Life with the Holy Spirit
Testing helps us understand where we stand with the Lord and to develop needed qualities in our lives. Will we hang in there for Christ when things get tough? Are we willing to persevere and demonstrate our faith in God? That’s what God put before Solomon as He addressed him before the building of the temple.
And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever (1 Chronicles 28:9).
God was telling Solomon to evaluate his heart and admonished him to serve Him with a whole heart and to surrender everything in his life, including his thoughts, to God. Have you totally surrendered everything in your heart to God?
PR
Notes
1 Tim Lahaye, Spirit-Controlled Temperament (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1994), 112.
2 Ibid., 118–19.
Weddings are filled with hopes and dreams. For many, the promises made that day quickly fade with the ups and downs of everyday life. Shared goals may seem not so shared anymore. Before long, the love and closeness a couple felt fades into memory and divorce now seems like an option.
What caused the disintegration of a marriage? In his book Oneness: A Call to Honor God in the Marriage Relationship, author Dean Schendel approaches the relational issues marriages face from the standpoint that selfishness is the root cause of all problems. The situation doesn’t have to be hopeless, as Jesus Christ is the only solution. Schendel experienced divorce firsthand and knows the difficulties couples face in a marriage. He reminds us of our need for Christ, the roles and duties of the husband and wife, and how forgiveness plays an integral role in the marriage relationship. Finally, he discusses other factors that affect oneness in the marriage covenant.
Oneness: A Call to Honor God in the Marriage Relationship challenges you to obey what God has commanded for the marriage covenant. Discover what God wants you to know about yourself and His plan for your marriage. There is no fruit in living our own, selfish ways. Keeping the marriage covenant together according to God’s design is of utmost importance.
This chapter from Oneness: A Call to Honor God in the Marriage Relationship is used by permission of the author. Copyright © 2015 Dean Schendel, all rights reserved.
Category: Spirit, Summer 2016