Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner Does God Really Love Me?

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner

Does God Really Love Me?

If you do not understand God’s love for you, it will be difficult to grow in relationship with Him and others. Oftentimes, the way we view our parents is how we view God. If we were abandoned by our parents, abused by them, or rejected by them; this will cause us to believe God is the same way. We can attend church for years and never know the Father’s love.

Perhaps you were raised in a home that taught legalistic religion, basically this means doing good works and following rules verses having a personal relationship with Christ. We especially view God the way our earthly fathers were with us. If we were ruled with an “iron-fist” or shown no grace and mercy by our fathers, we can easily believe God will do the same with us.

God’s love is not the same as human love.

You may feel not good enough to receive God’s love. In your mind, you have sinned too much or done too much for God to embrace you. Maybe you struggle with believing that God cares about what happens to you, and you are being punished somehow for your past mistakes.

Believing that God loves you is not necessarily a feeling but a choice. A choice to believe what God says about you, not what others have said or done to you. Forgive your parents or caretakers if they did not represent God to you in a loving way, it could be that they were not shown how too. God loves you right where you are at, and He is ever working on you. God is not waiting for you to change until you can accept His love or even receive Salvation.

Believe what the Word of God says about His love:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved…Ephesians 2:4-5

But you, O Lord, are merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15

Don’t let the enemy lie to you by telling you that because bad things have happened to you, or that God has not answered your prayers that He does not love you. You may wonder, “where was God when I was being abused”, or “ how can He love me if all these horrific things occurred?” I have wrestled with these questions before, but I realize now that we live in a fallen world and sometimes tragedy happens.

Does God care about the suffering that you have gone through? Yes! This can be hard to digest if you have been severely wounded in life. The people who were supposed to love and protect you, were the ones who hurt you the most. God never wanted this type of pain to happen to you. Take some time to reflect on God’s love is not like human love. God never gives up on us, He gave His life for us so we could live in eternity, and has great mercy towards us. God’s love is unconditional and He will never abandon nor forsake us.

God wants you to know today that He sees you and that HE LOVES YOU!

What experiences have kept you from receiving God’s love?

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner Have you lost your hope?

One definition of hope is a feeling that something good will happen or be true.

Christian hope is different than the world’s hope. Christian hope rests on having confidence that something will come to pass because God has promised it to come to pass. Perhaps what God has promised you years ago has caused you to give up that promise will ever come to pass. Whatever God speaks to you as a promise and you can confirm the promise in the Word of God, than it shall surely come to pass. Having hope comes with faith. When it seems like what God has promised you is not coming to pass, having faith that God is faithful and will fulfill His promises to you will increase your hope.

A lack of hope leads to depression. An antidote for depression is hope, but not hope in just anything, the hope found in Jesus Christ.

Hope is an essential and fundamental element in the Christian life. Jesus is the reason for our hope, not placing our hope in what we can get from life or others. While hoping for things is not wrong, it can misplaced if we put all hope in the things we want and not in Jesus.

For in hope we have been saved, but the hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:24-25

Hope is synonymous with salvation and blessings that are promised in scripture. Christian Hope is the confident expectation and surety that what God has promised in the Word is true, has occurred, or will happen in the future. If we put our hope in anything other than the Lord we will be disappointed.

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is in Him. Psalm 62:5

The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes. Proverbs 10:28

Hope is not a feeling or an emotion. Christian hope is different from the world, it is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). This means having a hope that is not moved by circumstances or what is seen.

Sometimes, we place our hope in everything but Jesus. We may have desires and wants that are unfulfilled, and we lose our hope. If you have experienced one heartache or trial after another, it may be difficult to have hope. We have all heard the scripture,” hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12. When dreams do not come to pass, depression can easily slip in. God’s time table is not ours, and our expectations of how we think He should fulfill our desires can make us have “heart sickness.” We can actually make things worse by holding on tightly to how we perceive things in our lives SHOULD turn out.

What if God has a better plan for our lives but we are not even willing to entertain anything but what we want?

There was a time in my life I felt my heart was truly sick from waiting on my prayers to be answered. Maybe you have been praying for a prodigal child, a spouse, salvation for your family, or healing, and you have lost hope. What if God has a plan that He is working on that you are not able to see, and perhaps it may look a little different than your expectations? I believe God’s plans are better than our plans.

We must learn to wait patiently on the Lord, and trust His ways.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25

Keep hope alive by believing in God’s promises not your circumstances.

The hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2, 3:7).

Hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8, Romans 8:24-25).

Hope laid up in heaven (Colossians 1:5).

Hope for the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).

The hope of the Gospel and the fulfillment of the promises in the Bible (Colossians 1:23).

The hope of His calling (Ephesians 1:18, 4:4).

Jesus our hope. (1 Timothy 1:1).

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we have hope for the resurrection (1 Peter 1:3, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20).

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner Where Has Your Focus Been Lately?

When we are taking pictures and are adjusting the camera lense, at first what is seen in the camera lense may be blurry until we can adjust the lense to come into focus. Just like the camera lense, we too can lose our focus and everything around us becomes blurry.

A definition of focus is the center of interest or activity. What has been your focus lately? Has it been Jesus or everything else? The plan of the enemy is to keep us distracted so we lose our focus on Christ.

Ways we lose our focus:

1.      Take our eyes off Jesus and onto our problems and circumstances.

2.      Agreeing with what the enemy shows or tells us.

3.      Getting overwhelmed by someone else’s problems or issues.

4.      Trying to follow the crowd and what everyone else is doing.

5.      Carrying burdens that are way too heavy for us to carry.

6.      Comparing ourselves to others.

7.      Pleasing man instead of God.

8.      Being too busy-with work, with church, or other activities.

A little acronym to help you remember to FOCUS:

Filter out all distractions.

Obtain victory through taking every thought captive.

Connect to God daily.

Utilize your time better; instead of worrying-pray.

Surrender all your fears, anxieties, and worries to Jesus.

When we lose our focus, we lose our perspective.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…Hebrews 12:2

The Christian life involves hard work; it requires us to give up whatever endangers our relationship with God. To live effectively as Christians, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. We will stumble if we look away from Him and stare at our circumstances.

It takes discipline to focus on Jesus and not the turmoil around us. Focusing on our troubles will only divert you away from Jesus.

As Jesus becomes the center of our lives, worry, fear and depression will dissipate and will be replaced with joy, peace, and confidence.  

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner Progress Not Perfection

A definition of progress is to move forward or onward. A definition of perfection is a condition, state or quality being free from all flaws or defects.

Making progress in your life does not equal perfection! Making progress means moving forward step by step, day by day, and never giving up.

As you move forward you will experience bumps and a few set-backs, this is to be expected. When the bumps come, learn from them and keep moving onward. Don’t get stuck by dwelling on what you did wrong-you will never be perfect and will make from time to time mistakes. Learn quickly from your mistakes, repent if you need to, and then get back up.

List some short and long-term goals you would like to achieve, and then break them into categories for professional, physical, relational, spiritual, personal, and financial. Everyday move towards your goals. If you have a stumbling block to your goals one day, don’t beat yourself up and want to quit; try again. Remember you want progress not perfection.

What do you want your life to look like? Write out what you want to achieve (your goals), and ask for the Holy Spirit to help you. You won’t be able to change on your own, you can try but true change comes when the Holy Spirit leads and transforms you to the image and likeness of Christ. Miracles of transformation can happen instantly, but usually the Holy Spirit transforms you one step at a time or one area in your life at a time. I wanted God to change me instantly, but He has desired to transform me a little at a time. I wanted perfection by being changed instantly and God wanted Christ-like transformation. I believe when you have to go through the process of transformation, you can be better equipped for ministry.

The key to remember is to not get stuck on expecting yourself to be perfect with every lesson that God may bring to you, or even with mistakes that you will make along the journey.

 Getting unstuck and making progress means letting go of what others think of you. Letting go of other’s opinions about you will move you forward. People know your name but rarely do they know your story. Making progress means letting go of the past, including past failures. You can never move forward while holding onto your past.

Keep moving forward. Don’t look back at your past. Everyday get up and move towards a better you, and if you mess-up, shake it off and continue to make progress.

Moving on doesn’t mean you forget about things. It just means you have accepted what happened and continue living. SayingImages.com

Stop focusing on what happened and start focusing on what’s going to move you forward. Possibilityoftoday.com

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner:

In God’s Presence There is Peace, Safety, Guidance, Joy, and Love.

  

Are you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, lacking in peace and joy, frustrated or even worried? Are you involved in various church activities, functions and attendance but don’t feel refreshed? Maybe it’s time to step away from the busyness of life and step into His presence. People may not understand, and they may try and sway you to do things. There is refreshment and restoration in His presence. Sometimes we need to say “No” to things and people, even if they are good things. Life will keep you busy.

You should get into a quiet place and get rid of all distractions like electronic devices.

If we stay so busy we can have trouble hearing from God and what He wants for us. We can become easily distracted and lose focus. Our strength comes from the Lord. If we feel weak and worn-out, we may need to step away and go to the throne.

When you come into His presence He will lighten your load, and will speak truth about your situations. There is no other place to “fill up” like this. We try and bring comfort to ourselves with food, TV, staying busy with activities, electronics, and for some it can be sex, alcohol, and drugs. But there is no replacement for God’s Holy presence.

What can you do in His presence?

You can sing and worship with praise music.

You can read the Bible and selected scriptures to meditate on.

Be sill and listen for His voice.

Cry, rejoice, and talk to God as if He is your best friend.

Journal what God speaks or impresses to you.

There is no formula to being in His presence. You can do a mixture of things or just one thing, and each time you spend with God can be different. Don’t be set on spending time with God in a certain way. Let the Holy Spirit guide you to what He wants you to do.

Anyone need refreshment, restoration, and guidance? If yes, plug into the source, the presence of the Holy Spirit. After being in His presence you will feel refreshed and renewed and in His presence there is no fear, worry, anxiety, stress, and frustration. Step away, carve out time, and say, “No” to things/activities that would pull you away from this time. Everyone needs this, not just pastors and leaders but every Christian who is fighting in this spiritual battle needs to be in His presence. Every Christian also needs this for God to direct and guide their steps, plans, and pour out His anointing on what He has called you to do. In His presence you can receive an outpouring of grace, mercy, joy and peace, and every believer needs this.

You will show me the path of life. In your PRESENCE is fullness of joy;

As your right hand are pleasures fovermore.

Psalm 16:11

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner Be Still to Hear God’s Voice

You will have difficulty hearing God’s voice if you are busy with one activity after another, or you are addicted to your electronic devices. It is important to get quiet before the Lord, and tune-out all distractions. This means turning off your cell phone or putting it away, turning off the TV an iPad and other electronics.

There are many things that compete for our time and attention, and numerous distractions pop-up unexpectedly. Learning to carve out regular time alone with God to hear His still, small voice is important in maintaining your peace, gaining wisdom and direction from the Lord for your daily life. For most people, having time with God first thing in the morning will help you throughout your day. If you have been feeling stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, or fearful, ask yourself, “Have I pulled away to be alone with The Father?” Things will come up in your life to compete for your time and attention even that will seem like a “good thing.” However, not everything that is asked of us or that comes our way is a good thing for us that is why we have to have time with the Lord so we can hear His direction.

A lot of people end-up living frazzled lives because they just do whatever comes in their path.

There will never be anything more important than daily time being still before the Lord.

I know this is a foreign concept in our western culture to be still, but too many people are not taking this valuable time and are enduring high levels of stress. We must learn to step away daily to connect with the Father. He has guidance and direction that He wants to bestow upon us, but we must receive that impartation daily, and not try and “store it up.” Our daily “manna” is given to us daily, not weekly or monthly. We must not put anything else before our relationship with God, and a relationship can only happen when you spend time together. God must first be on our schedules of priorities.

When we are still before God He will speak to us through His Word, through nature, through our spirit, through writing and journaling, and through worship. He can also speak to us through a combination of these things. Check your schedule and see what you can cut back, such as Face book, Pinterest, TV, iPad, and carve out time for God. Put God first in your life. It is okay to say, “No” to the demands of others, to shut your cell phone off temporary, not answer your emails and face book.

It is okay not to follow the crowd, and instead follow Jesus and sit at His feet.

In God’s presence you will find peace and rest. 

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner How to Accept Your Life Just the Way It Is

Have you ever told yourself, “Life is not fair?” Have you struggled with the reality of the way your life has turned out? Did you have different dreams and hopes for your life?

One of the best ways to deal with the unfairness of life is acceptance-accepting that this is how things are and how you can find ways around it to thrive better. You have to learn how to navigate your life differently. If what you are doing is not working, such as, hoping and wishing things were different in your life; you need to change the direction in your thinking and responses to these adverse events in your life. Acceptance may seem harsh, but living in the cycle of continual dashed hopes is exhausting. Your life plan will not look like everyone else’s life plan. Stop comparing what other people have and you don’t.

Living in a continually state of surrender, and letting go of control can be a challenge; especially if life has not quite worked out the way you thought it would. You can try and control your environment, other people, but you will end-up frustrated. Letting go of things that are out of your control is a key step to acceptance.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Marin Luther King, Jr.

Focus on you. It is not your job to fix everyone else’s drama. Accept the fact that some people may not want to change, and you have to accept this reality. You may need to accept that some people are not good for you, and learn to release them fully into God’s care.

Learning to let go of things that are not in your best interest can ease stress and lift your mood. Trying to change people or continually trying to fix them, will cause you to live in a state on continually unrest.

When you begin to ACCEPT your life as it is there will be benefits. Does this mean you should stop praying, believing, and hoping? Absolutely not! However, you may need to step into the reality of how things are right now, but always keep the door of hope open. If you are living in a state of looking at others’ lives wanting what they have, or wanting a different life; then you are in jeopardy of discontentment. Acceptance of your lot in life can bring less stress, you will be able to let go of past trauma, your mood will improve, your sleep will be better, you will be more content, depression will decrease or maybe even completely lift, and you will feel more control over your life.

When you have things in your life that linger or that bother you daily, it is time for a change. Many people linger on about things that are out of their control, this can bring stress, depression, and anxiety. Learning to count your blessings every day is a start to accepting your life. In other words, what is right in your life? REFOCUS. Instead of reflecting on what you do not have, start choosing to see what you do have. Keep your mind off the situations in your life that cause you the most depression and anxiety. Instead cast your cares on God (1 Peter 5:7). Cast your cares, and then go do something else, don’t stew over them over and over.

Not that I am speaking in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Philippians 4:11

And He said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15

What are some things that you may need to let go of?

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner How to Walk in Peace among the Enemies Distractions

I like peace, I like quiet and I like order. What happens when distractions bombarded you to steal your peace? Do you react in anger or annoyance or do you remain in peace? If we are honest, a majority of the time we react in anger or frustration to a disruption in our plans or when the enemy plays havoc with our peace. Distractions can come from people, situations, or circumstances.

Do you know what steals your peace? I do! I have found when I react to the peace stealers, it makes matters worse. I am a Christian who loves Jesus and truly desires to follow Him, but there are times that if you cross my path the wrong way, you wish you had not! The enemy knows our blue prints, he has studied us to see how we react when he brings in distractions and annoyances. If you blow up when the vacuum cleaner breaks or you get “ghetto” on your neighbors who know how to work your last nerve, then the enemy takes note and brings something similar again and again to us knowing we will take the bait.

We must die to the flesh when the distractions come barreling against us. My first reaction to a distraction or an annoyance is to get frustrated, and eventually I lose my peace. We all feel we have rights and when those rights are violated, we can get disturbed.

 A definition of distraction is an unhealthy attraction that breaks your focus and hinders you. Why do you think the enemy is trying to distract you?

How to walk in peace among the enemies distractions:

1.      If you are dealing with people who are being used by the enemy to cause trouble, meditate on this promise: When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs 1:7. God does not promise freedom from enemies, but He promises that when we do have them He will make our enemies be at peace with us.

2.      Have the posture of rest and faith until God makes your enemies your footstool. The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Psalm 110:1-2. Be at rest not focused on the problems. Our job is to believe before we receive the help from God that He will take care of our enemies-we must rest in the promises that God will take care of all that concerns us. When we rest, He works! When we strive and react, God slows down a bit waiting for us to trust and rest. God did not say, “Wait until all of your enemies have been destroyed and every problem in your life has been resolved, then you can rest.” God wants us to rest first and then He will make your enemies a footstool.

3.      Psalm 23:5 says that God prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies, not the absence. You eat in the presence of your enemies, and God will take care of your enemies. Our job is not to react to our enemies and become like them, but to remain in peace that we sit at the table prepared for us by Jesus in the presence of our enemies! Don’t war with your enemies, simply remain in peace and allow Jesus to take over.

4.      Don’t take revenge or escalate the problems concerning those who have offended or angered you. Seek peace. Seeking peace over revenge may hurt your flesh, but the enemy will lose ground when you obey Jesus. Learn to forgive offenders, and those who repeatedly do things to upset you. Some people are like sandpaper to us, they just rub and rub us raw. Take the higher ground, and let no one steal your peace or control you.

5.      When the distractions are not coming from a person but through circumstances such as when several appliances stop working in the same day or week. Yes, there are times that appliances stop working and vehicles need repair but the enemy can also cause some of these problems. Ask the Holy Spirit if what you are experiencing is just normal break-downs or if you need to take authority over the enemy and your possessions. Either way, keep your FOCUS on the Lord and ask for His swift intervention. Then rest, knowing He will take care of what has been broken. If you lose focus over the situation, it is a demonic distraction. Demonic distractions will also cause you to lose time because you become focused on fixing the distraction.

Distractions are one of the easiest and greatest tricks of the enemy. Until you pinpoint what is distracting you, the enemy will use that same scheme over and over again.

No matter what distractions come your way, when you remain in peace and in rest, anything the enemy would try and throw your way will be stopped.

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner 10 Ways to Becoming a More Disciplined Person

What areas do you need to be more disciplined in? Exercise, eating right, your thoughts, finances, or perhaps reading the Bible and praying.

Discipline requires practice and repetition.

It is not wise to believe that you can get disciplined in an area of your life in a few short weeks. New habits can be formed and old patterns of behavior can be broken with discipline. Is it hard, is it work? Yes, but you can do it!

 I started training to be a runner about 2 years ago. I will never forget the first several weeks and even months. I had to train myself to get up early in the morning, as well as prepare myself before each run with stretching. I first started with a goal. I was going to run the 3 mile bridge close to where I live. Now this was a bit of a challenge being that I never ran before, however, I had made my mind up; I was going to learn how to run. The bridge that I wanted to run is also a draw bridge with a steep incline in the middle where the bridge is open to allow boats to pass through safely. I tried for 3 months to run over that draw bridge, but between the aches and pains in my legs and all the huffing and puffing that I was doing; I just could not complete the bridge. I decided to be realistic with my goal and to set a more realistic time frame for being able to finish the bridge. I made my goals smaller and more manageable.

I eventually accomplished the large goal of completely running over the entire bridge. After several months I finally made it over! Then I was set for my next goal to make running a weekly discipline, and to even enjoy it!

When I first started running I hurt my foot and I was not able to run for 2 weeks. I got very discouraged, but I had remembered that I already set my mind that I would exercise. I had to revamp my schedule of doing things because I could no longer run on my painful foot. When things do not work out the way you had planned, do not give up! I brain stormed some other ways I could still exercise without reinjuring my foot. I began to incorporate other forms of training such as biking, swimming, and walking.

When you begin to be more disciplined in whatever areas in your life, you will have some challenges and setbacks along the way. The key is to persevere.

10 Ways to becoming more disciplined in an area:

1.      Set a goal for yourself. What do you want to improve? Ask the Lord for His help.

2.      Set your mind ahead of time that you will follow through even with setbacks and challenges.

3.      Have a support system for encouragement for those times that you may get discouraged.

4.      Set small, realistic goals after setting your large overall goal.

5.      Remove temptations. If you are trying to eat healthier, replace chips and cookies with healthier snacks.

6.      Do not wait until you “feel” like improving in an area. It will feel uncomfortable and awkward, but move past the feelings.

7.      Make sure to reward yourself when you are completing your short goals.

8.      You will have ups and downs, failures and success when changing, but keep going and become determined that you will succeed. You will have “off days,” but do not let that stop you.

9.      Try to have a consistent routine, this is particularly important if you are beginning an exercise program.

10.  Have a free day. You should have one day where you are not focused on your goal. This is the time to sit back and enjoy your progress.

The best quality to have when disciplining yourself to change is to be determined. Determination is a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult.

Do you know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things…But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection…1 Corinthians 9: 24-23 & 27

As the Apostle Paul discussed that we have to train like an athlete for our spiritual disciplines such as prayer, and reading the Bible. The most important discipline we can have is spiritual discipline, making the time for Jesus first. Before I run, I “run” to the Father. He comes first.

Word of Encouragement: Counselor's Corner: 12 Keys to a Healthy, Godly Marriage

Many of you may be like me, and did not have proper role models growing up for marriage. When I got married, I brought a lot of “baggage” into the relationship. I had absolutely no idea how to have a healthy, Godly marriage, but it is amazing how the Lord has instructed me. No matter what your relationship has gone through, there is hope. That hope only comes through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

Listed below are 12 keys to a healthy, Godly marriage:

1)      Put God first. Having a right relationship with your spouse, starts with having a right relationship with God. Ecclesiastes 4:12

2)      Pray together daily. Let your spouse hear your prayers for them. Pray over your spouse throughout the day. Psalm 145:18

3)      Read the Bible together, and discuss what you received from your time of reading God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

4)      Fight fair. Things that should be off limits in disagreements: Name calling, hitting, pushing, throwing things, yelling, and belittling. 1 Peter 4:8; Ephesians 4:2-3

5)      Seek to build your spouse by encouragement. Wives, be your husband’s greatest cheerleader and husbands, be careful of being overly critical. Proverbs 21:9; Colossians 3:18-19

6)      Be respectful, gentle, and patient of each other. You are both different people with different needs and desires. Do not try and change the other to conform to what you would want them to be. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

7)      Laugh together and learn to have fun as a couple. Find out what you both enjoy and do it! Have regular date nights, a minimum of 2x per month. Proverbs 17:22

8)      Be faithful to one another at all times, that means keeping pure in the areas of what you watch on TV, movies, and on the computer. This includes pornography, social media, texting or speaking on the phone with opposite sex, meeting the opposite sex alone for lunch/dinner (even for business), and flirting. A good rule to follow is if you could not do it in front of your spouse, then you probably should not be doing it. Hebrews 13:4-5

9)      Have a healthy sex life, having sex at least 2x per week. Enjoy each other and keep all intimacy dedicated just to your spouse. Carve out this time, put it on the schedule if you have to; but do not neglect this very important time of bonding and connecting with your spouse. (If there has been issues with adultery, pornography, or past sexual abuse, realize you will have to go through a healing process first). Hebrews 13:4; Proverbs 5:15-9

10)  Wives, submit to your husbands (this should not be abusive in anyway, but mutual!). Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Peter 3:1-11

11)  Leave your family of origin and cleave to your spouse. This implies becoming one flesh with your spouse. Matthew 19:4-6

12)  Never use the “D” word, divorce. Mathew 19:2-9

God’s desire is for you to have a healthy marriage that places Him at the center. Do not despair if you are not in a good place in your marriage, God can redeem what seems to be dead and lifeless, perhaps, instead of trying to change your spouse; allow God to change you!

What are some of the lessons God has taught you in how to have a healthy, Godly marriage? Please share, your input is valuable to others. Thank you and may the Lord richly bless your marriage.

Daily Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner: What are the blessings of Abraham?

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s decedents, and spiritual heirs according to God’s promises. Galatians 3:29

Anyone can be a child or decedent of Abraham and inherit the blessings promised to Abraham’s children, if you live by faith. Abraham believed God and trusted by faith that what God said He would do, He would do! The promises to Abraham was also made by God to Isaac and Jacob.

Even though Abraham’s entire household was dedicated to worshiping idols and false gods, when God spoke to Abraham, he obeyed! Obedience to God is a key to His blessings. Abraham believed God that he was going to make him into a great nation even though he was old and his wife was barren. Abraham believed despite what he could not see or even comprehend with his mind, but he had faith God would fulfill all the promises He gave to him.

God rewarded Abraham’s faith by giving him a long life, and great prosperity (including being one of the wealthiest men of his time). God also promised to curse Abraham’s enemies. God took care of all of who concerned Abraham.

Walking in the blessings of Abraham include obedience and faith. When we walk in obedience to God and by faith we can experience long life, prosperity, success, good health, a blessing to others, and a protection from our enemies.

Walking in God’s blessings is not without challenges!

When God told Abraham, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing,” (Genesis 12:2). Abraham could not imagine how this was going to happen.

What has God promised you, but because of time or it just seems impossible, you can’t imagine God fulfilling the promises He gave you?  Before Isaac was born, God showed Abraham the stars of the sky and promised his offspring would be just as countless (Genesis 15:5).Abraham knew what God showed him was impossible in human terms, with his old age and Sarah barrenness. AGAINEST ALL HOPE, Abraham in HOPE BELIEVED and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him.

Abraham’s kind of faith is the key to walking in God’s blessings!

For those blessings to manifest in our lives, our faith should remain steady (even when it seems impossible) or because of what we see in the physical realm. “For we live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). What we believe must be in God’s promises not in the circumstances that appear to be going contrary to God’s promises.

Living in faith, calls for action! In Genesis 12, when God spoke to Abraham, he just did not believe he acted on what God promised.

Many times our blessings for health and prosperity is blocked by our words of unbelief. Watch out for faithless speech! Such speech is self-sabotaging and will delay our blessings.