Marriage Devotional

‘But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. ‘ Acts of the Apostles 5:29(NLT)

Over the last few devotionals, we have learned the importance God places on obedience to various authorities. And an appropriate question is whether there is ever a time when we draw the line when it comes to obeying men.  

In the Book of Acts, Peter and John got in trouble for preaching Christ. In Acts 5:29, when they were told not to preach anymore, Peter answered and said this, 

“We ought to obey God rather than men.” 

That is where you draw the line. If you are ever asked to do something that would cause you to be disobedient to God or that would cause you to violate your conscience (not your preference, but your conscience), that is where you draw the line. 

Paul made a statement that he lived in good conscience before God and before men. Your conscience deals with things you truly believe in your heart are morally right and wrong. If you go against your conscience in one of those things, then that is sin. 

Stand your ground when it comes to conscience and obedience to God. If people ask you to do something that violates either of these two things—then it is time to take a stand for what you know is right. 

For example, in many nations of the world, it is illegal to share your faith. It is illegal to win people to Christ. But Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” We have an allegiance to a higher authority. And when the authorities are telling us to do something that would cause us to disobey God, we obey God, not men.

from Develop God’s Heart For Others

‘Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.’ Titus 2:9-10(NLT)

In Titus 2:9-10, Paul writes a very interesting and important command, 

Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. 

In our society, it is important to understand that this passage is giving us instructions as employers and employees. And simply stated, as an employee, you are to be obedient to your boss. 

One of the ways you do that is by not answering back. It might be hard at times to hold your tongue, but you must. It’s not okay when you get to the water cooler to talk to the other employees like, “This idiot that we work for doesn’t have a clue what’s going on here.” I think that comes under the category of answering back.  

And pilfering means stealing items of small value. I remember this guy I knew in Oregon who did not like the place he worked. In fact, he had a government job, and he would come home quite often with something he had stolen from his office. 

Nearly every day he would rip off some small office supply like a stapler, or pens, or a hole punch. While they were always things of small value, he would just keep stealing things.  

The Bible says don’t do that. And you shouldn’t steal time from your employer either by making personal phone calls during office hours. Your employer is not paying you to take care of your business at the office. That is stealing.  

I believe that, as Christians, we ought to be the best employees in the world. We should work so hard and bring such a good attitude into the workplace that we set the example to everyone with whom we work.

from Develop God’s Heart For Others

‘Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.’ Romans 13:1-7(NLT)

Last time we learned from Romans 13:1-3 that we need to submit ourselves to the laws of the land if we want to live lives free from fear. I want to focus your attention today on the remainder of that passage, Romans 13:4-7, 

For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. 

What I want to address today is the need to pay our taxes with honesty, not trying to dodge our responsibility. It is a critical part of obeying the laws of the land as we discussed last time. 

While I do not like working hard and in the end sending a large portion of every dollar to support the government, it is the right thing to do. I am absolutely amazed when I learn of Christians who try to dodge their responsibility to pay taxes. 

Friend, you must be honest and pay your taxes. Certainly take advantage of all that the law allows, and do not pay more than you need to, but don’t hide anything. You need to make sure you do this because when you do, you are being obedient to God.  

And there are always blessings tied to obedience—even if it is obeying God by paying your taxes! 

from Develop God’s Heart For Others

‘Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. ‘ Romans 13:1-3(NLT)

In Romans 13:1-3, the apostle Paul gives us some clear instruction on how we are to relate to our civil authorities, 

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 

I remember the days before I was saved. If I saw a police car when looking in my rearview mirror, I was struck with instant paranoia. There was a good reason for my fear.  

At that time in my life, I would have gotten in a lot of trouble if I had been pulled over. I was constantly high on drugs and alcohol, and there were rarely times I was completely sober.  

Thank God I have been saved! Today if I look in my rearview mirror and I see a police car, I may slow down a little bit; but I am not gripped with this feeling of paranoia because I live within the parameters of the laws of the land. And if I do break a law, it is going to be out of ignorance and not out of willful rebellion.  

If you live your life in fear of civil authority, it is time to check out why. If you search your heart and find that you are not subject to the laws of the land as you should be, I encourage you to make that change today.  

You will be able to live your life without fear, and honor God in the process.

from Develop God’s Heart For Others

‘“See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. ‘ Exodus 23:20-22(NLT)

Exodus 23:20-22 says, 

“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.” 

Israel’s success in possessing the promised land lay in their obedience. The same is true for us as we endeavor to possess the things promised to us by God. 

I like the thought of God being an enemy to my enemies and an adversary to my adversaries, but that hinges on obedience as well. 

The difficult thing about obeying God is that it always requires faith. He asks us to do things that sometimes make no sense. Other times He demands that we face seemingly impossible situations armed with nothing but His Word. 

But He is faithful. He keeps His promises. And He can be absolutely trusted—in everything and with everything. 

So today if you are desiring to enter some aspect of your “promised land”, or if you are faced with difficult or seemingly insurmountable obstacles, listen for His voice, search His Word for instructions, and then obey. 

He will be an enemy to your enemies, and you will possess the promises.

from Develop God’s Heart For Others

‘Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ‘ 1 Corinthians 7:1-5(NLT)

In our last devotional, we looked at 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 and a word to married couples on the importance of sexual intimacy. Today I want to continue in that passage with verses 7-9 and speak to singles, 

For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 

If you are single, and you long for physical intimacy, and you sometimes struggle with your sexuality, and you want to be married, it is God’s will for you to be married. In fact, I can tell you that you do not have the gift to be single that Paul talks about. 

On the other hand, you may be single and completely content, with no desire to be married. You need to know that does not mean there is something wrong with you. You just may be operating with a gift God has given you. In fact, Paul says it is better. You can serve the Lord undistracted that way. 

If you do not have that gift, I believe it is God’s plan for you to get married. If you are tortured with unsatisfied desire, it is better to marry.  

That does not mean to go out and marry the first person you would like to have sex with. You have to take this into the context of all of God’s counsel. You need to realize marriage should be the highest form of agreement between two people. No marriage should be entered into lightly or just based on physical attraction. 

But if you are single and desiring to be married, I believe God does have someone for you.

from Develop God’s Heart For Others