Find A Christian Man

Author: findchristianman

  • Daily Maintenance Is Required

    Daily Maintenance Is Required

    Psalm 37:4(NKJV)
    “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” This verse signals us to delight in our Lord but many believers don’t take him up on it. We don’t because too many of us get disappointed and let down if     we think God takes too long to bless us with what we believe we deserve.” 

    In 1Thessalonians 5:11(NLT), the Apostle Paul told the believers in Thessalonica, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” Paul understood firsthand about the challenges that were facing those who followed Christ, and the commandment to them is to believers living today as well. Although most of us don’t face death on a daily basis as the believers did in biblical days, we still face some really tough challenges in our day and time. One of them is being single in what seems like a sea of men that have no interest in marriage whatsoever.

    Philippians 2:3 tells us not to do anything out of rivalry or conceit, instead we are to be humble and put the benefit of others over ourselves. How many of us have done this or have the attitude of humility and selflessness that this verse conveys? Most of us know a single person that has a heart to be married, and they’ve been praying to God for the opportunity for a while. Although they may not express it to us, there are scars from enduring one relationship disappointment after the other. The loneliness of being single longer than you’d like can press up against your faith at times. It can be a struggle to remain encouraged, especially when it feels as though you’re not making progress, and no one seems to understand your pain.

    As believers, we have a responsibility to encourage others. Whether we are single or married, those that are spiritually mature should encourage those that are endeavoring to increase their believing towards marriage. Again, sometimes being single is not an easy road. Hearing positive and uplifting encouragement to fight the good fight of faith is a gift to single individuals struggling to stay the course.

    If you’re a single person, you might be thinking, “I need encouragement myself.” The answer to this is to give what you desire to receive. This kind of giving and unselfish attitude is what God expects from each of us. It’s how we show His love to others, and we should make it a priority to do this daily.

    There are different kinds of love, and romantic or eros love is what many singles crave. This kind of love comes from physical attraction. It’s the sensual intimacy that a husband and wife share and initially it is expressed through romance. Although this kind of love is meaningful to a marriage, it is not enough to sustain and maintain a marital union. We must be extremely clear about this. God’s love is agape love, and His love is the one on which all other kinds of love must hinge.

    God’s divine love is the kind of love that He has for all of us, and He requires us to have it for Him. We have been empowered by Jesus Christ to love God the way He wants. Romans 5:5(NLT) says, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” The Holy Spirit abides within us and he fills our hearts with God’s love. We are full to running over, and the question for us is whether we’re pouring out to others what God has poured into us.

    There is no doubt that if we are saved and Holy Spirit filled through Jesus Christ, we have God’s love in us. So, we have the ability and capacity to give it away, and this is what God expects. Many of us want to jump right into eros love, because it tickles the flesh, but that is not the way of a spiritually mature believer, and we must be spiritually mature to partner in marriage. As men and women that aspire to be all that God has called us to be, we should develop a daily maintenance plan for our souls. We should continually and freely extend to others what has so freely been extended to us through Jesus Christ.

    If we keep holding on to the love of God within, and we neglect to share it abundantly, we are missing opportunities to lay up treasures. We’re not being the kind of blessing that we can and should be. Let’s not do this. Real love is agape love. It’s God’s love that He has placed within His kids through His Holy Spirit. We need to learn more about the nature of God’s love, so that we continuously put it on in our hearts and minds.

    All of us should want a spouse that loves us through Christ, because this is the only love that has the glue to hold a marriage together. So, lets make spiritual maturity a consistent prayer request, and let’s be diligent to unselfishly and lovingly encourage singles to stay prayerful and never lose faith in God. We need this ourselves, and we are equipped and will be blessed for extending it to others. ■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “Daily Maintenance Is Required”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • God Won’t Keep A Good Thing from You

    God Won’t Keep A Good Thing from You

    Psalm 84:11(NLT)
    “For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.  He gives us grace and glory.  The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”

    So, your boyfriend has told you that he wants to take a break, and you’re looking at him like, “Have you lost your mind?!!!” You’ve been together for two years, invested your affection, time, and resources, and he has decided that it’s not working for him. You want an explanation, right. You want to know why he allowed you to think that everything was hunky dory, and that the possibility of marriage might be somewhere down the road. You want to know why he kept taking everything you offered and never once hinted that it wasn’t enough for him or that he wasn’t happy. This man looked you in the eye and said that he needed to be out of your presence and away from your life, and he can’t even tell you exactly why.

    This is hurt, frustration, anger, insecurity, and bewilderment all rolled into one. Added to this is the curiosity about what’s really going on with him. Were you duped and didn’t have a clue? Were you completely unaware of who this man really is? The questions are endless, and most of us will spend an enormous amount of time racking our brains about it. We do this because rejection knocks the wind out of our sails. It batters our self-esteem and makes us insecure about the choices and decisions we make.

    When something like this occurs, we might question God and ask Him what in the world happened. We thought this man was a keeper, and we could visualize spending our lives together. We thought things were going to work out and never saw the ask for a break coming. Well, there’s a saying that we shouldn’t cry over spilled milk. The milk is on the floor, no longer drinkable, and crying will not reverse the outcome. We know this on the surface, but we’re emotional creatures. Crying over relationship issues is a common response. However, we must be confident that crying about it isn’t the only response.

    We should give ourselves a short window to cry our eyes out over the relationship gone wrong, but we should also put a time limit on those tears. We most move from crying over spilled milk to formulating a plan to elevate ourselves spiritually and increase our faith.

    When things don’t go right for our lives, we cry out to the Lord because we know that something is wrong. We seek Him because we’re stressed, and we don’t know how things got out of alignment. In the Old Testament, this is the situation God’s people were in when they began to cry out to Him for help. Their hearts were not with God, but they still went through the motions of worship. He was not pleased, so the release they expected didn’t materialize. God rejected their offerings and worship. He rejected their praise, and in Malachi 2:14-15(NLT), He told the men, “14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the LORD accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. 15 Didn’t the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.”

    The lives of God’s people got away from them because they failed to guard their hearts. This is a powerful lesson for those of us living today. To guard your heart is to make sure your faith in God remains strong. Then unexpected situations of disappointment and heartache will not leave you with the emotional instability of anxiety. You will not allow the impulses of panic and obsession to make you do things you know you shouldn’t do.

    Philippians 4:6-7(ESV) states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” To be anxious is to be overwhelmed by fears and insecurities. Anxiety is a refusal to be at peace about situations we can’t control. It can be gut-wrenching and overwhelming, and it also shows us the areas in our lives where we are not allowing God’s love to rule. He tells us not to be anxious. This is a direct commandment. Instead, we are to pray to Him in faith, with thanksgiving.

    Faith and gratitude to God is the strategy that He has given us for successful living. And the faith and gratitude that He has outlined in Philippians 4:6-7 is the appropriate response to disappointment, heartbreak, and any other adversity we face. Heavenly Father instructs us to tell Him what our needs are, and to do so with faith and gratitude in our hearts. When we do this, His peace will overcome our anxieties and comfort our hearts and minds.

    Relationship mistakes and the outcomes they bring are notoriously hurtful. They can set us back in many ways, but this will not happen if we strive to increase our faith in God. We must place more effort in trusting our Heavenly Father than we do in our feelings and thoughts of abandonment and despair. The root of our heartache and disappointment is a fear that we may not ever receive the kind of relationship we desire. Our Heavenly Father allowed this fear to be exposed so that we can see it for what it is and overcome it. God will not keep a good thing from you. He will help you to grow in His love so that you recognize the blessing He sends, and most importantly, so that you continue to keep your relationship with Him the greatest priority of your life.■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “God Won’t Keep A Good Thing from You”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • I’m Still Working on Myself

    I’m Still Working on Myself

    Proverbs 18:22 (NLT)
    “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord.”

    “I’m not ready to get married yet. I’m still working on myself.”

    You’ve probably heard this statement from some single individuals, and it has everything to do with how they view marriage and how they view themselves. A man in his early forties said this to me when he and I were talking about marriage. He’s a spiritually mature believer, and I was surprised to hear him say that he’s still not ready for marriage. He believes that he needs to work on himself, because once he marries, he doesn’t ever want to get a divorce. This is admirable by anyone’s standard. The problem is that being spiritually, mentally, and emotionally prepared to partner isn’t something we can do on our own. If a person isn’t actively pursuing and seeking God’s direction, they might not ever take that walk down the aisle.

    We all have insecurities, and often those are the source of our uncertainties about getting married. So, we’re talking about internal issues with the heart and soul. These can manipulate the mind into having feelings and attitudes that do not line up with our new reality in Christ.

    The work that God calls every one of His children to do is the work of their hearts, minds, and souls. It’s not about being ready for marriage, it’s about being ready to live for God through the Lord Jesus Christ. He said to his followers in Luke 9:23(NLT), “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” God wants to see commitment from us, and it is out of this steadfast commitment to God and His Kingdom that the loyalty and unity for marriage are formed.

    For many, turning from selfish ways is the issue. God’s commandment regarding working on ourselves is that we learn more about Christ and take on more of his nature. 1John 2:6(ESV) tells us that “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” So, we can see that when a believer says they’re not ready to get married because they have more work to do on themselves, this work should be about growing in Christ and putting on more of his love. If it’s not about growing in Christ, it’s an excuse to further indulge selfishness.

    We are not sufficient in and of ourselves. If we were able to work on ourselves and get better outside of Christ, he would not have had to come to the earth and die. We are not qualified to do the kind of work within that is necessary to please God. And if we don’t please Him, we are outside His Will, which is the worst place of any in life to be.  2Corinthians 3:5(NKJV) affirms, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.”

    We all have a work to do on ourselves, and it is the work of our hearts and minds, to put off the negative and dark behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes of our old nature, and to put on the nature of Christ, who offered himself as a sacrifice to rescue us from sin and death. The incompletion of this work cannot be offered as an excuse for delaying commitments, because again, everyone is being perfected in Christ. Our goal must be to see ourselves as being continually fortified by God through Jesus Christ. This is what makes us more than conquerors and spiritually empowered to do all the things God has purposed us to do. ■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “I’m Still Working on Myself”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Know What You’re Working With

    Know What You’re Working With

    Psalm 84:11(NLT)
    “For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.  He gives us grace and glory.  The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”

    So, your boyfriend has told you that he wants to take a break, and you’re looking at him like, “Have you lost your mind?!!!” You’ve been together for two years, invested your affection, time, and resources, and he has decided that it’s not working for him. You want an explanation, right. You want to know why he allowed you to think that everything was hunky dory, and that the possibility of marriage might be somewhere down the road. You want to know why he kept taking everything you offered and never once hinted that it wasn’t enough for him or that he wasn’t happy. This man looked you in the eye and said that he needed to be out of your presence and away from your life, and he can’t even tell you exactly why.

    This is hurt, frustration, anger, insecurity, and bewilderment all rolled into one. Added to this is the curiosity about what’s really going on with him. Were you duped and didn’t have a clue? Were you completely unaware of who this man really is? The questions are endless, and most of us will spend an enormous amount of time racking our brains about it. We do this because rejection knocks the wind out of our sails. It batters our self-esteem and makes us insecure about the choices and decisions we make.

    When something like this occurs, we might question God and ask Him what in the world happened. We thought this man was a keeper, and we could visualize spending our lives together. We thought things were going to work out and never saw the ask for a break coming. Well, there’s a saying that we shouldn’t cry over spilled milk. The milk is on the floor, no longer drinkable, and crying will not reverse the outcome. We know this on the surface, but we’re emotional creatures. Crying over relationship issues is a common response. However, we must be confident that crying about it isn’t the only response.

    We should give ourselves a short window to cry our eyes out over the relationship gone wrong, but we should also put a time limit on those tears. We most move from crying over spilled milk to formulating a plan to elevate ourselves spiritually and increase our faith.

    When things don’t go right for our lives, we cry out to the Lord because we know that something is wrong. We seek Him because we’re stressed, and we don’t know how things got out of alignment. In the Old Testament, this is the situation God’s people were in when they began to cry out to Him for help. Their hearts were not with God, but they still went through the motions of worship. He was not pleased, so the release they expected didn’t materialize. God rejected their offerings and worship. He rejected their praise, and in Malachi 2:14-15(NLT), He told the men, “14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the LORD accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. 15 Didn’t the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.”

    The lives of God’s people got away from them because they failed to guard their hearts. This is a powerful lesson for those of us living today. To guard your heart is to make sure your faith in God remains strong. Then unexpected situations of disappointment and heartache will not leave you with the emotional instability of anxiety. You will not allow the impulses of panic and obsession to make you do things you know you shouldn’t do.

    Philippians 4:6-7(ESV) states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” To be anxious is to be overwhelmed by fears and insecurities. Anxiety is a refusal to be at peace about situations we can’t control. It can be gut-wrenching and overwhelming, and it also shows us the areas in our lives where we are not allowing God’s love to rule. He tells us not to be anxious. This is a direct commandment. Instead, we are to pray to Him in faith, with thanksgiving.

    Faith and gratitude to God is the strategy that He has given us for successful living. And the faith and gratitude that He has outlined in Philippians 4:6-7 is the appropriate response to disappointment, heartbreak, and any other adversity we face. Heavenly Father instructs us to tell Him what our needs are, and to do so with faith and gratitude in our hearts. When we do this, His peace will overcome our anxieties and comfort our hearts and minds.

    Relationship mistakes and the outcomes they bring are notoriously hurtful. They can set us back in many ways, but this will not happen if we strive to increase our faith in God. We must place more effort in trusting our Heavenly Father than we do in our feelings and thoughts of abandonment and despair. The root of our heartache and disappointment is a fear that we may not ever receive the kind of relationship we desire. Our Heavenly Father allowed this fear to be exposed so that we can see it for what it is and overcome it. God will not keep a good thing from you. He will help you to grow in His love so that you recognize the blessing He sends, and most importantly, so that you continue to keep your relationship with Him the greatest priority of your life.■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “God Won’t Keep A Good Thing from You”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • When He Makes You His Wife

    When He Makes You His Wife

    Genesis 2:23(NLT)
    “At last!” the man exclaimed.”  This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called woman because she was taken from man.”

    Adam was incredibly thankful to God for bringing him Eve. He was excited because he was given a companion that would bless his life. Adam wasn’t intellectually impaired in any way, quite the opposite. He was brilliant because he spent every waking moment with God. Once he laid eyes on Eve, he understood the gift he had received. Someone like him was now a part of his life, and in Adam’s mind and heart, this was something worth celebrating.

    The connection between Adam and Eve was undeniable. He was very much aware that God had taken a rib from his body and from it made Eve, his wife. Adam understood the math, that from one, two were made to function as one. Two would walk together in unity as they lived God’s purpose. This is God’s masterful plan.

    Adam was the first man, and he was created before Eve. God doesn’t make mistakes, and knowledge regarding everything that He does is purposeful for our journey in life. It should not be lost on us that God presented Eve to Adam, and that God intended her to help Adam fulfill the tasks he had been assigned. These are very simple lessons about marital partnership. God made them that way so that everyone could grasp His intended Will, plan and purpose.

    Sadly, we have turned what God made simple into multifaceted complications, and this has done a number on the way we perceive marriage. Because we haven’t followed God’s marriage plan, the devil has wedged his way into the equation. By getting us to focus on the flesh, satan has managed to mess with our minds to such a degree that we’ve made sexual pleasure more important than God’s purpose. We’ve lost God’s priority in the matter, and this has so greatly diminished our reverence for God’s institution of marriage, that we think dating someone is a satisfactory replacement.

    The reason that God’s Word, the Bible, doesn’t cover the subject of dating is because He intended a man to esteem a woman’s honor so highly that he would not do anything to contradict it. Dating, in the modern sense, throws this out of the window in many cases. God demonstrated for us in Genesis 1-2 that He had given Adam tremendous authority in the earth. He then lost it, but through Jesus Christ, this authority was restored. Like Adam, the authority of Christ that is given to a husband is solely to be exercised through a man’s dedication and devotion to God. Men are to be responsible to God to do as God pleases. It is no less for a woman, but the responsibility to be a Godly husband came to Adam first. 1Corinthians 11:3 (ESV) states, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” This is the hierarchy God has etched in stone, and it cannot be altered or changed by anyone but Him.

    The love language between a man and a woman begins with the love of Christ. The man is responsible to Christ for honoring and loving his wife. Ephesians 5:25(NLT) says, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.” This not only conveys the depth of love that Christ has for the church, but it conveys God’s love for husbands and wives. He set the bar for the way a man should love his wife.

    God made Eve to be the blessing Adam needed and deserved. Heavenly Father made her everything a woman could and should be. They both loved and honored one another, she, a helper perfectly suited to help Adam carry out God’s purpose, and he, perfectly suited to honor God and honor his wife. God set this up, and regardless of how modern we think we might be, understand that God knows best and His way works best. So, when a man makes you his wife, know what God requires of you and what He requires of the man. He expects the man to see you as a gift, one that is worthy of the celebration of marriage. ■

    Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation All rights reserved http://www.lockman.org

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “When He Makes You His Wife”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Honor God with Your Body

    Honor God with Your Body

    There is no question that the world is trying to move to a complete abandonment of God’s Word. Part of this mindset is the desire to do whatever we want regardless of what God says. We want to do our own thing, and we saw this attitude first in Adam and Eve. It is rooted in a desire to escape God’s judgment about the wrong things we take pleasure in doing. The truth is that God is our Creator, and He tells us what is right and what is wrong. He sanctifies us and makes us holy through His Word and being sanctified and holy is the only way we can have fellowship with God. It’s the only way to enjoy the rich and satisfying blessings that are the rewards of pleasing Him.

    We are washed in the blood of the lamb and become sanctified by it when we make Jesus Christ Lord over our lives. After this sanctification, this washing of the blood of Christ, our bodies are fit to become a temple that houses the Holy Spirit of God. Our Heavenly Father is perfect and pure. He is holy, and His Spirit cannot dwell in an unclean place. Because of what God accomplished for us through the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, we are made clean, and this is what our Heavenly Father wanted. He wanted holy, pure, and perfect fellowship with us. He wanted to dwell in us so we could be close to Him, and He did all this through Christ.

    As we continue to journey forward in our new birth reality in Christ, it is our responsibility to preserve our temples. 1Corinthians 6:19-20(NLT) tells us, “19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price.  So you must honor God with your body.” God has commanded us to abstain from having sexual intimacy outside of marriage because doing so defiles our temples. He forgives us when we sin if we seek His forgiveness. God is merciful and full of grace. He grants us forgiveness when we ask for it, and this restores our fellowship with Him, but we must remember that for every action there is a consequence. His forgiveness does not mean that we escape the consequences of the sinful action we’ve committed.

    Some of us have joined our flesh together with many men, and it has had a severe impact on our desire and plans for marriage. This is not stated to condemn, because condemnation keeps us from accepting the truth. It keeps us from repenting from our sin and moving forward and higher in Christ. To condemn is to make useless or unusable. Think of a building with the windows and doors nailed shut and with massive yellow tape labeled “Do Not Enter” wrapped around it. This building has been condemned and everyone knows that you should not enter a condemned building because it is no longer usable.

    Romans 8:1(NLT) tells us, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” God doesn’t want us walking around beating ourselves up for our sin. He wants us to repent from it. Repentance means to have a change of mind and a change of heart. It is to refuse to do the sinful thing we did before. This is true repentance, and we should bless the Lord continually for giving us this way to get right with Him.

    The consequence of joining ourselves with men other than our husbands is what many women are experiencing today. They have never repented for this sin and do not intend to. A woman of God that has been single a long time said to me, “I need to know if we’re sexually compatible before we get married – waiting is not for me.” I shared 1Corinthians 6:19-20 with her and told her that our bodies don’t belong to us, they belong to God. She abruptly ended the conversation.

    When we refuse to follow God’s standard, we get ourselves in disastrous situations. Like all God’s covenants, the one He created for men and women is marriage, and it is not to be violated. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 19:4-5 The Message (MSG), “Haven’t you read in your Bible that the Creator originally made man and woman for each other, male and female? And because of this, a man leaves father and mother and is firmly bonded to his wife, becoming one flesh—no longer two bodies but one.” God reserved sexual intimacy for marriage because it binds a man and a woman into one unit in the eyesight of God. When they are married, they no longer function as two, but as one. This is according to God’s divine plan. When we’ve become one with several men through sexual intimacy, it violates the sanctity of the covenant God established. No one should ever want to do this. When we know better, we should do better.

    In Isaiah 3:16-17,24(AMP), God said about the Daughters of Zion, the women of His people, “16 Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk with outstretched necks and seductive (flirtatious, alluring) eyes, and trip along with mincing steps and an affected gait and walk with jingling anklets on their feet, 17 Therefore the Lord will afflict the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion with scabs [making them bald], 24 Now it will come to pass that instead of the sweet fragrance of spices there will be [the stench of] rottenness.” This was the curse that the devil was allowed to land because the women refused to listen to God.

    We can’t be free by believing a lie. We must know the truth so that we understand God’s requirements, reroute ourselves to follow them, and receive the blessings He wants to give us. Many are praying to cross paths with their future husbands, but they should be praying to get right with God. He requires that our strongest desire is to please Him. So, don’t allow the weight of unrepented sin and the refusal to obey God to continue to keep you out of fellowship with Him. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind to God’s Word, have a repenting and humble heart, and be committed to keep your temple holy. ■

    Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation All rights reserved http://www.lockman.org

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “Honor God with Your Body”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • A Bright Future Even When the Path Looks Foggy

    A Bright Future Even When the Path Looks Foggy

    Many people look at Christianity and following Christ as merely a facet of culture that fits their personal philosophy. They see their way as “the way”, and like sound bites, they pick out the bits and pieces of the Bible that seem to go along with their way of thinking. A true disciple of Christ can’t remain on the sidelines like this. God won’t allow it. His plan for our individual lives will require a gradual, and sometimes quickly paced, all in kind of heart and mind. We’ll begin to view our personal philosophy as something the love of Christ will chisel down and rebuild with better tools and materials.

    God’s goal is not to eradicate our personality, but to shape it into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. It will require us to believe the truth, which is the reality that Christ is life itself. Outside of him, there is no life. There is only an empty existence that will be without the possibility of spending an eternity in him. So, as every believer knows, to choose Christ is to choose love, and to choose love is to choose life—complete and lasting life!

    Colossians 2:10(NLT) tells us, “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” This completeness is everything! Knowing this truth as the beautiful dream that God planned for us long before we entered our mother’s wombs should prompt us to go deeper in faith. We should long to know Jesus Christ on a deeper level so that we can know ourselves as completely as we are known of God. We should be resolute in knowing that better relationships, self-acceptance, peace of mind, and the joy of the Lord are all found in getting to know Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.

    Do you know that God is teaching you to love Him, and in so doing you are learning to love yourself? 1John 4:8(NLT) says, “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” This is a truth great enough to send us on love’s journey for an eternity. God is love. He is love at its purest, most powerful and creative existence. His love is unconditional and has no limitations. Any sane and logically thinking person that can comprehend the breadth, width, and depth of God’s love has the capacity to love through Him. This is what 1John 4:8 is telling us. But, of course, whether or not we love through God in Christ is totally our choice.

    In Mark 12:30(NLT), Jesus Christ commands, “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” To love God with every ounce of all that we are is the first and great commandment. So, by logical deduction, we can understand that love’s path becomes very foggy when we do not love God in the way that Christ requires.

    In most all cases, troubles and reparable brokenness in our relationships occur because we are not loving God according to the commandment of Christ in Mark 12:30. It is a very commonly known fact that many women make the significant man in their lives their everything. They don’t understand that God is sovereign and magnificent in every way, and He cannot accept a number two position ever.

    When we bypass what God says and seek to please people over pleasing Him, our spiritual sight and hearing are impaired, because we are not allowing ourselves to be governed by His truth. Women that trust and have faith in God do not compromise or apologize for who He has made them. They must not allow anyone to squash their potential and rob them of the bright future God has ordained for their lives. To be embolden in Christ is to be ever inspired to rise to the level of his example. There are no curve outs or addendums to the victory that Jesus Christ has won for us. When we stand on God’s Word, that stand will remain a catalyst that causes things to work for our good. This is what our completeness in Christ means. It is not a philosophy, and it is exponentially more than a lifestyle. Living in Christ is living God’s truth!

    Again, the path to love and blessings in a relationship can look very foggy, and we might find that we are not prepared for it. There are things about us and hiccups ahead that we can’t see from where we’re standing. Heartbreak and disappointment can cloud our view. We underestimate the degree to which we must turn ourselves around and make a shift in our thinking. 1John 5:3(ESV) states, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” When it comes to relationships, many of us believe the exact opposite. We believe that God’s commandments are burdensome, that they can’t be kept, and that we’ll lose out if we follow the path of His love.

    This is never the case. Yes, we will make mistakes, but they will not rob us of the bright future ahead if we correct our course according to God’s Word. Sometimes, all it takes is a slight change in our mindset to set us on the right path. Set your thoughts to those of victory and joy in Christ. Envision what God has for you, and let it keep you always. Honor yourself by honoring God, and don’t get caught up in feelings and emotions. Trust in the Lord, and keep your eyes stayed on Him. He holds your future in His hands, and it will beautifully unfold if you remain on the course of His love.

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    English Standard Version (ESV)
    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

    “A Bright Future Even When the Path Look Foggy”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • What’s the Wait All About?

    What’s the Wait All About?


    1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. 4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

    Psalm 19:1-4(NLT)

    Most of us know that we can’t get anywhere in life without the blessing of our Heavenly Father. He makes everything possible for us. Therefore, we know that when we have a need, we have to take it to the Lord in prayer. Philippians 4:6(NLT) tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Most of us understand this verse with crystal clarity, but it’s the waiting that causes us to question if marriage is going to happen for us. Single women, I know you hear me on this one. I’ve spoken to many single women of faith about the subject of waiting for the Lord to bless them to meet their husbands. We all agree that waiting on an answer to our prayers is often the most challenging part.

    Society has taught us many things, and one of them is impatience. We think we can have what we want by speeding up the process so we can get it quicker. This is an approach that doesn’t work for those that are in Christ. Galatians 5:22 tells us that patience is a fruit of the Spirit. It’s a state of being, which makes it more than a feeling or attitude. It’s manifested inwardly by the Spirit and manifested outwardly through our actions and behaviors. The Spirit’s fruit is the nature of God’s children. It’s part of who we are, and it must be worked out in our hearts and minds to the point where our faith makes patience feel right at home.

    Philippians tells us not to be anxious about what we are praying to receive. Anxiety about it means that fear is lurking about somewhere, and it’s causing our faith to take a backseat. So, we have to order our prayer lives in such a way that growing in patience and faith becomes our priority. The blessing of a husband is such a sweet reward, but it’s not the greatest prize. Growing our faith in God and tightening our relationship with Him is the real treasure. We have to know the difference between these two and prioritize them appropriately in our minds and hearts.

    The Book of Genesis tells us that after Adam and Eve sinned against God by disobeying His Word, they hid themselves in shame. In Genesis 3:12(NLT), we learn a great deal about the shame of sin, and how most human beings handle this. Rather than accepting responsibility for the wrong he did and seeking God’s forgiveness with earnest sorrow, Adam said, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” The first man deflected and played the blame game. This demonstrates the human tendency to deflect, dodge, and hide from what we’ve done wrong as well.

    Increasingly our environment is one in which we run from blame and run from the truth. We do it so much in fact that our society is losing its grasp on discernment. It’s grown so used to a lie that it no longer recognizes the truth. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the way that we reject the actions of Adam and Eve and reject society’s poor judgment and refusal to love the truth is to do the opposite of what they have done. We must be lovers of God’s truth. The degree to which we love God’s truth will be on full view by our accountability for not obeying it. We have to come clean about not meeting God’s requirements during some of the situations we’ve gone through in life.

    We can’t sweep that stuff under the rug as if the sin never occurred. We must repent, and when we do, God forgives us, but true repentance requires a change of heart and a change of mind. We shouldn’t continue with the same sins over and over again. How we honor God with reverence and obedience determines our ability to steward and handle His blessings. He is always watching and observing us. He’s not doing this to punish us. 2Chronicles 16:9 tells us that He’s looking for an opening to come in so He can bless us with our desires. We should be praying and seeking His guidance on how to do this, how to invite His blessing and fully put on His armor so we can grow stronger spiritually.

    It would not be wise to ignore the reality that there is always a reason behind the wait, and that it usually has to do with our readiness to make room for the blessing. All of us think we’re ready, but if the man stepped in right this moment, many of us would place our commitment to God on the backburner and go all in with the relationship. Our commitments would change. Our priorities would change, and we have not even thought about how to navigate issues of intimacy in a way that pleases God. We’d be so thrilled to finally have an opportunity for love that we’d give over our hearts completely, when truly they are not ours to give.

    Our hearts belong to God, but whether we are giving them to Him totally and completely is another story. For many years, we’ve underestimated the commitment and intimacy that God desires from us. We’re easily manipulated to shortchange Him and ourselves, and this cannot be. God is a Father! What does a father do? He looks after His kids. Whether we trust it or not, this is what the wait is all about. God is grooming us, helping us to cultivate the obedience, humility, and love for Him that a child of light must have. He’s helping us to develop spiritual strength so that when storm winds blow in our future marriages, we will not buckle from the pressure. We’ll stand strong and prove that following God’s Will and Word is the firm foundation that holds up our lives and preserves the unity of our marriages as well.■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “What’s the Wait All About?”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Harmony of the Heart

    Harmony of the Heart

    A very good friend and sister-in-Christ told me that when a man truly loves a woman, peace in the relationship will follow. Her statement places an incredible amount of responsibility on the man, but still, I remember asking myself how in the world did she come to this realization. She was speaking from personal experience, and as I continued to reflect on her statement, I wondered what circumstances she experienced to ultimately have this kind of love and peace in her relationship. It wasn’t until I had gone through a few ups and downs in my own significant relationships that I realized how true her statement is.

    Truly loving
    Most women of God that have been praying to cross paths with their future husbands have heard Ephesians 5:25(NLT) and have placed on their checklist of expectations. In this verse, God commands, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” This is God’s standard regarding the caliber of love a man should have for his wife. Fast forwarding into our modern times, we see something very different from what God expects playing out.

    It isn’t uncommon in today’s environment to see a woman putting all her heart into her significant relationship, but the man’s commitment and support doesn’t equal hers. She makes excuses for him, and she keeps telling herself and hoping that he’ll one day come around, but in many cases this doesn’t happen. It could be that he doesn’t understand God’s requirement. A person cannot rise above what they don’t know, so maybe this man has never had an up-close and personal visual of a truly loving relationship between a man and a woman, and he hasn’t yet learned to give of himself. It could be that he doesn’t have a big enough reservoir within himself to accommodate the love he should have for the significant woman in his life.

    The bottom line is that when it comes to good love, the kind that God expects that men will extend to His daughters, the man must have a will to love the woman. This is what I believe my friend was conveying. Truly loving a person requires more than affection, it requires a depth that is reached when their destinies meet.

    When God is in it

    The psalmist said in Psalm 73:24(NLT), “You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.” Only God can set our destinies, and all our destinies are in Christ. Ephesians 1:3-6(NIV) tells us this. It states, “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

    Destiny means that God is in it, and only He can lead us to it. Ephesians 1:3 tells us to celebrate God. He has lavished us with every spiritual blessing because of our union with Christ. He chose us! He made up His mind about who we should be and destined us to perfectly embody the blueprint of Christ. Our very lives are meant to be a celebration of God’s brilliance, walking hand in hand with Him every step of the way. His love for His Son is the same love He has for us, and His vision for us unfolds as we surrender everything to Him by faith.

    We shouldn’t allow anything or anyone to deter us from the vision God holds for us, but often we do, and this is the place where peace and tranquility are interrupted. It’s the place where we are often tricked into thinking that we have something of substance, when in truth, we are accepting something far less than our privilege.

    Sometimes we meet men that aren’t quite there in the love department. They haven’t yet learned to give quality love, because they haven’t received it, or they haven’t allowed God’s love into their hearts. If destiny isn’t involved, and we invest our time and energy into a relationship with this person, it can be disastrous. However, when God is in it, God can work through us. As women who celebrate Him and His love, we should be committed to walk in Christ. Our obedience to God reveals when and if we are destined to be the missing piece in the man’s life. If God says so and this is our destiny, we must be ever so careful to love and give like Christ, and to be the best ambassador for our Lord and Savior that we can be.

    Being true to our destiny in Christ will create a synchronicity and balance to our relationships. Loving God with all that we are yields peace in our relationships, without loving Him in the way He requires, we are lost and have no hope. To strive for a healthy relationship that leads to a healthy marriage is to be in harmony with God’s plan from start to finish. When this is our posture, the right man can’t help but to bring peace, and it will be a perfect and destined match for the peace of God that is already in our hearts. ■

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

    “A Heart of Harmony”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  • Binding Your Relationship with God’s Love

    Binding Your Relationship with God’s Love

    “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

    Colossians 3:14(NLT)

    There are quite a few single Christian women that are praying fervently to cross paths with their future husbands. They become so used to the posture of praying to receive that when they finally do cross paths with a man they believe is Mr. Right, some of God’s daughters are overwhelmed. They just about lose their minds because they’ve waited a long time. The loneliness and wondering when things were going to turn around was challenging, and they don’t want to ever go back to those days. Sometimes, this causes them to place too much focus on the man and not enough focus on growing stronger in Christ. They’ll do just about anything to secure the new relationship. God’s grace is sufficient to us when this happens. He gives us time to adjust, but many singles take advantage of God’s grace and His patience.

    When a man makes himself comfortable in our lives, he makes space for us in his heart. That’s such a wonderful thing, and God delights in our happiness. This is exactly what we prayed to happen, and we’re thrilled. There are so many emotions coming to the surface that it can surprise us how much we neglect or put other things on hold for this significant person. I know you know what I’m talking about. We must be careful to remember how easy it is to be lured away from our commitment to God with this. It should be no surprise that this is why God wants us spiritually strong before we partner, so that we will not succumb to the temptation of putting anything or anyone ahead of our relationship with God.

    Hebrews 13:5(ESV) states, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”” This lesson isn’t just about money. It’s about demonstrating our gratitude for all that God is and all that He has done for us. It’s about prioritizing what’s important to God, because what’s important to Him should be important to us. People come and go. God is the One that will never leave or forsake us. He’s our everything and the Source of all blessings. We say we know and understand this, but our actions often say something very different. We don’t behave in every situation as though we realize that God must be number one in our hearts.

    Understand fully that God can never, ever accept the position of number two. It’s far beneath what He deserves. Our responsibility to the faith should never be hot one minute and cold the next. The love of Christ is what opens the door in our lives for Mr. Right, but things can go south very quickly if we abandon our stand and jeopardize our relationship with God. We always need to behave as though we are aware of this temptation and are continuously praying to outpace it.

    Many relationships with successful starts have ended in heartbreak because we underestimated the prayer, obedience, and loyalty that God requires. Our love for Him is the glue that holds all other relationships together. He tells us in Ephesians 4:3(NLT), “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” It is our responsibility, yours and mine, to keep ourselves spiritually strong through God’s Word so that we treasure our oneness with the Spirit. Our union with the indwelling Holy Spirit binds us with others that love God, and it will strengthen every relationship we have if we are faithful to Him.

    The brand of love that you and I produce on our own doesn’t have stickability. We have all these conditions and limitations to our love. If he doesn’t look a certain way, have money, or have a good job, we might not even give him the time of day. We see this a lot in men as well, especially those that haven’t yet learned to honor and appreciate a woman’s stand on God’s Word. Some of them make demands and will withdraw their affection and attention if those demands are not met. This isn’t God’s love; His love would never operate that way.

    We must understand that we are never at a disadvantage for staying faithful to God and obeying His Word. God will always back the blessings He gives us, and we should never worry or think for one second that He will not. We need God’s love and Word to keep us moving in the direction of marriage. Keep yourself committed to God. Stay in His Word continually and always keep God first in your life.■

    English Standard Version (ESV)
    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

    Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

    “Binding Your Relationship with God’s Love”, written for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.