Love, Marriage and the Engine Light of God

 

(Genesis 2:24 - In marriage, there is a small loss of self to the man and woman…”and they shall become one flesh…” again in Matthew 19:5 it says, “and they shall become one flesh.”  In God’s eyes, His Church is a collective of individuals. You are one. Just is the same in marriage. God and the world will now see 2 individuals as a whole. A unit. A family. One bond. One household. Together. Where one is, so shall the other be also. At the side of each other for love, support and furtherment of God and each other. No one is “better” than the other. Remember: roles, responsibilities, play to your strengths, be there for each other in the areas of weaknesses; you are a team now; work together; work live play grow learn together; help each other; don’t put each other down and pull each other down.

This is your other half; the counterpart; and wild it is not biblical, some may refer to this great bond as the yin to your yang; the give to your take; the up to your down; the in to your out; it is called by many names but at the end of the day, biblically, in the Creator’s eyes, it is a union 2 into 1 that starts on the spiritual level; NOT the physical level as the secular wayward world would have you believe

Without a mental, spiritual connection to each other, the physical connection will soon grow weak and fall away because it is only the biproduct of the spiritual connection; it is NOT the actual engine that powers the motion. The spiritual connection is the engine. This moves the car. Without the engine, the car is just a big hunk of metal, rubber and glass; pretty to look at; but doesn’t go anywhere or do anything. You must have that clean clear spiritual connection with God First; then the bond between each other can blossom. 

Spiritual

Now you’re cooking! You’ve got fuel, that’s the Holy Spirit – you’ve got a clean strong engine with plenty of horsepower to get you on your way fast – that’s the spiritual mutual connection and bond 

Mental

– and you’ve got nice clean brand new tires, shiny paint job, top up or top down, your choice but either way, you’ve got the mental connection and you understand your purpose and where you’re going

Emotional

now that GPS navigation is up on and running and ready to take you as far as your hearts and minds can dream to travel and go together 

Physical

and lastly, yes, you’ve got it all waxed, polished, no dents, no scratches, air freshener, radio on and ready to soak up the miles together, that’s your physical! Get that vehicle on the road baby and let’s enjoy the ride!

Marriage is more than just a material item like a ring or trinket of jewelry. It is more than just an idea on paper for tax breaks and insurance applications or loan applications. It is more than just an emergency contact for work or school and PTA meetings

It is your bond of promise to love, uphold, sharpen, correct, steer clear of danger; call on your spiritual Triple-A when you need to aka GOD and rejoice with Him when you don’t! God is more than just your spiritual On-Star, He is actually the pilot! 

GOD - You’re just holding the steering wheel! GOD is the cruise control, the service engine light, the low fuel or battery indicator…GOD tells you when you need to pull over and rest. Go in for service maintenance and tune ups…tells you when it’s time to get new tires or oil changes…you get the point. You are NOT alone. This is the road of life. And God’s got you covered. He is the greatest road-side service/insurance you could ever have. Yes, there’s going to be bumps in the road, swerves in the high curves and hazards in the low valleys we can’t see… there will be accidents along the way…you will see road kill, markings and signs of others that have gone by the wayside before you, but know this.

As long as you are still moving and the wheels are turning; it’s not over. Your journey is still going. And yes, while this may be about marriage and the trinity bond between God, man, woman – mind body spirit; yes, single people, (like me) this all applies to you, too. 1 Corinthians 7-9 reminds us we’re not on the road of life alone; all the same biblical principles apply to us as well. Oh Yes. So, remember…)

3 become 1

The bodies join as one church – one mind – one energy. Together, they are fulfilling. Enriching. Complimentary. It is NOT loss – it is gain. You + them = US. True, but remember, you times Him times your spouse = ONE. How? Look again. 1 x 1 x 1 = 1. See how that works? When you are single; you are one. When you’re together, you are one. The both of you with God? Still one. So, be good to yourselves, and each other. It is the way of love and love is the way of God. 1 Corinthians 13:13

-by DeMaster Thomas 12/16/23

all illustrations and photos on this site and throughout are presented by Google general license permissions

Marriage: the original covenant of God and Us

 

Marriage

theoretical vs practical

Empathy track is the gateway – time to build – draw out – learning time – patience, understanding – fix it track is near the conclusion

John 14:15 – if you love me, obey me

Start complete – finish the session with God at the center. This is church counseling – not clinical psychology. So, pray! (yeah, I remember the instructor was adamant about opening and closing every counseling session with prayer)

Marriage – mind body spirit – our trinity. Our action is first – the word.

Marriage is the first human institution given to us by God

Genesis 2:18-23 (man/woman are equal, their roles in the relationship compliment each other) God ‘married’ (joined together or bound) Adam to Eve (man to woman). It was not created by man. It was created by God. We were created for relationship.

God created marriage for His glory – togetherness, oneness in love is God’s view of His relationship to us. Ephesians 5 -  ¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

There is a marriage between the church of God and Jesus Christ – (metaphor, yes. Again, to ‘marry’ means to join or bond in union for purpose. It is clear and evident that yes, the join and bond of the redeemed and the Savior in one union for the New World is for the purpose of furthering God’s Kingdom on Earth as well as other reasons laid out before the foundation of the Earth. https://www.gotquestions.org/bride-of-Christ.html - go on)

Hardship to greatness; it is all done in marriage. It is intentional. Extensional; purposeful. Revelation 19:7-10 Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready.
⁸ Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰ At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

God’s marriage relationship will last – Genesis 2:24 – what He joins, no one can separate (again, referring to the His Church to Christ. Humans get divorced every day. Sad but true. We took a beautiful biblical practice of love and purpose and completely shredded it into little nano pieces of death and destruction. We truly just can’t have nice things) – selfishness can and very clearly shadows this spiritual foundation. Self-serving destroys the ability to serve.

Matthew 19:5 The marriage comes first before your other relationships. God is orderly. (Clean. Simple. Direct. Order of responsibility in the household:

1.       God 2. Man 3. Woman 4. Child. Each sibling in the order of birth by age thereafter and so on. Each accountable to the other and most importantly, accountable to Head of Household – GOD. This is now a power play. This is a clean clear order of roles and responsibility to each other – each according to their strengths. This hierarchy builds a foundation on solid rock that cannot easily be moved. And yes, this, all coming from a man who is never married or had children but I can read and the Bible is clear on this and we ruin it by putting ourselves first before the biblical union and structure put before us by God. Anyway, I’m preaching to the air. (sigh) Go on…)

Parents are the primary unit – children are the impact unit

Marriage is a covenant relationship – sew the definition into your heart. Abuse of ANY kind will damage the covenant. Selfishness has no place in a marriage. Change is constant. Healthy communication is key. It is binding. You are committing yourself to this institution. It is not a contract on paper (the secular world did that, not God). It is a covenant of the heart.

(Covenant definition: formal solid binding agreement between two or more persons with God and each other to honestly and truthfully fulfill promise and keep your word in honor and glory for the betterment of God’s Kingdom and the preservation of our place in it. everything we do in that marriage should be to His glory and His liking and for the greater accomplishment of our journey with the Lord. This is why He is so adamant about keeping the marriage bond clean. Do not soil it with immoral unethical impure violations. It will tear at the walls of the covenant brick by brick until the foundation is so weak, the house falls into quicksand. Just as the Ten Commandments keep that marriage foundation between God and His Church on earth strong and free from cracks, leaks, breaks and crumble, so do they apply the same strengths in a marriage to each other. Yes, there will be daily attacks at the walls and windows or your marriage, the world hates a holy union because it is broken and falling and misery loves company. But what God joins together, let no one put asunder. Mark 10:9 😊

SEEK GOD FIRST

 

Colossians 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Matthew 6:33 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (margin notes: worship/service…discipline-ship/community outreach)

5 KEY POINTS TO SEEK/KEEP GOD FIRST IN ALL WE DO

We have free choice: NOT FREE WILL!

 

One of the greatest misnomers of our time is believing we have free will. The Bible is clear on this. YOU DO NOT HAVE FREE WILL - YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE once you have reached the age of sound mind and accountability and understanding, this makes more sense and will develop and grow over time. 

Think of it like this. What the BIBLE says about GOD'S WILL

…things would be different if I could turn back time.

(Ha! Says every time travel story ever told. Nope. This is the script. Once written, only God can erase it. Them’s the rules! Remember the 3 basic rules of His Will: can’t raise the dead, can’t rewind time, can’t force them choose. It must be made on their own.)

I think the best way to explain to people outside is satan cant do anything without

 God’s permission. We know this from the Bible. HIS WILL – our choice. 

Like bowling. God’s will is like bumper guards that block the gutters on each side of the lane. Choice is you get to pick a ball and roll it! You can roll left, right, center zig zag, whatever but no matter what – roll the ball! 

The game is already set in motion – the pins are already set – the rules of the game are already ‘scripted’ in the ‘scriptures’ aka life manual – you get to CHOOSE how you participate and perform during the game but HIS WILL predetermines all the other parameters and aspects involved.

Almost every social media past present and future explains this in some shape form fashion or other. 

But again, our people suffer for lack of knowledge and I’m afraid too many miss the message and it 

gets lost on the messenger, the delivery, the format, etc. some ‘choose’ not to roll the ball at all and 

take themselves out of the game completely. Others roll the ball but put forward little to no effort to even try. 

It is the hope of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah Jesus the Christ that would find a 

glimpse of faith and allow the Holy Spirit to be our coach and guide on how to roll 

the perfect strike! No, we may not hit all ten pins every time, but this is all part of 

the journey and excitement of the game of life. And God willing, if we don’t get it 

right the first roll, we get to try again 😊. 

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Welcome "Home" : life after death

 

Truth pursued

Psalm 25:5 – guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long.

My thoughts; book notes – I think I’m just getting used to the change. The transformation is huge. So big that I can do this this by leaning on my faith and belief in Christ and stay in prayer with the Holy Spirit. Keep your eyes on me He said, stay focused / keep my eye on the prize and I will get there – where ever “there” is. (yes, younger me, I still say this today but now I’m convinced there is Abraham’s bosom aka paradise aka ‘heaven’ or hollow earth below this one in sheol/hades separated from torments by the great gulf chasm. Then out of there off to New Jerusalem then from there to new earth. I believe it because I read it for myself. –

Step one:

The term “Abraham’s bosom” is found only once in the New Testament, in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), in which Jesus was teaching about the reality of heaven and hell. “Abraham’s bosom” in this story is also translated “Abraham’s side” (NIV, ESV), “next to Abraham” (CEV), “with Abraham” (NLT), and “the arms of Abraham” (NCV). These various translations speak to the enigmatic nature of the Greek word kolpos.

All these translations are attempting to convey the sense that Lazarus went to a place of rest, contentment, and peace, almost as though Abraham (a highly revered person in Jewish history) was the protector or patron. In a sad contrast, the rich man finds himself in torment with no one to help, assist, or console him. https://www.gotquestions.org/Abrahams-bosom.html

Step Two:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17-After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Step Three:

Revelation 21: Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”)