The following are exerpts from this week’s Restoration Principles, as posted in the members section of our website:

While submission to our husbands is a very challenging and unpopular subject, it’s very clear cut in terms of what the Bible has to say about it, but as women we prefer to change the focus from God’s call for us to submit to our husbands to what a wife is supposed to do if her husband asks her to do something that goes against the word of God, or when he doesn’t love her as Christ loves the church. I know my opinion is VERY controversial and unpopular, but based on what I’ve read and what the above scripture verses say, I believe a wife is called to be obedient and submissive to her husband in EVERYTHING, and “everything” leaves no room for exceptions. When Eve sinned, the sin was accounted to Adam as her husband and the head of her, so IF a husband requires his wife to do something in submission to him that goes against God, he will be the one accounted with the sin. …Personally, I like to think that the Lord protected and delivered Sarah as He did the next time Abraham did the exact same thing to her, and she didn’t have to submit to the horror of being treated in such a shameful and disgraceful manner, but we can’t be sure of that based on what the Bible tells us. If we’re released from the commandment to be obedient and submissive to our husbands under such circumstances (as certainly applied to Sarah), peter wouldn’t have to tell us what he wrote in 1 Peter 3:6 (well worth repeating):
6 It was thus that Sarah obeyed Abraham [following his guidance and acknowledging his headship over her by] calling him lord (master, leader, authority). And you are now her true daughters if you do right and let nothing terrify you [not giving way to hysterical fears or letting anxieties unnerve you].Words like “terrify”, “hysterical fears” and “anxieties unnerve you” would seem to acknowledge the expectation of great difficulty in doing whatever it is our husband or our role as wife might require of us. …And if we’re honest, we would all have to confess many areas of disobedience and failure to submit to our husbands or give them the respect and deference God expects, which is what led to our marital problems regardless of whether or not we’re willing to acknowledge that.

The following passages of scripture may be instructive or encouraging as we consider the matter of submission to our husbands, keeping in mind its purpose and the power and authority of Christ and our call as Christian women to glorify Him in ALL that we do.

2 Timothy 2:
3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.
5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.
6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,
9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.
10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him.If we disown him, he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.
24 And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 1:
11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.
12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

2 Timothy 3:
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Colossians 2:
2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

If it is God’s perfect will you want to know,
Then to the Holy Bible you must go.
In troubled times, His Word is all you need to see,
For it alone has the power to set you free.
God promises He will always make a way where there seems to be no way,
But that precious path is only found in His Word as you pray.
After searching the Scriptures from beginning to end,
Then it is His promise on which you must depend.
And during the inevitable moments of doubt,
It is your faith that will lead you out.
Since only the whole armor of God can stop the fiery darts Satan throws at you,
Nothing less than the truth, righteousness, His peace, and faith will do.
And then No matter what you hear and no matter what you see,
You can know that it is God’s outcome that will eventually be.
But that kind of faith comes only by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God,
So studying the Bible is the only way to develop faith like a steel rod.
Since faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen,
The Bible tells us on our own understanding we must never lean.
So once the voice of God you know you have heard,
There is nothing better you can do than stand on His Word.
–by Linda Wattu, FAM’s founder

This morning I’m in total amazement as I consider how the love of God is revealed to us through His ABSOLUTE faithfulness to confirm those things He wants to reveal to us or to confirm the answers when we’re seeking His will. He even confirms the things we already know, especially when we’re being challenged in that particular area of our lives. As women standing for marriage restoration, we can ALL point to the times the Lord gave us the confirmation we needed to keep standing, especially the confirmation that marriage restoration is ALWAYS His will, often coming at a point when we were ready to give up.

I’ve certainly experienced significant confirmation in my own life the past couple of weeks, as well as witnessing it in the lives of some of the women I minister to. An amazing example of that concerns the topic of this week’s Restoration Principles (posted in the FAM Fellowship section of our site), which is the power and authority we access as women when we are submissive to our husbands in obedience to God’s word.

One of the most difficult issues we struggle with when first making a decision to stand for our marriage is the natural inclination to focus on our husbands’ sin and wrong doing rather than addressing our own issues of sin and disobedience, especially as revealed in 1 Peter 3:1-6 (AMP), which you can read atwww.BibleGateway.com.I had a lengthy conversation with a woman last night in which I was trying to convince her of the meaning and significance of these verses and the power submission releases to change our husbands and lead them to the Lord, which prompted me to make them the topic of this week’s Restoration Principles. But by this morning I was reconsidering it, because I know how controversial the principle of submission is and how difficult it is for women to grasp. Then I couldn’t believe it when Creflo Dollar’s message this morning was about those exact verses, confirming what I tried to explain last night about how our obedience releases the supernatural power of God to work! Now, that’s confirmation!

Unfortunately, submitting to our husbands is not a very popular biblical principle today, and it certainly defies all human understanding and reasoning, but we have to understand that God’s thoughts and ways are not ours, and rely on the awesome promise we have in this beautiful passage of scripture from Isaiah 55:
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed.”

WOW! What an AWESOME promise that is! So we have two choices. We can always rely on our own understanding, and ignore Proverbs 3:5-6, which tells us:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.Or we can submit to the power and authority of God’s word, with absolute faith and confidence that it will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent, which in this case is the restoration or salvation of our husbands. While this is a very deep subject, it’s really very simple and clear cut in terms of what the Bible has to say about it, but we go into that in much more detail in Restoration Principles, including the significance of the passages about Sarah’s obedience found in the book of Genesis.

How amazing it is to realize that God loves the woman I talked to last night so much, and that He wants to be so intimately involved in the restoration of her marriage, that He would provide such undeniable confirmation of the things we discussed, which I always remind her He will be faithful to do. When we see the hand of God working to confirm the things of concern and interest in our lives in such a way, we should feel very precious to Him, just to know that He cares so much that He would orchestrate the confirmation we need to assure us of His will and plan for our lives and of His involvement in our lives down to the smallest detail!

It isn’t available yet, but you should be able to listen to Dr. Dollar’s message from this morning by tomorrow at www.creflodollarministries.org.

Just as sure as we can count on the sun rising and setting every day, we can count on the “storms” of life to come our way from time to time. And we’d weather those times so much more peacefully and with so much more grace if we’d just realize their purpose, which the following verses from Matthew 14 illustrate so well:
29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

This is another passage of scripture that I’ve read or heard preached on so many times it doesn’t seem possible to find something new in it, but I have, and it’s so simple and so exciting. First, we see that Jesus has called Peter to come to Him, as He does to all of us all the time. But in this case, He asked Peter to come to Him by walking on the water, which in our human understanding is impossible. Yet that’s what Jesus asked and EXPECTED Peter to do, and Peter had the faith that enabled him to do what seemed impossible. Then, as long as he kept his eyes off the circumstances of his life at that time, which was the storm raging around him, and walked TOWARD Jesus, he was able to do the impossible. But once he took his eyes off of the Lord and obedience to doing what the Lord had asked him to do, he started sinking into the water. That’s exactly what happens to us when we focus on our husbands or any trial or tribulation instead of our determination to be obedient to what we know the Bible teaches us, and that’s when we usually fall down and give up. Even though we falter, as we all do, there’s more to the story, because we still don’t have to drown.

Peter understood that he was drowning and in his moment of helplessness, he called out to Jesus to save him. And Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out His hand and saved him. I never thought of it before, but if Peter had not started sinking, he would have just walked across the water and even though that would have been an amazing, God glorifying miracle, the difference in the two outcomes in Peter’s life and heart would have been very significant. If he had not started drowning, I bet he would have had a big head and been quite proud of himself without giving the Lord so much praise and honor. But since he was, and the Lord lifted him up and saved him, he was left with very little pride and with nothing but a desire to sing Jesus’ glory and to worship Him, and you know his faith had to grow by leaps and bounds at that moment.

Just like Peter, we CAN walk on water when we step out in faith and obedience to do what the Lord calls us to do, no matter how impossible or difficult it may seem, and based on Jesus’ reply, only a lack of faith and doubt keeps us from doing that, which causes us to drown. So maybe it’s important to realize that the storms of our lives are a test. First, it’s a test to see if we have the faith needed to do what God calls us to do as Christians, and then it’s a test to see what we will do when we realize that in and of ourselves, we can’t do it. We often start out with very good intentions and with a lot of hope, but the winds and rains of our circumstances tend to wear us down and we get discouraged or tired, so we just want to give up. If we do that, who is glorified? Certainly not Jesus.

However, if we call on Jesus to save us when we’re drowning in the midst of our storm, He will rescue us, and when He comes onboard, the storms will quiet and the circumstances around us will come under His control. And when that happens and everyone we know sees how the Lord worked to save us in our “impossible” situation, He will be glorified and others will be led to worship Him.

So we know from what these verses tell us that if we’re walking toward Jesus by being obedient to His word and the call He has on our life, the difficult times we face are tests of our faith and give us opportunities to glorify the Lord so others will be led to recognize Him as the Son of God and their Lord and Savior. So in addition to being so important to consider whether or not you’re keeping your eyes on Jesus, you need to consider who is keeping their eyes on you, especially when it is your own children.

One of the most difficult things anyone standing for marriage restoration struggles with is our natural inclination to give up. When we have no earthly reason to believe in anything we’re standing for, and when we’re just tired and worn out, and when we feel like it would just be good to “get on with our lives.” I know a lot of you reading this can relate to that, so I want to share some Bible verses I hope will encourage you. We know our God is not a God that He would lie, so we HAVE to take Him at His word, and here’s what He says about giving up, or rather NOT giving up:

Proverbs 13:4
The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Proverbs 21:5
The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Zechariah 6:15
Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the LORD your God.

Hebrews 6:10-12
10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.
12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Hebrews 10:36
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

James 5:11
As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

There are times when there’s no need to say more than what the Lord has already told us in His word, and there are often times it makes a difference just to see Bible verses we already know in the context of other verses that say the same thing, and I think this is just such a time. It can’t be made more clear than what these verses tell us we need to do to see our dreams come true. And if you still doubt it, let me leave you with these verses from Numbers 23:
19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
20 I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21 “No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The LORD their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.

Who Are You? Please take a minute to actually answer that question in your own mind before continuing to read. The chances are pretty good that you didn’t answer “I am a child of God…I am the King’s daughter (or son).” Yet, that’s exactly who you are and that’s the only identity we have as Christians with any true and lasting significance. Most of us will think of our name, and then something like, “I’m so-and-so’s mother (or father).” Or “I am so-and-so’s wife (or husband).” Or maybe “I’m so-and-so’s daughter (or son).” And those are all important identities and important roles we play as Christians and God’s children, but our single most important identity is the one we have in Christ; as His bride, as His church, as joint heirs with Him in the Kingdom of God, as illustrated in the following passages of scripture:

Ephesians 3:
5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
Ephesians 3

Colossians 1:
11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1

Romans 8:
14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Romans 8

These verses have a lot of heavy meat in them to digest, so please take the time to read and study all three chapters to get a better understanding of them in their full context and how they apply to your life today. Our identities as mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, sisters, brothers, daughters and sons are all temporary roles we play while here on earth, and each of them will present their own unique challenges and difficulties in our lives at some point, especially for those who are separated or divorced. So if our identity is based on any of those relationships, what happens to us when we lose that identity either through death or conflict? Our parents grow old, may get sick, and will eventually die. Our children grow up and leave home to start their own families. And as we all know only too well, our spouses can just get up and leave one day without warning; orr death can sever any of these relationships unexpectedly at any time.

Most of the women I have ministered to have had their entire identities wrapped up in being their husbands’ wives, and when they reject them, say they no longer love them, that they love someone else and don’t want anything to do with them anymore, they are crushed and devastated. And the same thing is true of most men as well. So, one of the first and most difficult things to get them to do is to stop focusing on their spouses; their wrong doing; what they are doing or not doing from day to day, etc.), and get their focus on who they are in Christ and what His plan is for their lives. As the above verses show us, everything that happens to us is God’s plan, and it is all for His glory and for the expansion of His kingdom. And when we take our eyes off of our personal pain and disappointment long enough to look at the whole picture, we can start to see everything SO much more clearly. I like to use the analogy of a tapestry. When we look at it from the back, it is just a jumbled up bunch of thread that makes no sense at all and there’s nothing appealing about it, but when we turn it around and see it as the designer meant it to be seen, we can see the beauty of it and appreciate it. But, even then, if we are too close and can only focus on one part of the tapestry, we still miss the total picture, so we have to stand back and look at it from a distance to really appreciate it fully.

That’s why it is SO important for us to understand and realize our identity as Christians and who we are in Christ. When we fully understand His purpose for our lives we can look at our marital situations from a totally different perspective and realize that it’s not about us; but it is quite often about the salvation of our spouses, and just as often, the salvation of our children, and even the salvation of those who may be watching how we walk through this trial. As Christian men and women standing for the restoration of our marriages, we are involved in heavy duty spiritual warfare and if we’re unable to understand that and access the powerful weapons of our warfare, we will not win the battle and we will not fulfill our identity or inheritance as Christians.

Ephesians 6:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Now I pray in the name of Jesus, that we will always remember that we are the children of God and that we can walk in the victory Jesus died to give us, by receiving the inheritance we share with Him, which includes all that we need to save our marriages and families; namely His love, power and grace. Amen.

The Lord always gives us opportunities (or challenges us) to “practice what we preach”, which He’s doing for me today, as I face losing my best friend and number one fan, Granny.

Granny is 90 years old and I met her a few years after my own “granny” died almost seven years ago, at the age of 96, and I know the Lord sent her to me to help comfort me, because of how much she is just like mine. They have the same first name, Mary, very similar last names, voices so much alike it’s hard to believe because of how unusual they are, similar health issues (bad vision and heart), and very similar personalities, but most of all, they shared an amazing faith in the Lord. Then, about five years ago, as Granny’s health deteriorated and it was getting more difficult for her to manage living on her own, she moved out of town to live with one of her nieces, so our friendship has been maintained mostly on the phone. We rarely see each other any more, because she can’t travel now and I don’t drive, but I call her every day, several times a day, and we talk about everything from A to Z. Her mind has never faltered, even as her body does, and she’s always interested to hear every detail of what’s going on in my life, and we talk about all of the news and the preaching she sees on TV. So true to how the Lord always works, Granny’s interest, encouragement, and words of wisdom and advice have been such a blessing to me, but I also know what a blessing I’ve been to her. Even though she had a lot of friends here, once she moved, there was little effort to keep in touch with her, and the circumstances of her health tend to isolate her, despite the wonderful and loving care of her family, so our friendship keeps her from feeling so isolated, and she knows what a blessing she is to me too.

Granny’s heart condition has steadily been declining over the past few months and yesterday the nurse said her heart beat is now irregular and she’s having more trouble breathing. Last night we talked about what it will be like when she gets to heaven, and I told her how much I loved her and how much I would miss her, but that I know she is tired of dragging around her tired and worn out body. Even in that conversation, I was able to make her laugh, but I was fighting back my own tears, because I didn’t want her to hear me cry, and it’s not that easy to pull something over on granny! She is determined not to go to the hospital, so we prayed that the Lord would bless her with one last mercy and take her in her sleep when it is time to call her home. I know now that each conversation we have might be our last, but I try not to change them in any way, because Granny wouldn’t want me to.

Besides giving tribute to my number one fan and best friend, I do have a reason for sharing this. Most of the women I minister to struggle with the same issues I’m dealing with today, and that’s taking every thought captive and making them obedient to Christ, which is what the Bible teaches us to do in 2 Corinthians 10:5:
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We do that by knowing what the Bible says well enough to be able to call it to our mind when Satan attacks us through our thoughts, which is the battleground of ALL spiritual warfare. Jesus demonstrated that when He responded to Satan’s temptations by quoting scripture back to him, as we see in Matthew 4:1-11 at www.BibleGateway.com.

It would be SO easy to focus on how much I’m going to miss Granny, and what a huge hole will be left in my heart and life when she goes to heaven, but thoughts like that make me sad and do not glorify the Lord. So instead, I’m focusing on what a blessing she has been in my life, and how I know the Lord has also used me to bless her, and how the Lord ALWAYS works like that. I’m also remembering Romans 8:28 and reminding myself that this too will work together for good in my life. Then I try to think of how that could be true and realize that the Lord is probably getting ready to move me on to another phase of my life. Perhaps the ministry will grow to the point that it is difficult for me to be as faithful to my conversations with Granny. Even doing the work to get this website up and running took time away from our time together, but Granny never complained even though I know she was disappointed when I didn’t call as often or couldn’t stay on the phone as long. I can think of many things that could happen in my life that would make it more difficult for me to maintain my relationship with Granny, so instead of feeling sorry for myself I can truly thank the Lord and praise Him. I praise Him for the good thing I know He is preparing for me, but also that I won’t disappoint Granny by not being able to be there for her as much as she now expects and relies on. And now instead of being sad, I am expectant, because I know How God works and I’m certain something good is coming my way. Everything in our lives happens for a reason when we’re Christians, and it’s ALWAYS so God’s plan for our lives will be perfected. And we know that’s a good plan based on what Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP) promises us:
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

Taking every thought captive to the obedience of what the Bible teaches us is essential when dealing with the spiritual warfare that’s involved in standing for marriage restoration, and the only way we will win that battle is to arm ourselves with the awesome and powerful weapons provided ONLY through knowing the word of God, so PLEASE make sure you’re spending quality time reading and studying the Bible to be certain you can reflect all of the fiery darts Satan will throw at you as you take a stand against him for the restoration of your marriage.

I had the rare pleasure of watching three different TV messages from Charles Stanley yesterday, and as usual, they were all very good. However, one in particular really had my name and number written all over it! He used Romans 8:28 as the primary scripture reference, which just happens to be my favorite verse, and He provided a new insight that I hadn’t considered before.

First, the message was basically that God sends storms into our lives to accomplish His good purposes. If I remember them correctly, he said they can motivate us to clean up our act, correct our disobedience, get us centered on Him, teach us how to comfort others, bring conviction and lead to change. Of course, that’s being very brief and it’s paraphrased, but I couldn’t find a link to it on the internet. I’d love to see it again, because he said a lot about how we respond to the inevitable storms of life too. Anyway, one of the Bible references he used was 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NLT), which says:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion
and the God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. I had been trying to find that particular verse, but I didn’t remember that the word it uses is comfort, so I was VERY glad to hear it. I often remind women standing for marriage restoration that the Lord expects us to use our experience to help other women going through the same thing, and that’s one of the verses I had in mind, even though there are others.

Anyway, back to Romans 8:28, which says that God causes ALL things to work together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. Most of us think that just applies to us personally, but Dr. Stanley pointed out how God can also “cause” what we’re going through to work together for the good of “others” who love the Lord too, and who are living according to His word, and it might just be for the comfort we’re able to give others later when they’re going through the same experience. There are just some things no one can understand unless they’ve been through it, so we should use this time in our lives to prepare us to give comfort to other men and women when they need it. That really ties in with one of my other favorites, Revelation 12:11, which says we overcome the devil by the blood of Christ and by the word of our testimony. God gives us the comfort and strength to go through our worst days and then when we see someone else going through the same thing, we can understand their pain and encourage them so they won’t have to go through it alone as many of us have. And we can help them avoid some of the same mistakes we made; and that definitely defeats Satan and stops him dead in his tracks!

For those who have already made it past those days, weeks, months, and maybe even years of feeling totally lost and dysfunctional, and especially those who have already been blessed with restored marriages, please don’t risk losing the power of your testimony by failing to use it for the glory of God and to defeat the works of Satan. And keep your eyes and ears open so you won’t miss the opportunities God will inevitably bring your way, and don’t forget what Luke 12:48 says:
But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much
more will be asked.

I believe and claim this as a day of salvation and breakthrough for many! There are NO coincidences in the life of Christians, so I don’t believe it was a coincidence this morning that Joyce didn’t complete the series she did the past two days about “going deeper” with God. Instead she did an awesome evangelistic message, which is not what she usually does. I believe that message is meant for someone in particular and in case it is a visitor to our site, I want to give you the opportunity to listen to it through the following link. It’s aSpecial Salvation Message, from February 17th.If you don’t “know that you know” that you are saved and that the Lord is in control of EVERYTHING in your life, please listen to this message and let Jesus change your life and fill the hole in your heart.

We don’t believe it is possible to walk out the biblical principles of marriage restoration without making Jesus the Lord of your life and Lord of ALL you do. As John 15:5 tells us, apart from Jesus we can do nothing, so please let go of your pain and disappointment and give it all to Him. Let Him turn your valley of trouble to a gateway of hope, even if you once loved the Lord and turned your back on Him or never really surrendered your life to Him, as described in these verses in the second chapter of Hosea (NLT):
14 “But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.
15 I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.”Let Jesus free you from whatever bondage holds you in captivity, and make Him LORD. We ask and believe this in the name of Jesus! Amen.

Every Christian I know will say “Yes, I love Jesus, I love the Lord,” but do we REALLY love the Lord or are those just empty words meant to make us feel some kind of unwarranted security in our relationship with Him? Ouch! Perhaps those are stinging words, but the thought does not originate with me. That’s what Jesus Himself says in John 14:
15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
21 “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

These are Jesus’ own words and they don’t require much interpretation, but it’s best to read them in the context of the whole chapter here at www.BibleGateway.com.
Then in Revelation 3:16 (AMP), the Lord says“So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!”

The saddest thing about these verses is how uncomfortable they make a lot of people who call themselves Christians. Why, because of disobedience in our lives or because of a lack of meaningful dedication to Jesus in our lives, in the things we do from day to day, and the lack of thought or consideration we actually give to the Lord. Instead of causing us to squirm or try to explain these verses away, we should rejoice in them! Look at the awesome promises they contain! They promise that IF we know the Lord’s commands and IF we live in accordance with His commands, He will LOVE us and SHOW Himself to us! He will COME to us and make His HOME with us! What an awesome thought! That brings us right back to the undeniable connection between how much we love the Lord and how obedient we are, and it’s not possible to read these verses and deny that reality, especially when Jesus Himself said that those who don’t love Him won’t obey what His word (the Bible) teaches. He further expresses how important it is for us to make our relationship with Him a very significant part of our lives, because He said He will “spew” lukewarm Christians out of His mouth!

It’s so easy to excuse our disobedience by saying we can’t help it or it’s not possible, but we can’t keep saying that the Lord doesn’t expect it, because that’s not supported by what the Bible tells us. Not only do the above verses make that clear, but Jesus even tells us HOW to do it later in John 15:5, where He said“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” So, once again, we see that Jesus is the answer. He’s the ONLY answer and it is with Him that we can do ALL things, including living obedient lives and bearing fruit for the kingdom of God and for His glory. And it is when we learn how to do that that He will give us the desire of our hearts, which for so many of us is the restoration of our marriages and our families.

GOD IS SO AWESOME! I will NEVER cease to be AMAZED by how faithful God is to ALWAYS confirm what He wants to show us. Making a commitment to post something encouraging or edifying every day means keeping my ears and spirit open to hear what the Lord wants me to write, so I listen to a lot of radio and TV programs for something that speaks to my spirit in a special way. Last night I heard just a little bit of something someone said on TV (I don’t even know who it was) and knew my message this morning would be about “trust and obey”. The message was from these verses in Luke 5:
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

Why is it so hard to understand that all we have to do is obey the Lord by doing what He tells us to do, simply for the sake of obedience if for no other reason (just like Peter did), and then wait to receive all of the riches and glories of Heaven He will pour out on us? I pondered that quite a bit last night; trying to figure out why some people understand that message, and why others never seem to get it. I know I learned it myself by experiencing the difference in my own life between the consequences of disobedience and then the blessings of obedience. It’s only natural that once we’ve had a bad experience, we want to help others avoid making the same mistakes, which is what led me to start this ministry in the first place.

In addition to trying to get a better understanding of those issues, I had talked with a woman earlier in the evening who was having a difficult time yesterday because her husband had told her their marriage was over, and instead of believing the promises of God, she was receiving every word he said and wondering why she was standing for the restoration of her marriage in the first place. I was feeling convicted that I had indulged her in what I call too much “stinkin’ thinkin’”, even though I had told her several times that I was not going to go there with her, because it was not God glorifying and that she had to learn how to take every thought captive and make it obedient to the word of God..

By the time I got up this morning, I hadn’t really resolved all of that to any great deal of satisfaction in my own mind, but I turned on Joyce Meyer’s TV broadcast and couldn’t believe my ears! Her message was on the exact same verses of scripture and she was talking about being obedient just for the sake of obedience…and how “feeding our flesh” keeps us from doing that and from receiving all of the blessings the Lord wants to pour out on us!

Joyce also used Romans 8 in her message, so here it is in the Amplified Bible fromwww.BibleGateway.com. And this is a very important chapter of scripture for everyone standing for marriage restoration, because it teaches us so much about the constant battle between our flesh and our spirit; BUT the good news is that our spirit WILL conquer our flesh if we’d just stop feeding it!

As a final note of interest, read the last verse in the above passage from Luke again, and note that as a result of Peter’s obedience, which defied EVERYTHING he knew and understood to be true, Jesus told him not to be afraid and that he would now catch men! Isn’t that exactly what we want to do? But it’s not just about “catching” our spouses; it’s really ALL about how our obedience gives us the power to glorify God and defeat the works of the devil by the word of our testimony just as we’re told in Revelation 12:11.

Dear Lord,

You know better than anyone else that this may be a difficult day for some visiting our website today, and for many others who are experiencing challenging times in their marriages, so I pray that they will feel Your love in a very special way. May they be rooted in your love today, Lord, May they experience and feel the wonder and power of your amazing grace and love. May this not be a day of sadness, but a day of rejoicing, because we KNOW You LOVE us and YOU have ALL things that happen to us in the control of Your ALMIGHTY hand.

Lord, I pray that on this day which might otherwise tend to be discouraging, that You will bring some special incident of hope and encouragement to each woman or man who reads this prayer. We know You care about us in every detail of our lives and many of us have experienced that down to even the smallest of details, so bless us with Your presence and encouragement today. Fill each of us with an extra measure of faith this day, Lord. Help us to keep our eyes on you and not on our circumstances. Help us enjoy the many things You bless us with every day of our lives instead of dwelling on that one thing we don’t have or enjoy today. Show us how to express Your love by loving others, especially those who are not acting in love with us. Let us be even more focused on the love we demonstrate and give to others today rather than concerning ourselves with how others may or may not love us. Let us walk in love today that You might be glorified.

And Lord, please touch the hearts of our spouses who are not walking in right relationship with You today. It is the greatest desire of our hearts that they know You as Lord and Savior, and there are many of us who don’t have the comfort of knowing that our spouses are saved, so our prayer for them is that Your Holy spirit will move in their lives today in a most powerful, supernatural way and bring them to the saving knowledge of You, Lord Jesus. We know You came to set the captives free, and many of our spouses live in bondage of some kind today, so we come against all manner of sin, bondage, strongholds, deception, adultery, disobedience and disbelief in the name of Jesus Christ, from which we know Satan must flee. We cover our loved ones with the blood of the Lamb today and it is our testimony that they will be saved and that they will walk in right relationship with You, Lord, because we know that is the only way they will ever walk in right relationship with us and others. We pray that they will se You in us, Lord. We pray that all of our interaction with them glorifies You and that we will always remember that every encounter we have with them will either lead them toward You or away from you.

Be Thou glorified in this day that You have made Lord, Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let Your love shine in and through us today! Amen.

I received the most encouraging email this morning from a woman named Joanne Lowe, who wrote to thank me for “serving my Best Friend, Jesus” and to offer some of her inspirational writings as encouragement. They’re certainly inspirational and they are certainly encouraging, so I’m providing a link to her website with the hope that you will be just as blessed as I’ve been by her gift and ministry. Thank You, Joanne!
Joanne Lowe”s Inspirational Writings

This morning I was watching Joyce Meyer’s TV broadcast and the Lord used it to confirm something He’s been showing me repeatedly the past few months, which is that there’s a huge difference between knowing something and having a divine revelation about it. What happened to me yesterday is something I’m sure most of us have experienced from time to time, and that’s when we’ve read a particular verse of scripture over and over again, and then one day we read it and it seems to just come alive and have a whole new meaning, which we can’t believe we ever missed before! That’s why it is so important to keep reading the Bible over and over again, because that’s the only way we’ll ever get the full revelation found in God’s word, and it’s only through divine revelation that we receive the grace and power of God needed to see us through to the victory we seek in marriage restoration or anything else we’re dealing with.

Last week the Lord demonstrated that to me in a most unforgettable way. I’ve been ministering to a woman for a few months and was impressed with how well she knows the word, but I couldn’t understand why she didn’t seem to have the peace and confidence I thought it should give her. She had made a lot of progress, even to the point of ministering to other women in similar circumstances, and then she seemed to have a major set back last week. That really surprised me and I was even a little discouraged, but the Lord woke me up that night in the wee hours of the morning and told me that she would be made “a new creation”. Since I thought she had been saved for many years (being very involved in her church and knowing the Bible so well), that didn’t make any sense to me, so I reminded the Lord that “a new creation” meant salvation, but He just repeated the same thing again. I have to confess my own disobedience too, because the Lord also told me to get up and send her an email telling her what He had said. Since I email her at work and she was in bed asleep, like I was supposed to be, I reminded the Lord of that and told Him I’d send it in the morning. He told me again to get up and do it right then, but I didn’t listen. Lord, may I never do that again! My disobedience denied her a very special confirmation blessing, which I greatly regret.

The woman called me the next morning between six and seven, which she’s never done before, and she was very upset, broken and crying. She reminds me now that I told her then as I had in several of our earlier conversations that I thought she needed to go back to the beginning, so I guess the Lord had already revealed the truth to me, but I found it too difficult to believe until He gave me that revelation earlier that morning. After spiritual warfare like I’ve rarely experienced before, I was able to lead her to pray the sinner’s prayer and to REALLY make Jesus the Lord of her life. What an awesome experience and what an awesome demonstration that having head knowledge isn’t worth anything unless we have it in our hearts, which is what happens when the Lord gives us the revelation. That’s when we know that we know and NOTHING can convince us otherwise.

Here’s the link to Joyce’s message about knowing that God loves us vs. the revelation that He loves us, I Belong to God and He Loves Me – Part I, which would be very good to listen to if that’s not already a revelation you have the confidence of deep in your heart and soul.

The following is an exerpt from this week’s Restoration Principles posted in the FAM Fellowship section of our site:

Most of us are familiar with the promise in Psalm 37:4, but we rarely hear much said about the instruction found with it in verses 3 through 8, which say:
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
Those are some pretty explicit instructions, yet we never hear them in the context of delighting ourselves in the Lord and getting the desire of our hearts! It’s also amazing to see how many of the principles of marriage restoration are actually wrapped up in so few verses.

Then, earlier in Psalm 1:3-5, the Lord tells us:
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Everyone standing for marriage restoration should find great hope and comfort in these verses, because they hold the key to all that we want, especially our heart’s desire for the restoration of our marriages. The key provided here is time spent studying the Bible, “the law of the Lord”, which the last few verses tell us to do day and night. So if we REALLY want the desire of our heart, we will pay close attention to the promises and instruction found in these verses, and do our best to follow them. If we’re not willing to do that, we can’t blame God or anyone else for our failure to experience a restored marriage.