Dying to Live vs Living to Die Volume 1, Issue 2

The evil one, the fallen angel Lucifer, known now and forever as Satan is our example of one who is busy dying to live. His existence is now filled with the desire to take as many souls with him to hell. He knows not the hour of our Lord's return and so he is in a panic to accomplish as much as he can before entering the lake of fire. This is why we see the evidence of the world growing darker and darker. Once again man has the same decease that Satan has and that is to be like the Holy God. As we take a look at the passage below we will see why Satan was cast to the earth and why he has been so busy.

Isaiah 14

12 How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[b]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit.

It's amazing when we look at the conversation between Satan and Eve, he uses the same thing that he knew got him kicked from the presence of God to separate mankind from God. “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil, (Genesis 3:4-5).” Ever since that separation, Satan has sought to keep every one of God's creations separated from His presence. While many men have lived and died never knowing the blessed hope we possess, we see their lives filled year after year trying to defame the most High God. Everyday souls are being saved in the name of Jesus Christ against everything that the enemy stands for. All the attempts of the enemy are vain in the fact that one day every tongue shall proclaim and every knee shall bow to the Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 14:11)!!! While Satan is truly a formidable foe for mankind, he is no match for our Lord and Savior as he was defeated on the cross (which took away the power of death and the separation of mankind from God) and on the day of Christ's return, He will be defeated once and for all!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of dying so that others may live on purpose!!!!!

2 Corinthians 5

Awaiting the New Body

1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Dying to Live vs Living to Die Volume 1, Issue 1

The world is living a life full of vanity, ever seeking for that one thing that will fulfill that void in their life. We as the children of the one and true living God, once had this great void that made us chase after those things which were fleeting. The chase of life comes from a deep seated fear of death. Death is the trump card used by the enemy to keep people ever searching in vain for something to fulfill them while here on this earth. We are all given the desire to worship something and until we find that thing we are incomplete. For many they make money, spouses, children, parents, religion, occupations, drugs, music, sports figures, movie stars, materials of wealth, or sex their "gods". These hurting people are "dying to live", in other words they are trying with all their might to find that thing that brings them peace and fulfillment.

Only Jesus Christ who is "the way, the truth, and the life", John 14:6 could provide us with the life that fulfills. While we see those all around us suffering from bondage and unrest, we are to die so that they may live. This is to say we die daily to our flesh in order that the world may see a love that will draw them to a loving Savior. We must allow the loving compassion from our Savior to be manifested through our vessels so that the world will ask questions which will open the door for the gospel to be shared "which is the power unto salvation", Romans 1:16. As they continue to die we see the desperation of their actions in this fallen world, we are the light unto this darken world and we must allow Christ to shine through us to bring our Heavenly Father glory. Today, in the places where your feet tread, allow the light of Christ to so shine to the dying, that they may gain life everlasting as you have!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of dieing so that others may live on purpose!!!!!


2 Corinthians 5

Awaiting the New Body

1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Marriage Volume 2, Issue 5

As a very wise friend once illustrated marriage is like merging two companies. You bring together vision statements, mission statements, finances, assets, and expectations for how this newly merged company should grow and prosper. In one company the accountant might be stronger and so that accountant will be in charge of the companies finances. The other company might have had a strong ability to see the future and to plan accordingly to the trends of society so that company is put in charge of vision. Basically the two companies come together and communicate hopes, expectations, and desires. Through this communication there is a beautiful dance that takes place, where one company is weak the other is strong and so at certain parts of the song one partner will not just allow but encourage the other partner to lead. See these two companies have come together and they want a win win scenario because they both have so much invested in this merger. They might not always see eye to eye and they may hit a couple of ruff spots through trial and error like any business, but they are committed to ensuring that this business is healthy and growing.

God wants us to understand that in this life our spouses are no longer just another person that is walking the face of the earth but that they are an extension of us. Look at your marriage in terms of a team. When you play on a sports team, your goal is not to win all the personal achievements that are out there. The ultimate goal is to win the championship of that sport. Every great athlete has found out the most important piece to the equation to the success of a team, this is that no matter how talented any one player is on the team it takes the elevation of the whole team's talent to win a championship. They learned as their motivation changed from just wanting to shine in the spot light to helping all those around them, they found success was able to be reached. You never want your teammates to lose, if they do, you do!!! In marriage we should not look to win arguments with our spouse if she or he loses you both lost. In times of disagreements the goal should be to communicate expectations and desires clearly and then come to the best decision possible so that the team continues to focus on it's goal. When an offense has taken place, we as a team should not want to hurt one another, we should move to reconcile as soon as possible. A husband should want the best for his wife and the wife should want the best for her husband, and the best is becoming what God created us all to be in the Body of Christ!!! Today, adopt the business/team mentality in regards to your marriage and work to ensure that above anything else your partner is a winner!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of enjoying Marriage on purpose!!!!!

Ephesians 5

Marriage—Christ and the Church

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e] 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Marriage Volume 2, Issue 4

Children are truly a blessing and a heritage from God. Proverbs 17: 6 "Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their father." We know as parents that the blessing of a child is an honor sent from God. Just like with everything else God has given for our good, the enemy wishes to pervert and to use it as a stumbling block to bring division between husband and wife. If we are truly obedient to God's Word, we will not allow even our own children to come between us and our spouse. God would not set two people on a journey for a life time together then bless them with a child that would tear them apart. His Word says in Matthew 19:6 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” The command was not to let no man separate, father from child or mother from child, but let no man (which includes children) separate husband and wife!!!

Many marriages today are hindered by the raising of children. When mother and father are not on one accord a child desperately seeks to exploit this division for their own gain. Becoming one flesh means that with all things we are one including the philosophy of how we raise our children. When the testing of the child comes and they find that mother and father are unified in their stance on issues the child will learn to respect each parent equally. Many husbands and wives look for children to fulfill the missing part of the equation in their marriage, this is very dangerous!!! There is a three strand rope and that is husband, wife, and God!!! A father's or mother's identity cannot be driven by the child. If this becomes the case you have now stepped outside of the Will of God.

God has not left us on this earth without a blue print to His sovereign Will. Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Our duty as parents is to train up the child in the way of our Lord and Savior so that they will be able to have all the truth that they need to make the most important decision they will have to make in life, that is whether they will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior or allow the enemy to be their Lord. We cannot make the decision for them and they will not make it to heaven based on our relationship with Christ. When we understand that the child is not our own but just like with every good gift given from God, they are intended to be turned back over for His Glory, we have peace just knowing we did all that we could do to train them up.

There is a principal called "the before, during, and after" principal. The way God intended for our lives to be shaped was that we would come to him in our age of understanding, which is around the teenage years. That means that we would have had a relationship with Him, before we got married, while we were married, and after marriage whether in this life or the next. The order of marriage is that we were married before the children came, we are married while we are raising the children, and we will be married after the children are grown and gone on their own. Please remember the only two relationships that you choose to be in with a required time frame is your relationship for Christ which has an eternal time frame and your relationship with your spouse which has a lifetime commitment. We cannot pick our family, which include our children and the choice of who we have as friends has no time limit requirement, so once again the two most important relationships is our God and our Spouse!!! Today, our life may not have followed God's blueprint, but by His Grace and Mercy, with the understanding of His Word and our Love to bring Him Glory, we can allow the Holy Spirit to put our lives and priorities in proper order!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of enjoying Marriage on purpose!!!!!

Ephesians 5

Marriage—Christ and the Church

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e] 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Marriage Volume 2, Issue 3

Wives as we see in the passage below God calls you to respect your Husband in verse 33. In our society today, wives this is a very hard task to accomplish. A wife who truly wishes to conform to God's Will and fulfill this commandment, has a hard road to travel unless see allows the Holy Spirit to do it through her. There are very little examples for you to draw from in the world. Parental guidance has always taught you to be strong and independent. The media tells you to go and conquer the world. Your friends tell you that there are no good men out here and especially none worth giving up your identity for. In the meantime you have this Holy and Righteous God calling for your full submission to Him and to your husband. In order for this to take place you will have to allow the Holy Spirit to break generational bondage!!!

Once again you have no problem loving your husband, in the sense that you will sacrifice time and energy to benefit him. The problem most wives have is in truly respecting her Husband. This is because your natural being doesn't speak the language of respect. The first weapon a young girl learns to use is her tongue. She learns by the age of 5 or younger that if someone does something that hurts her in any way, she can defend herself by giving them a tongue lashing. While men defense mechanism is physical, women's is emotional. A physical pain will subside much easier than a word that was dealt to the bone of someone's existence. When we think about hurts that we suffered in our younger years that still hurt today, they were not physical, they were hurtful words spoken by someone who meant the world to us. This is not just a coincidence, the enemy knows that if he can train up a woman to use her tongue to cut down any opposition, when it's time for marriage she will use that same weapon any time she feels she needs to with her husband.

The bible states in Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." Most women are taught that in order to get a man to move in the direction you want them to go, insult them or nag them. Your also taught that words don't hurt a man, he is to be strong and get over it. The reason why your man doesn't move to the whipping of your tongue is because you are killing him inside out. There is not life being produced in him, it's death. He will become more and more like a corpse in your marriage if you continue to produce death with your tongue. Most people will not understand why a man would hit a woman in the street, especially his wife (Now he is 100% wrong in the matter), but the understanding comes from the fact that the one person that he is to care the most about just put a dagger in his heart (which physically felt like a dagger) from something she said and he reverted back to how he defends himself, which is with violence. Look back at the scripture from proverbs, it plainly says, that if you sow seeds of life with your tongue, you will reap the fruit of life. If you sow seeds of death with your tongue, you will reap the fruit of death.

The enemy wants nothing more than to show the world why they should not get married, and to defame the whole purpose of getting married which is to bring Glory to God, by showing the world the relationship of love between Christ and the Church. If you have been experiencing death in your marriage recently, try praying for a change in your heart towards your husband. Ask God to heal your hearts and at the same time teach you how to sow seeds of life into your husband's heart. It is never too late for this manifestation of the Holy Spirit to take place, you just have to submit to Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to get to work. There is nothing more beautiful than a wife being in a loving and committed relationship with a husband that loves her, like Christ loves the Church, trust me it is worth the effort!!! You will never feel as free in your life than when your marriage is operating as it ought to be under God's ordinance and you have truly given respect to your husband in full submission to him. Here is a standard to strive to and an example to go back to from time to time; Proverbs 31:10-31, which is spoken from a Mother to a Son which had become King!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of enjoying Marriage on purpose!!!!!

Ephesians 5

Marriage—Christ and the Church

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e] 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Marriage Volume 2, Issue 2

Husbands please look closely at the bottom of our scripture passage below. We have been given a command in verse 33, it states that each husband should love his own wife. Let us start off with a question. Why is a "command" given? Let us go back to Exodus 20 when God gives the children of Israel the 10 commandments. These were given to them for three reasons, one to build a relationship between the Israelites and God, second to distinguish them from the rest of the world and point a sinful world back to the living God, and third to show the Israelites themselves that they would never be able to fulfill the law in their natural flesh and that His love for mankind would be demonstrated in the sacrificial death of His sinless Son, Jesus Christ.

That being said a command is given because a person would not perform this function in their natural state. In other words you do not have to command a dog to bark, a rabbit to hop, a fish to swim, or a lion to roar. These behaviors come naturally to these species. Yet, man was commanded to "Love" his wife. The reason why men are from mars and women are from Venus is because we speak two different languages. Men naturally speak respect, with out teaching a man, they would naturally respect those they admire and seek respect from all those around them. Women on the other hand naturally speak love, with out teaching a woman, they would naturally love those they admire and seek love from all those around them, that is why they are commanded in verse 33 to respect their husbands.

Now let's go back once again, a command is given but it can not be fulfilled in our natural flesh, as God has shown us before. A husband can only fulfill this command by being under submission to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Now we can say there are many married couples that are not Christian and it seems that there are husbands that love their wives, that may be true but it's based on the standard of love from the world. The world asks what are they doing, so they can see and hear a sign. God, asks why are they doing it. Remember God doesn't judge actions as we seen in Jeremiah 17:10, "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings." Two husbands performing the same action of opening the car door for his wife would be seen by man as righteous. God would see the man that did it out of the want for sex later on in that evening and count it unto him as selfish. While He will take a look at the other husbands action which was performed out of a motive of safety for his wife and it will be counted as selfless. Only a man under the submission to the Holy Spirit will have a pure motive because it is the Spirit that is inside of him operating. This is why Christ died for the Church, out of a Love Motive!!! Christ died for our sins almost 2000 years before we were born. We cannot judge our actions of whether we are loving our wives based on their actions or lack of respect for us. Christ died for man will we were yet still sinners!!! Now, with this love demonstrated to the world from a husband to a wife, the world will see the love that was demonstrated from Christ to the Church. Today, husbands allow the Holy Spirit to continue to conform you into Christ, so that you may Love your wife as you ought to, for this is a part of God's pleasing and perfect Will for your Life!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of enjoying Marriage on purpose!!!!!

Ephesians 5

Marriage—Christ and the Church

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e] 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Marriage Volume 2, Issue 1

The institution of marriage is truly a sacred and beautiful relationship when followed after the model that God's Word has set. Marriages are to be the most intimate relationships we have outside of our relationship with God. One main hindrance to the level of intimacy experienced in most marriages is that one or both spouses has not yet cleaved to the other. In God's Word it states: Matthew 19: 3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” Many husbands and wives are still cleaved to their parents, friends, previous spouses, entertainment (t.v., Internet, video games, hobbies, etc...), occupations, or spiritual leaders. A man and wife are to leave and become one flesh and this is not just in the physical. When this command was given the ancient custom was that the husband would go and find a part of land on his father's property to make a home for him and his wife. The "leave" means that we let go of the influence of our parents in our lives so that our most important confidant is our spouse, outside of God. There is no problem with gaining wisdom or help from a parent in a trying season of marriage, but to allow your parent or anyone else to have a significant voice in your decision making or how your household is run will only hinder the ability to be intimate with your spouse. To become one flesh is to share one another not just physically but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. If one spouse feels that they are less important than anyone else in the other spouse's life, intimacy will not be fully realized in that marriage. This leads many couples to divorce because a spouse felt that they did not have the full affection of the other spouse. Remember, you can never serve two masters, you will love one and hate the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other, Matthew 6:24. This scripture was spoken in reference to money and God. This scripture can also be applied to marriage in the sense that if you serve the wises and desires of your parents or anyone else in your marriage, you will not be able to serve the wishes and desires of your spouse fully. This can be a hard saying to receive basically because we want to "honor" our parents and if we have a great relationship, it may be hard to let go. Some signs that may lead you to believe that it is time to let go is, (1) You discuss major decisions in your life with someone else before your spouse, (2) The opinion of someone else has heavier weight than your spouse, (3) Time is more spent with someone (whether it be on the phone or in person) than your spouse, and (4) Your spouse is compared to someone in a negative way. Just as another note, if you find this person or thing a hindrance to your marriage most likely they are a hindrance to your intended intimate relationship with God as well!!! Today, if there is anyone or anything that you have to leave in order to allow your marriage to become as intimate as it was intended to be, please start that journey with the support of your spouse!!! Be Encouraged!!! Have a wonderful life of enjoying Marriage on purpose!!!!! Ephesians 5 Marriage—Christ and the Church 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e] 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.