The past few days I have been really enjoying a few of Nancy Leigh DeMoss's podcasts, and just wanted to share a few things that hit home with me.
Some highlights:
"He paused for a second and, this isn’t an exact quote but it’s to the point. He looked at her and he said, “It would be my privilege to represent Christ to you, because He has chosen you and washed you and redeemed you. I don’t see you through anything else except that. If He’s called me to represent Him, to love you on this earth, then that would be my privilege.”
It was an incredible response, but it was incredibly theological as well. It was so reassuring to her, because he wasn’t saying, “You can count on my love,” but he was saying, “You can count on Christ’s love.”
and...
____________________________
"What we need to keep our eyes on and our focus on is that true beauty of the heart is what God desires for His Bride. "
Such a sweet picture of the Gospel.
____________________________
" I always encourage single women about this. Watch the way a man you’re interested in treats not only his mother, but the bride of Christ. He’s supposed to be representing Christ who gives Himself all for the bride of Christ. So if he’s not interested in the church, if he’s not serving in the church, if he doesn’t consider that of value and a priority, and if he’s not accountable to other men in the context of the church, those should be huge red flags.
I have a friend who when she got married, her husband took her aside after they returned from their honeymoon. The first day in their new home together he said, “I want you to understand something. If you ever feel like I’m not listening to you, that you have no voice in this marriage and that I am in a hardened heart place, I want you to know that you not only have my permission but you have my urging to go around me to our pastor right away, because I’m in a place where I’m not listening to God. I need you to get my back.”
That was incredible! You know why he had that perspective? Because he walked with other godly men in the church. He knew that he was accountable to them in the relationship and in the function of the church. It’s not just, “I’m the head, so I’m accountable to no one.” No, you’re accountable to God and that authority is going to be exercised through His Church.
____________________________
and one more:
"I so love the fact that marriage, whether you are in the betrothal period or whether you’re in the married period, I love that picture that is it displayed from Genesis to the Book of Revelation. I love it so much that I’ve studied it from front to back, and there is one word throughout the Old Testament that is associated with the marriage covenant, and that is the word hesed. It is faithful friendship, covenant-keeping love. When everything is put to the test, the faithfulness exists. No matter where we are in our lives, no matter whether we are single women, teenagers, sixty-year-old widows, in the middle of our busy parenting lives, middle age, messy or good, happy or sad; that we be found faithful because He is faithful. He will not ever quit loving us with that type of love."
Here is the link:
Great thoughts! Thanks for the links. :)
ReplyDelete