Let The Faithful Correct Me

I was getting ready to print individual pages of a document and when typing in which numbered pages I wanted printed, I accidentally typed a letter instead of a number. A warning popped up which said, "Unacceptable character." It caught me off guard at first because I didn't know what I had done to get the warning, but then I chuckled when I thought how interesting it would be if that popped up when our personality flaws reared their ugly heads. You know, when we say that cuss word we shouldn't have. When we gossip. When we're jealous. When we selfishly put ourselves before others. When we lie. When we have a short fuse. When we're impatient. The list goes on. During those moments, we could hear a whisper in our ear: "Unacceptable character."

The things is, we know what unacceptable character is. God tells us what the acceptable character traits are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, generosity and self-control. Those are the fruits of the Spirit as explained by Paul in Galatians 5:22. But sometimes those unacceptable things slip out before we think. In Psalm 141:3 it says, "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not turn my heart to any evil." And later in that Psalm in verse 5, "Let the faithful correct me." So if you have a brother or sister in Christ offering you counsel, lean in, listen, repent and implement.

Set yourself to a higher standard. We are God's children and therefore should behave as such. It's better if we catch ourselves and change before others do the intervening. And the best way to stay on top of that is to be in the Word. Be in prayer. Examine our ways against the ways of Christ. The only way you know what Godly behavior is if you read what God says it is. 

Be especially cautious to be of good character with your betrothed. Often we take advantage of that relationship, and they don't deserve it. Don't they deserve the very best part of you? So be sure your character reflects the Lord of love.

Discussion: What are some character traits you need to work on? What would help prevent you from slipping into bad character habits?

Prayer: Lord God, you showed us through your son Jesus how we are to behave. We pray, Father, that we imitate Him and show people through our behavior that we belong to you. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

No Question

I have a Christian fish on my car. And a Bible verse (Deut. 6:5). And a cross hanging from my rearview mirror. And a bumper sticker of The River, Christian radio station. And a decal that says He>i. When you see my car, you should have no question the driver is a Christian.

There is a cross hanging outside our home. There are crosses all over the inside and Bibles in just about every room. There are Bible verses hanging on the walls and oftentimes Christian music playing in the stereo. When you come into our home, you should have no question Christians live here.

This should be the same case when you meet us ... you should have no question when watching us and speaking to us that we are Christians. We want it to be obvious. If someone accuses us of being Christian, we hope there will be plenty of evidence. And not just "Oh, she wears a cross necklace" or "They go to church every Sunday" or "I've caught him reading her Bible." We would prefer people catch us in the act of being a Christian. Loving someone, serving others, letting our speech reflect our faith.

We are living in a culture perpetually pulling us away from what God has called us to be ... reflecting those Fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as found in Galatians 5:22-23. Are you loving? Are you peaceful? Are you generous? Are you kind? Are you joyful? Are you patient? Are you faithful? Do you have self-control? Are you gentle? There may be one or more of those that you will say "no" to ... well, then, work on it.

We will have countless opportunities within our marriages and in our daily life to blow it. To not be godly. To not reflect Christ. We need to reach beyond our human failings and strive to be what God expects of us. We need to catch our minds when they traverse into spiritually unhealthy areas. We need to stop ourselves before we respond in unrighteous anger. We need to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). Stop inappropriate responses and words from leaving your lips. Quash feelings of jealousy. Forgive over and over again. Love our enemies and pray for them. Care for the poor and sick. Visit the lonely. Love, love, love, love, love.

It doesn't matter what you stick on your car, hang in your house or wear on your body. What matters is what people see in you. The old hymn says, And they'll know are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love." Let there be no question.

Discussion: What evidence can people give to prove you are a Christian? Which of the Fruits of the Spirit do you need a little work on?

Prayer: Father, let not just our outward appearance, but also our inward heart be an advertisement of Your great love. Father, every day is a challenge. Help us remember to take our thoughts captive to You, praise and glorify You. In Jesus, Amen.

Acknowledge The Lord

We titled this blog "Betrothed In Faithfulness" based on a verse in Hosea, and if you know anything at all about Hosea, you know he was definitely faithful. He was faithful to his wife and more importantly he was faithful to God. God asked Hosea to marry a prostitute and on top of that, a prostitute who would be unfaithful to him. Hosea's life imitated the relationship between God and the Israelites, who for years were not faithful in their worship of Him. Like God who continued to woo and win his people, Hosea does the same with his wife, Gomer. Hosea was faithful to God through it all, just as God has been faithful to those who love Him.

Faithfulness is key in a successful marriage. Faithfulness to God and His laws and faithfulness to one another. Without either, the marriage will truly struggle and perhaps collapse.

To keep faithfulness to God, regular time in Scripture reading, time in church and in prayer are all ways to keep God at the forefront of your life. Know what He requires and adhere to it. Remember Potiphar's wife, in the book of Genesis, pursuing Joseph? She tempted him daily. His response to her was filled with faithfulness to the Father: “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Gen. 39:8-9. Don't think for a second Joseph wasn't tempted. Joseph refused to even be it the same place with Potiphar's wife, according to verse 10. He was eluding temptation. But Joseph's greatest concern was about pleasing God.

If we made it our aim to always please God and be obedient to Him, marriages would be rock solid. Couples need to arm themselves daily with the Word to be prepared for Satan's attempt to derail us. When you marry, Satan will not give up. He will look for any opportunity to destroy it. Know that. He wants to destroy your faith, your integrity, your trust and your unity. And he will use whatever he has available and any weaknesses you show to accomplish it.

Make faithfulness your aim. When you are all googly eyed about each other, it is hard to imagine you could possibly be unfaithful to the one you love. But there are countless divorced people around the world proving Satan's success. You belong to the Lord. Be sure your behavior reflects that always. When you commit to one another in marriage, that commitment is for life. Our Father doesn't give up on us, so do not give up on one another.

The Hosea verse is this: "I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord." (2:19-20). The ultimate goal in this marriage is that you both acknowledge, love and obey the Lord. Be faithful to Him.

Discussion: Share examples of relationships that were not faithful. How did it change circumstances for the couple? People around them? Share examples of relationships that were faithful. What are ways you can use to support your faithfulness to one another?

Prayer: Lord God, you are so in love with us, and we thank you for that love. We pray we love you back equally so and show it through our obedience to you. Thank you for not giving up on us. Thank you for Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.