Have you prayed for your spouse today? It is so easy to put things off, especially if they don't seem important to us. All people who are married have struggles in their marriages, and people complain because their spouse doesn't do this or that right, or some other expectation is not met. But have you considered praying for your spouse? Your spouse needs God's help and grace in her life (or his life). If your wife is constantly cooking dinners late, or in a bad mood, can you pray for God to reveal Himself to her? God is the great heart changer. Maybe your husband comes home in a bad mood. Maybe he is angry or quiet. Are you angry because of that? Do you think you can pray for him?
Likewise, husbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; so that your prayers will not be hindered.
1 Peter 3:7
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:18
Monday, November 26, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Whose Identity Do You Have?
"Our response to any situation is always shaped by our understanding of our identity." This quote is from the book "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands", which, in my opinion is one of the best books available on Biblical counseling.
The reason I bring this up, is that it is so important in helping ourselves and our friends in counseling. Every person has an identity, whether it be one that is made up in their imaginations, one put on them by others, or on put on us by association. For example, if you are introduced to someone for the first time, they usually give you their name. If you go a little further, you usually find out what they do for a living. People make their identity by their association with their jobs, or their past, most of the time. Sadly, if a person has had a bad past, his or her relationship with that past becomes part of his or her identity. I remember working with a woman who suffered from depression. Whenever she talked about herself, she identified with being a manic depressant. People have all kinds of identities, but have we really thought through what our identities should be based upon?
The Bible says that our identity is with Christ. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. We are seated in the heavenly places. We have authority over all the power of the Enemy. We who were once filthy, have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Now our identity is in Christ. That doesn't mean it is wrong to tell people your profession, nor does it mean that you shouldn't talk about your past. We don't live in the past anymore, although we may need help in breaking off from certain things that are holding us down.
The promises of God are in the Bible, but they only apply to people who have a proper relationship with God. A person can only have a correct relationship with God through God's Son, Jesus Christ. Outside of that kind of relationship with God, there really is no life. Outside of Christ, we live only for ourselves, and for what we think makes us happy. Another word for that is 'idolatry'. Idolatry is loving something else other than God. We think we love God, but we really don't. We can love God only when He has given us a new heart. If you are a person who has not responded to the Gospel message yet, your identity won't be in Christ. It will be with something else. But the good news is that you can come to Christ in repentance and faith. For more information, go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com or http://test4gp.wordpress.com
If your identity is with a sinful lifestyle, you need to repent. Then you need to ask God for His grace and help to be free from that sin. Your identity doesn't have to be with who you are in the flesh. It can be with Christ, and it should be if you are redeemed!
The reason I bring this up, is that it is so important in helping ourselves and our friends in counseling. Every person has an identity, whether it be one that is made up in their imaginations, one put on them by others, or on put on us by association. For example, if you are introduced to someone for the first time, they usually give you their name. If you go a little further, you usually find out what they do for a living. People make their identity by their association with their jobs, or their past, most of the time. Sadly, if a person has had a bad past, his or her relationship with that past becomes part of his or her identity. I remember working with a woman who suffered from depression. Whenever she talked about herself, she identified with being a manic depressant. People have all kinds of identities, but have we really thought through what our identities should be based upon?
The Bible says that our identity is with Christ. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. We are seated in the heavenly places. We have authority over all the power of the Enemy. We who were once filthy, have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Now our identity is in Christ. That doesn't mean it is wrong to tell people your profession, nor does it mean that you shouldn't talk about your past. We don't live in the past anymore, although we may need help in breaking off from certain things that are holding us down.
The promises of God are in the Bible, but they only apply to people who have a proper relationship with God. A person can only have a correct relationship with God through God's Son, Jesus Christ. Outside of that kind of relationship with God, there really is no life. Outside of Christ, we live only for ourselves, and for what we think makes us happy. Another word for that is 'idolatry'. Idolatry is loving something else other than God. We think we love God, but we really don't. We can love God only when He has given us a new heart. If you are a person who has not responded to the Gospel message yet, your identity won't be in Christ. It will be with something else. But the good news is that you can come to Christ in repentance and faith. For more information, go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com or http://test4gp.wordpress.com
If your identity is with a sinful lifestyle, you need to repent. Then you need to ask God for His grace and help to be free from that sin. Your identity doesn't have to be with who you are in the flesh. It can be with Christ, and it should be if you are redeemed!
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