Bollinger Craigin Family Memories 2013

Are You Angry with Your Husband?

How many times do we as women become angry with our husbands believing we need to “fix” him? I think most of us tend to do this at some point or another. The fact is that we need to ask ourselves who needs the “fixing” is it our husbands or is it us? In order for a marriage to work according to biblical standards, we each must love one another as Christ loves the Church (Ephesians 5). The direct scripture states, “Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.  Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage. No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.” (Ephesians 5: 21-33 MSG) (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002)

There are questions we can ask ourselves as women that will help our marriages.

1. Are you quick to indicate your husband’s faults, to let him know when he is diminutive of your expectations or to let him know when he is not loving you as God loves you?
2. On the other hand, do you portray love toward your husband, as God loves you focusing less on his faults and more toward your faults and your own need for God’s grace in your life?
3. Can you imagine your marriage if you and your husband practiced unconditional, sacrificial and preserving love?
4. Would there be any more strife, stress, bitterness, built-up baggage, devastation, or divorce?
5. What would your marriage be like if you and your husband gave up your rights to yourselves in order to serve each other would there be a perfect picture in your love toward one another, as God’s love toward us?
6. Do you think you can look at God’s never failing, unending, preserving love for you and see about modeling this love toward your husband?

• God promises He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5-6), “Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002) Can you apply God’s promise never to leave you to your marriage between you and your husband? My husband and I recently discussed how when we argue either or of us tend to say, “I’m leaving” or “I just cannot take anymore”; nevertheless, we’ve come to a realization that these words create trust issues and we chose to stop saying them to each other because we want our marriage to work. We chose to apply God’s promise never to leave us in our marriage by saying we will never leave one another.
• God is always thinking the best about you (Psalm 139:17-22 MSG), “Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful! God, I’ll never comprehend them! I couldn’t even begin to count them— any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you! And please, God, do away with wickedness for good! And you murderers—out of here! — all the men and women who belittle you, God, infatuated with cheap god-imitations. See how I hate those who hate you, God, see how I loathe all this godless arrogance; I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred. Your enemies are my enemies!” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002)
• God is gentle toward you when you are broken (Psalm 147:2-6 MSG), “God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem, who regathers Israel’s cattered exiles. He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and assigns each a name. Our Lord is great, with limitless strength; we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does. God puts the fallen on their feet again and pushes the wicked into the ditch.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002) Can you say you are always thinking the best things about your husband? I know that I have not always thought the best things about mine, especially at times when we are arguing or times are difficult. How can we learn to apply God’s promise of thinking the best about us toward our husbands? Is it possible always to think the best about our husbands? I think the best way to apply this is through looking at ourselves and realizing that we aren’t perfect; therefore, we should recognize that we need to think as much of our husbands as we think of ourselves. If we begin thinking about our husbands the way we want our husbands to think about us then we should be able always to think the best about our husbands.
• God promises nothing will ever come between Him and you, (Romans 8:31-39 MSG) “So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002) Can you promise that nothing will ever come in-between you and your husband? My husband and I have an understanding that we are both flirty; therefore, we accept that fact about one another although it is a fault. We agree not to allow this fact about our personalities to create jealousy that could potentially come between us. If my husband looks at an attractive woman, I accept that he is only admiring another of God’s beautiful creations and not that he is looking at her because he does not love me or because he wants to leave me for her. In truth, it is human nature for men and women to admire one another as long as it does not result in lustful thinking. Moreover, we are learning to discuss other issues that are potential problems that could come between us such as financial difficulties, decision making, etc… together rather than only one of us making choices alone to insure those actions do not come in-between our marriage.
• God delights in you, quiets you with His love, and sings over you, (Zephaniah 3:16-17 MSG) “Jerusalem will be told: “Don’t be afraid. Dear Zion, don’t despair. Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002)
• God loved you so much He was willing to die so He wouldn’t have to live without you, (John 3:16-18 MSG) “ “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002) Do you delight in your husband sing over him? Do you want to spend time with your husband, enjoying simply sitting in the same room with him? One thing that I do enjoy is watching my husband sleep… I enjoy silently riding with him in the car or quietly watching the sunset. I delight in simply listening to my husband’s voice (although at times he can ramble on for hours). Nevertheless, I do enjoy every moment with him because our time together is unknown other than to God. Each moment is precious together.
• God loved you in spite of yourself and still does, (Romans 5:6-8 MSG) “Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002) Do you love your husband in spite of himself and always will? In other words, can you love your husband regardless of his moods, spitefulness, malice, vindictiveness, unkindness, goodwill, kindness, etc…? Does he love you in the same manner? I have to admit that I love my husband this way, we have overcome tremendous obstacles in our marriage already, not to mention the issues we overcame prior to our marriage. I have to admit that we both love one another in spite of ourselves.

^“My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!” (1 John 4:11-12 MSG) (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002)

Will you love your husband according to the instructions given you by God, which are as follows?

• Will you love him when he provokes you?
• Will you love him when he is insensitive?
• Will you love him when he is unmistakably unlovable?
• Will you love him when he is unmistakably dishonest and unremorseful?

Loving our husbands when provoked, when they are insensitive, unmistakably unlovable, or unmistakably dishonest and unremorseful is trying; however, through the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us it is possible. When we feel that, we cannot love our husbands during these situations simply pray for the Holy Spirit to give you strength to continue loving him. Regardless of his faults realizing that you as well have faults that he must accept and love as well when he feels you are provoking him, are insensitive, unmistakably unlovable, or unmistakably dishonest and unremorseful. It is a two-way street. Remember to love your husband the way Christ loves you; that way you cannot go wrong.

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,

    or, whine, Israel, saying,

“God has lost track of me.

    He doesn’t care what happens to me”?

Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?

God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.

    He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.

He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.

    And he knows everything, inside and out.

He energizes those who get tired,

    gives fresh strength to dropouts.

For even young people tire and drop out,

    young folk in their prime stumble and fall.

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.

    They spread their wings and soar like eagles,

They run and don’t get tired,

    they walk and don’t lag behind. (Isaiah 40:27-31 MSG) (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002)

In times that you want to start complaining about what your husband is doing wrong; take time to look in the mirror – what are you doing wrong? Moreover, what would Jesus say about you? Would Jesus complain about what you are doing wrong or would he try to list the good things you are doing instead. Maybe you should take the time to list the things your husband is doing right rather than listing what he is doing wrong.

Mary Garris

4/26/13

References

Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002). The Message Bible. Colorado Springs, CO, United States: NavPress Publishing Group. Retrieved from http://www.messagebible.com

 

Are You Going to Heaven?

Have you ever had anyone ask you if you knew whether you are going to Heaven? How can we know the answer to that question? Can we tell the future? We may not have the ability to tell the future; however, we can know whether we are going to heaven. The way we know is evident in 1 John 1:6-7 “If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002). Moreover, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and if we are doing to the best of our ability to keep His commandments and we believe He is the only Son of God who died and resurrected from the grave three days later we have the assurance of salvation. Hebrews 9:11-15 states, “But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002). Therefore, His blood cleansed us ultimately, no more animal sacrifices, He was a pure sacrifice because He is the Son of the Living God; He freed us from our inability to reach perfection because of our sinful nature.

When someone asks me if I am going to Heaven, I say “yes” because I am a disciple of Christ. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, which he died on the tree at Calvary and resurrected after three days then ascended into heaven to His Father. I am a sinner; however, I do the best I can to do God’s will in my life and to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and follow His commandments. Although I am imperfect; I know that through Jesus Christ I will dwell in Heaven because I accepted Him as my Savior, was water baptized and that is God’s promise to those who believe and keep His commandments.

Your Sister in Christ,

Mary Garris

4/25/2013

References

Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002). The Message Bible. Colorado Springs, CO, United States: NavPress Publishing Group. Retrieved from http://www.messagebible.com

Are You a "Reliable" Christian

Are You a “Reliable” Christian?

By Mary Garris

Ask yourself the following questions taken from scripture.

1 John 4:15 (NKJV) states, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982) Therefore, do you confess that Jesus is the Son of God and know that God abides in you and you in God? James 2:19 (NKJV) states, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (New King James Version Bible, 1982) If you’ve confessed Jesus is the Son of God and that He abides in you, and you in Him; then do you also agree that He (Jesus) is the Lord of your life?

1 John 3:9 (NKJV) states, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982) Therefore, a true Christian finds him/herself disappointed, wretched, flustered, and discontented when he/she sins. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean Christians will not sin; simply that sin convicts us to acknowledge our sin with remorse. 1 John 1:8 (NKJV) states, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982) Therefore, when we sin of course, we feel a strong conviction to repent of our sin and ask Christ to help us do better through learning not to repeat our sins that we are convicted of as we acknowledge them. Therefore, if you are being convicted of sin in your life you are on the right path.

1 John 5:1 (NKJV) states, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982) Do you want to be around other Christians? Being around other Christians is important to your growth in Christ. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV) states, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982)

1 John 5:3 (NKJV) states, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982) Do you keep the commandments of God? If you love God/Jesus Christ, He says you will keep His commandments. Those who continually break His commandments are not Christians; that is not to say that Christians will not make mistakes and sin; it means that Christians will repent quickly, notice when they make mistakes or break commandments and repent because Christ dwells within them.

1 John 2:5 (NKJV) states, “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982) Do you keep His word? Keeping His word consists of obedience to God; doing what His will for you is and not your own will. Walk according to the teaching of Scripture, reading Scripture daily and seeking God’s word through Scripture is one way that God can speak to us as Christians. He teaches us through Scripture. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV) states, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (New King James Version Bible, 1982) which explains to us the importance of Scripture and reading God’s word. 

Again, ask yourself the following questions.

1. Do you confess that Jesus is the Son of God and know that God abides in you and you in God?

2. Do you feel a strong conviction when you sin?

3. Do you want to be around other Christians?

4. Do you keep the commandments of God?

5. Do you keep His word?

References

New King James Version Bible®. (©1982). Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

I Turn To You- Selah - PRAISE MY LORD JESUS CHRIST!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR "I TURN TO YOU - SELAH" - AMAZING SONG TO BEGIN THIS MORNING!

I TURN TO YOU - SELAH

Have an exalted day! Praise Jesus and our Father God for another miraculous day to oblige Him through service, praise, worship and love.  The Lord Jesus has granted each of us one more day to serve, worship, praise, and be devoted to Him along with our brothers and sisters by means of Him.

Please, take a few moments when you pray today to say your prayers for my husband and me; we are suffering much spiritual warfare pointlessly. Throughout the night I awakened having complications with my Narcolepsy/Catalepsy triggering acute physical trembling and deprivation of muscle control. My husband's blood sugar plummeted during the night to "7"; that is despairingly low (near the capacity for a diabetic coma). Praise Jesus and God he endured without going into a diabetic coma!

We persistently pray without ceasing considering the fight we are undergoing concerning the attack of the enemy in our personal life presently. Our plans to attend church services for the past month tend to suffer arrows of fire keeping us from attending services physically for one reason or another. Several weeks ago, my husband and I were sick from a virus that took several weeks to overcome. In conjunction with each passing day, there are other diverse attacks on our spiritual strengths. Regardless that we are unable to attend physically church services, praise God and Jesus Christ we have the ability to attend online services at our home church. I know that Jesus will continue to help us through these burdens and enemy attacks where we can begin to feel better physically.

I know the most prevalent reason that we are undergoing these enemy attacks; the enemy is trying to stop the work Jesus has me doing on spreading His Word via blogging, praying, Bible study, and numerous other studies that are helping to bring strength spiritually to my life as well as to my husband’s life. Moreover, Jesus Christ is encouraging David and me with spiritual strengths we never knew existed within us. We are growing spiritually and our love for one another along with our love and understanding for humanity is growing stronger daily. I pray that each of you have an exalted day with the Lord Jesus, AMEN!

Josh Groban : Brave

"THERE YOU ARE!"

(ISAIAH 43:4 [VOICE])

"Because you are special to Me and I love you, I gladly give up other peoples in exchange for you; They are trivial by comparison to your weighty significance."

God can see us even through all the years of hurt and suffering we go through as part of life's experiences. Each Christian goes through some sort of pain and suffering in his/her lifetime. Nevertheless, God says we are special to Him and He loves us - Isaiah 43:4. Honestly, we must be extremely special to Him because He gave us His only Son as a sacrifice for our sin. How much more can He love us than through that selfless sacrifice? John 3:16 tells us that "For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life." There is no greater love that the love God has for us. Therefore, in times when we feel lost, unloved, or as if we have nobody that wants us; we can rest assured that God loves us and He loves us unconditionally. We simply have to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ and follow His teachings. We may oftentimes believe we are lost or misplaced in this life; however, in those times God stretches out His hands and looks at us saying "There You Are!” 

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST?

1)   One must hate his/her own father, mother, wife/husband, children, brothers, sisters, and his/her own life to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. (What He meant was to have an overwhelming love for God that surpasses the love of family; is stronger than the typical love for family, the type of love one can only have for God/Jesus Christ – and ultimate love).

2)  One must be completely willing to follow Christ through carrying his/her own cross as if it were his/her own execution to follow Christ.

3)  One must deny him/herself and put Christ first, presenting his/her goals, desires, dreams, and aspirations to God to glorify Him; using all your gifts for His purpose not for oneself.

4)   One must consider the cost of following Jesus Christ as His disciple to insure he/she can follow through and finish his/her discipleship by forsaking everything that he/she has (materially, financially, and his/her family ties) to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Nothing can hold one back from service to Christ in his/her discipleship.

(Luke 14:26-33 [VOICE])

26.   Jesus: If any of you come to Me without hating your own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and yes, even your own life, you can’t be My disciple.

27.   If you don’t carry your own cross as if to your own execution as you follow Me, you can’t be part of My movement.

28. Just imagine that you want to build a tower. Wouldn’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to be sure you have enough to finish what you start?

29. If you lay the foundation but then can’t afford to finish the tower, everyone will mock you:

30.   “Look at that guy who started something that he couldn’t finish!”

31. Or imagine a king gearing up to go to war. Wouldn’t he begin by sitting down with his advisors to determine whether his 10,000 troops could defeat the opponent’s 20,000 troops?

32.   If not, he’ll send a peace delegation quickly and negotiate a peace treaty.

33.   In the same way, if you want to be My disciple, it will cost you everything. Don’t underestimate that cost!

(MATTHEW 19 [VOICE])

19. Go out and make disciples in all the nations. Ceremonially wash them through baptism in the name of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Power of Prayer

The power of prayer is amazing! Having a prayer team or a group of people that you can have pray for you when you are in need of specific prayer is one way to insure your prayers are definitely more productive. Intercessory prayer is highly important because it is they type of prayer that focuses on a particular person, or situation through multiple prayer partners praying to help bring about solutions to your needs. 

The following are a few excerpts I've read concerning prayer.

“Intercessory prayer is our most powerful and strategic corporate weapon in spiritual warfare. Prayer has a direct impact on spiritual warfare (Mark 9:29). Prayer provides/assists in the deliverance of others who are undergoing spiritual attack (Luke 22:31-32). Power falls where prayer prevails (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:31; 6:4; 10:9). Church history is replete with examples. What kind of prayer brings God’s deliverance and power in the midst of spiritual attack? Consistent prayer (Ephesians 6:18a). Intense prayer (Ephesians 6:18b). Strategic prayer (Ephesians 6:18c-20).

The missing ingredient in most Christians’ lives and in most churches is the commitment and regular practice of intercessory prayer. Scripture indicates that consistent, intense, and strategic intercessory prayer – both individual and corporate – will in fact deliver us from the evil one.

The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean people who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray. People simply do not have time to pray, because they have to give up something else to have time for prayer. This something else is important; very important, and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer.”

References

Ingram, C., 2006. The invisible war: what every believer needs to know about Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI

Do you have time to pray?