The Solution.

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Naturally, my thoughts today are on the subject of prayer. Our country is on the edge of a cliff. We must decide if we are going to walk away from it or fall into the gorge below.

I watched a television show last night in which a young man, a soldier who had returned home after three tours of combat duty, was distraught. His mind and emotions were all over the spectrum. He couldn't function as a normal human being because of what he had seen and experienced as a soldier. He was up on a rooftop, ready to end it all. This man was in great need of help. He needed a savior to rescue him from this situation; from himself.

Enter police officer. This officer was also ex-military and had dealt with the same issues this man was dealing with. He assured the man that it was possible to overcome his problems and he offered to personally help him. The soldier had a choice to make - humble himself and get the help he needed or jump. Sadly, he chose to jump.

Our country clearly has a lot of problems. Everyone seems to want to "fix" our country, but the answer doesn't lie in presidential candidates or political parties. The answer lies in turning our hearts to God; in forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Clearly, God is offering the solution to our problems! The solution lies in confession of our sin, humbling ourselves before Almighty God. We must pray. We must seek His face, which is to CRAVE Him. We, as individuals, must each make a choice. Do we reach out for help from the only one who can "fix" us, our do we choose to jump? I choose to humble myself, pray for forgiveness and crave to know God better and better each day.

Which do you choose?

The Ugly Word

SIN. It's such an ugly word. So ugly, in fact that most people deny that they are " sinners." The very mention of the word conjures up images of  murder, theft, someone being physically or verbally attacked; what we consider "real" sin. Then we say to ourselves, " I'm not THAT bad!

We are ALL sinners. We all have sin that we don't even realize is there or that we don't remember because we felt it was so small or insignificant. There are things that we neglected to do. That is sin, too. We also, of course, are aware of the sins we commit which we consider "real" sin. We must ask forgiveness for ALL THREE types of sin. In God's eyes, sin is sin. It doesn't matter if we think it's major or insignificant. It only takes ONE sin to separate us from God, who is PERFECT. 

I am so grateful that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin; so grateful that I only had to pray for forgiveness. I chose to follow Him and I am no longer separated from Him. I'm not perfect but my Father in Heaven sure is and, with His help, I can be the person I was meant to be, both now and for eternity!

"None of us can see our own errors; deliver me, LORD, from hidden faults! Keep me safe, also, from willful sins; don't let them rule over me.Then I shall be perfect and free from the evil of sin. May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O LORD, my refuge and my redeemer!"

                                                           Psalms 19:12 - 14  GNT

What Makes a Marriage Strong?

I have just come home from a wedding. The daughter of a prominent family in our town was getting married. Her parents attend our church and we've come to know both the bride and groom, so we went to the wedding to show our support of this family. Both the bride and groom are strong in their Christian faith and they were sure to make Christ the center of their wedding. There was a large, flower-covered cross in the background. The couple also assembled a unity cross as part of the ceremony. In their personally written vows, they each spoke of God's leadership in bringing them together and promised to serve Him together, until "death do we part".

I began to wonder just how many couples would be getting married in the next couple of months. This is the beginning of "wedding season", you know. Of all the couples getting married, I wonder what fraction of them have consulted with God about their potential spouse. Could very many actually say, "God brought us together and we want to serve Him together for the rest of our lives"?
I dare say I doubt there would be many, even among people who claim to be Christian!

God created a wife for Adam "and brought her to the man." He put them together. She was formed to be his helper in life. If God created a wife just for Adam, I believe He continues to bring couples together when they seek to live for Him.

Will life be easy because it's a "match made in heaven"? NO! We are human. We sin. We make mistakes. We fight. We are selfish. We want our own way! This is why Jesus taught us about forgiveness. We must not only love, but we must also forgive. Strangely, the cycle of loving and forgiving and loving some more, makes a marriage stronger. Each time we fail and ask forgiveness, we must become vulnerable to one another. This forms a stonger bond than was originally there. Don't ask me how it's possible. I don't know! I only know it's true because I have experienced it!

I hope and pray that the young couple who took their vows tonight will have a long and happy marriage and that they will still be serving Jesus together 35 years from now!