Romans 8:35-37 - "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril,
or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more
than conquerors through him that loved us."
1 John 5:4 - "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and
this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
This is encouragement for single moms and dads, spouses in unequally yoked marriages, and those who have divorced and remarried. I want to take this opportunity to apologize to anyone who is a single mom or dad, in an unequally yoked marriage, or remarried after having been divorced, if what I have said in past Devotionals have hurt you in any way. I can assure you, that was never my intention. Here at Liveprayer, we literally respond to thousands of emails daily from people in these situations daily, giving them love, support, and prayers in the battles that they are facing in their life. So bringing personal pain to anyone is never my goal, quite the opposite. I do my best each day to encourage and support people in their day to day struggles, pointing them to the one true answer we have in this life, Jesus Christ!
I do take a VERY hard, Biblical stand on issues like marriage, being equally yoked, what God's plan for the family is. First because it is what God says, and His way always works best for our life. His Word can not be compromised. Secondly, because we see daily here at Liveprayer the destroyed lives of those who ignored God in these areas of their life and tried it their way. By God's grace my present wife and I have now been married for 18 years. However, I was married before while I was in college and was not walking with the Lord, and got divorced after 3 years. So I know personally the pain and heartache of divorce. I know personally that when you live together outside of marriage, don't build a spiritual foundation to your relationship, leave God out of the equation, how little chance that relationship has of working. Even if it does survive, it is NEVER complete without God at the center.
That is why, especially for the young adults who read this Devotional each day, I do my best to warn them from falling into these traps that can literally destroy their lives. God has given me a responsibility for sharing the truth of His Word. Much of the pain and heartache that we deal with in this life is because we ignored God, or rebelled against God in some way. I realize there are cases when the actions of others cause us great pain, but again, a good percentage of our problems come from OUR decision to ignore God's way. While the world at large says "do it your way", "whatever you think is right is OK", "if it feels good, do it"....God says there is only ONE WAY that is right, and that is found in the Bible. God gives us His way because He loves us! He know that His way works, and the other ways do not! His way brings us peace, joy, happiness, and blessings. Ignoring His way brings turmoil, pain, unhappiness, and tragic consequences that last a lifetime.
But for you single moms and dads, for you who are in an unequally yoked marriage, for those who have divorced and remarried, God loves you and will help you see victory despite whatever has happened in the past. It would be great if we all lived life the way God planned for us to. It is my prayer daily that those young adults reading these words each day will take that challenge and do just that. But for those who have already made some mistakes along the way, who got off-track from doing it God's way, TODAY IS THE DAY that you can get back on track. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE!
The key however is doing it God's way from here on out. For whatever reason
you may be raising your children alone, know that God will make you adequate
each day, and give you all that you need to be the best parent that you can
be. Your greatest ministry will ALWAYS be to your children. For those who
are unequally yoked with your spouse, Paul clearly said that you are to remain
in your marriage and to be a blessing to that spouse. Pray for them, let them
see Jesus in you. Only God can change their hearts, your job is to pray and
be His light in your home. For those who have divorced and remarried, simply
do it His way from here on out. Be the wife or husband God has raised you up
to be. Keep Him at the center of your home and marriage. Whatever challenges
that you are facing today, God is able to help you meet each one and see victory!
OUR GOD IS ABLE!
I love you and care about you so much. The key today is to remember that the
past is the past. There are no "do overs" in life. You can't go back
and relive your life. So no matter what situation you may find yourself in today,
know that if you make Him the Lord of your life, keep Him first at all times,
do it God's way, you can know the peace, the joy, and the abundance that this
life can offer. Our life is today and forward until God calls us home. Yesterday
is over. Live for today and make it all that God intends it to be. I will be
praying for you!!!
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller