THIS IS NOT BROKENNESS

Psalm 36:1-4 (HCSB)
¹ An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked person: There is no dread of God before his eyes,
²  for in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to discover and hate his sin.
³ The words of his mouth are malicious and deceptive; he has stopped acting wisely and doing good.
⁴ Even on his bed he makes malicious plans. He sets himself on a path that is not good and does not reject evil.

This passage is key in my own journey toward Christian brokenness. Not only have I had to discover my sin by admitting it is sin (masturbation, gluttony, misuse of money, deceitfulness), but I also have to learn to hate my sin. Until I have done both of those things, I cannot break free from bondage to my sin, and I cannot set my family free from the effects my sin brings into the home.

I cannot lie – I still have areas where I have not learned to fully hate my sin. I don’t hate gluttony enough. I don’t hate my lifestyle of living in debt enough to pursue being debt-free with gazelle-like intensity (Proverbs 6:5). I am still malicious and deceptive in my speech, even though I try very hard not to be. It takes a long time to change habits that developed over 40 years.

The main point is, I can’t give up! At least, not if I still claim to be a Christian, seeking after God, becoming more like Jesus each day.

It is not easy, but you can do it! I can do it! By the power of God’s Holy Spirit, and the Blood of the Lamb! Openness and Brokenness! For God’s glory!

And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. – Revelation 12:11

Under His Blood,

George

PROVERBS 5

My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen closely to my understanding so that you may maintain discretion and your lips safeguard knowledge.
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her words are smoother than oil, in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps head straight for Sheol.
She doesn’t consider the path of life; she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.
So now, my sons, listen to me, and don’t turn away from the words of my mouth.
Keep your way far from her. Don’t go near the door of her house.
Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others and your years to someone cruel; strangers will drain your resources, and your earnings will end up in a foreigner’s house.
At the end of your life, you will lament when your physical body has been consumed, and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and how my heart despised correction. I didn’t obey my teachers or listen closely to my mentors. I am on the verge of complete ruin before the entire community.”
Drink water from your own cistern, water flowing from your own well.
Should your springs flow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?
They should be for you alone and not for you to share with strangers.
Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure in the wife of your youth.
A loving doe, a graceful fawn — let her breasts always satisfy you; be lost in her love forever.
Why, my son, would you be infatuated with a forbidden woman or embrace the breast of a stranger?
For a man’s ways are before the Lord ’s eyes, and He considers all his paths.
A wicked man’s iniquities entrap him; he is entangled in the ropes of his own sin.
He will die because there is no discipline, and be lost because of his great stupidity. (Proverbs 5:1-23 HCSB)

BROKENNESS & MARRIAGE INTENSIVE

Upcoming Marriage Intensive March 6 – 9, 2014 Indianapolis, IN Whatever It Takes’ 3 night “Intensive” is not like your typical Christian marriage conference. It is an intensive weekend dealing with root causes and exposing the issues that are destroying our marriages and lives. Couples participating in a WIT Intensive may be dealing with a range of issues. Some may not be exactly aware of what their problem is, but they know something is blocking them from oneness. While other couples may be dealing with anger, bitterness, unresolved hurts, pornography, or the revelation of sexual infidelity in marriage. Whatever the situation, we know God has the answer to healing and freedom. Over the last eight years, we at WIT Ministries have seen God take marriages that were “dead and buried,” and literally breathe life back into them! If you or another couple you know is struggling in marriage, then we encourage you to consider a WIT Intensive weekend. Whatever your reason to attend, we know God will meet you/them in a personal and powerful way, and give answers for life and your hurting relationships. What To Expect: During the weekend, Paul & Jenny will address many issues. To help you process the information personally, you will have the opportunity to participate in round table discussions with other couples through the assistance of a WIT Coach couple. Each coaching couple will have no more than 3 couples for the weekend which allows for sufficient two-on-two time with you and your WIT Coaches. If needed and time allows, you may also schedule a personal session with the Speeds during the weekend. Click Here for More Information

Copyright © 2014 WIT Ministries, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: WIT Ministries 10222 Meadow Crossing Drive Tampa, FL 33647

BROKENNESS VS. SELFISHNESS

I am selfish, self-centered, self-sufficient, and lazy. None of these character qualities lends itself to brokenness. It is always amazing to me that my wife continues to stand by me, continues to love me, continues to forgive me!

It is all too easy for me to take my eyes off myself and start thinking, “Why am I always the one who has to be wrong? It seems like I am doing all of the apologizing. I thought this relationship was supposed to be equal participation, both giving 100 percent!” Then come the whisperings of our one true enemy, Satan…”You know she doesn’t really love you. She just wants you to fulfill her every desire – you’ll never be good enough.”

Is it really true? Are we both supposed to give 100 percent? Yes! However, is my behavior predicated on my wife doing her part, and am I relieved of my responsibility if my carnal flesh says she doesn’t? Not if I truly love God and love my wife like Christ loves the Church! (Note that I know my wife loves me and honors me, and that she fully gives 100 percent to our marriage. I am the one giving less, and the log in my own eye is what I see projected onto her)

Ephesians 5:28-33 (HCSB)
²⁸ In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
²⁹ For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church,
³⁰ since we are members of His body.
³¹ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
³² This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
³³ To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

When I really think about it, I have to look at Jesus Christ during the hours before His crucifixion. He was beaten, the flesh ripped off his bones, ridiculed, vilified, and hung on a cross. At any point during He could have looked around and said, “Forget it! If you’re not going to love me and treat me with respect, I’m not going through with it! You can figure out how to appease God’s wrath on your own, you ungrateful wretches!”

Jesus didn’t give up on His bride. Instead:

Romans 5:6-11 (HCSB)
⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly.
⁷ For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die.
⁸ But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!
⁹ Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath.
¹⁰ For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, ⌊then how⌋ much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!
¹¹ And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him.

Praise God! How can I, who profess to be a Christian (a “little Christ”), strive to do any less? I am weak, and sinful, and overly ruled by my flesh, but I also have the unlimited power of God’s Holy Spirit living in me! Halleluiah!

So, brothers, never give up the fight. Don’t sit there, staring into your navel, wishing things were better or different. Get up and fight! Love with all God’s strength! Unite with your wife against your common enemy! God will be glorified if you do!

Peace,

George