Category Archives: Marriage

Have you been offended? How to Deal With Offenses

Posted on by
Reply

“Oh, Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”   Psalm 34:3

dealing with offenseHave you noticed the increase in the opportunities to be offended?  Even after 25 years of marriage to my husband, I sometimes get offended by what he says.  As a wife, I may know he doesn’t mean something the way I took it, but I still feel a huge pull to be offended.

I believe in the day we are living, the days prior to the return of the Lord, there will be a greater pull than ever before to be offended.  Jesus taught us in Mathew 18:7 that offenses will surely come.  In Mathew 24, when the disciples asked Jesus what the signs of His return would be, He said in verse 10, “And then shall many be offended…”

So we should not be surprised when we feel the pull to be offended. The question is: how fast do you move past an offense?  Jesus made it possible for us to be able to move past offenses very quickly.

I must constantly remind myself that we are in “the time,” the days before Jesus returns.  Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, that there would be a great falling away in these days.  I believe the falling away is due to being offended. If your love waxes cold according to Mathew 24, you will fall away.

I know when I am offended, I must quickly forgive.  Forgiveness is the only answer!  It is the way of escape! The quicker I forgive, the quicker I come back into my right mind.  When I am offended my soul is in control.  When I forgive, my spirit rises up above my soul and takes back over.

I have learned that when I am offended everything is distorted and even my emotions become out of control. When I am offended at a person I will see them in a distorted way, bigger than they really are.  I will become overly focused on them. They become the center of attention and all I talk about for days.  Every conversation even goes back somehow to what offended me.

The more we put our focus on those who offended us, the more magnified they become.  This could cause our heart to wax cold and may lead us to sin against God.  He is the only one we are to magnify.  When we focus on others and what they did to offend us, we make them bigger than God.

 Oh, Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. (Psalm 34:3)

So right now press the minimize button and minimize the person who has offended you.  Bring them down to the right size and forgive them.  Remember, if it were not for the grace of God you might have done the very same thing.

Change the Atmosphere in Your Home?

Posted on by
Reply

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.” Psalm 69:30

Did you know that when you have a thankful heart the atmosphere of your home will change?  Try it, and see how the Lord will transform your home into a peaceful habitation.

When you start offering Thanksgiving and Praise, you will immediately find that it only takes one person giving thanks and soon the whole house will be full of thanksgiving.   The following verses from the Old Testament gives an account of how the glory of the Lord filled the house when they praised and thanked Him.

“And the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets– indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound, to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever, “that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.” 2 Chronicles 5:12-14

Share Thanks in your home today, and watch how the Lord will fill your house.

“Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.”    Psalms 140:1

Love Never Fails

Posted on by
Reply

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God…” (John 4:7)

Letting someone know how much you love and appreciate them is the key to a meaningful relationship.  Everyone needs to know they are loved; love is the motivating force behind most of our feelings and actions. When you do not think you are loved you shut down, but when you know you are loved, you feel encouraged and motivated and your spirit is awakened.

The need for love is as essential as the need for water. You can not live very long without water and you cannot live without love. When water is being poured out it flows. Love is much the same way when it is poured out there is a flow, and you will notice a distinct flow in a relationship where love is present.

In a marriage there has to be a connection or bond for the love to flow.  If either the husband or the wife does not know how to bond then it will be hard to have a flow in the relationship. A bond is like a pipeline that connects the two people together.  In your home you know you have a leak in the pipes if you turn on the shower and only a few drops come out. The same is true in a marriage if you start a conversation and only get a few drops are heard, you have a problem.

Other signs that love is not flowing:

  • Every conversation ends in a misunderstanding
  • Every conversation ends with someone hurt
  • Every conversation requires one to be defensive
  • Every conversation end up with only one doing all the talking

Because love is as essential for life as water, many marriages are drying up like a dessert waste land. The main plant that can live in a desert is a cactus. If you have ever tried to get close to a cactus you will know they are unlovable and are not very huggable. A marriage can get to this point without the flow of love on a daily basis. If you realize your marriage has become a desert, and your relationship is not growing, it is time to water it.  Begin showing love again, love never fails.

Written by Denise Boggs.