Week 4 of Advent: Love

Faith is the Foundation of Christianity

Have you ever asked for God to give you a sign? Maybe you’re trying to make a major decision that will send your life down a different path. Or maybe you feel God calling you to a certain task. Or maybe you just simply are searching for God. There are many reasons why we might ask God to give us a sign. Some say that to do so shows a lack of faith. In some instances that could very well be true and that can be a huge problem since Christianity is 100% dependent upon faith in God and in His only Son, Jesus who became the Savior or the world. The very foundation of Christianity is faith in who Jesus is and the work He did through his birth, life, death, and resurrection.

Got Faith?

The main reason why Christians struggle with not having much faith is because we tend to follow what we perceive to be true rather than what we know to be true by faith. The kind of faith that has a complete trust or confidence in someone or something that is built up over time as that person proves himself faithful time and time again. But human often fail us and then we lose faith in them. We struggle with faith because we base our faith on our human experiences. If we want to have the kind of faith seen in the “Faith Heroes” of Hebrews 11, then we have to base our faith on the unchanging nature of God – not people.

How to build up our faith

We can build our faith in Christ as we look at the promises of God where He has kept those promises. We can build our faith in Christ as we look at the prophets who foretold pieces of the future that God revealed to them and then see in history where those prophesies occurred. As God inspired the various writers for the books of the Bible, He gave us His own personal testimony of His faithfulness to us.

As children of God, it is by faith that we must believe that Jesus is who He said He is — the promised Messiah and Son of God. By faith we must believe that He lived His entire life without sin. By faith we must believe that through His death on the cross He become the atoning sacrifice for the sins of every person. It is by faith we must believe that after three days in a tomb, He was raised to life again. By faith we must believe that He ascended into Heaven after 40 days where in that time He appeared to many. By faith we must believe that today, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and that He is preparing a place for us in heaven. And by faith we place our trust in Jesus as “The Way, the truth and the life.”

There is no other way by which we can be saved. Then Jesus gives us His perfect righteousness, making us justified before God.

A Whole Lot of Faith

That’s a whole lot of faith. Yet often, we live as though we don’t really believe all that we claim to believe and the biggest reason why is we don’t truly know God because we don’t take the time to get to know Him. Just as you would not place your complete faith and trust in a total stranger, if God is more like a stranger to you than a Father, it will be difficult to fully trust Him with complete and total faith in Him.

The more intimately you know Him, the easier it becomes to have faith in Him. The only way we get to know Him while in this life is through daily personal Bible study where He reveals Himself to us on every page and through a habit of conversing with Him in prayer. In Romans 10:17, Paul wrote, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

We can certainly learn about God through the sermons we hear at church, but if you really want to seek God with all your heart, you’ll need to open your Bible and begin to study it for yourself.

Doubting Thomas

If you struggle with faith, I want to encourage you through one of the disciples who has become known to us as “doubting Thomas.” When Thomas hear that Jesus had been raised from the dead, he said he would not believe unless he saw Jesus for himself, saw the wounds from the nails in His hands and feet and thrust his hand in Jesus’ side where he had been pierced with a sword. Jesus later appeared again to the disciples and this time Thomas was with them. With love, He walked up to Thomas and let him see with his own eyes, touch the nail scars and showed him His side. Thomas immediately bows and worships Jesus. Jesus said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Asking for a sign

Others in the Bible also asked for a sign. In Judges 6, Gideon asked God for the sign of the fleece. King Herod was hoping for a sign (Luke 23:8). In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus what sign would precede His coming. And in Isaiah 7, Ahaz is told to ask for a sign – but he would not. A sign was given anyway and that sign was the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.

Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!” Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.”

Jesus wants each one of us to believe – to have faith. He will meet your level of faith where you are – but He will not leave you there. He will take you to the next step – and then the next. So if you need a sign, like Thomas did, then ask.

Walk by faith, not by sight

However, at the same time, we also need to remember the words of Paul in Hebrews 11:6 where Paul tells us to walk by faith and not by sight. We can ask for a sign for the wrong reason, which is testing God. The scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees often did so to which Jesus responded, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three night in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:38-40)

Why does God give signs sometimes and not others?

Why does God give signs in some instances and not others? The answer lies within the “why” we ask for a sign. If we ask for a sign because we want to take a shortcut, our “why” is the wrong reason. Often we want to take a shortcut, because we are lazy or we feel that the task is too hard or too long and we want to just skip over to the end. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.” Most often, shortcuts are dangerous and have consequences.

Faith doesn’t take shortcuts

Abraham and Sarah attempted a shortcut to achieve God’s promised son. The consequences of their actions reached across generations. Shortcuts can also lead to poverty (Proverbs 10:14 and Proverbs 21:5) and mistakes (Proverbs 19:2). They can often seem profitable at the moment, but it is always better to do things God’s way.

Psalm 37:7 tells us to wait patiently for God to act.

In the Message Bible, Matthew 7:13 says, “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do.

In Psalm 32:8, God says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

Proverbs 37:5 tells us to “commit everything you do to the Lord, Trust him, and he will help you.” Taking shortcuts turns the discovery of God’s will into a scheme that places all the responsibility and work on God. Beware of taking the easy way out.

Faith doesn’t ignore what God has already revealed

We also need to be sure that asking for a sign is not a way to ignore what God has already revealed to us as His will because we don’t like what He’s already shown us. We know from God’s Word that we are to give a tithe. So to pray and ask God for a sign that He wants you to tithe would be wrong. We know that God says in His Word that we should not commit adultery. So to ask for a sign from God to see if it’s OK for you to have an affair is wrong. To ask for a sign for anything that contradicts what God has already revealed, is wrong.

Faith doesn’t test God

If we are asking God for a sign to “test” Him, then it is sin. Deuteronomy 6:16 says, “Do not test the Lord your God.” In Psalm 78, David wrote about Israel’s continued sin, rebelling against God and deliberately testing Him.

Faith doesn’t validate a decision you’ve already made

We also should not asked for a sign as a means to validate a decision we’ve already made. Balaam did this when he asked God if he could go and curse the Israelites. God’s answer was, “No!” But Balaam didn’t like the answer and prayed again. God did not give Balaam a sign that he was to go, but he went anyway. He had already made up his mind to go before he ever prayed. The act of praying in this case was an attempt to justify the decision that he had already made.  Too often, we jump into something that looks really tempting and then begin to pray and ask God to bless it. Essentially we are asking God to surrender to His will to us rather than us surrendering our will to Him.

Faith doesn’t avoid the waiting

Another reason we tend to ask God for a sign is because we want to avoid waiting. Waiting is often a time of feeling powerless, dependent, anxious while knowing we can do nothing – but wait. We we ask for a sign, we are putting ourselves back in control. Let’s say that the sign you ask for is that God would do something by a certain deadline. This means that God needs to respond by our schedule – not his. 

In their book Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, Harry Blackaby and Richard King say, “If you do not have clear instructions from God in a matter, pray and wait. Learn patience. Depend on God’s timing. His timing is always right and best. Don’t get in a hurry. He may be withholding directions to cause you to seek Him more intently. Don’t try to skip the relationship to get to the doing.” God is never late. Wait on Him. It will be worth it.

God is not a genie in a bottle

Lastly, we can’t ask for a sign as if God were a genie in a bottle. He is not a good luck charm that keeps us from failure or pain. We can’t use a sign from God as a means to never experiencing problems in life. What we see as success and what God sees as success can often look very different. From the world’s view point, as Jesus died on the cross, the world could say that He failed. But from God’s viewpoint, Jesus was a huge success because Jesus accomplished God’s perfect plan to redeem us and to save us from our sins. God’s plan may include some times of pain and suffering, but there is blessing in obedience.

Is it ever right to ask God for a sign?

So is it ever right to ask God for a sign? God wants to develop an intimate and loving relationship with us – and that takes time. Without a relationship with God, Christianity is reduced to a superstitious and shallow practice not any different than when the Israelites worshiped the golden calf. What sets Christianity is part is a relationship based on faith in THE living God. Within that relationship, God may choose to speak to us through His Word, through a friend, through our circumstances, and even through a sign.

Asking for a sign after God has already spoken is wrong. But when His will is not clear, there is nothing wrong with asking God to make His will known. He could choose to do so through a sign, but it could also be another way of confirming His will, such as through the pastor’s sermon or through the words of a friend. When we do feel that God has given a sign, we must be cautious because we also know that Satan can do signs. So be sure your recognize God’s voice when He speaks to you. In John 10:27, Jesus said that we hear his voice because He is our Shepherd.

The purpose of signs

Over and over again in the Bible we can find God giving His people signs. What’s the purpose? So that they would know Him. Why does He give us signs? Because He loves us and He longs to have a relationship based on complete faith in Him. The signs He gives are one way to reveal Himself to us and grow our faith. He doesn’t want to be some mystical being we don’t know. The whole reason He gave the sign in Isaiah 7:10-16 was so we would recognize the Messiah when He came. He loves us and wants us to know Him.

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Recommended Resources:

Faith Crisis: What Faith Isn’t and Why It Doesn’t Always Do What You Want – eBook

By Ron Dunn / B&H Books
Many well-meaning Christians misunderstand the role that faith plays in our relationship with God. And because we don’t understand the ways of God, we open ourselves up to losing faith if he doesn’t deliver what we want, when we want it. But the Bible promises that God always rewards real faith. So what, then, is true faith? And how do we tell the difference between truth and a counterfeit faith that is nothing more than false advertising? In Faith Crisis, Ron Dunn guides us through a study of the nature of faith, using Scripture and real-life examples to show what the genuine article looks like, so there’s no mistaking it. You’ll learn that it’s not about quantity but quality, and that the reward of faith is not in blessings, but in experiencing the very presence of God.

Experiencing the Power of Life-Changing Faith-Romans

By Kay Arthur / Harvest House Publishers
Discover the truth of God’s Word for yourself! The Book of Romans is Paul’s clearest presentation of the gospel—and includes answers to some of life’s most important questions. How can I have peace with God? How can I know God’s will? Does being religious make me a Christian? For personal or group study. 144 pages, softcover from Harvest.

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God, Love and Marshmallow Wars by Julia M. Bruce

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
• Conversation Starters.
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
• Romance Builders.
• Relationship Builders.
• Personal reflections.
• Date ideas.
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

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Week 3 of Advent: Rejoice

A COVID Postponed Wedding

This year, my nephew got married. We all rejoice at weddings (unless we don’t approve of the marriage for some reason). And as exciting as marriages are, Blake and Eileen had the added “excitement” of COVID that interrupted their plans. They did not rejoice over the delays, but they worked together to tackle the obstacles and they did rejoice on the day they finally exchanged their vows.

They were supposed to have been married in the spring. However, Blake is in the Air Force and stationed overseas. The military would not let Blake come back home due to COVID travel restrictions, so the wedding was postponed. And then it was postponed again…and again. Finally, Eileen just stop coming up with a new date and waited for the military to allow Blake to travel.

When he did finally get to come home in August, they wouldn’t allow him enter the state we live. So we took the wedding to the state just north of us and with a lot of pulling strings, getting a quick marriage license, and people working together to make it happen, Blake and Eileen were finally married…about five months after the original wedding date. It didn’t happen exactly as they planned and dreamed about but we did rejoice with them and then again when months later, Eileen was finally able to join Blake overseas.

Wedding Plans

Did you know that right now, Jesus is getting ready for the Marriage of the Lamb? He’s busy making the preparations. Just like Blake and Eileen didn’t know when their marriage would actually take place and once Blake was able to come home, we had about a week to scramble and put all their wedding plans (some altered) in place, we do not know the moment that Jesus will come again to collect His bride – the church who is all those who have placed their faith in Him as their Savior.

In fact, Jesus doesn’t even know the time. Jesus said in Matthew 24:26, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” But Jesus will not be unprepared. He is making His plans and getting everything ready. And when God the Father says, “Son, go get my children!” you can bet Jesus will be ready to welcome the church with open arms and all of heaven will rejoice.

Rejoice! Give Him glory! The Marriage of the Lamb has come and the bride is ready.

Today’s verse is found in Revelation 19:7.

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.

As I read this verse about the wife making herself ready, I thought about all the months of planning Blake and Eileen did to create their very special, magical moments for their wedding day. The bride chooses a dress, venue, flowers, cake, and caters. She chooses her maid of honor and bridesmaids. She chooses the music for the wedding service and the reception. On the day of her wedding she sits for hours to get her hair done, carefully puts on her make up or hires someone to do it for this special day. She puts on her dress and veil. Slips on her shoes.  She takes the arm of her father or maybe an older brother or someone who has been a father-figure in her life and starts down the aisle towards her waiting groom to join her life with his.

What is the Marriage of the Lamb?

GotQuestions.org answers this question this way:

The concept of the marriage supper is better understood in light of the wedding customs in the time of Christ. These wedding customs had three major parts. First, a marriage contract was signed by the parents of the bride and the bridegroom, and the parents of the bridegroom or the bridegroom himself would pay a dowry to the bride or her parents. This began what was called the betrothal period—what we would today call the engagement. This period was the one Joseph and Mary were in when she was found to be with child (Matthew 1:18; Luke 2:5).

The second step in the process usually occurred a year later, when the bridegroom, accompanied by his male friends, went to the house of the bride at midnight, creating a torchlight parade through the streets. The bride would know in advance this was going to take place, and so she would be ready with her maidens, and they would all join the parade and end up at the bridegroom’s home. This custom is the basis of the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1–13.

The third phase was the marriage supper itself, which might go on for days, as illustrated by the wedding at Cana in John 2:1–2.

https://www.gotquestions.org/marriage-supper-Lamb.html

The Implication of John’s vision

GotQuestions.org says the following:

What John’s vision in Revelation pictures is the wedding feast of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and His bride (the Church) in its third phase. The implication is that the first two phases have already taken place. The first phase was completed on earth when each individual believer placed his or her faith in Christ as Savior. The dowry paid to the bridegroom’s parent (God the Father) would be the blood of Christ shed on the Bride’s behalf. The Church on earth today, then, is “betrothed” to Christ, and, like the wise virgins in the parable, all believers should be watching and waiting for the appearance of the Bridegroom (the rapture).

The second phase symbolizes the rapture of the Church, when Christ comes to claim His bride and take her to the Father’s house. The marriage supper then follows as the third and final step. It is our view that the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place in heaven between the rapture and the second coming (during the tribulation on earth).

https://www.gotquestions.org/marriage-supper-Lamb.html

Jesus will rejoice for His Bride

One of my favorite parts of any wedding is watching the groom’s face light up the moment his bride starts down the aisle and he sees her in all her wedding glory. Blake was no different. His whole face shown with joy and he was grinning from ear to ear. I thought about the moment that Jesus sees His bride and the joy He will express in that moment. Can you imagine what it will be like to see the Savior’s love for us on his face? Oh, how we will rejoice to see Him!

The bride has made herself ready

Revelation 19:7 tells us the the bride has made herself ready. How do we make ourselves ready for Jesus? By admitting that we are sinner, lost and bound for hell, which is the penalty for sin. We must believe that Jesus is the one and only Son of God who died in our place to pay the price for our sins. And we must confess our sins, ask Jesus to forgive us and then confess Him is our Lord and Savior.

1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In that moment, you become a child of God, a part of the church and you have made yourself ready for the Lamb and you can rejoice knowing that Jesus is getting ready for you to join Him at the marriage of the Lamb.

We can rejoice because Jesus is getting things ready

From the moment that Jesus ascended into heaven until the moment he returns for His bride, He is making preparations to receive His bride. In John 14:2, as Jesus was assuring His disciples and telling them that He would be leaving them to return to His father he said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” He’s getting ready for His bride and we can rejoice in that.

Would you marry a stranger?

If you have ever watch the TV show, “Married at First Sight,” they put together a whole wedding in less than 2 weeks and then marry someone they have never met, allowing so-called “expects” to match them and create an arranged marriage. Referred to as an “experiment,” the couples are legally married and live together for eight weeks and then decision day comes and they have to decide if they will stay married or get a divorce (A testament to how little the marriage vows mean in today’s society and how common and acceptable divorce is.” Based on the number that stay married and the number that get divorced, it doesn’t look like that these marriages based on “scientific data” is any more successful than traditional marriages.

When the show first started, they married three couples. Over time, they began matching four couples. In each marriage, you can see the stress of the brides and grooms as the moment they are to meet their spouses at the altar to exchange vows arrives. They don’t even know each other’s names until they get to the altar. They don’t know what one another looks like or their likes and dislikes, bad habits – they know nothing about one another. (Side note: I don’t advocate for such a marriage, just pointing out the added stress of marrying a total stranger.)

We’re not marrying a stranger

Thankfully, Jesus is not a stranger to His bride. We have met Him in the scriptures and He tells us everything we need to know about Him. This is why reading your Bible everyday is so important. It is there that you meet your waiting Groom and Savior. It is in the pages of scripture that we learn to rejoice in the love of our Savior. In the Bible, we learn that He loved us so much that He left the glory and splendor of Heaven to be born as a human infant to a poor, virgin girl, grew up in poverty, was rejected and despised, nailed to a cross, died and then rose again – all because of His love for us.

True Love

Our version and understanding of love is mostly based on a Hollywood created version of love – or a Disney princess Happily ever after. My son loves the movie, “The Princess Bride,” which is known for the true love between Wesley and Buttercup. A “love” that can bring Wesley back from being “mostly dead.” Hollywood would have us understand love as riding off into the sunset and heading out to life without problems. Whenever we measure our marriage based on the conceived ideas of love that Hollywood has created, we will always find our marriages lacking and we’ll choose divorce trying to find that elusive idea that Hollywood has created.

We cannot truly understand love until we personally know and experience the sacrificial love of Christ. Any other love is cheap, lust, selfish, and leaves us unhappy and wanting something different. God created us to desire and to know and love Him. Until we experience His love, we don’t truly know what love is. True love is selfless and sacrifice and Jesus sacrificed his life for us. When we understand His love, we can rejoice!

Death cannot stop true love

In the “Princess Bride” movie, Wesley says, “Death cannot stop true love, it can only delay it for a little while.” Jesus’s death did not stop his love for us – in fact, it’s why He came to earth. But neither did his death delay His love. He expresses His love to us in so many ways, each and every day. He is right now lovingly getting everything ready for the Marriage of the Lamb. And even as we wait for His coming to get his bride, He is working every thing out for our good. Take a moment to pause and acknowledge the ways He has expressed His love to you this week. Rejoice and praise Him for his unconditional love that never ends.

We’re not promised “Happily Ever After”

As the bride of Christ prepares for her groom, it’s important to remember that Jesus never promised an easy life. In fact, Paul wrote in II Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Jesus said in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation.” We can also expect times of chastisement (Hebrews 12:5-11). And sometimes, things happen in this world that we simply cannot understand. But we can trust in the promises of God that He will never leave us or forsake us or that when we walk through the fire, He is with us. Even when things happen that we don’t understand, we can know that God is working everything out for our best and He will carry us through to the other side.

Is the bride of Christ ready for his arrival?

What are we, the bride of Christ, doing to prepare for the marriage of the Lamb? Are we prepared to take our place beside Him? Have we yielded and surrendered to God so that we are ready when it is time? Are we walking by faith, obediently living for Him? Are we telling others about Him so that we bring them with us to the marriage feast? Do we know and understand His true love for us? Are we daily reading His Word so we can get to know Him and develop a relationship with Him? We don’t often hear of arranged marriages anymore. Could you imagine marrying someone that you met once at the altar of a church but never saw again? We get to know the groom as we study God’s Word, attend church, worship with other believers, and through prayer. How well do you know the groom?

What are you doing to prepare for the marriage of the Lamb? The groom is coming!

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Here’s some of our recent posts.

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
• Conversation Starters.
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
• Romance Builders.
• Relationship Builders.
• Personal reflections.
• Date ideas.
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 

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Week 3 of Advent: Rejoice

Need help?

Most of us realize that we need God’s help every moment of every day. There’s a story of a woman’s prayer that goes like this:

Dear God,
So far today, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped. I haven’t lost my temper. Nor have I have been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed…and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot more help. Amen” 

Happy is the one whose help is the Lord his God

Could you imagine trying to live this life without God’s help? In reality, many of us have tried it and most often it ends in disaster. David knew first hand what it was like to rely on God for help and what it was like to receive help from God. In Psalm 146:5-10, he says:

Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever, executing justice for the exploited and giving food to the hungry. The Lord frees prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises up those who are oppressed. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects foreigners and helps the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reins forever; Zion, your God reigns for all generations. Hallelujah!

I did it my way means rejecting God’s help to do it His way

Frank Sinatra’s popular song says:

And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Unfortunately, when we do life “my way” what we are really doing is rejecting God’s help to live life His way and we usually end up messing things up – big time. Look at this list of people from the Bible that tried to live life their way and the disastrous way the events played out.

8 times people chose “my way” over God’s way:

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate the tree they were not supposed to. Result: kicked out of the Garden of Eden, Adam now works for his food, Eve will bare children in sorrow and pain, death entered the scene, and all of humanity are now born in sin.

Abraham and Sarah

God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. They got tired of waiting for God to deliver on His promise and Sarah tells Abraham to marry her maid and have a child by her – and he does. The result is a jealousy between the two women and their sons that stirs up trouble even into today’s time since Isaac (the son of the promise) is the race we know today as the Jews, while Ishmael, the son of Sarah’s maid, is believed to be the Muslims.

Moses

Although called by God to lead the Israelite nation out of Egypt, Moses tries to do it his way and kills an Egyptian. When Pharaoh hears of it, Moses has to run for his life. He does come back later – in God’s timing and God’s way – to bring the nation out of Egypt. Proof that God can still use us when we mess things up!

Tamar

Tamar left her family at a young age to marry into the family of Judah. In these times, a woman’s value was determined by her offspring, but she was unable to conceive with her first husband, Er. When a husband died and left his wife without children, she was married to the brother who would give her a child in her deceased husband’s name to keep his line of the family going, so Tamar married Er’s brother, Onan. Onan refused to conceive with Tamar, so God punished him and he also died. By law, Tamar then married a third brother, and was still did not conceive.

Faced with the fear of being childless and destitute, she set out for justice. Dressed as a prostitute, she coerced her father-in-law, Judah, to have sex with her and she bore twin sons. While her actions were unethical and she almost lost her life for it, one of the sons was the ancestor of King David—a direct lineage to Christ.

David

David is called “a man after God’s heart” yet David has a moment of “WHOOPS!” as he gazes out a palace window and sees a woman bathing. Now David’s army was out fighting a battle, so why was David in the palace? Also, why was a woman bathing on a rooftop where everyone could see her? The woman’s husband is out fighting that battle so she is left home alone. As a result, David lusts for her, has her brought to the palace, and sleeps with her. She becomes pregnant.

He tries everything he can think of, including bringing the woman’s husband home thinking he will sleep with his wife and then think the child his wife is carrying is his. But the man is honorable and refuses to find pleasure in his wife when all his battle buddies will not get to see their wives. David ends up sending him back to the battle and has him placed on the front line, essentially signing his death sentence. He as guilty of both adultery and murder. As a result, the son that Bathsheeba bares to him becomes ill and dies.

Jonah

God told Jonah to preach to the city called Nineveh. Jonah ran from the assignment, trying to hide from God. He jumped on a ship but when the ship got out to sea, a storm came up that results in Jonah being thrown overboard, swallowed by a big fish were he stays for three days before he repents and God causes the fish to “throw up” Jonah. In the end, Jonah does what God wanted him to.

Simon Peter

Jesus even gives Peter a “heads up” and Peter still messes up. Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed Peter would deny Jesus three times. Peter arrogantly claims he would never deny Jesus, but when Jesus was arrested, Peter does exactly what Jesus said he would. However, this is also the disciple that Jesus said “Upon this rock, I will build my church.” Peter would go on to be very influential in the spread of the gospel and bringing many people to salvation.

Paul

Before his conversion to Christianity, Paul was called Saul and he was a very zealous Jew with Roman citizenship and he persecuted the Christians. In fact, we find him present in the story where Stephen is stoned to death. But then he meets Jesus on the Damascus Road and Saul becomes a changed man with a changed name. Whenever we encounter Jesus, it is impossible to be the same.

Doing it “my way” often leads to sorrow and regret

Each time one of these people stepped out of God’s best for them, they ended up with sorrow and regret. Doing life our way is much like trying to sail a ship on dry land. It just doesn’t work. Can you think of time in your own life when you knew God wanted you to do one thing, but you chose to do something different? How did that turn out for you?

When we depend on God, we can rejoice even in bad times

When we depend on God for help, we can be happy and rejoice. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who give me strength and power.” How can we be happy, even when life tosses us some bad circumstances? Psalm 146:5-10 tells us there are 10 things we can remember for those times when we need God’s help.

1. Remember that our hope is in the Lord

Not in yourself. If you depend on yourself, you’ll fail miserably – every time.

2. Remember the Lord is the maker of heaven and earth

If He can make our world out of nothing more than the spoken word, then he can most certainly make something beautiful out of your circumstances.

3. Remember He is Faithful

If you feel like someone has wronged you and there is nothing you can do to right it, then know that our Savior will execute justice for the exploited and he will give food to those who are hungry.

4. Remember He frees prisoners

Remember that He frees prisoners. You may not be behind some iron bars, but most of us are prisoner to something. Perhaps it is addiction to drugs or alcohol. Maybe your “prison” is cussing. Maybe it’s something that happened in your past. Or maybe its a health issue. Maybe it’s a worldly influence from a friend that has caught you up into believing something is ok when God says it isn’t. Maybe it’s food that has resulted in excessive weight or you’ve developed an eating disorder.

Whatever keeps you locked up – a silent Christian – that’s your prison and if you want to be freed, then look to the Lord.

5. Remember He opens the eyes of the blind

There is a true blindness where one cannot see. However, more of us probably struggle more with blindness than a person who is truly blind. Sometimes we see just what we want or expect to see and we never slow down to see things from God’s perspective. But if we ask God to give us eyes to see situations they way He does, You might just find your eyes being opened.

6. Remember He raises up the oppressed

When we think of oppression, we think of human slavery. But you can also be oppressed by certain sins or by the lies that Satan feeds into your subconscious that will keep you from living a victorious life in Christ. Satan loves to put chains on you so that you do not grow and mature as a Christian. So if you feel as if a certain sin is weighing you down – it probably is. Ask Jesus to raise you up out of your oppression.

7. Remember the Lord loves the righteous

But Wait! Romans 3:10 says there is no one righteous. So does the Lord not love us? Of course He loves us – enough to die for us. Righteousness is the perfect holiness of Christ. It is an essential attribute to the character of God; quite literally meaning “One who is right”. Think of it as the polar opposite of sin. To commit sin is to go against God’s design for our lives, therefore righteousness is the only living standard that is acceptable for us to stand before the Father.

All of us are born into complete bondage to sin, unable to produce any sort of righteousness on our own (Romans 3:9-12). Therefore, if we are to be righteous, we must repent of our sin and be washed in the blood of Jesus. I am completely incapable of changing my own heart. Only He can do that. When we stop trying to produce righteousness and begin to simply trust in the Holy Spirit to change our hearts, He will make us righteous.

8. Remember the Lord protect foreigners, the fatherless, and the widow

These are always the most vulnerable of people and they have protection from God. Deuteronomy 10:18 says, “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.” We have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus when we care for these vulnerable people. James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

9. Remember the the Lord frustrates the ways of the wicked

If someone has done you wrong, we can let it go and know that vengeance belongs to God and he will repay it. We don’t have to carry it around, allowing it to weight us down or to make us bitter and angry people.

10. Remember that the Lord reigns forever!

He is always in control. Even in an election year. Even through a pandemic. He is on the throne and in control. He promises us that He will work all things out for our good when we love Him and are called by His name.

Jesus is our hope and our help

We may not be able to understand why something happened. We might be overwhelmed by the current circumstances we are in. But when we remember the the Lord is our hope, our Maker, he is faithful, he sets us free, he opens our eyes, raises up the oppressed, loves the righteous, protects us, frustrates the wicked, and that he reins forever, then we can find joy in even the worst of circumstances. If we are not able to find joy, than we are focusing on the circumstance instead of fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Finding joy in difficult circumstances doesn’t mean you won’t feel sorrow or grief, hurt, disappointment, confusion, anger or any other emotion. But when we fix our eyes on Jesus and turn to Him for our help, He will give us the strength to endure the trial and He will walk with us as we go through it. I would much rather go through a trial with the Maker of heaven and earth who loves me enough to pay my sin debt than to attempt to go through difficult circumstances on my own.

If you’re in a difficult moment, go back through these verse and for each of the ten items see if you can find the Lord in your circumstances.

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What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
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