Find A Christian Man

Category: Encouragement and Inspiration

Biblical encouragement for the seasons when you need strength, hope, perspective, or simply a reminder that God is still at work. Find Christ-centered inspiration to help you keep moving forward, stand firm in your faith, and face everyday life with renewed confidence in God and His Word.

NO PITY PARTY HERE!!!

No Husband, No Significant Other, No Prospects in Sight

…BUT YOU HAVE JESUS CHRIST!

In Old Testament times, it was not acceptable for a woman to earn her own living. It was not customary for her to call the shots about where she could go, what she could do, and how she could do it. As a child, her father kept a tight rein. Then, when it was time, a marriage would be arranged and her husband would pick up where her father left off. If a woman found herself in the unenviable position of fending for herself, she ran the risk of being labeled a harlot or a prostitute; even if sex was not involved. Inheritances passed from father to son in those days, so a woman who had no husband or son to lean on was in a very tough spot.

This is the position of which Naomi found herself in the Book of Ruth. She became bitter after losing her husband, then later her two sons. They were living in the country of Moab, but childless and a widow, she set out to move back to her hometown of Bethlehem. Initially, Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, left Bethlehem because of the famine in the land. They made a home in Moab, but after the death of her family members, in Naomi’s eyes Moab had become a symbol of tremendous loss.

We can relate, right? You’re in a new place with your husband and family, then tragedy strikes. Everything that you counted on to be safe and sure is snatched from beneath you. All you can think of is trying your best to escape the pain. It’s understandable, but Naomi made a mistake that many of us sometimes make when we take a hit. She forgot the goodness of God. Any time that we forget to be incredibly thankful for God’s goodness, we begin to focus on what we don’t have, start complaining about it, and then bitterness sets in.

We can see this in Ruth 1:20,21 (NLT). It says, “20 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked. 21 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?” This gives us a clue regarding Naomi’s mindset at the time.

God turned things around for both Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth. He had a plan all along. What a lesson for those of us that are waiting on the promise of a Godly and loving marital partner. We spend a lot of time complaining and giving ourselves a pity party, but we need to take heart, be encouraged, and know that God has a wonderful plan for us.

No Husband Yet – It’s okay! Trust me, you’d rather wait on the Lord for a sure thing. We all know what it feels like when we want something so bad, that we’d do just about anything to get it. Rushing is a big no-no. You don’t want to skip a beat when it comes to preparing God’s way. God has set this thing up, and when we’re ready in our minds and hearts to partner, marriage is eminent.

No Significant Other – This is only a temporary part of being single. You’re in the weeding out process. Now’s the time to let heaven and everything beneath it really see that you’re prioritizing God in the number one spot. Go out of your way to prove your commitment to God; then committing to a significant other will fall right in line.

No Prospects in Sight – Listen, prospects can be very distracting. We have to be prayerful and wise about our time. It is important for us to use it by studying God’s Word and learning as much as we can about the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we learn to know ourselves. 1 John 4:13-16The Message (MSG) tells us, “This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.”

Ask yourself, have you truly embraced God’s love heart and soul? If you have, no husband; no significant other; no prospects in sight will not upset you in the least, because you’re confident that Christ is the head of your life, and he will bring the right man across your path at the right time. ■

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.

“No Pity Party Here!!!”, written by FACM, Finding A Christian Man.Com ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

July 17, 2017
What Are You Thinking?

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

Sometimes, we Christians forget that God made Science. All the new discoveries and technological advances exist because of the brilliance that Heavenly Father has woven into all of creation. Today, we are seeing Christian scholars have dialogues about Quantum Physics, because they are beginning to understand how it correlates with biblical truths, and in some cases, expands our understanding of them. Take the body for instance, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, yet the human body is 50% to 75% water. As powerful as we are physically, and as intricately woven together as we are, it’s astounding to think that the body mostly consists of something as fluid as water. This should prompt us to consider the potency of something as fluid as a thought.

A thought isn’t tangible. We can’t touch or feel it. We can’t hold it in our hands and examine it from all angles. It is an expression of an idea or feeling, and although it is seemingly transparent, it is one of the most powerful elements of human existence.

Thoughts are vibrations, and vibrations are frequencies. This is what Heavenly Father created thought to be. Frequencies ultimately result in the manifestation of matter; as thoughts of faith ultimately result in the manifestation of what we are believing to receive. This is the amazingly potent effect of focusing our thoughts on the living-breathing, positives of God’s Word.

Physics teaches us that everything has a vibration. When atoms are observed under incredibly powerful microscopes, they can be seen vibrating. All energy behaves this way. Understanding the mechanics of how things work has not been high on the priority list of many Christians, but God tells us in Hosea 4:6 that His people are destroyed because they lack knowledge. He doesn’t want us to be ignorant, but to get as much understanding as possible, so that we become wise.

Negativity is at the base or bottom level of existence; it is barely life at all. In other words, it is the lowest form and frequency of operating. Negativity resonates and vibrates with negativity. It is all things dark, deadly, destructive, oppressive, and fearful. It calls attention to what it is. So, when we have negative thoughts, we are signaling everything that vibrates at a level of our negativity; and thereby attracting it to ourselves. Negative thoughts can create a negative cycle that can potentially encapsulate our lives and keep us spiraling downward. Yes, all of this stems from something as powerful and fluid as a thought.

Make no mistake, this is not New Age goobledygook. This is the science behind the brilliant way God created everything to work. When you understand this, you can see why He tells us to fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. These are the components of excellence and praise! They have a high frequency; and therefore, vibrate and draw to us the most positive of positives.

God is giving us a strategy for remaining in the arc of His safety, protection, and care. He’s telling us how to stay out of the enemy’s territory of death and destruction. By saturating our thought life with what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, we come into agreement and harmony with God’s goodness through Jesus Christ.

How many of us can actually say that most of our thoughts consist of at least three of the qualities listed in Philippians 4:8? If we’re honest, many of us would give ourselves a pat on the back if we’re staying our minds on at least one of them. We have become accustomed to worldly behavior, and allow the world’s systems to bombard us with too many distractions.

The Apostle Paul said in 2Corinthians 10:5 (NLT), “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” This is the hallmark of a true disciple of Christ. We are to capture the thoughts that go against the grain of God’s love and teach them to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. We do this so that we don’t add to the negativity of this world; we bring light to it, so that darkness can be exposed and eradicated.

God tells us in Romans 12:2(NKJV), “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” To reverse the negative and move ourselves into a positive trajectory, there’s no question about it; we’ve got to renew our minds. This is the methodology that God has given us to align our mental and emotional centers with the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is how we keep our relationship with God on track.

Negativity blocks you from being your very best for God. A carnal mind is an undisciplined and untrained mind. The Word teaches us that it is an enemy of God. We must begin to train our thoughts to move in the direction that He has told us they should go. He tells us to renew our minds by transforming our thoughts; this is His definitive directive. Make the conscious choice to renew your mind. Change your thoughts to those that mirror the mind of Christ. If you dedicate yourself to this practice, you will see a dramatic change in your life in the present, and you will lay the groundwork for a fabulous future!■

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 Are You Thinking?”, written by FACM, FindingChristianMan.Com ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

July 3, 2017
The Amount You Give

As I was taking a walk with a colleague, a person approached us and asked if we could spare some change. If I am moved by the Holy Spirit to do so, I endeavor to give when asked, but neither of us had any money at that time. We walked a little further down and the woman said to me, “I’m a hard-working woman, and I have bills to pay. It makes me so angry to see people walk up and ask for money that way.” None of us can deny that asking for money on the streets by those who have fallen on hard times isn’t what it used to be. For some, ‘begging’ has become an organized profession; with ranks and bosses. But does this mean that we abdicate our responsibility to give to those who ask?

Spiritual maturity, as well as common sense, should be considered whenever we’re approached for money. It can place us in harm’s way, and we can’t be ignorant about this. However, equally harmful to our spiritual walks is denying to give and be a blessing when God has ordained that we do so. The Word teaches us to make a habit pattern of giving. Proverbs 19:17 The Message (MSG) tells us, “Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.”

In some respects, I understood my colleague’s frustration. She was expressing a sentiment that I’ve heard others express as well, but we live in an increasingly complex time. There are those that are not able to keep pace as well as some of us are able to. They fall through the cracks, especially individuals that are mentally ill and have emotional challenges. They are either denied access to healthcare or they refuse it. In either case, it is a very difficult thing to see.

We haven’t given nearly as much attention to giving as we ought to, but it is top-tier in the teaching of Jesus Christ. Despite the difficulty of watching their plights play out, he already told us that the poor, broken-hearted, and down-trodden would be among us. Some of them have fallen really hard, and need a lot of help. We have a responsibility to Christ to do what we can.

In Matthew 25:27-40(NLT), Jesus Christ taught about the day of judgement for each of us. He said, “ 27-29 Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person. Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time” or “Try me tomorrow” when the money’s right there in your pocket. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[f] you were doing it to me!’”

If you are struggling financially, and living pay check to pay check, then you may find it difficult to give liberally. There are still others of us who have the financial means to give way more than what we do; and we fall short of Jesus’ expectation. He tells us in Luke 6:38 (NLT), “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

God also tells us through the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:7,8 (NLT), “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. 8; And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. So, the way to increase our financial capacity, and to hold on to what we have, is to be a blessing and give to others. This is the way that we create a portal that God’s blessings will continuously flow through.

The bottom line is that we need to be intentional about our giving. If you’re feeling a little unsure or unsafe about giving money to those on the streets, pray about it and ask Heavenly Father for direction from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Choose a specific day that you’d like to be a blessing, and pray that on that day, an opportunity to give will open up to you. If your heart is to give in the way that Christ has instructed, He will make sure that the right opportunity and the right person crosses your path. ■

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.

“The Amount You Give”, written for FACM, Finding A Christian Man.Com ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

June 25, 2017
A True Friend Indeed

Proverbs 27:17 (NLT), says “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” Having a friend that you can count on is a very wonderful gift. This verse in Proverbs paints a portrait of a true friend. There’s a shared sense of caring and concern for one another that grows and develops in a meaningful and supportive friendship. You want each other to succeed in life, and you pour into each other’s lives because you want to see the friendship flourish. In short, a true friend is someone that is on point, and helps us to be on point as well.

How to recognize a potential friend?

My grandmother doled out many pieces of phenomenal wisdom to her grandchildren. One of them was, “Everyone that says they’re your friend, isn’t your friend.” In her own way, she was letting us know that talk is cheap. You really have to look at a person’s actions to know what they are about. A person that has made Jesus Christ the head of their lives and has made a commitment to live for him has the potential to become a good friend. By choosing Christ they have chosen love as the foundation of their lives. Not only is this wise, but it demonstrates a person’s willingness to make things like compassion, gentleness, patience, and generosity a staple in their character.

Look in God’s Word for Examples of Real Friendship

In Genesis 18, God shared His intentions with Abraham. We see a dialogue between them that shows us their friendship. Verses 17-19 tells us, “17 “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. 18 “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.” Abraham is the Father of our believing because he was fully persuaded in God. He knew that if God said it, then it must be true. Heavenly Father also trusted in Abraham. He declared that the descendants of Abraham would become a great nation, and they would be blessed as a result of Abraham’s commitment to honor and trust God.

This is one of the greatest examples in God’s Word of a true friendship. Abraham did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit that you and I have, but still he believed God, and God stamped him “righteous!” because of his faith. There was mutual respect and trust between them, and this was the foundation on which many future blessings rested.

Respect and trust are built as we do things like honor our commitments, speak the truth when we know it will not be easy to hear, and love unconditionally with the heart of Christ. In His Word, God reveals over and over how a commitment to these kinds of qualities are the benchmark of a mutually fulfilling and long-lasting relationship.

Be the Friend You Want

It is important for us to make a decision to start behaving like the friends we hope to have in our lives. Loyalty, honesty, companionship, commonality of interests, and good communication are qualities that we need from others so that we will feel appreciated and valued. We also need to make sure that we are cultivating these characteristics within our own personhood. It is not fair to expect something from a person when we are not holding up the standard ourselves. So as we think about what we desire in our friendships, we need to make sure that we are willing to equal or exceed the benchmarks we set.

Most of us have been taught that we should look at what a person does and not so much what they say. 1John 3:18 (NIV) says, “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” Jesus Christ also told us in Matthew 7:20 (NLT), “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” A real and true friendship is one where we can see the love of Christ in the person’s actions, because they are always looking out for us in ways that add and not subtract from our lives. We don’t see this kind of commitment in friendships often; good friends are not the easiest to find, but if we trust Heavenly Father, and commit ourselves to be faithful, He will help us to meet friends that will be a true blessing to our lives.

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.

“A True Friend Indeed”, written by FACM ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

May 21, 2017
Jewels of Truth

One of my favorites passages of scripture is Jeremiah 17:7-8(NIV). It says, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” I absolutely love this scripture, because it holds jewels of truth. The diamond of it cuts right down to the truth of what happens when we have a sold-out trust in Heavenly Father. In the past, when reading this verse, I visualized the kind of person it was referring to. What must a person go through in order to obtain this level of confidence in the Lord; the kind of confidence where God would stamp him or her with a brand of ‘fearless!” How does one stay fresh and always hopeful? When everyone else is experiencing drought, how does this person continually bear fruit? These are questions to which you and I must seek the answers, because not only is this a pretty special person, it is God’s blueprint for the person that He desires to be your spouse.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is a spectacular person by God’s standards. The truth is that we’ve seen such erosion of Godly principles in the world, that some sisters have allowed a very cynical mindset to takeover when it comes to finding the right man for them. They have been so disappointed in the past that they won’t fully trust in God’s provision in this area. This is the extraordinarily wonderful thing about Heavenly Father; He exceeds our expectations, and waits for our minds and hearts to catch up to it.

Ephesians 3:20(KJV) tells us, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Oh how I pray that you can get this into your heart. God works in the exceeding abundantly. This is His trademark, but He is also a God of consistency and order. With God, it is spirit to spirit; holiness to holiness; faith to faith. It’s not apples to oranges. It’s apples to apples. He does the exceeding abundantly ACCORDING to the exceeding abundantly that is working in us. If you are not dabbling in this particular arena, then you’re not going to see all that is available to see.

This is why so many Christian women are disappointed in their desires. They are sometimes in the wrong place, talking to the wrong people, conversing about the wrong things; seeing the wrong things, thinking the wrong thoughts, and expecting right results. It doesn’t work this way. Faith to faith. You’ve gotta give God something to work with. Your arena has to change so that you can see a different picture—a higher picture than the one you’ve been seeing.

The beautiful brother that is hardworking, pleasant to be around, pleasing to the eye, confident and strong, fearless, and continually energized by the power of the Holy Spirit—guess what? He’s not an abnormality in the realm of God’s treasures. He exists, and he is not in short supply. He’s a jewel of God’s truth!

The Apostle James wrote in James 1:2-4(NIV), “2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” The spiritual lessons and preparation to become a wife may prove to be a test of your faith; it is for many single Christian women. It requires us to pull down strongholds of negativity and doubt, and to see the areas of our lives that need to be strengthened in Christ before we move forward to the blessing of matrimony.

What happens is that some of us make the mistake of being a little bit too desperate or hasty for love. We want the prize without the prep. We want oranges to match apples; and we ignore the advice God gave us in His Word.

Changing arenas means that we move higher to a heavenly view, where our trust in God regarding marriage is unwavering. This is what makes a person like a tree planted by the waters. It’s when your confidence is in God’s provision, and you just know that He’s going to do what He promised.

It may seem a far distance from where you’re standing today, and if you were to look at switching lanes on your own…forget about it. Thank God that Jesus Christ is the head of our lives! He’s Lord! He knows where we’re supposed to be, when we’re supposed to be there, and how to get us there. We need to relinquish the steering wheel altogether and let perseverance finish its work. The way to do this is to press into the Holy Spirit that indwells us. John 16:13 tells us that he will guide us through Christ and tell us exactly what we need to know, so that we can tap into God’s treasures. Trust that God’s goodness never runs dry, and get yourself pumped for a change of scenery. The Holy Spirit will help you move up supernaturally, so that you begin to see all the wonderful things God has laid up for you.■

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

“Jewels of Truth”, written by FACM, Finding A Christian Man.Com ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

March 6, 2017
What’s Wrong with This Picture?

Matthew 5:43-45 (NLT)
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’[a] and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies![b] Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”

Jesus Christ was a paradigm shifter to say the least. He started his statement in Matthew 5:43 with “you have heard…” This allows us to know that the popular teaching during the time he came on the scene was completely contradictory to the knowledge and wisdom that he laid out. How absolutely mind blowing it must have been for those listening. To think that they had made a pattern of hating their enemies and loving only those who loved them. Jesus Christ blazed a new trail by speaking of a higher, more enlightened, and spiritually intelligent way of handling enemies. He said love them, then you’ll draw a line in the sand between those that are representing God’s love and those that are not.

It must have sounded preposterous to those who would absolutely refuse to move away from their old way of thinking and behaving. Not only did he tell them to love their enemies, but he took it a step further. He said pray for them who persecute you! What!!! Make no mistake, Jesus Christ knew exactly the uproar his revolutionary words would cause. He came to shake things up and to set a new, higher standard for living a spiritual life. You can’t do this without knocking down the error first, so that newness has a fresh place to land.

Even though many single sisters are Christians, and have been for years, they still cling to old paradigms or patterns; some of which Jesus Christ has specifically told us to kick to the curb. We’re still complaining about how hard good men are to find, when we know from God’s Word that they are the ones to do the finding. We’re playing around with the temptations that dating often leads to, when God has called us to use our time as singles to tighten our relationship with Him. Patterns like these must be eradicated if we’re to step into a greater level of love, and thereby draw out a greater love from the one who will ultimately be our partner in life.

Jesus Christ told us that our Heavenly Father rains down blessings on both the just and the unjust. In your mind, you might see yourself as a woman that is living right; on the other hand, you see a woman that isn’t nearly as dedicated to the faith as you are, and she’s engaged to be married. “What’s wrong with this picture?” you ask yourself. Stuff like this may have you feeling a little like those who heard the message of love that Jesus taught in Matthew 5:43-45.

The truth is that God doesn’t love the saved person more than He loves the unsaved person. He loves all of us, which is why Jesus instructed us to love and pray for our enemies. So we can’t focus on some of the things that we see, but don’t quite understand.

Your focus must rest in the reality that God has specifically called you out from among the world. This means that there are some things that you are required to do in order to fulfill your destiny in Christ. You can never underestimate God’s allegiance to see you become all that He has called you to be. You may see others enjoying the blessings that you desire for yourself, but you cannot be deterred. God is perfecting something in you. James 1:4 (NIV) encourages us, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Always remember that Jesus Christ has called us to a higher, more enlightened, spiritually intelligent way of life. Not to make us better than anyone else, but he has called us to light the path for those who have not yet beheld his glory in the way that we have. Your future husband will be all that you desire and more, but he will need you to be strong in ways that you don’t yet realize. Trust that God is grooming you to receive this tremendous blessing. Help Him to knock down those old paradigms of error that have gotten in your way. Represent God’s love always, and trust that the Holy Spirit will prepare you for what is to come as you 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.

“What’s Wrong with This Picture?”, written by FACM, Finding A Christian Man.Com ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

February 27, 2017
Always on Top and Never at the Bottom

Deuteronomy 28:12-13(NLT)

“The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. 14 If you listen to these commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.”

When we are in the process of ‘going through’, it can get so bad sometimes that it feels as if we’re sinking into a bottomless pit. You know that you should be declaring that you are more than a conqueror in every situation—that God has made you the head and not the tail, but the tribulations seem insurmountable; and you can’t seem to squeeze that gusto positivity through the cracks of your circumstances. Truth be told, these are the moments that make us, because when you’re out there with your back against the wall, God is the only one that can rescue you. He’s the one holding you up.

Sometimes, the breakthrough that we really need is the one where our faith pierces through our circumstances with a vengeance and we hang on to it like a dog with a bone. We just have to flat out trust that Heavenly Father has our backs, because if we trust Him, He will demolish the negativity that is robbing us of peace and happiness. This is what His Word tells us time and time again.

Hebrews 2:16-18The Message (MSG) assures us of the care and love that Jesus Christ has for us, and it solidifies that he is helping us even when it doesn’t seem like it. This passages says, “16-18 It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.”

Jesus Christ knows everything that we’re going through down here, because he endured it all and his faith was tested by the enemy just as ours is. He’s our high priest, and he is continually making intercession for us. So, we can rest assured that Heavenly Father will keep His promises to bless all that we do and to make our way prosperous, but we must do our parts as well.

Deuteronomy 28:12-13(NLT) tells us to obey the Lord, and to follow His Word carefully. This means that we don’t skimp when it comes to the things of God, but that we give Him our all. Whether we’re struggling with addictions, can’t seem to pray our way through, dealing with financial lack, or we’re holding on to a relationship that isn’t helping us to be our best. Whatever the case may be, in whatever shape we’re in, God wants us to give ourselves completely over to Him. It’s the intent of our hearts to surrender, and the desire to please and praise Him; that’s what causes the tides to turn. If we’ll be persistent in coming to God with this kind of mind-and-heart-set, He’ll make sure that we’ll always be on top and never at the bottom.

Isaiah 41:13(NLT), “For I hold you by your right hand – I, the Lord our God. And I say to you, Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.”

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.

Written by FACM for FindingChristianMan.Com ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

January 9, 2017
Refresh for Your Marriage Resolution

Praise God and Hallelujah for another year to be the best “YOU” in 2017! This sharing won’t be about making resolutions for the new year, but more so about taking the necessary steps to be renewed in the power of your mind, heart, and spirit, particularly in the area of the marital relationship you desire. As Christians, we owe it to God and ourselves to make the most of every day by trusting and believing God’s promises. 1John 5:4,5 (The Message) says, “Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.” This is good news indeed. So if preparing yourself for matrimony just so happens to be an integral part of your New Year’s resolution, it’s going to be an awesome year for you; and here’s something that will help to make sure that it turns out exactly as you desire.

It’s no secret that patience is a very important virtue, and it must be exercised in our pursuit of a marital relationship; there can be no doubt about this. But it isn’t God’s Will that the virtuous woman of God wait year after year without her physical, emotional, and spiritual needs being met. Marriage is indeed a ministry, one of the most important and profound ministries of all. As a matter of fact, it was the first ministry that God ordained when He gave Adam and Eve to one another and told them to be fruitful and multiply. So God wants you to marry and blissfully so, and He would never withhold such a blessing from you.

1John 5:4 tells us that every child of God receives victory over the world, and this conquering power is our faith. The world wants the woman of God to buy into the fallacy that there are no good Christian men left. The world tells us all the time that we are doomed to be alone unless we commit to do all kinds of foolish things to be attractive or relevant. And then, once we’ve altered ourselves to fit the world’s standard, we are disappointed beyond belief with the results. God’s way is the way of faith! There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If we would put as much effort in building our faith as we do in other things, we’d be so much further along. It’s FAITH that produces results when it is backed up by the authority of Jesus Christ!

What does this mean for you and your commitment to be prepared for marriage in the new year? Well, one of the most effective strategies for overall success is to reduce a big undertaking down to small chewable bites. And so it is with the quest for marriage. A good place to begin is to start with what you know. You know from 1John 5:4 that “The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith.” So it’s essential that you begin to examine ways in which you can build your faith in the area where you are looking to achieve results.

And as you examine ways to build your faith, you want to remove the things that have blocked you from building it in the past. I know so many sisters who can’t get out of their own way. They have a certain set of standards, and they are unyielding when it comes to finding a man who will fit them. Common sense tells us that if you don’t like the results you’re getting, then you cannot keep doing things the same way. Something has to change. With most of us, these changes must take place inwardly. Once we change inwardly, our outward circumstances will follow suit.

When it comes to men, it’s good to have standards, but we also have to trust God. And sometimes our standards limit us from aligning ourselves with God’s standard. So we have to be be careful about this. Think about it, why would any woman of God believe that God would not bless her exceeding abundantly above what she is praying to receive? He knows what’s best for us. He knows what we need. So we have to trust Him. We have to remove these limiting beliefs from our minds and hearts, and yield our standard for His, because God’s standard is based solely upon His love. When everything is said and done, God wants our hearts to be broad and big enough that we can love all types of people. And this is something that we have to consider when we go before His throne.

Instead of clinging so tightly to your assumptions about what you need or don’t need, make some promises to yourself and to God that you will do more than what you’ve been doing, and do less of what didn’t work in the past. This is the best way to refresh yourself in feelings of confidence and thankfulness for what lies ahead.

It’s time out for what didn’t work yesterday, last week, and especially years gone by. Get your spiritual self in gear and let the love of God be in full effect. Commit to read and study God’s Word. Begin to dedicate yourself to mustard seed acts of faith. And always remember that much can be done with a little, and you’ll get the most out of this year as you grow in God’s love and strength.
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

“Refresh for Your Marriage Resolution” written by FACM, Finding A Christian Man ©2016. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

December 26, 2016
“It’s Just So Unfair!”

James 3:17 (NLT)
“17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.”

“I just can’t go to another wedding! My last single girlfriend just snagged a good man, and I don’t understand it. She hasn’t been on this Christian journey as long as I have, and I don’t think she’s as dedicated as I am. To make matters worse, she’s on her second go around, and I’ve never had a ring on my finger! It just doesn’t seem fair. Where am I going wrong?” This summarizes many of the emails we receive from Sisters that are so frustrated with being single. They don’t understand why things are not working out for them.

God provides for us a sure Word, a Word that we can count on no matter what, because God’s Word will never fail or falter. We can stand upon it and it will never let us down. In James 3:17, He tells us that His wisdom is pure. It is unadulterated. So when we see things that look to us to be unfair, we can rest assured that they may look that way, but God’s way is perfect.

It is when we allow ourselves to indulge this sense that we are being wronged or unfairly treated in life that we make huge errors. The first mistake is forgetting that God’s wisdom is unfailing, and the second is neglecting that it does not show favoritism. Once the mistakes of this train of thought gets steam by our emotional responses, it then has the power to affect our outcomes.

God has told us to renew our minds for a reason, and one of those reasons is because the way we think plays a huge role in the amount of peace, abundance, and fulfillment we experience in life. Without putting ourselves in check, we begin to move in reverse and attract the exact opposite of the blessings we desire.

The blessing of marriage is a spiritually forward, progressive, and higher level reality. Therefore, it stands to reason that it will require a spiritually forward, progressive, and higher level mentality and emotionality to build capacity for it. We can’t get there by indulging negativity and letting bottom feeding thoughts and emotions drag us beneath the realm of Godliness. You can only get a higher functioning mind-and-heart set from trusting, knowing, and feeding upon God’s Word.

James 1:5 (NLT) tells us, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” The same energy that we waste by thinking and reacting to doubt, we can reroute to having faith in the generosity of God. Transitioning from single to married takes decisive steps, just like any other thing that we seek to do in life. If you’re doing something that you shouldn’t be doing, or you’re not doing what you should be doing, ask our generous God if you can’t figure it out. He won’t be mad about it. He’ll tell you exactly what you need to do in order to receive the blessing you so earnestly desire. ■

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.

“It’s Just So Unfair!”, written by FACM, Finding A Christian Man.Com ©2016. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

December 19, 2016
When His Love Is No Longer There

Breaking up with a person that you’ve loved very deeply can be a difficult thing to bear, and some people encounter serious blows to their self-esteem as a result of it. This is especially true when the person in your life makes you believe that he or she is leaving because you’re not good enough for them. When I hear stories like this, it’s almost like hearing the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. I know teachers will make this mistake as they erase away errors, but it doesn’t make hearing it any better. The first thing that pops in my mind is the absurdity of someone actually thinking and behaving so arrogantly, and then I get agitated by the unmitigated gall of anyone that could do this to another person. The truth is that when everything is said and done, we can’t be mad about it. If you give someone your best, and they show you time and time again that they don’t know how to appreciate it, who’s to blame…them or you?

I’m reminded of a situation of someone that held on to a relationship for many years, and a lot of the times she was not treated well at all. The man was very handsome, and she didn’t think much of her own looks. She felt almost privileged to be out with him. It wasn’t until she actually overheard him speaking on the phone to a new interest that it finally sunk in. She had settled for crumbs, and realized that she had been in denial about how bad things were for a very long time. This man belittled her to an unspeakable level, and it took hearing the two of them laughing and conversing at her expense for her to wake up.

The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT) “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” The image of ourselves that we see today is incomplete. It will not be totally perfected until Christ returns, but this image can and should become clearer the more we put on the mind and heart of Christ. The thing is, none of us should shy away from looking at the mirror life holds up for us. We can learn from it.

When a person tries to build a relationship with someone who doesn’t appreciate and honor them, as hard as it is to hear, the person that they’ve chosen will hold up this mirror for them. The reflection is going to be a picture of how they really feel about themselves. It is easy to play the blame game when this happens, but it doesn’t get us anywhere. The reflection tells us that it is time to wrestle with the real issue.

If somewhere deep in your soul you don’t feel good enough, it is a terrible feeling, one that will cause many other feelings of insecurity and doubt to spring up. Jesus Christ will help us to deal with the root of why we feel poorly about ourselves, and he’ll heal us in ways that we can’t possibly know, but it isn’t until we’re ready to deal honestly with this issue that we can set things in order and move forward with a new found strength and confidence.

So it stands to reason that if we want from another person the kind of love we feel we deserve, we must first have it anchored in our souls for God in Christ, and then for ourselves. 2Timothy 1:7 (NLT) tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” God hasn’t given us a spirit of insecurity, doubt, self-loathing, and self-deprivation. He’s given us a spirit of power, love and soundness. Colossians 2:10 assures us, “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” No good thing has God withheld from us. We are power packed and oozing over with good stuff. If we believe anything to the contrary of this, we are believing something that isn’t true.

If we keep our eyes focused on the imperfection we assume we have, and if we refuse to allow the Spirit to help us release things that hold us back, then we might continue to allow others to rob us of the power, love, and soundness that God has given us. This will continue a negative cycle, and it doesn’t have to be that way. We cannot control how others see us, but we can certainly control how we respond to their perception of who we are.

Many of us have the ability to keep on loving even when the love from the other person is no longer there. This is admirable, but it should be love from a distance. In other words, we should only want to be in a relationship with the person that God has ordained to be our partner. This is a person that will help us to love ourselves in a healthy way. So some of us need to change the lens from which we view ourselves, and we also need to change the focus of our prayers. They should be centered around what we need to do and see so that we can begin to love ourselves in the Spirit of Christ, and thereby begin to attract all the goodness that God has in store for us. ■

“When His Love is No Longer There!” written for FACM ©2016. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

December 12, 2016