WOW! That’s just about all I feel like saying this morning, because my head is still spinning with all the wonderful things the Lord did this weekend! Never let it be said that our great and mighty God is not faithful and able to back up and bring His EVERY Word and promise to pass! That’s a lie straight from the pit of hell and we know better!

Regular visitors to the website are familiar with the wonderful messages of inspiration and encouragement Alex has shared with us from time to time, so I know you all will join all of the FAM fellowship members as we rejoice and celebrate the restoration of Alex’s marriage, which was manifested yesterday! But the devil was just as reliably faithful to do his best to keep that from happening in the preceding hours before it came to pass. And if Alex had not made a very difficult and deliberate decision to overcome the dictates of her flesh and submit herself in total humility and obedience, putting her trust in God, the outcome might have been very different, because she well could have sabotaged the work of restoration the Lord had already done. But because she did give it to Him, He took what Satan clearly intended for evil; to kill, steal and destroy; and made it something great and glorious! God watered the seeds Alex has so faithfully, consistently, and selflessly sown into her own garden of restoration, which she did in great measure by ministering hope and restoration to others.

Additionally, regular visitors to the site are also familiar with Diane, through her responses to posts on the private website, which I’ve often shared here as well. She is very active in the FAM Fellowship ministry; and always supporting and encouraging others with her unique and contagious spirit of faith and optimism. After returning from a business trip Friday afternoon, her husband woke her up early Saturday morning and asked her to meet him for breakfast before going to her eye doctor appointment. And the first words out of his mouth when he saw her was not to worry about “those papers” – referring to their divorce settlement papers, which they had been trying to come to agreement on for about two weeks! He expressed a desire to come home, and even though he moved the rest of his belongings into the garage later that day and spent that night at home (the new apartment is not yet available – hmmm…God at work?) before going out of town on another week long business trip, he said he still needs more time before coming back home. So he plans to move to a month-to-month rental when he returns next weekend, but we’re standing in agreement that he will feel comfortable coming home to stay when he returns from his trip at the end of the week! So we are all rejoicing with Diane, and praising the Lord for the awesome work of restoration He brought about in her marriage this weekend, with absolute confidence and assurance that He WILL be faithful to complete it!

And Jenn is another FAM Fellowship member regular visitors know through her posts and responses, which I’ve often shared here on the public site as well. She has been very active in the ministry and strongly supportive and encouraging to the other members of the fellowship, and she has been actively ministering seeds of marriage restoration outside of her involvement in FAM as well. And we’re all rejoicing with Jenn as we see how faithfully God has been watering her garden of restoration too! Her testimony is quite lengthy and amazing, but let it suffice to say that the Lord is DEFINITELY working and that she is seeing her marriage steadily and consistently restored; step by step, day by day…But there’s no doubt that it is being restored, as further evidenced by events this past weekend!

While others in the ministry are seeing evidence of the Lord’s hand at work in the restoration of their marriages too, there’s no doubt that the Lord is clearly rewarding and blessing those who have so consistently made themselves available to pray for and minister to others; thereby sowing seeds of marriage restoration into the lives of others, and into their own garden of restoration, which God ALWAYS stands ready to water! These testimonies should be enough to help all of us see the obvious importance God places on our faithful obedience to minister to others, and make all of us get a lot more serious about finding out what the Lord wants us to do to further His kingdom as we stand for marriage restoration, and not just our own.

Revelation 12:10-11 tells us Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. And the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, makes it pretty clear that if we’re faithful with little, God will give us more. But when He sees that we can’t be trusted with what He has already given us for the furtherance of His kingdom, He will take even the little we have away from us. So we need to read and meditate on this passage of scripture and really take it to heart, because Alex, Diane and Jenn are real flesh and blood proof of how that principle works, and how it applies as we stand for the restoration of our marriages. So let’s all follow their lead and give God our own gardens of restoration to water!

One more thing regular visitors to the website know is that I tend to get VERY excited about God’s amazing faithfulness to ALWAYS confirm the things He is trying to get across to us, and this message is no exception! After hearing these praise reports through the weekend, by yesterday afternoon and evening, I knew my SOF post today would be about the importance of sowing seeds of restoration by ministering to others, because it is so undeniable that God is bringing forth a harvest of marriage restoration in the lives of the FAM Fellowship members who have been so faithfully and consistently doing so, which is what I was thinking about as I went to bed last night. So, with that in mind, along with my SOF post from Friday, How we CAN Avoid Sabotaging God’s Work of Restoration, and that I just sent an email message to my husband saying that I was finding it so much easier to manage my time and responsibilities for the ministry, just try to imagine my delight and amazement when I read the following Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin from Bill and Marsha Burns this morning! And be blessed and encouraged as I most certainly was!

“Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin
The Trumpet by Bill Burns
— April 30, 2007: Expect Me to come and water the seeds you have sown. Even as April showers bring forth May flowers, so shall the rain of this season fall upon the promise that you have hidden in your heart. And, it shall spring forth as My rain comes. This is the time of the rain, so ask for the rain to come and to water your garden so that it will become a fruitful place, a place of harvest, a place of joy and peace, a place that I dwell in.

Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns
— April 30, 2007: I speak to those who have been laid bare and are wide open. Your level of vulnerability has been frightening at best, but now is the time for healing and building up. (Ecclesiastes 3:3) I will hide you in the cleft of the Rock and cover you there with My hand. I will conceal you from those the enemy would use to pursue you. Predators will continue to be a fact of life, but you will no longer be their prey. You are Mine, says the Lord, and I will keep you from the teeth of the savage beast. You’ve been almost to hell and back, and you stand amazed that you’ve made it through the last round of challenges. Did you hear the alarm? Did you get the wake-up call? Rise up in your strong faith and go forth to gain every victory, says the Lord. I tell you that you are now better equipped to handle whatever life has to throw at you than ever before.
Just when you thought you were functioning at absolute capacity, doing all that you could possibly do, watch and be amazed. I am about to cause you to do twice as much, and yet with efficiency that will actually reduce your workload. I will show you ways to be more effective in what you’ve been given to accomplish, but you will need to be flexible and be open to change and new ways of doing things. It is a matter of attitude and a willingness to flow. Beloved, rise up and stir up the gift that is in you. You have laid aside your mantle, as discouragement and disheartenment have caused you to back away from what you have been called to do. The enemy has done his level best to disable you, and he almost succeeded, but now is the time to come back with a vengeance (to an extreme and excessive degree). Make a declaration and determine a decree that you will not sit down, shut up or go back. Activate your will to go forth with great zeal to fulfill your destiny. And, I am with you, says the Lord, to establish you in kingdom purpose. Truly you are going to increase in almost every area of your life, but this increase will require you to stretch beyond what you ever thought possible. Get ready to experience growing pains. Revelation is a key. When you need understanding all you have to do is ask and the light will come on. Make that a priority in this process of growth. Ask; seek; knock. Watch for and discern opportunities that will facilitate divine objectives. Wait for My leading and then do not be afraid to explore the unexplored, or to develop the undeveloped. You are a people on the cutting edge of My plans and purposes, and I will lead you into higher realms of My manifest glory. Prepare yourselves for an adventure, says the Lord.”

You can read these messages from Bill and Marsha Burns and others, as well as sign up to receive them by email at the Spirit of Phrophecy website.

I recently received something written by one of the FAM Fellowship members in which she shared her heart concerning something the Lord had revealed to her, and it really struck a cord of unexpected recognition in me, as I expect it may do in others as well. So thank you, Mindy, for letting me share what you wrote and how God used it to teach both of us something VERY important. And here’s what Mindy shared with me a couple of weeks ago:

“God has really been working on me, but this time I took off the boxing gloves and ran into Daddy’s arms. When we look into a pond, what do we see? When our children look at us, what do they see? When our spouses look at us, what do they see? When the world looks at us, what do they see? Are answer should be Jesus. But when I looked in the mirror, all I saw was me. Sadly, I realized that every time I put my two
cents in and believed I was assisting God in my restoration; all I was doing was throwing a rock into my reflection. So there was a ripple effect – a little of me and a little of God. But it can’t be that way. I also realized that I still had some anger, unforgiveness, self righteousness, and (the biggie) Jealousy left. Fortunately, God is faithful and lets us repeat the tests until we pass.

I got pretty upset because my husband had skipped out on coming to see his daughter to go to a party with the ungodly people who had influenced his adultery. But what I really needed to do was to have compassion and forgive them for they know not what they’re doing. Meanwhile, my husband didn’t go to the party and said I could ask his father if they played computer games that night, if I wanted to know the truth. Jealousy is a killer. But God was once again so gracious and cleaned up my mess.

I heard God ask “Why must you always try to destroy my work of restoration?” I said “You’re God…you know.” (I am so glad God puts up with me.) Then at Target, right before seeing my husband Saturday afternoon at my son’s birthday celebration, God said “Mindy, I want you to tell me.” I was cornered. I felt like a rabbit caught in a cage; so scared, yet angry. I said “God, I have been rejected since birth and I don’t need it from you too.” What I did my whole life was stuffed my pain. I did not go to God to heal me or help me deal with it. But I could not stuff being hurt by God. You see my court date is coming up; and I know I heard God say He was not going to allow the divorce and that He heard my prayer; and that my youngest daughter would not go back and forth; that He would not allow her to go through what her older sister went through. Now I know a lot of you are saying that God can restore even after divorce. Yes, He can, but my prayer and belief goes back to when my daughter was in my womb and I heard God audibly tell me that He would not allow the divorce. And He even brought local restored couples into my life to stand by my side and pray with me. So I said “God, I only have you and I believe you are the God of the bible, and that the stories are real and the word is alive. I’d rather die than be let down about whom I believe you to be. I believe your word and could not take rejection or being let down by you, Lord.” Then I said “I like being able to come and go as I please and not having to serve my husband every night. I am content in my circumstances.” And looking back, never in a million years would I have believed that possible! I said “God, you have taught me; you are my provider; you are my comfort; you are that ear that will always listen and not judge me. You are my best friend; you are the one who gives me peace when I could go postal; you are my husband and help with my children. Lord, you have given me joy in washing clothes
and cleaning on my own, when I used to complain. You are my healer and deliverer, so, Lord, I could not bear or fathom that you, my Lord, could not put love where no love exists, because you did it for me. I could not bear to believe your word that says ask anything in my name and believe and I will do it for the Glory of my father; or to see all the delays in the divorce proceedings; believe that you would answer my prayer about my daughter going back and forth; see how you brought couples with restored marriages who have ministered to me…I could not bear to believe you would do all this and then have you not do it.” But God said “I will never let you down and I am faithful. He pointed out that not one person in the bible that received a word or a promise from Him had ever been let down. He also said “I did not bring other ladies (names omitted) to you to minister too for their restoration and not do the same for you, my child.” God said “Give it to me. I will not hurt you.” So I did. I am on Cloud Nine and very peaceful.

This was nothing to do with my husband; but all with God. I am not even concerned about the marriage being saved. It was my heart not being able to bear that my God could not do something or that He was not real. But He is so real. Only He can touch my heart and make this past adulterous, that lied, stole, cheated, and manipulated, realize what
unconditional love is. It is God. Love doesn’t count one’s wrongs, or give expecting in return. Love sacrifices and bears all. I pray that if any of you are where I was, you will surrender your fears, because God loves us so very much. It is not about the miracle, everyone. It is about the road getting there. This is where we find true love, Jesus, and who we are in Him.

Jesus, I thank you very, very much. No one but you could have shown me what love is and restore me and clean out all of the garbage the enemy made me stuff inside of me. Lord, may you continue to use me to go out to your people and to the lost to let them know Jesus. You are simply the answer to all. I love you, Lord, and now you are my first love. Lord, deliver your children from pride, anger, Jealousy, selfishness and all that would hinder your divine work. Open the eyes of the prodigals to see who you are and may they, along with the rest of the world, see you, Jesus, when they look at us and be
drawn to you. Lord, save these prodigals/marriages for your Glory. In Jesus’ name Amen”

To be very honest, I was actually quite surprised and disturbed by how much I could relate to exactly what Mindy was saying. And I have a feeling a lot more people who are standing for the restoration of their marriages, especially those who have been standing for awhile, will relate to it as well. I had to admit that even though I consider myself a woman of strong faith in God, I had to acknowledge that something rang true in that part about not wanting to be disappointed in God; even to the point of holding back from believing with ALL of my heart and absolute certainty that He IS going to restore my marriage. Now, that was a pretty shocking and serious admission coming from someone in my position! And I could most certainly understand and relate to the part about not being so sure I even want my marriage restored, because I’m so used to doing things entirely on my own, the way I want to do them, without any consideration for anyone but me…and what if my husband has changed so much that I won’t feel the same way…and what if… Oh yeah, the recognition and acknowledgement of similar thoughts in myself sparked quite a bit of turmoil inside of me, and I spent the better part of the next week trying to understand where that was coming from and asking God to reveal what it meant. I was surprisingly very troubled in my own spirit, and couldn’t really understand why, but I knew that the confusion did NOT come from the Lord. But once I was faced with the realization that I was holding back from believing God would restore my marriage with ALL my heart, and even questioning if that’s what I REALLY want, I wanted to know why. One of the most obvious answers was that this is my second marriage, even though my first husband had remarried. So that sent me down the path of questioning what I had been pretty confident the Bible teaches about being released to remarry when one’s spouse has committed adultery. And another was fear that I MIGHT not be able to love my husband as I should and that I could disappoint or hurt him again. Oh yes, Satan was having a fine time playing with my mind, and God didn’t seem to be coming forth with any answers!

And it didn’t get settled in my own heart and mind until I started editing Mindy’s message for a SOF post a few days ago. And as I read it again, instead of being struck by the recognition of similar thoughts or feelings in myself, it became as clear as day what the problem was – with both me and Mindy! No matter how true and probable all of those issues might be, we miserably failed to follow what the Lord instructs us to do in one of my very favorite passages of scripture, which is Proverbs 3:5-6 (NJKV), because it says Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Well, we were most certainly LEANING and relying on our own flawed and limited human understanding, and we most definitely were NOT trusting God with ALL of our hearts or acknowledging Him in ALL our ways! And it’s unfortunate that we also failed miserably at heeding the counsel and instruction found in another one of my favorite verses; 2 Corinthians 10:5, which says We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! Well, I certainly failed miserably at taking my own advice and practicing what I preach! And Mindy let her fear of what happened with her older daughter in the past loom larger than her experience and knowledge of God, and that caused her to focus on that to the exclusion of everything she knows and believes with all of her heart about Him – so she withheld that one little bit of her heart from God when it came to trusting Him. (By the way, Mindy and I have since discussed this and are in total agreement.) And I allowed my surprise and uncertainty upon recognizing something unexpected about my own “feelings” to lead me down a path I would not have gone down otherwise, and exalted my “need” and desire to understand that about myself over my experience and knowledge of God. But it did NOT change or alter my stand, because that’s something I do in obedience to God, which probably wouldn’t have been the case otherwise. And with both me and Mindy, just as I’m sure Satan does with just about all of us, he used the exact same tactics on us that he started using way back there in the Garden. He loves to whisper to us…”Did God REALLY say….”

I’m sharing all of this just to help anyone else Satan snares into sabotaging the work of restoration God IS doing, because they don’t trust God with ALL of their hearts, and don’t resist leaning to and relying on their own understanding; not to mention NOT taking EVERY thought captive and making it obedient to Jesus Christ and His Word. God really doesn’t want us to withhold even a tiny little piece of our hearts when it comes to trusting Him, because that WILL lead to thoughts, emotions, feelings and actions that serve in some way to sabotage His work of restoration in our marriages and lives. And one way to make sure to do that is to NEVER stop praising our Lord and Savior, which glorifies Him just as Psalm 86:12 says: I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. And another one of my very favorite passages of scripture that we can rely on when we trust God with ALL of our hearts, lean not on our own understanding, and acknowledge Him in all our ways and always praise Him is found in Psalm 37: 4-6, which says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. So we have to STOP trying to understand everything and we have to understand that we DON’T need to figure everything out. We just have to trust God and do our best to DO everything in accordance with His written Word, and realize and ACKNOWLEDGE that HE KNOWS AND CONTROLS EVERYTHING…and that’s ALL we need to know. That’s what it really means to “be still” and KNOW that He’s God, and that NOTHING is impossible with Him. So the next time we find ourselves stressed, doubtful, uncertain, discouraged, frustrated, unhappy or dissatisfied (not at peace in the midst of our storms), we need to recall these verses and PUT THEM INTO PRACTICE. If we learn to do that consistently, the devil doesn’t stand a chance, and he will NEVER be able to steal ANYTHING from us again (especially our peace and joy) or lead us to say or do anything intended to sabotage and destroy the work of restoration we know God is doing! So I hope and pray you will learn from my experience and be blessed and encouraged!

It’s very unlikely we could participate in many conversations about the difficulties encountered while standing for the restoration of our marriages, without the discussion eventually turning to the inevitable battle between our flesh and spirit. And everyone standing for marriage restoration knows all about the concept of spiritual warfare as it is described in Ephesians 6:12, which says For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. However, not only is there a spiritual battle going on for our marriages and for many of our spouses’ souls, but for the word of our testimony as well, because Revelation 12:10-11 says Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. As difficult as it is to comprehend, that passage makes it pretty clear that God equates the word of our testimony with the blood of Christ, which is pretty mind blowing!

Unfortunately, many people, standers in particular, seem to be convinced that they can not overcome the power of their flesh to control them, but Galatians 5:16 says otherwise, because it says I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. And John 6:63 says The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. So like everything else that’s important to us as Christians, the struggle to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit is won by the Word of God. And when we overcome that battle, we experience peace, joy and victory beyond human comprehension, and that becomes the word of our testimony; all for the glory of Jesus Christ, which Satan HATES!

So it’s very important to understand that everything we encounter comes from either one kingdom or the other, because there is no in between with God; we’re either for Him or against Him. Since most of us would readily choose to be on God’s side of the equation, we need to learn some practical tips for walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, which is a post I’ve had on my mind for a few days now. So I really appreciated yesterday’s devotion by John Walker, A Long Thin Line, because it helps make that point so well, as well as how our testimony is tested and shaped by challenging circumstances.

And the following Heart To Heart message posted by one of the FAM Fellowship members today illustrates how we overcome our flesh to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit:

“What I’m posting below is something I copied from a book of mine about a year ago. If I could remember where I got it, I would give credit where it is due. But at the time, I wrote it in the back of my Bible so I would never lose it and it has been encouraging me to push on ever since. The author used Romans 8:28, along with this thought, which I hope is as uplifting to you as it has been to me.

“God never takes away except to give us back something better. It means we must be brave enough and determined enough to wait… because it often takes God time to turn a painful situation to good. It means we can embrace our pain and not resent it because a blessing is coming.”

Just because my marriage wasn’t good doesn’t mean it won’t be. It will take time. And if I wait on the Lord, He will take my pain away and bless me with the marriage I have been waiting to have. It isn’t pleasant to go through the uncertainties of what may happen and it’s painful to look back on what has happened, but I can’t give up, because things can change any minute now! I am called to stand for my husband and for our marriage. You are called to stand for your marriages as well. The waiting is only temporary. Just wait and see! – Christy

Habakkuk 2:3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

Obviously, Christy is not giving way to her pain and natural fear. Instead she is relying on the Word of God and looking to Him to fulfill His promises regardless of what she sees and experiences in the natural realm. And that’s only possible when walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, which gives our spirit control over our flesh and makes it possible for us to walk in obedience to our Lord and Savior.

Joyce Meyer’s TV broadcast today was a perfect message to go along with this topic, so I strongly encourage everyone to watch Power Releases Authority. You REALLY won’t want to miss it, because she uses one of the most powerful illustrations I’ve ever seen of how God deals with the devil, and everything he brings against us, when we trust Him enough to remain calm in the midst of our storms. And she points out how it’s only possible to access the authority of that power through prayer. And when we learn to overcome our flesh and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can’t help being blessed and encouraged by the supernatural power released into our lives and circumstances!

I just got back from my Wednesday night bible study and was excited about something God revealed to me and just wanted to share it. It’s wonderful how God is so great and just links everything together. As I have mentioned before, we are studying the book of Mark, and tonight was chapter 8. I have learned many wonderful things through this study, but again, God spoke directly to me in regards to a link to restoration. The passage in Mark I am referring to is when Jesus healed the blind man:

The Healing of a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”

I have briefly shared with Linda that I went totally blind for a period of time when I was younger. I believe the total blindness lasted about 2 weeks and was due to a disease I had called Intracranial Hypertension. The wonderful thing is that God blessed me tremendously by healing my blindness and giving me 20% of my eyesight back. Now this may not sound like much, and is still considered “legally” blind, but you would not believe what I am capable of doing; I am so blessed. Most people that find this out about me believe it must be incorrect, because they would never see me as blind. I am truly blessed in that the vision I lost does not really affect my daily life in any noticeable way. With that being said, although I had studied this passage earlier this week, as we read it tonight, God spoke to me specifically about how Jesus asked the man “Do you see anything?” It appears that the man saw something, but he didn’t see everything, and therefore wasn’t “completely” healed. So then Jesus gave the man further healing and his vision was then clear. HE WAS RESTORED!!! Well, from the period of time that I was totally blind, to where I have the vision I have today, I too began to see little bits of things. But I was unable to handle that. My brain had gone into a defense mode, as the doctors described it, and began putting images that it remembered in my mind so that I thought I saw certain things, which were actually images from my past. And it was those images combined with the images I was really starting to see that totally confused me. It really was a very hard time, because I was overwhelmed with confusion and didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t real. But slowly, my mind adjusted more and more to the “real” images and I did not dwell on the past images. My brain could now handle what my eyes were really seeing, so I was healed to the point I am now.

Ok, lots of talk, how does this apply? Woo-hoo, it’s cool and here it comes.

God began to show me that as in the case of the blind man, he wasn’t truly ready for complete healing; it had to come a little at a time. It came, and he linked it to what he knew, trees. He had obviously had vision at some point and knew what a tree was. Perhaps it was the trees that guided the man the entire time through his blindness. It was what he knew. So he linked the familiar past to what he was beginning to experience. Hmmm, isn’t this the same concept of how we and our spouses begin to heal in our hearts, yet link things to the past and struggle with making the connection between what was the past and the good we see in the healing??? We struggle with unforgiveness of the past and the healing of restoration. Just as in my case, when my eyesight was being restored; it’s an overload and our brains aren’t sure if we can really handle it; if it’s a mind game or if it’s real. Satan uses this and speaks to us and our spouses, and tries to play the same mind game with us; making us link the healing to what was familiar in the past. Satan reminds us of the past; he tries to get us to be unforgiving and dwell on the past. He doesn’t want to see our one flesh hearts healed and united together for God’s glory. But Jesus is there, revealing our total restoration a little bit at a time. He’s healing us bits at a time so that we aren’t confused and fall back into the past. We must choose to be led by Jesus with faith, just like this blind man was. We must know that the healing WILL COME and our vision (marriages) WILL BE RESTORED!!!

So just keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t listen to Satan and allow him to talk you into linking everything and sliding back into the past; what you were comfortable with. There is so much more God has in store for each of us. God wants our complete restoration; that is His COMPLETE vision! So stand strong. Jesus is leading us and He will NOT LET US GO. Move forward, taking Him by the hand and just keep on keepin’ on =)

Have a blessed day in His glory!!!

I truly wish there was some way to help everyone standing for the restoration of their marriages understand that there’s NO way we can ever know what God is going to do or when He’s going to do it…BUT HE WILL RESTORE OUR MARRIAGES IF WE STAND ON HIS WORD IN FAITH AND OBEDIENCE!!! And we have to believe that NO MATTER WHAT WE SEE OR HEAR from our spouses or anyone else!

It just so happens that we have a perfect example of that in the FAM Fellowship. Two Saturdays ago, I spent the better part of the day talking to one of our members who had just been given settlement papers by her husband, who had already served her with divorce papers. Despite being very confident that the Lord would prevent the divorce from going through, she was upset by the papers and she still had to deal with the legal issues and come to an understanding of what her husband was proposing. So we spent a lot of time trying to understand what he was offering, how it would work for her, and what kind of counter proposal she could offer. When she was served with divorce papers, she chose NOT to get an attorney, and she asked her husband if he would sit down with her instead so they could work out the details. Up to that time, he wouldn’t talk to her at all, and the only communication they had was by very limited email, and at that time he was involved with an NCP (non-covenant person). Meanwhile, since her husband had left home about nine months earlier, she got saved and the Lord changed her radically, but her husband had not had an opportunity to see that…until they started meeting to work out the details of their divorce settlement! And it seems he must have really liked what he saw! Because it wasn’t too long before the NCP didn’t seem to be around anymore and he started calling and coming by the house for no apparent reason. Then she received the settlement agreement two weeks ago and they spent the following week trying to work out some of the more minute details of the agreement. She made it clear that she didn’t want the divorce, but she was not going to stand in his way or try to hurt him in the process. So she went along with all of his requests; like trying to put the mortgage in her name only; just to find out that wasn’t possible because she didn’t have enough income. He also asked her to put the utilities for their house in her name as well, which she did. Then they got a very high and unexpected bill for closing out the other account because they were on a special payment plan and there was a deficit at that particular time! Her husband wanted to get his name off of things so he could qualify for a loan on his own for a home or whatever. But during that entire process, he seemed to get more and more confused and started seeking out her company much more than before; yet continued moving forward with the settlement agreement talk and plans. Then, out of the blue, in the middle of last week, he actually asked her to go to lunch with him this past Saturday–even though he knew her sister was flying in to spend the weekend with her! He said he wanted to talk about “stuff”, which was interesting since that’s all they had been doing for the past two weeks! Since he was leaving the next day to go out of town the following week on business, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that was a very good sign…and it was! What he wanted to talk about is how things would be if he came back home and what everyone would think about it! They actually moved his “stuff” into the garage, because he’s supposed to be moving at the end of the month, but he will be out of town when the new apartment comes available. Hmmmm…I wonder what the chances are that he’ll ever make it to that new apartment!!! Not very good, I’d say! BUT…if anyone had tried to tell her that was going to happen two weeks ago, she never would have believed it! So that just goes to PROVE that we do NOT know what God is doing, how He is working behind the scenes, and when He will bring everything into perfect alignment for HIS perfect plan of restoration to come to pass! Sadly, I have no doubt that way too many people give up just before their breakthrough is about to be manifested! So please don’t ever make the mistake of thinking you know how or when God is going to answer your prayers and restore your marriage because it will always be so much more than you’d ever think or imagine!

One of the most persistent challenges when standing for marriage restoration is recognizing and overcoming unforgiveness, which is like a poison pill to the restoration of our marriages. Most people standing for marriage restoration seem pretty sure they’ve forgiven their spouses, and often have a very difficult time admitting it’s an issue, even after saying or doing something proving otherwise. But if we’re still offended, hurt, or experience an emotional reaction to something, we have not forgiven it, according to God’s standards for forgiveness. And we know that based on the following verses:

Hebrews 8:12 – For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Psalm 103:12 – For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Isaiah 43:25 – “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

How incredible it is that the Lord tells us that it is for HIS OWN SAKE that He remembers our sins no more! And surely if it is something the Lord does for His own sake, we should understand that it’s for our own sake that we need to forgive others, especially our spouses with whom we are one flesh. And even more importantly, there are many verses that make it very clear that God forgives us ONLY AS we forgive others, such as the following:

Luke 11:4 – Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ‘”

Matthew 6:14-15 – For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Luke 6:37 – “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

And that point is certainly difficult to miss or ignore based on what Jesus said in the parable of The Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21-35.

Then, in addition to restating the point that the Lord forgives us only as we forgive others, Mark 11:24-25 gives us another very important reason to guard our hearts against unforgiveness, because it says Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Obviously, there’s a direct connection between how the Lord responds to our prayers and a lack of forgiveness in our hearts. The Lord expects us to SEEK forgiveness as well as give it, which we know based on Matthew 5:23-24, because it says “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

And what a powerful verse Luke 7:47 is for all of us as we stand for the restoration of our marriages, because it says Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” And this is not the only place we see love and forgiveness going hand in hand, because in describing love, 1 Corinthians 13:5 says It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Ouch…that “keeps no record of wrongs” part is a really tough one, yet that’s exactly what true forgiveness and unconditional love requires!

I was talking to one of the FAM Fellowship members last Thursday night, who was surprised when I told her it sounded like she hadn’t forgiven her husband, because she honestly believed that she had. But when I reminded her of something she said, she realized that she hadn’t really forgiven him. When we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts, even on a subconscious level, it WILL come out sooner or later, and more than likely at the worst possible moment! From our hearts our mouths speak, so when we have unforgiveness in our hearts, it WILL eventually come out, no matter how hard we try to hide it. Luke 6:45 says The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. And just as He so often does, the Lord was ever so faithful to confirm much of what we discussed that night in Joyce Meyer’s TV broadcast message the next morning. And since it was the second part of the message from Thursday, which I missed, I listen to that one too. They are both excellent messages about forgiveness, so I hope everyone will take the time to listen to
Put An End To Emotional Torment – Part I and Put An End To Emotional Torment – Part II.

Then Dr. Charles Stanley’s TV broadcast message from Sunday was an excellent message about forgiveness and restoration too, so listen to Bearing Each Other’s Burdens. And using his Sermon Outline will make following his message a lot easier. So as we listen to these great messages, we need to ask the Lord to help reveal any areas of unforgiveness, because when we truly forgive, we’re the ones who are really blessed and encouraged!

We either believe God says He is who He says He is and HE will do what He says He will do or we don’t believe in Him at all. There is no room for middle ground. His promises were written in the Bible for a reason and if we ignore part of His Word and believe some of it, do we really think He is taking us seriously?

In a Bible message by Bayless Conley, Bayless stresses that “we have been given exceedingly great and precious promises.” He gives us 2 Peter 1:3-4, which says His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. He goes on to share that the promises are our pipeline to God. Our greatest need as a human being is to be connected with God – a spiritual life. Through the promises, we are made partakers of God’s nature.

Pastor Bayless continues to say that when we obey and respond to a promise, it connects us with the nature of God, and it opens up supernatural doors and supernatural windows and gives us favor, and it will get us into places that we could otherwise never get into.

We must act on the promise, fulfilling all necessary conditions whether it be giving, forgiving, ministering, or whatever it may be that God calls us to do. God’s love is unconditional but His promises are conditional. He calls for us to trust and obey, to have faith, endurance, patience, and to give Him thanks, glory, and praise.

Now, finally, to my point! God has given us a promise in Matthew 19:6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

We either believe God keeps His promises and does not lie, or we believe He is a liar and negates His promises. If you are a FAM Fellowship member or visit this site, I have to believe that you know God is faithful and He will not break His Word.

So I want us all to get our hopes up for marriage restoration and the healing of our spouses. I want us all to have patience and endurance as we put our faith in God, believing that He keeps His promises. When we embrace the promise of God, God’s nature will begin to flow immediately. Bless you and love you – may God’s peace find you today and always.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your promises and Your faithfulness to carry out those promises. I pray that You would help us to increase our faith in You and give us the patience and persistence to keep doing what we know is right. Cleanse us from any doubt that You are who You say You are, and that You will do what You say You will do. Let us praise You and glorify You for what You are doing in our marriages and in our spouses. Flow through us like never before and may we trust and obey in seeking the victory that You promise. Thank You, Lord! Amen

The following message reminding us of our purpose, which was posted by one of our members on the ladies’ private website this morning, really touched my heart, because Jenn very eloquently expresses my vision of this ministry and how the websites could be used to help others in a time of need, and all for the Lord’s glory. And it does my heart so much good to see how she and so many of our other members are being used in the lives of others, because we’re all here to duplicate what the Lord has done for us and in our lives; not to hide it under a bush and keep it to ourselves. And, yes, oh yes, we can indeed get tired; but we have to push on in the name of Jesus and for His glory. Our God will NEVER let us down or disappoint us when we so faithfully go about doing His business, and our lives will surely overflow with God’s blessings and rewards when we keep our focus on HIS purpose and not our own needs and desires or circumstances. As Rick Warren is so famous for saying “It is NOT about us!”

This also reminded me of a time when I really needed an answer from the Lord, and when I opened my Bible, the Lord led me to Nehemiah 6, where I found particular comfort in verse 9, which says They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

And Galatians 6:9 says Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. There’s no doubt that standing for marriage restoration is very tiring and almost always emotionally draining, but we have to keep our focus on doing the Lord’s work with faith that He WILL strengthen us for the task He has called us to. So don’t grow weary in dooing God’s work; stay focused on HIS purpose and glory instead, and you WILL be blessed and encouraged! Thank you, Jenn, for this awesome message and reminder to keep doing the work to which we have all been called!

This past week has been full of emotions for me; from very high high’s to very low lows, beginning with the praises of my husband’s return from Guatemala to the devastating loss of many lives at Virginia Tech and the loss of a friend’s wife in a horrific accident. Plus a few other lows as well in between.I called Linda the other day, and being such a loving and concerned friend, she made it clear that with circumstances being what they are, that I needed to be reminded to stay in the word and in prayer.

I will be honest. It has been extremely tough; really tough to be exact, because my emotions, even though controlled, are draining all my energy. Then that keeps me away from my morning time spent with God. I am emotionally exhausted.

God however reminds us in Nehemiah 4:10-14 that we are not to swerve from God’s purpose when we are tired; Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.” Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.” The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!” So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows. Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”

The people of Judah were physically exhausted from trying to remove the rubble, but they had to remain focused on the task and that God was protecting them. What he did for the people of Judah, he will do for us as well.

As I was sitting in the car line waiting to pick our youngest son up from school, one of his teachers approached my vehicle and let me know that he had a note for me from her. Then I pulled my vehicle forward to be next in line for my son to be brought to the car, and as I was watching for him, the teacher re-approached my vehicle, stating that she really wanted me to know that she felt spirit led to give me a scripture and that she also needed my counsel. The scripture she gave me was 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 in the New living translation, which says All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

What an eye opener. Here I am tired and weary with my eyes falling off God’s plan, only to be reminded that I need to stay on task and finish the race, because HE gave me a purpose and a plan just like the people from Judah.

Ministering to others is God’s plan, not only for me, but all my other brothers and sisters in Christ that have been placed here in this ministry. Isaiah 30:8 confirmed that for me this morning. It says “Go now, write it on a tablet for them inscribe it on a scroll that for days to come it may be an everlasting witness.” We are inscribing our testimonies and witnessing to others on a scroll. No, it’s not a tablet of paper, it’s the website. People are going to be coming to this website to read and be ministered to, not only for today, but for years to come.

A lot of people journal and I think it’s a wonderful thing. Unfortunately I am not a big journal person. However, sharing my post and devotions is my journaling. These are our manifestos in a positive, uplifting encouraging, god led way. His plan is for us to witness to others.

Again this morning it was confirmed what God has planned and wants me to keep focused on. A few weeks ago, I met a young woman that was enjoying breakfast with her daughter as well as her father. I was there reading my bible and having a little bite to eat before work. We chatted a little while and went our separate ways. This morning, I ran into them again at the same restaurant. I again was there to read my bible and enjoy my breakfast. But God had a different plan. This time the young woman asked me where I went to church and spoke about how she has not been attending church, but wanted to know where I went. We talked for quite some time and ended up exchanging contact information. By my obedience and the yearning for God’s word, she and I will hopefully be going to church this Sunday together. I was witnessing the first time we met and didn’t even know it.

Don’t let circumstances, emotions and daily life allow you to become tired and weary only to miss out on God’s great plan for us. I almost did and look at what joy I would have missed out on if I was not witnessing to others.

It’s so funny. So many times, I find God leading me in a certain way and I come to the website and there are all these beautiful posts confirming for each of us that God IS speaking and we can bank on what He says. I too have been led to believe that speaking God’s word into my life is key, and like Dan, I keep coming back to God’s promises. I was reading Numbers 22 through 24, and I was so encouraged. Balak, a pagan king, is fearful because the very powerful Israelites are camping in his backyard and he summons Balaam, a sorcerer, to curse them. But what happens? God not only prevents Balaam from cursing Israel, but He causes Balaam to bless them 7 times! In Numbers 22:12, God tells Balaam, “You must not put a curse on those people because they are blessed.” And Balaam, who was not even a man of God, realized that he could not do anything other than speak the word of God. In his first oracle to Balak, he says, “Balak brought me from Aram…Come, he said, curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel. How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?” Balaam’s blessing in verses 19-24 are for us all to claim and I pray that each of us will indeed claim these words, “God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind. Does he speak and not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed and I cannot change it. No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, “See what God has done!” The people rise like a lioness, they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey.”

So today are you afraid that God is not with you? He is. Are you afraid that the enemy will prevail? He won’t. Has God spoken a promise to you to restore your marriage and family? He will. Do you want God’s blessings? Claim them boldly. Do you need strength? You got it-though we don’t really like the whole “oxen” analogy! Will God preserve our testimony so that we can tell others “See what God has done for me”? Yes. Do we want to be free from bondage, misery and misfortune? YES!!

To receive our Promised Land, we have to be obedient in loving God first and foremost. We need faith and we have to understand our position in Christ. Our position in Christ is that we have forgiveness and mercy available to us. We share an inheritance and we can come before our Father with all boldness to ensure that we receive that inheritance, as long as we follow God’s commands. But when we fall short, we know we have the blood of Christ to atone for our sins. After receiving forgiveness, then get back up and go to Him about your needs. I pray that we will not be overcome with fear that we will fall away, but will pray each day for God to keep us in faithfulness and obedience, because He wants us to inherit these blessings and promises too. Remember, God can overcome all of our weaknesses, just as he can change our spouses and our circumstances. And that’s confirmed in Joshua 21:45, which says “Not one of all the Lord’s GOOD promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”

Over the weekend, a very challenging issue arose on the ladies’ private website when one of our new members posed the question “Did I make a mistake?” She then went on to described how she had knowingly married an unsaved man and moved across the country to live with him after they eloped. But much to her surprise and great disappointment, within a few months, he became physically abusive. And after recently discovering that she was pregnant and realizing that the abuse would still continue, her family “rescued” her and moved her back home. Of course, it comes as no surprise that the family now wants her to get a divorce, but she wants to stand for her husband’s salvation and the restoration of her marriage instead. In addition to describing some of the details of her married life, she openly and humbly acknowledged her own failures in the marriage, including that she had married contrary to the instructions found in the Word of God, for which she has since repented and asked for God’s forgiveness. But she also said she hoped she hadn’t missed God and married the wrong man…and she asked for prayers for her family.

Needless to say, this situation raises several complicated and complex issues as we take a stand for marriage according to the word of God, including God’s view of unequally yoked marriages (whether or not He recognizes and honors them), dealing with physical abuse according to the Word of God, and a wife’s biblical role even in the face of physical danger. However, as with my response to her on the private website, the primary focus of this post is on unequally yoked marriages, as described in 2 Corinthians 6:14, which says Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

Since I feel that sharing Rebecca’s heartbreaking testimony tends to magnify the works of the devil, and does little to glorify the Lord, I decided just to restate it as I have instead of posting it here. But since the following responses from the private website pretty well address the question concerning how God views unequally yoked marriages, I greatly appreciate permission from Rebecca and the other ladies to share them here as follow:

Response by Linda Wattu on April 16th, 2007 at 12:19 am
“Hi Rebecca… First, welcome to our family, where I sincerely hope and pray we can support and encourage you as you grow closer in your walk and relationship with the Lord, because that really does have to be your top priority at this time.

As you can see, I’ve edited what you posted quite a bit, and that’s because we very closely adhere to the posting guidelines here, and even this strains to do that. But your circumstances are very different and present some important and serious issues; much of which we haven’t discussed on the site previously, so I’ve left a lot more in than I usually do, in order to be able to address what I feel is important in your situation.

Sadly, to answer your question… Yes, you missed God and married the “wrong man”; and we know that because His Word tells us not to be unequally yoked. BUT, having said that, unless either of you were previously married and divorced for reasons other than adultery, in the eyes of God you’re married. Unfortunately, when you made a decision to act contrary to the written Word of God, you took yourself outside of His will and plan for your life, and away from His protection, provision and blessings. BUT the good news is that if you genuinely repent and are willing to examine and learn from the mistakes YOU made, and are willing to submit your own will and way to God’, HE CAN STILL TURN THINGS AROUND FOR YOU! And that’s not going to be an easy road to walk, Rebecca, but it is the path YOU chose. And now you have to decide whether or not you will learn to do things God’s way or if you’ll continue to do things your way. And you can’t effectively stand for the restoration of your marriage with the grace, strength and anointing needed to do so, just because you love your husband. The ONLY way that will happen is if you make the decision to do so in obedience to God. Of course, that doesn’t mean you don’t love your husband; it just means that’s not your reason or motive for standing.

While we haven’t discussed physical abuse in much detail here before, I don’t believe any woman should allow herself or her children to be in physical danger; but I also believe that God can change ANY man and there are many testimonies about abusive husbands being saved and changing. But that will require a lot of praying on your part, a lot of changing on your part and an awful lot of faith and humility on your part. I know there are numerous books written by women married to abusive husbands, and since that’s something I’ve had no experience with, I think it would be a good idea for you to see what is available, or maybe someone has something in particular to recommend. The Bible does tell us that the devil is defeated by the word of our testimony, so you need to hear (or read) the testimonies of other women who have had similar experiences. As you already acknowledge, you did not conduct yourself as you should have in many areas, but that still doesn’t justify physical abuse. However, you DO have to learn what the Bible teaches about your role as a wife, and make some decisions about submitting to God AND to your husband. If you start reading and studying the information posted on the website, you’ll start to learn a lot of the principles, but a lot of your issues are much better discussed privately, which I hope we’ll have a chance to do.

As I told you earlier, you’ll have the first baby born into the fellowship, so our hearts go out to you and your family. And even though your situation is very complicated, it certainly is not beyond the reach of God’s mercy and grace. So it is my most sincere hope and prayer that you’re made of strong stuff, because you’re probably going to need it for what lies ahead. But the most important thing is your willingness to put ALL of your trust in the Lord and to make a commitment to obedience, because if you don’t trust and obey God, you probably won’t like the results any more than you like the way your marriage has turned out so far. But when you trust and obey God, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

Dear Lord, you know my heart goes out to Rebecca and her unborn child…and to her husband. And, Lord, how thankful I am to know that what Satan intended for evil you WILL make good when we love you and are called according to YOUR purpose…and you didn’t make any exceptions to that, for which we thank you. Please surround Rebecca with your love and goodness, and give her the wisdom, grace and strength she will need to walk the path she’s chosen in a way that brings honor and glory to your name. Lord, we know you can turn her husband’s hard heart to a heart of flesh. We know you can create in him a new man; a man that walks in right relationship with you; and we know you can use his wife to help accomplish that. So I pray that Rebecca understands the need to submit her own will and way to yours, Lord, so that she can see your glory and power manifested in her situation; that her husband will be saved and changed; and her baby will grow up in a home with both a Christian mother and father. And, Lord, please let us be a source of support and encouragement for Rebecca as she grows in her walk and relationship with you. And I particularly pray for your wisdom and guidance concerning areas of ministry in which I have no personal experience to draw on, and I pray that you will send someone very special to minister to Rebecca’s very particular needs. We love you and we give you all praise, honor and glory as we pray and ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Response by Janet in Maryland on April 16th, 2007 at 10:14 am
“Rebecca, my heart really goes out to you in your very tough situation. There are so many times that we go against the will of God and really suffer some terrible consequences for it. But please know that we serve a merciful God. A God who is willing to forgive us for all our wrongs. A God who is willing to make all things new. A God to whom nothing is impossible. Remember that He can make a way when there seems to be no way. Just trust in Him and pray that His will be done in your life. Your first priority is for you to get right with God. Ask for his forgiveness and truly develop a repentant heart. Next, pray that your husband will accept God’s free gift of salvation and come to know Him as his Lord and Savior. God has a plan and a purpose for your life and the life of your child. These plans are to prosper you and not to harm you. These plans are for a future with hope. Just put your trust in Him.

Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you bless our dear sister Rebecca right now. I ask that you give her the strength to withstand what she is facing right now. Give her good health as she prepares for her unborn child. Grant her family favor as they try to help her during this time and give her perseverance to continue to seek your face. Lord, I pray that Rebecca will submit to her husband as to the Lord. Lord, I pray Colossians 3:19 for her husband, “Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” I also pray Ephesians 5:25-28 for him, ” Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” I pray that you will remove his heart of stone and give him a heart of flesh. Make him compassionate towards his wife and his unborn child for children are indeed a gift from God. Lord, I ask that you bless this couple and bring them into obedience to Your Word. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. God bless you. Janet”

Response by Christy on April 16th, 2007 at 11:00 am
“…I am married to a non-believer and I don’t believe it was a mistake to marry him. Not the smartest move I could have made but if it were a “mistake” God wouldn’t be calling me to stand for my spouse and our marriage – and I am very sure I am to stand for his salvation and us. A lot has happened since my husband told me in July that he wanted a divorce. We aren’t restored but he has been changing – slowly. I have had many prayers answered. And some were answered quicker when I gave the situation to God. Any situation can change when God is the one in charge. Be thankful and praise God that He is the Redeemer of all things and is the Restorer of all relationships. Give Him the relationship. Ask God to take over and heal your wounds and heal your husband as well. Obviously, something has a hold on your husband (Satan, anger, hurts from the past, etc), and these things have to be let go of by your husband. God can do that. God can create a new heart in your husband. You need to ask and believe. I know it is hard to have faith right now. It was for me in the beginning. I still have rough days but knowing that I am doing the right thing by praying for restoration and trying my best to keep my relationship with God first – these things keep me going and I know things will work out and one day I will get my spouse back and he will be saved as well.

Things can work out for you too. Keep praying and keep believing. But while you are asking God to take control of your marriage and your husband, be sure to let Him take control of you as well. I had to change also to start seeing changes in my spouse. I know your situation is very different but, even though the changes may not need to be as great in you, sometimes God starts with the one standing then the changes in the “prodigal” spouse start to happen. Hang in there because God works best in what seems to be impossible situations!”

Response by Linda Wattu on April 16th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
“Janet and Christy, thank you so much for responding to Rebecca and sharing your hearts and wisdom with her. I know she appreciates it.

And, Christy even though you explained why you are so sensitive about using the Word mistake, and I’m pretty sure you already know that I agree that ANY situation is redeemable; it’s important to note for clarification – that happens only if we acknowledge our sin (mistakes) and ask the Lord for His forgiveness and then make a commitment to live in accordance with what His Word teaches. But any time we go against the written Word of God, we indeed make a serious mistake and will have to live with the consequences. And it’s very important to understand that God’s willingness and ability to turn our sin and mistakes (which Satan intended for evil) into good and something that works for HIS glory, in no way indicates or means we didn’t sin or make mistakes. In fact, as I have since shared privately with Rebecca, I too made the same mistake of marrying a man I had sufficient evidence to know was not saved, even though he told me he was, and that he had in fact even been baptized. So I too suffered the consequences of disobedience to the Lord’s command not to be unequally yoked. But I had to acknowledge that sin and that it was a mistake in order to be truly repentant before the Lord and receive His mercy and grace. And it was because I recognized my sin and all the mistakes I made, and then made a commitment to do things God’s way from that time on, that God has since literally used ALL of my mistakes to later help me lead my husband to salvation, and then me into this ministry. So my mistakes (sin against the Word of God and failure to act in accordance with it as a wife), my repentance and then faith and obedience to the Lord’s Word, has most certainly proven that God can and will redeem and turn our sin and mistakes into something very God glorifying Genesis 50:20). But NONE of that would be possible without first acknowledging that it was a mistake to do something contrary to God’s Word, so it is important for all of us to humble ourselves before the Lord and say that we’ve made mistakes and sinned against Him, asking for His forgiveness and thanking Him for the confidence we have that He will be faithful to His most awesome promise to all of us in Isaiah 55 . So, please don’t let any of the pain or issues from your past keep you from understanding and acknowledging that, as Christians, we do make a mistake when we marry an unsaved person according to 2 Corinthians 6:14, which says Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? Then, having acknowledged that and asking God’s forgiveness, we can indeed be blessed as God takes even our sin of disobedience and works it to our good and for the glory of Jesus. But He does want us to acknowledge our disobedience and make a commitment to turn from it and live in obedience from that time on. Also, the Bible has some very specific instructions concerning being unequally yoked in 1 Corinthians 13. And we see just one of the examples provided in the Bible of how God expects us to honor our vows and oaths, even when they are made in error, through lack of good judgment, or as the result of being misled or deceived in Joshua 9. Since this is such an important topic and something that affects so many of us in the ministry, I really appreciate how you shared your thoughts about it here, because I will write a SOF post about it in the coming days. We all have to remember that the Lord tells us NOT to lean to our own understanding on these matters; that we have to look to His Word for guidance and instruction and that our opinions must be based on that, and then to do things according to what He teaches as we trust Him with all of our hearts (Proverbs 3:5-6). And I love how the Lord uses the experiences of one of us to help all of us grow in our understanding of His Word and nature.

Rebecca, I sincerely hope this helps you as well. I love and appreciate you all. Be blessed and encouraged!”

FAM chat this past Friday night was very interesting and I have no doubt several of the topics that came up will be used in future SOF posts, as well as this one. Even though we had fewer members participating than usual, it was quite interesting and surprising to discover how many related having a similar experience, in that they were being awakened in the wee hours of the morning, during which time most felt led to pray for their spouses. And then the next day, one of our new members posted an amazing message sharing what the Lord revealed to her about it; which follows, along with some of the responses from other members. Then one of the other amazing things was how the next morning, Charles Stanley’s TV broadcast message was like a perfect post script to what Thursa had shared, and added even deeper meaning, because the Bible verse reference Dr. Stanley used was Matthew 11:28-29, which says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. What awesome messages these are from both Thursa and Dr. Stanley. So I really appreciate Thursa’s permission to share what she wrote here, and the other ladies’ permission to always share what they write. I have no doubt this will be a very encouraging message for many men and women who have been standing for the restoration of their marriages for some time, and most especially for those who have also been getting Holy wake-up calls in the wee hours of the morning! So just remember that Jesus is in the boat with us and that He’s ALWAYS there to carry the weight of His yoke when we let him; when we surrender and do things HIS way! And NEVER forget the awesome promise and assurance we have in Isaiah 46:11, which says From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. When God says it, it is as good as done! So we’re just waiting for the perfect time, according to HIS plan, when it will be manifested in the earthly realm, and Jesus is right here with us while we keep the fourth watch just before our miracles are manifested, so receive and believe that and be blessed and encouraged!

Last night in the chat a few people mentioned how they were waking up every night/morning for the last week or so. This baffled me, as I too have been going through the exact same thing. And for the last couple of days, especially last night, I wondered why I was so restless. I initially thought it was because I was being prompted to pray for my husband, especially since what I needed to say would just flow through me and keep me up until it was time to get up anyway. But this was different than before; I wasn’t anxiously praying for me and my relationship with my husband; I was praying for my husband and his walk with God; that God would allure him and speak to him in the wilderness. Well, God is Awesome! I prayed, saying “I know there has to be more; what is it?” And I woke up again early this morning thinking about it, so I prayed about it. Then I looked in the Help Section of my Bible for “sleep”, and found nothing. Then I checked “rest” and there were many passages about Moses and Joshua and how God had allowed them to rest in their peace on obtaining their promised land, but now He called them to help their brothers. At first I didn’t get it, because I was thinking “God, I have peace, but I have not received my land back yet, so you can’t be talking about me or the others in the fellowship.” Then, He reminded me about the time frame everyone is talking about; that it’s all around the same time; and something I learned in our Women In The Word study Wednesday night, where we are studying Mark. The passage He reminded me of is when Jesus walked on the water in Mark 6:45-52:

45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.
48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them,
49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out,
50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,
52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

We had just discussed the fourth watch in class. Since Mark was speaking to the Romans, it was based on their time table and their fourth watch is between the hours of 3am – 6am. WOW, that is the same time period we are all dealing with. SO, God was speaking to me, but I still didn’t put it all together. I logged in to initially begin typing this message, but it just wasn’t coming together. So being VERY tired, I prayed that God would speak to me while I lay down for just “a bit”. And He certainly spoke to me; He knocked me out and I had the best sleep in a looooonnnnggg time in the last three hours. I can’t believe I slept in that late (9:30am), because it put me way behind on my day. But that is my timing; not God’s. Then God began showing me the relevance of it all, and now here I am typing and sharing. It means something to me so I hope it means something to the other members who are having the same wonderful wake up I am during the fourth watch.

The above message speaks about the fact that the disciples were afraid, because they thought Jesus was a ghost. My bible has a note stating that Jewish superstition thought that a ghost seen in the night meant disaster was on its way. And at one point last night, I think someone mentioned that they thought it was the devil’s attempt to make them tired. But here Jesus tells them “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” I believe God is saying that Jesus is coming RIGHT TO US; right into our boat with us; kneeling down beside us and praying with us, just as He came along side and was with the disciples. He sees us struggling with our oars and is calming our storms and giving us that time to know He is RIGHT BESIDE US, so we too understand the miracles He is performing and might not be seeing.

I personally have had two miraculous signs showing me that God is with me, which I recognized; but for some reason I was afraid to publicly acknowledge them. Last Sunday, we heard about Jesus and His unfailing love for us, and there was a small gold tone cross up on the alter. All of the sudden the reflection of a heart showed up near the bottom of it, and my heart dropped when I saw it. How neat was it that someone orchestrated that. Then I heard “Lay your heart, your one flesh married heart at the cross and TRUST ME.” I sort of looked around and moved side to side. As I moved, the heart reflection would disappear. The reflection was only seen from my seat!!!!!!! My heart dropped again and I heard those same words..; the Holy Spirit speaking to me. Ok, I must do that for sure, and I did; and I still am – DAILY. But I secretly wondered if I was crazy. And as it started to rain on the way home the other day, I saw clouds on my right and sun on my left and thought “man, would it be cool if I saw the glimpse of a rainbow to know God really promised what I heard Sunday.” I gazed around looking for it, but saw nothing; not even a glimpse. Then about five miles down the road, I came to my turn and turned toward the clouds and WHOA!!! Suddenly, I saw the most complete and brightest rainbow I have ever, ever seen!!!!!!! It was soooo sudden and soooo beautiful!!! I immediately started crying and praising God. And my daughter was going on and on in the back seat, because she too was amazed. And I said “THAT is our promise from God, KK!” The rainbow left as quick as it came. It was just awesome. But I don’t know that I totally understood the significance of the two things I witnessed, which is the exact same thing that happened with the disciples. They saw it, but didn’t fully understand the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000. So Jesus came and was right beside them; just like He is doing with all of us in the fourth watch. It kind of makes you WANT to wake up during that time each and every day now, eh?!

But God is actually always with us; not just during the fourth watch. So why are we losing our rest and what relation is that to the land and the Israelites? Well… Deuteronomy 4:20 says But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you are now. I was initially confused about “rest”, because the notes in my bible say it is used for the peace that the Israelites had when they received their land as God had promised. Well, I don’t have my land! But WAIT…according to this scripture, it says that I am “now”! God did take me out of the “iron-smelting furnace” and He gave me GREAT peace in knowing that He WILL give me “His inheritance”…MY LAND…My restored marriage. Praise God!!! Joshua 1:13 says “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.'” God has spoken it already! I am merely waiting with Him to receive it, and I have peace and faith in that. So I am already at peace!!! Deuteronomy 3:20 then says “until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them, across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.” I believe God is bringing brothers and sisters into each of our lives that truly need peace. In my case, I know my husband is in the wilderness right now and God is speaking to him and alluring him back to God. So God is asking me to continue praying, and in the fourth watch, Jesus is there with me, praying too. That’s just one more sign to me that my Savior stands with me and God’s word WILL BE FULFILLED!!! And all this is to show me that He is working; He is God; He WILL do as He promises if I just keep praying, have faith and persevere!!!

Lastly, in Hebrews 4 it speaks about the Sabbath-rest after completion. After God’s work is done, and our work, we too will be experiencing a day when all is complete and we will look and marvel at all the blessings God poured out on us during this trial, and all the glory God has in it!!! Philippians 1:6…“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Have a wonderfully God blessed weekend!!!

Response by Linda Wattu on April 14th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
WOW is right, Thursa! I absolutely LOVE it when God uses scripture from different parts of the Bible to explain and confirm what He is trying to tell us! And one thought that came to my spirit right away is how it is always darkest just before the dawn, so the fourth watch also means that the dawn is breaking soon! That sure sounds like a “breakthrough” to me! Yeah, now I bet no one will mind those wake up calls so much any more! And those of us who aren’t experiencing them just might wish we were! Thank you SO much for sharing this with us…and you KNOW I want to post it in my SOF post. I know it will be very encouraging and enlightening to a LOT of people! Now I’m going to go see just who it was who said they were waking up in the wee hours of the morning!

Response by Linda Wattu on April 15th, 2007 at 7:18 am
Thursa, it looks like God added a wonderful Post Script to your message in the form of this very timely message, Letting God Handle Your Burdens, from Charles Stanley this morning! What an awesome reminder that God will give us rest even in the midst of our circumstances! Not only is He beside us, He’s holding up the yoke! And even though Dr. Stanley didn’t address it, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that right after Jesus told us to LEARN from Him, He reminded us that HE is gentle and humble! I had forgotten that Jesus himself told us that about his nature, which takes on very significant meaning when we remember that our goal (God’s goal for us) is to be transformed through the renewing of our minds into the image of Christ!
And here’s a link to Dr. Stanley’s sermon outline.

Response by Alex on April 15th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Thursa, your revelation spoke directly to my heart. I am grateful to you for sharing it. Last night I kept waking up and it was frustrating to me at first but like Linda said, now I’m looking forward to it! Be blessed, because God is speaking to you and through you in wonderful ways. Thank you. Hugs, Alex

Response by Janet in Maryland on April 15th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Thursa, I can only say hallelujah!! I have been experiencing my fourth watch wake up calls for sometime. I actually welcomed them as I saw it as a chance to pray one more time. Your post has certainly put an even deeper meaning to what I will call God sent communications moments. Thank you so very much for this revelation. As for your miraculous signs, how awesome could that really be! God is so good to us. Whenever we get a little anxious it is so awesome how He just sends something to show us that He is true to his promise that He will be with us always, that He will never leave us or forsake us. God is with you my dear, you have only to believe and I know you do. God bless. Love Janet

Response by Diane on April 16th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Yes, Thursa, it is great to read those scriptures and to see how God spoke to you. I do see those wake up calls as being from God and Him wanting to talk with me. I have had Him wake me up everyday at the same time but lately it has become earlier. So I will remember this post tonight when it happens and be thankful. God is so faithful and we just need to trust and believe. It is awesome to see how God uses what one or more of us are going through and how when we share, it speaks to so many. Bless you. Diane

What a very well timed message of affirmation, encouragement and instruction the Lord blessed me with when I received the following message from Glenn Jackson by email last night! And since I know everyone standing for marriage restoration can probably appreciate and relate to this message too, I just had to share it here! You can sign up to receive these daily messages by email on Bill and Marsha Burns’ Spirit of Prophecy website, as well as read this and other archived messages from Glenn H. Jackson at this link. So let’s all seek to learn a deeper revelation of obedience and be blessed and encouraged!!!

Every one of My children – as they receive those blessings that I have for them – should seek one thing and one thing only in those blessings, and that is that they might learn a deeper revelation of obedience. For as they seek this one thing, surely all other things shall fall into place [unfold perfectly] in their service to Me.

For My children to truly obey My command for them to love one another they will need to lay aside any thought for themselves. For as they go forth in obedience there
shall be many that cross their path who, in their blindness and hardness of heart, shall come against those who have been sent by Me. My bondservants and handmaidens must hearken diligently to the voice of My Spirit in every circumstance and situation – in order that through their intercession and through their words, they might cause that which is for the greatest eternal benefit of the one who has come against them to come to pass. They must, at all cost to themselves, let no unwholesome word proceed from their mouths. Indeed, there shall be many times when their actions are not “recognized” by those who do not have eyes to see; but truly I say to you I shall recognize all those things that they have done in My name and great shall be their reward – both in this age and in the age to come.

One of the most important kingdom principles for everyone standing for marriage restoration to understand is the principle of sowing and reaping, because we WILL reap a harvest according to WHAT we sow. And that will happen regardless of whether or not we believe it. In other words, it does not require us to understand and believe it to make it so. And even though the principle of sowing and reaping is spelled out in great detail and reflected throughout the Bible, it’s still very difficult for many Christians, and standers in particular, to fully grasp. Yet, those of us who do grasp it and do our best to live our lives accordingly are indeed blessed, because we understand the vital importance and necessity to ALWAYS consider the seeds we sow with both our words and deeds and the resulting harvest they will reap. However, many of the principles of sowing and reaping spelled out in the Bible don’t use that particular terminology, even though that is the principle behind the message. Luke 6:27-49 is a perfect example of that and reflects many of the principles promoted and supported by the FAM Fellowship, because it says:
Love for Enemies
27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
39 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.
45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Managing websites providing a forum for men and women who are hurting and struggling to overcome the pain, disappointment and devastation of separation and divorce, can on occasion be challenging, especially when trying to insure that the principles of sowing and reaping as stated in the above passage are positively reflected in the conversation on the websites; and on very rare occasions, there is no easy or very nice way to do so. However, since that is one of the most important principles behind the supernatural power we’ve seen manifested in our midst, which has brought about the miraculous restorations we’ve already witnessed, it has to be encouraged on all levels, even when unpopular or misunderstood. And as the above passage clearly indicates, God does not want us to concern ourselves with the sin, problems and issues of others (including our spouses; because He’s much more concerned with our willingness to deal with our own issues and make sure we walk and live in a manner that’s pleasing before Him. And it also makes it very clear that hearing and KNOWING that this is what God instructs us to do without DOING it, is totally useless, which is why we don’t allow “venting” on the private websites or use them as a sounding board for expressing our woes or giving voice to the dictates of our flesh. Instead, they are intended to support and encourage men and women who are seeking a closer and more victorious walk with Jesus Christ as we stand in faith and obedience for the restoration of our marriages for HIS glory. And since the goal of the FAM Fellowship is to help each other grow in our walk and relationship with the Lord; that begins with learning to overcome the natural dictates of our flesh by DOING what the Word of God instructs us to do. After all, we all want our restoration and homes to be built on nothing less than the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and His Word! So we do our best to sow seeds of faith, confidence, obedience, encouragement, peace, joy and victory based on the faith and confidence we have in the power of God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, and our resurrected Lord and Savior.

Being ever so faithful, as God ALWAYS is, I shouldn’t have been surprised to receive the following message by email this morning from Elyon Ministries, since it so well addresses what was on my heart last night and today as the result of having to deal with some of these issues. And I have no doubt everyone will appreciate Pastor Eddie Yon’s message, Problems, Positions or Promises, just as much as I did! And there are a lot of other interesting and encouraging messages on his website as well. So let’s all be blessed and encouraged as we carefully consider the seeds we sow!

As so often seems to happen, the recurrent theme in the fellowship over the past few days has been obedience and listening (responding in obedience) to the voice of the Lord when He speaks to us. And we’re certainly seeing how that plays out in our lives through the testimonies of our members lately; particularly as we witness the extreme and devastating cost and consequences of adultery in the lives of so many of our prodigal spouses, and even in the lives of some of our members. That’s what makes today’s SOF post so powerful; because it comes from one of our “prodigals turned stander”, who has experienced first hand the devastation caused by adultery and disobedience and who is now learning all about God’s never ending mercy and grace, and how faithful He is to ALWAYS turn things around for us when we turn from our sin and turn to HIS ways instead. And since there are so many standing for marriage restoration today who were the first to stray from their marriages, I know this will be a very encouraging post, especially when read along with Isaiah 55, which is my favorite passage of scripture about all that the Lord will do for us when we turn from our sinful ways and make a genuine commitment to DOING things HIS way! Thank you, Jenn, for sharing this powerful message with us and for the awesome word of your testimony, which we know the Lord has already used, and will continue to use, to defeat the wicked plans and schemes of the devil as he continues to do his wicked best to destroy more marriages and families in the future. I have no doubt that many will be blessed and encouraged through the message God has given you to share with us, and I know YOU and your family will be blessed beyond belief for your obedience and faithfulness!

As we seek to walk more obediently with the Lord, here are a few questions we should ask ourselves. Has God laid anyone on our hearts this week that needs prayer? Is the Holy Spirit asking us to reach out to that certain person this week? Is there a call from God that we keep questioning? Do we do what God has asked us to do, or do we tend to hesitate?

Galatians 5:16-17 states So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. So we need to learn to listen to and obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell us where to go and what to do, and then we won’t always be doing the wrong things our evil nature wants us to. For we naturally love to do evil things which are the opposite from the things that the Holy Spirit tells us to do; and the good things we desire to do when the Spirit has his way with us are the exact opposite of our natural desires. These two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control over us, and our wishes and desires are never free from their pressures.

Obedience means following instructions or recognizing someone’s authority, and without obedience we will not learn or walk in the knowledge and wisdom of God. So we need to make sure we’re following the instruction manual God gave us, because Jeremiah 7:23 (KJV) says but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you that it may be well unto me. God instructs us that we are to honor and obey our parents, but do we not remember that God is our Heavenly Father? Are we obeying him? If we don’t listen and do what he tells us, we have severe consequences, and Leviticus 26:14-43 explains in very clear terms the consequences when we don’t listen to God and obey Him.

I personally know about the repercussions of not obeying. I did not listen to God as a teenager, as a young adult, as a young mother, nor as a wife. And I’ve paid the price. Unfortunately, our family has paid the price too. But I have now learned the blessings that come with obeying. It’s not always easy, but I am submitting to God’s authority and his word does not lie. He WILL bless and protect us when we submit ourselves to Him in obedience to His Word. Deuteronomy 4:1 assures us of that, because it says Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. And Exodus 23:22 says If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. Just look at Caleb… God blessed his family because Caleb obeyed and followed God. Numbers 14:24 says But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. And Joshua 14:13-14 says Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

God wants the same thing for each and every one of us, and 1 Samuel 15:22 even says that to obey is better than sacrifice.” And Isaiah 1:19 (KJV) says If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. And since we all want God’s blessings, we need to ask ourselves whether or not we’re willing to wholeheartedly obey Him.

Father, I want to thank you for being our almighty Heavenly Father. Thank you for correcting us when we need correcting and raising us up to be the children of God you have so carefully and thoughtfully planned for us to be. Father, I ask that you give us the willpower to be obedient to your word. Help us to walk in the fullness of your truth, allowing us to hear your words spoken to us loud and clear as we deny ourselves and say “not our will, but YOUR will be done.” Free us from stubborn habits and give us repentant hearts when we have disobeyed your commandments. Father, help lead us to your path of righteousness as you teach us your ways and your truth. Jesus, I ask these things in your precious name. AMEN and AMEN

One of the things I find most disheartening in this ministry is the depth of deception so prevalent among God’s people concerning adultery. Many of the FAM Fellowship members are married to Christians, and a surprising number of them are actually pastors or involved in ministry. And yet they are living openly with women other than their wives, and appear to be fully convinced that God has forgiven their adultery, which they believe means they are now in right standing with God. And as difficult as it is to believe, many of them continue to go to church; some are still even in the pulpit or active in ministry of one kind or another (also still legally married), and taking their adulterous partners right along with them. Of course, the Bible passage most often used to “prove” or justify their point of view is the story of the woman caught in adultery, which is found in John 8:3-11 as follows:
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

As I’ve written previously, I personally believe the significant point of this passage of scripture is that we are not to condemn others, even when we KNOW they are guilty, unless we are ourselves without sin, which, of course, we are not. And the reason I say that IS because there’s nothing else here that is not well covered and illustrated elsewhere in the Bible concerning God’s mercy and grace; that when we acknowledge our sin and repent, our sins are forgiven. Yet, this IS the most powerful example of God’s instruction that we’re not to condemn someone even when they’re literally caught in sin; very clearly illustrating that God does not want us to judge and condemn the sin of others. But there’s NOTHING in this passage that says in any way, shape or form that God does not consider and condemn adultery as sin. Jesus knew what was in the woman’s heart, and He obviously knew she was repentant and would NOT commit adultery ever again in her life; and who would after having something like that happen! She had an up close and personal encounter with Jesus Christ, and just as with everyone else, she would never be the same again! The law and God’s view of adultery was not affected by this incident in ANY way; and the only change that occurred was in the hearts of those who caught the woman in adultery and accused her, and in the adulteress’ heart. There’s absolutely no indication that the law changed, and God’s heart toward adultery most certainly did not change. So teaching otherwise is a prime example of the danger of being deceived by such teaching, and exactly what 2 Timothy 4:1-4 warned would happen, because it says:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Believing in ANY way that God’s grace makes it okay to continue in adultery certainly flies in the face (and plain meaning) of Romans 6:15, which says What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By
no means! And it’s certainly not taking the warning found in Hebrews 10:26-30 very seriously, because it says If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

In the months before putting it on my heart to begin FAM Ministries, the Lord put it on my heart to write a book called “Standing for Marriage”. But I hit a writer’s block one day, because I couldn’t figure out how to express something I wanted to without coming across as being judgmental. I wanted to make the point that the rampant rate of adultery and divorce and remarriage in church leadership throughout the country makes it very difficult or impossible for leading pastors and preachers to take a strong stand against it; not to mention that doing so would more than likely offend about half of their congregations. So I took a break and put it out of my mind for awhile. And then when I wasn’t even thinking about that, I heard the Lord say to me “as a dog returns to its vomit.” No matter how I tried, I couldn’t figure out what the Lord was trying to tell me, but since I knew it was in the Bible, I decided to check it out on BibleGateway.com, expecting it to be something about how difficult it is to avoid returning to our sin. And one of the verses that came up was 2 Peter 2:22, which says Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” That was pretty much what I expected, but I decided to look at it in context, which gives the verse before and after, but I accidentally hit the link for the whole chapter. Then as I started reading 2 Peter 2, the hair on the back of my neck literally stood up and I felt chills go up and down my back, because I couldn’t believe what the Lord was showing me and how it applied to exactly what I was trying to write about. The whole chapter is about false teachers, but it was verses 18 through 21 that really affected me so strongly, because it said For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. I was so blown away to realize how intimately involved God was in helping and guiding me to write what I knew He had put on my heart to write! And there’s certainly no better way to express what I wanted to than those verses!

So it really breaks my heart to see the lack of outrage in our churches today against adultery and the resulting divorces and remarriages that are literally destroying the fabric of our families, churches, culture and society; not to mention how contrary it is to the Word of God. It’s hard to believe that there’s no longer any shame associated with adultery and divorce and absolutely no requirement for people to turn from it or to refrain from it, even among the clergy. Even worse, instead of outrage, our churches are condoning and sanctioning adultery as they do no other sin, and church leaders even promote and perform adulterous marriages. In fact, WITHOUT meeting ANY biblical requirement for repentance or forgiveness, and with absolutely NO reason to believe God has changed how HE views the sin of their adultery, once an adulterous couple gets married, in the eyes of the church, there’s no longer a question or issue of sin, very dangerously elevating the authority of man’s law above the authority of the Word of God. But I have no doubt that the very sad day is coming when many preachers, pastors and teachers are going to stand before God Almighty and give an account for what they have taught, condoned and sanctioned. And I believe their hearts will break on that day too, because I’m sure the Lord will show them the extent of the harm and destruction they have caused by refusing to stand on the truth and authority of God’s Word against the way of the world as it pursues the lustful desires of sinful human nature. Somehow our modern churches have lost sight of the fact that God’s Word and its meaning is UNCHANGING, and it’s truth and authority does not depend on how we perceive it. Just as scientist of years ago were wrong despite being certain and sincerely convinced that the earth was flat, no matter how genuinely convinced someone may be otherwise, God does not and never will overlook, bless and condone adultery and adulterous marriages. So I pray and long for the day when the majority of our Christian leaders will forsake the way of the world and once again have the courage to teach and stand on the plain meaning of God’s Word. And how I pray and long for the day when the majority of Christian leaders will be convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit to join us as we stand on the truth and authority of God’s Word for the sanctity of marriage and stop overlooking and condoning the sin of adultery and promoting the false teaching that God’s mercy and grace is a license to continue living in it.