Knowing God - Our Father Gives Grace and Peace

Philem 3

Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father ......

God is our Father, if we have received Christ and become children of God.  We are told over and over again that our Father gives peace.  It is from having Him as our Father that we have the peace we need.  Take a moment and read how many times our God wrote this to understand the fact that He really wants us to know this:

1 Tim 1:2  Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father

2 Thess 1:2… Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father…

1 Thess 1:1Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father,…

Col 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father…

Phil 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father…

Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father,…

2 Cor 1:2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father,…

1 Cor 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father,…

Rom 1:7Grace to you and peace from God our Father…

It is from the favor, or grace, we have with God as our Father that we have the peace and lack of restlessness we might tend to move towards.  Enjoy God as your Father today knowing that, the favor and peace we so need comes from Him!

Proverbs - Help Him Be Ravished

Proverbs 5:14-23

Help Your Husband Be Ravished With Your Love  

 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.

 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.

 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.

 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe;

let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman,

and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,

and he pondereth all his goings.

His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself,

and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Marriage is so special.  The Lord wants a man and woman to experience a level of commitment that reflects His commitment to us - His bride.  He wants marriages to be full of refreshment, nourishment, safety and contentment.  We, as women, can look at these verses and see that we need to be available to our husbands at all times for his satisfaction.  We, as wives, should be described as loving and pleasant.  Have you made your husband the highest human priority as far as helping him and seeking to satisfy him?

Pray that your husband will always be ravished with your love.  The word ‘ravished’ can be translated ‘intoxicated’.  Does your love fill your husband and cause him to be anaesthetized against the cruel, destructive arrows of his adversary?  Something that can intoxicate someone has had time to ferment and change in chemical make up.  It started out as fruit but with time was able to have power over someone’s state of mind.  In your marriage, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit remaining and with time your love is influencing your husband in a way that helps him avoid the traps of the enemy - especially those lustful traps he faces on a daily basis?

            

Proverbs - Doing Him Good

Proverbs 31:12

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

                                                                                         Doing Him Good           

We need to not just avoid doing evil to our husbands but seek to do him good every day of our lives.  This means when we are tired or cranky or when we are up and strong.  What a great way to start our day!  We could ask the Lord, “What could I do that is good towards my husband today?”  Does he like the bed made as soon as you wake up?  Does he love a good, hot meal when he gets home?  What is his favorite snack?  Do you have it on hand?  Are his sexual desires being met with joy and willingness?  Has he heard you give him a compliment lately?  Can you run an errand from his list?  Let us do them good and not evil ALL the days of our lives. 

Knowing God - He Hears and is Near

Prov 15:29

 The Lord is far from the wicked:

but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

The Lord Is Near and Listening

Here the Lord lets us know that having Him hear our prayers is likened to having him near to us.   There were no phones in bible days.  The act of listening meant, being in the very presence of the one who was speaking.  Being in the presence of the Lord is absolutely wonderful but have you considered that He is in your presence as well?  He hears the prayers of the righteous.  He is attentive to our petitions, praise, concerns and words.  He is not far for those He considers righteous.  He is listening and He is near.  You don’t have to wait for Him to answer the phone.  He hears.  He is near.

Knowing God - God is a Residence

Ps 90:1

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

The Lord is not just a God we connect WITH, but a God we can run INTO.  He has been a dwelling place for all generations.  He has been available for everyone to go into and live and move and have their very existence IN Him.  The place in which we dwell is to be considered home, safe and the place from which we gain fortitude and positioning.  The Lord, Himself, is to be that dwelling place.  We are not to visit God as if He were a distant relative we see on certain holidays or if we happen to be in the vicinity of their dwelling place.  We must dwell in the Lord.  Move in and stay there.  Explore every room.  Enjoy every square inch and find that His love and ways are unsearchable.  We will never exhaust the discoveries of His great love, wisdom and companionship.  Oh Lord, be the dwelling place for us and our children as You have been for every generation!

Proverbs - God Has Raised Us

Proverbs 29:21

He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child

shall have him become his son at the length.

The Lord delicately brings us up as his servants from our youth and we end up falling in love with Him.  Many of us used to think of the Lord as a hard driving master but He ever so delicately revealed His love and sacrifice that we might know Him as our Father.  As we cooperate with His parenting we will be better established as His children and less prone to see Him as a driving Master.  Remember all He has taught you and how his training has been delicate and kind, always motivated by love and consistent with His holiness and graciousness.

Proverbs - Listening and Understanding

Proverbs 29:19

A servant will not be corrected by words:

 for though he understand he will not answer.

Jesus told us that he no longer calls us servants but friends.  He explained that a master does not reveal the whole plan and heart of a matter to his servant but a friend does.  A servant listens to his master and follows the directives.  He usually does not conform to the heart of the master.  A servant is usually hired for a specific task he already performs well.  Correction does not come easily because he is trained in a specific way.  We are the Lord’s friends and we should seek to understand and answer the Lord when he corrects us.  We love Him and we are not only His friends but children of God.  We want to be like Him and we are part of his family.   We are not hired servants but adopted children.  Let us be corrected by His rod and reproof and give Him delight.

Knowing God - The Lord Loves the Unfaithful

Hos 3:1

 Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel,….”

The Lord Loves the Unfaithful

      

           “According to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel…” is quite the description given to Hosea in telling him how to love this woman.  Our God’s great love is a love that we must measure all our love against.  Time and time again, God’s people would leave Him and run after other gods and other sources of strength and yet, the Lord would pursue them with a jealous love.  Our God’s love is faithful even when we are faithless.  Our God’s love is committed even when we are compromising. Our God’s love is steadfast even when we are distracted.  The love He has for us is rooted in who He is and not in whom we are. He is the loving Lord who pursues us with His love.  Let us learn this love, give this love and enjoy this love.  He is love.

Knowing God - He Wants to be Intimate

Song 7:10

 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

Those of us who have responded to the proposal our God has given to receive the Lord Jesus and be saved, now belong to Him.  He has purchased us with His blood and is fully committed to us. His desire is towards us.  He waits so patiently for us to come into His presence and enjoy fellowship with Him.  The intimacy we all long for is truly only found with Him.  The sense of belonging is fully met in being His beloved.  Have you considered the fact that His desire is toward you?  He doesn’t just forgive and have mercy on you and me but actually desires us!  You are wanted.  You are sought after.  Allow the truth of this to penetrate your identity and make you the woman who is at rest in His love.  Stop putting demands on others.  Enjoy His grace, favor and desire towards you.  Walk in this great truth today and watch how kind you will be towards others.  His great love will meet every need within you, allowing you to focus on enjoying and loving others because you are satisfied with His love.

Knowing God - HE performs all things for You!

Ps 57:2

 I will cry unto…God that performeth all things for me. 

God performs all things for us.  He is a God who cares about you. He wants us to cry out to Him and He wants to answer our prayers.  He is a kind and good God who will act on our behalf.  He loves us and is actively involved in the lives of His people – His individual people.  This is quite the concept.  If we really begin to grasp the personal involvement of God in our lives, we would walk so securely in His love.  God is acting on your behalf.  God is acting on my behalf.  We can thank the Lord for His involvement in our lives and enjoy the truth that He performs all things for us.  What a wonderful God we have! Have you sensed that God is involved and wants to be involved in all things in your life?  Approach your day today thanking and praising Him that He is a God who performs all things for you!