Quote from Forum Archives on December 5, 2000, 9:25 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

The message today is especially directed toward couples, though
it can also apply to anyone who has had, or is likely to have, an
intimate relationship at some time, so it will likely cover most
of us. The scripture passage comes from the prophet Jeremiah,
who reminds us what God says about our relationship with Him.
God tells us that when we decide to seek Him with all of our
heart, it is at that time that we will find Him.

Jeremiah is hardly alone in scripture when he passes this Word on
from God. Jesus, God in the flesh, physically comes to us, and
in His famous message, which we often call "The Sermon on the
Mount", Jesus Himself tells us to not be so concerned about what
goes on around us, how we will be provided for and how things
will happen, but simply to seek God with all of our hearts
(Matthew 6:19-34). Then Jesus promises us that if we really seek
God first in every matter, giving God our complete and total
devotion, He will most certainly meet our deepest needs.

Dennis and Barbara Rainey, who have a ministry called "Family
Life Today", also publish a daily devotional for couples that can
be found online, courtesy of Crosswalk.com. I often listen to
their radio program, especially if I am still out and about
during the early evening hours. They often have a lot of good
advice, based on both their understanding of scripture and their
own life experiences. They recommend that couples spend time
together every day in prayer.

I have to admit to all of you that this is one area that I wish
my wife and I managed to do better. We do say prayers with our
children, especially our six year old son every day. But we do
not spend quiet time with each other nearly as often as I would
like. We still have not managed to spiritually connect in that
way. We each have our own time privately with the Lord. But
wouldn't it be great to share at least some precious time with
the Lord together? That would be my heart's desire. Will you
pray with us and for us that we can make that time and priority?
Our relationship is too precious not to have God in the center of
it.

I hope that you feel the same about your relationship with
someone precious to you. Though I do not know many of you
personally, I pray often for you, desiring God's best for each
one of us. For that reason, I think we all need to include God,
not only in our personal private time, but in the precious time
with those we love as well. Please pray for us, and we will pray
for you, too!

Brother Brian

Devotionals from Crosswalk.com > The Intersection of Faith and
Life devotionals.crosswalk.com/devo/display/1,8631,~7,00.htm
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Moments Together for Couples Hide and Seek (Part Two)

Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search
for Me with all your heart.

In the previous devotion I spoke of hiding from God and each
other. Why would anyone want to do this? Because we fear we'll be
hurt. Intimate relationships can be painful. No human
relationship endures more hiding and hurting than marriage. It is
within this most intimate of human associations that two people
seek to know one another and be known. It is tragic that many
people marry to stop being lonely, but soon find themselves
lonelier than they were as singles.

I believe that 95 percent of all marriages suffer from isolation,
and few people in marriage realize how desperately alone they
really are. Often a husband and wife begin drifting apart so
slowly that they hardly recognize the slide. Then, after a few
years of hiding and poor communication, they realize that their
once romantic love has grown stale. That's why many
successful-looking marriages aren't much more than two successful
people independently doing their own thing; they aren't friends
and life-partners.

How do you defeat this drift to isolation?

I believe the most important thing you can do as a couple is to
regularly pray together. Barbara and I began this spiritual
discipline shortly after we were married in 1972, and I believe
it's done more for our marriage than any other single thing. If
there's a problem between us, we find that we either resolve the
problem and pray, or go to sleep angry. Because of our commitment
to end each day in prayer, we have learned to build bridges of
understanding between us, forgive one another, and then pray.

Praying together keeps us from hiding from one another.

Prayer:

Take turns praying for one another before you go to sleep
tonight. Ask God to help you develop this spiritual discipline in
your relationship with Him and one another.

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=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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