IS SOMETHING TORMENTING YOU?

For the Shepherd, summer time is known as “fly time”. Those who raise livestock understands this best and the serious problems that insects bring during the warm summer weather. Sheep are especially troubled by an insect called, “the nose fly”. These little flies buzz around the sheep's head, attempting to deposit their eggs on the damp, mucous membranes in the sheep's nose. If they are successful, the eggs will hatch in a few days to form small larvae. They work their way up the nasal passages into the sheep's head and burrow themselves into the flesh; and there set up an intense inflammation and irritation to the sheep. While the sheep cannot see them, they are very much aware of their presence. For relief from their agonizing annoyance, they will deliberately beat their heads against fence post, brush, rocks and trees. They will rub their nose in the dirt and thrash their bodies around in an effort to escape the torment of their irritation and in extreme cases of intense infestation, a sheep will even kill itself. These irritating flies reek all sorts of torments on sheep and if not treated properly, the infection from the flies will even lead to blindness. Some of the sheep become frantic with fear and panic in their attempt to escape their tormentors. They stamp their feet erratically and run from place to place in the pasture trying desperately to escape the flies. Some will run so much, that they will drop from sheer exhaustion. Others may toss their heads up and down for hours in agony. All this excitement and distraction has a devastating effect on the entire flock.

 

The only hope that the sheep has is from the attention to the behavior of the sheep by the shepherd. At the very first sign of flies among the flock, a good Shepherd will apply an oil to their heads. A homemade remedy that he has made which is smeared over the sheep's nose and head as a protection against nose flies. Once the oil had been applied to the sheep's heads, there is an incredible transformation and immediate change in their behavior. The sheep begins to feed quietly again and will soon lie down in peaceful contentment.

 

We too can be tormented by an unseen enemy and though we cannot see him, we can certainly feel his presence in our lives. We can easily be tormented by thoughts that burrow their way into our flesh, lay their repulsive eggs and hatch into destructive larva that will eventually work their way into our minds causing us all kinds of torment. Thoughts of fear, rejection, hatred, failure, bitterness, greed, jealousy, lust and many, many other harmful thoughts and lies. These thoughts if not dealt with quickly and correctly can plague even the people of God. But this should not be our fate! Just as there is an oil that the Shepherd uses on his sheep, God has prepared an oil for us. Ps 23 reminds us of this very thing. In those verses the shepherd David relates to us what the Father did for Him and we can trust that He will do them for us. He makes us lie down in green pastures, He restores us and guides us even in the darkest of valleys. We don’t have to fear evil, for He has a spiritual rod and staff of protection. Knowing that, gives us comfort. He anoints our head with oil to serve Him and as a spiritual protection for us. Jesus said in John 10:11 that He was the good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. What is the oil that He offers to His sheep? It is His very word. I can testify myself to it’s amazing power when I apply it to my life. Time after time, even this week God has come through in pouring His oil of truth in an area of my life that has been troubling me. His word is true and sharper than anything that the enemy uses in combat with the children of the Most High. Is something tormenting you today, sweet friend? If so, run to the Good Shepherd and allow the oil of His word to spill over you and don’t give up! He is trustworthy and able. But you must be willing to receive His help, His way, not yours!

Hold Fast,

Bren

REDEEMING YOUR MARRIGE

In our culture today many see divorce as a positive solution to a troubled marriage, an easy fix. However, divorce is not always a solution, but in most cases it is only an exchange of problems. Marriage is a covenant between God, and a man and a woman.  Malachi 2:16, tells us that God hates divorce! Why? Because He knows and understand the heartbreak, pain and devastation from it. Those vows to stand by each other in riches and in poverty, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, as long as they both shall live, seems like only a poem to most people that are going through the heartache of marriage troubles. Yet, those troubles are the very reason that they are included in their marriage vows. Any covenant that is made from human lips is a binding, weighty obligation and should never be taken lightly. Proverbs 20:25 tells us that, "It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows". Deuteronomy 23:23 says, "You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised." Jesus said that "every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment" Matthew 12:36. God takes the wedding covenant seriously, even when we do not. Most couples seeking a divorce today do so for unbiblical reasons. They cite reasons such as poor communication, incompatibility, financial problems, lack of commitment to the relationship, changes in priorities and even a selfish act of their so called right to do as they choose with no regard how it may affect others. In short, when marriage isn't working, the common solution is to simply get out of it. And often times when they do seek help, they in no way want to do the work that it may take to resolve and restore a broken marriage. God never ordained or created the institution of divorce. Man did that because of his own hard heart. There are passages of scripture that indicate there are a couple of circumstances in which God releases a couple from the lifelong covenant of marriage: Adultery and immorality is one. However, even in those cases if there is a willingness to forgive and restore that relationship, then the act of reconciliation is the best choice. In a discussion between Christ and the Pharisees in Matthew 19, after Jesus refers to God's original purposes for marriage, He is asked, "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Jesus then answered, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery" Matthew 19:7-9. Another is when an unbelieving spouse deserts a believer. 1 Corinthians 7:15-17, Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. The ideal intention for marriage holds that the only exception for divorce is death. A key verse in is Matthew 19:8 where Jesus says to the Pharisees, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way." In addition, Paul states in 1 Corinthians 7:24, "Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called”. Are you bound to a husband or wife? Do not seek to be released." Is your marriage about to end? The question that you are now facing is, do you want to save your marriage? Do you want to honor your marriage vows. Are you willing to trust God for reconciliation in your marriage to change those things that you cannot? Don’t trust only in your selves, because too often the trust has been broken there. Do trust in God to restore what the enemy has stolen from you and allow healing to come.

Often times a spouse will ignore for years the alarms of discontent that their mate has been crying out for them to notice, yet, none of those complaints may have sounded like they would end up being causes, for divorce, at the time.  When “suddenly” someone announces that he or she is moving out, wants to end the marriage, or even has filed already for divorce and the ground below them shakes like an earthquake. Is there any way to stop a divorce? If you are going through a strained relationship you may find the stress and emotional anguish difficult to bear. There are long-lasting and far-reaching effects that need to be considered before making life changing decisions. However your ability to think clearly and rationally about the future is often clouded by the emotional trauma you are experiencing. Seek help to walk through those difficult times when you cannot see through the clouds yourself. It is not so much a specific problem that leads to divorce with the exception of infidelity, but are most often issues with the way couples are relating to one another. How they choose to respond to those problems. Working together in a healthy, constructive fashion to achieve the proper healing in their marriage. While it is very possible it does take determination and work. Some of the factors that have brought you to the place you are today if your marriage is in trouble and you are considering a divorce can very well be traced back to a number of common problems that every marriage faces. Depending upon how each couple learns to walk through those problems will determine the longevity of that marriage.

 

These common problems range from financial problems and disagreements about money to a lack of commitment, which may include marrying too young or marrying the wrong person. Others are Infidelity and betrayal, long term arguing and disagreement on child rearing and unrealistic assumptions about what marriage is. You will always have problems when you are thinking that marriage is 50/50, which is not true in any marriage. Some couples face physical, and emotional abuse, as well as alcohol and substances addictions.  But many times over, these are not the root of the problem. The root is that the marriage is one sided, and no matter how hard one works the other will not yield. No matter how much you want it to get better, both the husband and the wife must agree to work together. While there are a number of things that can hurt or hinder a resolve in broken relationships, here are a few. You pick the ones that may apply to you and work hard towards making changes to improve what you know in your heart needs to be done. They are: Ongoing criticism. Particularly when the criticism is not outweighed by positive statements. Contempt and lack of respect for each other. This festers and grows in a relationship and can devastate a relationship quicker than anything. Defensiveness. People who cannot take responsibility for a problem cannot fix it and cannot display empathy for how their spouse may be feeling. Deliberate avoidance of interaction and discussion of how the other feels will make it impossible to resolve an argument. You cannot fix what you will not admit to. Unwillingness to forgive and move on. Not forgiving someone hurts only the one who had been wronged. You must forgive! Denying that you may be part of the problem or not wanting anyone to know about your situation, or unwilling to seek help is simply prideful and reveals an unwilling spirit in you that speaks volumes to your mate and others about you. It shows that you have no desire to do what it will take to change or take responsibility. Some of the strongest relationships that you will ever find are from those who have been through hardships in their marriages that almost ended had there not been strong commitment and determination to finish that which they both vowed together to complete. If today you are in a place of hardship in your marriage, take on the role of the postage stamp and stick to it until you get to place in your marriage that you long to be. The destination can be sweeter than the beginning, if the effort is made to do whatever it takes to get there. “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” Proverbs 10:12

 

Hold Fast,

Bren

TAKE THE HIGHER GROUND

When dealing with conflict, taking the higher road is always the best way to handle and maintain your own moral high ground. To take the higher road means to learn to respond in a manner that will not escalate a bad situation but disarm the situation by cooling it down. As children of God we must learn to make great effort in finding God’s perspective in every situation that disagreements place us in, no matter how hard it may seem. When we have been wronged by someone that does not see the situation as clearly as we may feel like we do, and have wronged us, then the only thing that can be done is to take the high road and agree to disagree with them and move on. After you have reminded yourself that whatever the situation was… will more than likely not even possibly matter to you in five years from now…. then move on! Don’t let someone or something rob you of your joy or ruin your day over something that might just be pretty trivial to them. Never let someone get the best of you in a situation. Learn to squeeze out every ounce of compassion towards them and move on. Always be sure to take the time and not miss anything that may be your responsibility. Admit what you should and then move on. Try to remember that other people are looking at the situation from their own perspective whether you feel like they have a foot to stand on or not. The reason that there is a disagreement to begin with, is because two people are viewing a situation from their own perspectives. What is your perspective by the way? Are they based on codes and ethics, maybe scriptures? In conflict maybe the other person has no code of ethics nor do they believe in scripture. They reason and think the way they do because of the condition of their hearts and only God knows the hearts of man. Shake it off and apply the Golden Rule (found in Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”) of kindness in every situation you find yourself in; and you'll be surprised to find the peace that you will get from any random act of kindness that you may show someone who may not be deserving of your kindness; and you'll find yourself back on the high road once again. Mark Twain once remarked that to act morally is noble, but to talk about acting morally is also noble and a lot less trouble. While he may have meant to be funny his words are very misleading. Being noble is a lot of trouble to those who have no desire to seek or apply it. The scripture says that where a man’s heart is there is his treasure. So anytime we can act in a godly manner is much better than just talking about it. We are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only the Scriptures teach.

There have been saints and scoundrels all through history. The saints have understood some important things about what God’s Word teaches us and how we are to live if we are children of God. Scoundrels never seem to grasp those truths and laugh and mock at them, as though they were silly fables. If we know what to do in certain situations; then those truths can motivate us to resist the temptations that threaten to lure us off the high road and succumb to the low one. I work in the Transportation Industry. Within our Industry we share a type of ethics that govern us with codes, regulations and law as well as conduct. If you believe in these ethics and allow them to guide how you do your job then they can keep you out of trouble in a number of ways. If you however can be tempted to accept other alternative ways of avoiding those codes and regulations as a substitute for real ethics, then you may find yourself in a bad situation. But, if you allow those codes and regulations to govern how you work within the industry, then you are following that code of ethics and your actions or deeds reflect that ethic or standard that you live by and they can provide you with protection. The same applies to Godly ethics and regulations, if we practice and live by the Golden Rule for instance then we dare not worry about God’s dealing with us as disobedient, but obedient children. My brother has built his business through the years on his personal code of ethics and the Golden Rule. He went out of his way in his dealings with people through the years as he has built up his business to be helpful, honest and trustworthy with his customers. As a result, his reputation for integrity spread though those years and his business has flourished; because his success was rooted in his character as well as his code of ethics. He has strived with great effort to apply the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and it has paid off in more ways than one for him. That Golden Rule should be the principal or code of ethics by which all Christians live by. Knowing and practicing that principal will always help to refocus our minds, reminding us of our consequences if we do not follow it, and nudge us in the right direction. By following it, we are living the life that Christ died for us to have; the life more abundantly. Decide today what choices are best for you and worth living for and yes, even dying to self for….to do what is right and not what you feel like doing in the flesh; and let no other code or action undermine it. Choose you this day whom you will serve…and get to doing it! “As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; with patience, bearing with one another in love. Diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.” Ephesians 4:1-3 The Higher Road is by no means easy, but it is, the right way! Let’s love each other, no matter the cost!

 

Loving on you today!

Bren