd? Am I following Him? —Mart De Haan
Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare. —Thrupp
Follow Christ, not the crowd.
​

Hi InDeepers . . . please discuss questions bolded and underlined today! Bless you! ​

 

[cristianna]

So the big question for us is: Whom are we following? One another? Self-centered shepherds? Or the voice and direction of the Good Shepherd?
Our challenge is to avoid the mistake of the sheep who blindly followed one another over a cliff. We must make it our daily purpose to ask ourselves: Am I listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd? Am I following Him? —Mart De Haan

​

Hi InDeepers . . . please discuss questions bolded and underlined today! Bless you! ​

Great topic!

I think I follow a little of everyone to be honest. I am observant of others whom I feel have a greater sense of faith and trust. In being observant I do learn from them, even though I've also made mistakes as a result. I know I do allow my flesh to take over too. I'm also very willing to listen to Him, but I've definitely been known to obey and disobey.

I think right now my ears may be a tad tuned out to the voice of the Good Shepard. Or maybe it's just "selective hearing" I've been utilizing. There are so many things I've been feeling led to do, but they just keep piling up on top of one another. Nothing huge or encompassing-- just tons of little things. And now I've been trying to deal with prioritizing it.

Am I following Him? Apparently I'm not doing a good job right now. Otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here in my mind making the list of things I know He wants me doing. But I will say once I get back on track it's such a grand feeling to be listening, following and obeying.

 

[JPPT1974]

We need to stop being self-centered
And focus on God as we need to put
Him first and foremost in our lives
Regardless of what is happening around us.

 

[cristianna]

Satan’s Bag of Tricks, Part 1
By Tracie Miles

“… God, not you, made marriage. His spirit inhabits even the smallest details of marriage. And what does he want from marriage?
Children of God, that’s what. So guard the spirit of marriage within you” (Malachi 2:15 (The Message)

Is your marriage thriving, or just surviving? Do you feel that you and your husband are passing ships in the night, hardly speaking, living as two instead of one? Unfortunately many marriages can be described in that way. After the vows are spoken, Satan starts pulling tricks out of his bag. Jobs, mortgages, cars, children, daycare, in-laws, and a myriad of other life challenges and temptations can quickly take their toll on a loving relationship. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, their actions not only brought the fall of man, but also introduced sin into the marriage relationship.

Satan can be disguised in many ways, and it is sometimes difficult to recognize his intervention in our marriages. Consider verse 6 in Genesis 3: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.” Eve was deceived into thinking that the fruit was good, healthy food for her body, pleasing, desirable, and giving wisdom. These descriptions of the fruit all sounded great, so the enemy was able to trick her into thinking sin was good. In actuality, Adam and Eve purposely sinned by consuming the fruit, thinking it was good, but did not purposely bring sin into the world. The devil used something good to deceive them and ultimately bring their demise.

Many times our marriages fall prey to this same trickery of Satan. Dishonesty, infidelity, and pornography are usually the first things that come to mind when we think of sin in a marriage. Satan, however, has many less obvious tricks up his sleeve. Satan can deceitfully and gradually introduce into our lives new things that seem innocent and good at first, just like a little piece of fruit, but they end up bringing us harm and despair instead.

One of Satan’s most powerful tricks is busyness. Often women get caught up in the captivity of activity, and feel they need to be busy in order to be productive. Sometimes this busyness may cause us to lose focus on our marriages. Satan rejoices when we push our husbands’ needs aside to put our children’s or our own needs first. He jumps for joy when we are too tired at night to be intimate with our husbands, causing friction in the relationship. Children, careers, families, and even ministry work are all great things. However, if we aren’t careful, Satan can use what is meant for good to damage our marriage relationships by making our husbands feel like they have taken the back seat in our lives. God desires that we balance the good things with the right things.

Inadvertent neglect of a spouse is the key that opens the door for Satan to pounce into our lives. Our husbands need our respect, and yes, even submission, but they also need our time and devotion. Are you willing to put aside your own agenda and give your husband some special time today? Give him a massage, fix him breakfast in bed, or send him a love note to work. Random acts of kindness and love can have a magnificent impact on your relationship with your husband. And if your man feels like number one in your life, your relationship will surely thrive!

Dear Lord, Help me recognize when Satan is using his tricks to affect my relationship with my husband. Forgive me for not making my husband a priority in my marriage and treasuring our sacred covenant together. Please bless my marriage and wrap Your arms around my husband and I, and create in us a desire for a godly marriage. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.


Reflections:

• Do I inadvertently put the needs of my children over the needs of my husband?
• Have I done anything recently to make my husband feel like he’s a top priority in my life?

 

[Criada]

Reflections:
Do I inadvertently put the needs of my children over the needs of my husband?
Have I done anything recently to make my husband feel like he’s a top priority in my life?

Yes and no. In that order!
I need to pray about this one, and sort it out!
Thank you.

 

[flyingsum0]

 

[jenrenee]

Reflections:

• Do I inadvertently put the needs of my children over the needs of my husband?

We don't have children yet, so no. But sometimes I do catch myself putting me before him. It's hard to remember sometimes that it's not just me anymore, it's us. But I would much rather have the "us" than just "me" - we make a good team!

• Have I done anything recently to make my husband feel like he’s a top priority in my life?

I would like to think so. I try to do everything I can to make him feel like he is one of the most important things to me - because he is! I try to compliment him, or be there for him when he's had a bad day, etc. We did have a downward spiral for awhile, but we both realized it was happening, and have been working to make it better. The fact that we are having trouble having children has caused some problems between us, but nothing that we can't work through. We have a special relationship - we each trust each other 110% and would give up everything for the other.

 

[cristianna]

Reflections:

• Do I inadvertently put the needs of my children over the needs of my husband?
• Have I done anything recently to make my husband feel like he’s a top priority in my life?

Hello everyone!

Part II of this is GREAT. But I figured I should probably start with Part I, so we are all on the same page.

For the first question, I was horrified to realize I do. And I mean horrified. I never, ever thought I did that. And as I sat down really thinking about it, I've come to realize I may do it alot more than I think. Now, he's never said anything, nor has he ever implied he feels that way. But I can see how it could head down that nasty road.

I do feel I'm pretty good about making sure dh feels appreciated, respected and loved. There are many ways, but as we all know (and have heard) a way to a man's heart is through his stomach. In our house, that is one of the top three best things to do for him.

When he works very late, or just out of the blue, I will ditch whatever I had planned for dinner and whip up one of his favorites. I think it's positive and rewarding for us both. When I do this, he'll walk through the door and drop everything in his hands (which is not his typical routine) yapping about how good something smells as he comes over to check out what I'm cooking. And it makes me feel good to know he's feeling appreciated.

 

[Smileyill]

The devil used something good to deceive them and ultimately bring their demise.

And I haven't yet learned to hear His voice enough to always see this.

Reflections:

• Do I inadvertently put the needs of my children over the needs of my husband?

1. I always thought children should come first, at least till grown. Shows what I know. (though I'm not yet convinced I'm wrong).
2. I agree with respect portion (as my above posts indicate), but just to clarify, men do need love too