Yesterday was one of the toughest I’ve ever had in the ministry, because Satan was doing his dead level best to take out one of the FAM Fellowship members…BUT SATAN IS A LIAR AND A DEFEATED FOE AND GOD REIGNS! And despite his best efforts, yesterday was a VERY victorious day in many ways, even in the life of the member he was doing his best to destroy! There ARE times when the Word of God is ALL we have to hold onto, and yesterday was certainly such a day. So in all of my conversations with the woman who was under so much attack, the two verses I kept repeating to her over and over again were Proverbs 21:30, which assures us that There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. and Romans 8:28 (NASB), which says And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. And there’s no better way to face situations we can’t possibly understand or explain than relying heavily on Isaiah 55:8-11, because it says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 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, 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. So when the world seems to be crashing in around us, we CAN rely on these verses, just as we did yesterday. And just as He did yesterday, God will ALWAYS honor that kind of stand and confidence in His Word! BUT we have to believe that, NO MATTER WHAT WE SEE OR HEAR to the contrary!

Sharing all of the details of the battle waged is not appropriate here, but when one of our sisters was in desperate need yesterday and felt unable to stand for herself, I know the fasting and prayer support of our members and others is what kept her going, and God faithfully came through with some big miracles by the end of the day! A final divorce hearing didn’t end in divorce as scheduled, but another postponement, which was probably the fourth so far! And the same angry, confused and overwhelmed husband who had said a few hours earlier at the courthouse that he hated her and that she and his step children were not his family and he didn’t want anything to do with them, made a totally 180 degree turn! She was shocked to find him waiting at her house last night when she returned from the hospital, where her seven year old son has been hospitalized since Thursday because of numerous attempts to kill himself and aggressive behavior toward others for the past two weeks. She cried out to the Lord several times yesterday when we were praying and told Him she needed a break; that she just couldn’t take any more, and just as Jeremiah 33:3 promises, He heard her and answered her and showed her great and mighty things she did not know, including sending a deliverance minister to work with her little one last night! And how amazed we both were at the end of the day to realize that while she was crying so broken hearted on her way home from the hospital last night, GOD HAD ALREADY ANSWERED HER PRAYERS, and all her tears and despair were for nothing, because her husband was already sitting at her house waiting for her to come home; the Holy Spirit had already brought the conviction she was so desperately praying for! Little did we know when I was trying to encourage her by reminding her that none of this was a surprise to God; that He already had it ALL covered, just how true those words were! So that will always stand out in my memory as one of the most powerful examples of why we should never rely on our own understanding, but trust God with ALL of our hearts and acknowledge Him in ALL our ways, just like Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us! And that is exactly what she did her best to do. We just had no idea how fast He would work! And just as faithful as He was to deal with the other matters, we are totally confident that God WILL bring healing and restoration to her son’s body, heart, mind, soul and spirit in the name of Jesus! And this amazing testimony should be a reminder to all of us of Isaiah 65:24 (NJKV), which says “ It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.

And even though that situation occupied a lot of my time yesterday, it was still an awesome day in the ministry too, because the devil was sent packing in several other works of restoration as well! One of our member’s husband, who is a fallen pastor, finally acknowledged his sin and has begun the process of calling out to the Lord in repentance and breaking off the relationship with the NCP. So we fully expect him to come home soon, especially since the person he is turning to for comfort and support is his wife! And NOTHING but the grace and power of God could enable her to do that for her husband! She has truly walked out the biblical principles of restoration and now she is witnessing the Lord’s faithfulness to bless and honor what has been a very humbling, difficult and challenging walk!

Then, last night, another one of our ladies sent me an email to let me know that her husband just dropped in unexpectedly for no apparent reason. And he kept looking at her (which he doesn’t usually do!) and even wanted to know what church she was going to, along with quite a few other interesting questions! I’m sure he’s quite curious to find out about this amazing woman who didn’t react to being served with divorce papers at all as he expected! Instead SHE asked for a meeting so they could work out the details themselves without going through lawyers, and didn’t fight him on anything he wanted. Instead she praised him and encouraged him and made it clear that she would be fine, but she would honor their marriage vows no matter what he needed to do for himself. And then yesterday when she told him that she believed God would heal and restore their relationship, he even said she might be right! And nothing could be further from that than what he’s been saying! ONLY GOD! ONLY GOD!

And one of our ladies posted a very encouraging message as she described how the Lord is working to soften her husband’s heart, which he is demonstrating with small acts of affection and beautiful words of praise and edification! And this is after being emotionally checked out on their marriage for many years! So the Holy Spirit is working a great work of restoration there too!

The obvious reason for sharing the testimonies of God’s amazing faithfulness to hear and answer our prayers is to increase our faith and confidence as we stand for the restoration of our marriages, and to remind us that NO MATTER HOW IMPOSSIBLE OR HOPELESS OUR SITUATIONS LOOK, God IS IN CONTROL, and HIS will is going to be done no matter what plans any man or woman or Satan or demonic spirit has! And the testimony of how God worked for one of our ladies yesterday shows us that just as Isaiah 65:24 tells us, He even answers BEFORE we call! How I wish I had recalled that scripture yesterday, especially since I had just received it Saturday in the following email message titled: Isaiah 65:24 “Before they call, I will answer”. So be blessed and encouraged as you remember that and read the following story!

Subject: STORY - ISAIAH 65: 24 “BEFORE THEY CALL, I WILL ANSWER.”

Some of you may have seen this before, but it is a good story to help us remember that God sees our needs before we even know we have them. We should always remember that “God will not lead us to anything that faith in Him cannot bring us through.” Enjoy!

This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa.

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). “And it is our last hot water bottle!” she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. “All right,” I said, “put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.”

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. “Please, God” she prayed, “send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.” While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, “And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?” As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, “Amen”. I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas – that would make a batch of buns for the weekend Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the…..could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!” Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked: “Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?”

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it “that afternoon.”

“Before they call, I will answer” (Isaiah 65:24)

Since the ministry is growing by leaps and bounds, along with the demands on the time needed to manage many of my other responsibilities associated with it, words can’t adequately express my appreciation for the ability and willingness of one of the FAM Fellowship members to provide such encouraging and inspirational messages and prayers as the one she sent me this morning. As always, God is so faithful to meet every need, even before we know they exist! So as you read the following message and prayer submitted by this very special anonymous author, I know you will be blessed and encouraged!

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he prays in a mighty way for those who are “marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit”. In Ephesians 1:17-19, Paul prays, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” As standers, we cannot hope to continue standing unless we know what we’re hoping for and whose power we are calling on. We’ve all got the first part don’t we? We want our spouses back; we want peace in our homes. What about the second part? Who are we trusting? Our own abilities; our mates?

Even more importantly, we have to understand the character of God if we are going to truly trust him and have a faith that moves mountains. Before he can bring our spouses home, he has to ensure that we know him. His word says that we love him because he first loved us. The more time we spend allowing God to reveal himself to us through his word, the more we get a true picture of a powerful, mighty, merciful, loving God. Once we begin to understand his character, we will begin the process of trusting him with our needs. As God meets those needs and “sends down from heaven”, answering us and comforting us, our love and appreciation for him grow as well. As love grows, so does faith and with faith, obedience. We will obey him, not out of fear of condemnation or legalistic thinking. We will obey out of the knowledge that he loves us, love is our motivation. We will obey him by faith as we understand in our spirits that he is truly for us.

This is crucial to marriage restoration because if we do not make the effort to know our God, his nature and his will, we will miss the blessing. How? Because we will grow weary and faint. Isn’t that what happens when we lean on our own strength and understanding to accomplish things? Unless we seek God in his word, we only know how to find him in circumstances. If our circumstances are not pleasing to us, then we will grow bitter and resentful. With trust gone and a bitter spirit, how can we expect God to bring us the desires of our hearts?

Lord, when we were dead in our transgressions, we followed the ways of the world, working in disobedience. But because of your great love for us, we have been made alive again in Christ. Show us the riches of your grace. We are your workmanship, create us for good works which your word says you have prepared in advance for us to do. We are members of the household of God and the power manifested in Christ’s resurrection from the dead is available to us as we stand for our marriages. Lord, I pray that in each of us, our first desire would be to live holy before you, seeking you and being obedient through faith. As you work the miracle of making us new creations, do the same for our spouses so that they also may glorify you. And unite us with our spouses again. We proclaim by faith that our households will be households for God, that Jesus will be our chief cornerstone and that in him, the “whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:21) We pray that you would strengthen us with your power through your Spirit in our inner being and that we would be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Equip us to lead lives worthy of the callings we have received. We ask for humility, gentleness, patience and that we might bear with one another in love. Help us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3) Prepare us for your works of service so that the Body may be built up until we reach unity in the faith and grow in the knowledge of God and become mature. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth over the waves of doubt and uncertainty. Instead Lord, by your grace, we will speak the truth in love and in all things grow up into him who is the head-Jesus Christ. In His name, we pray. Amen.

The following was submitted to share here today by a FAM Fellowship member who wishes to remain anonymous, and since it addresses many of the issues discussed in FAM Chat Friday night so well, I know it will be a very special blessing. And I give thanks, praise, honor and glory to the Lord for sending such dear and precious men and women to FAM Ministries, who so obviously share the burden to see us all grow in our walk and relationship with the Lord as we stand in faith and obedience to Him for the restoration of our marriages and families. So be blessed and encouraged!

The Lord led me to Psalms this morning and really opened my eyes to the need to praise him; to call on him with faith. I really believe in my spirit that he wants each of us to honor him more with praise and acknowledgement of his power and in light of that praise and faith in his power-to boldly require and ask for his help. I found Psalm 67:5-7 very encouraging and it is in the prayer below (last 3 sentences):

I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves us; God sends his love and his faithfulness. Let my heart be steadfast,
then I will sing and make music. Awaken my soul to the obedience that comes from faith. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations. O my Strength, I watch for you; you are my fortress, my loving God. God will go before me. I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love. You have been angry-now restore us! You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled. Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. Give us aid against the enemy. With God we will gain the victory and he will trample down our enemies.
I call to you as my heart grows faint, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
May we abide in your presence forever! Appoint your love and faithfulness to protect us. Then will we ever sing praise to your name and fulfill our vows day after day.
My soul will find rest in you alone O Lord, my hope comes from you. Trust in him at all times, O peoples, pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge. Because your love is better than life Lord, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live and in your name I will lift up my hands. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. Hear me O God as I voice my complaint. Protect me from the threat of the enemy. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! Answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, having armed yourself with strength. Those living far away fear your wonders; bring them close to you so that they may also call forth songs of joy and praise. You care for our land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf!
He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you O God tested us, you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. We went through fire and water but you have brought us to a place of abundance.
We will come to your temple and fulfill our vows to you. Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us. Lord we ask that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the people praise you, may all the people praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest and God, our God, will bless us and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Amen and amen. (Taken from Psalms 59-67)

Something else the Spirit shared was Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Also, Galatians 5:6; “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Paul explains that in Christ we were made free and we are to use that freedom to serve one another in love. Verse 15 of the same chapter says “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” If we do not refrain from judging our spouses, we breed a self-righteous, critical attitude in our own hearts which hinders us from “faith expressing itself through love”. It also brings us back into the yoke of slavery to sin. We must examine our hearts daily and ask God to reveal and weed out any such attitudes. We are all guilty at some time or another of having a critical spirit. But verse 24 promises us that those of us who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature. Verse16 says “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” We are encouraged to live by the Spirit so as not to become conceited, provoking or envying of one another.

Lord, though we are fearful of what you might find, we acknowledge that our prayers and your promises are hindered when sin remains. Holy Spirit, search our hearts and gently convict us of those attitudes and beliefs which are an offense to God. Give us the courage to yield ourselves to you and grant us a daily willingness to submit to you and be changed. Create in us a pure heart and renew in us a steadfast spirit.
Forgive our sins and cover them with the precious blood of your son, Jesus. In our lives Lord, let your glory shine forth. May we lead lives that are pleasing to you as we allow our faith to express itself through love. Lord, may your fruits of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control be made manifest in and through us. May our spouses and children also bear such fruit.
We dedicate our households to you Lord. Let everything be consecrated to your purposes and plans. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

I already had today’s SOF post, Letting Go is an Act of Sacrificial Faith, substantially written when one of the FAM Fellowship members posted the following praise report on the men’s private website. And since everyone who visits here often knows how amazed I am with God’s mind blowing faithfulness to confirm EVERYTHING, it won’t be too surprising how much I loved this one! And I thank Dan for letting me share it here! Be blessed and encouraged and don’t let Satan cause you to take a U-turn…but IF he does, Praise God, He’ll get you right back on the right path…HIS PATH!

“Last night on the way home from work, I live an hour from my job, I had stopped at an outlet mall only to be disappointed that the Bible Bookstore had closed. All was not lost as the Nautica store is going out of business and had my favorite boxers on sale! Anyway, as I attempted to get back on the interstate to continue my trek home my car began sliding and I lost control of my car. I spun around and when everything came to a screeching halt I was headed in the opposite direction up against the steel guard rail.

My immediate thoughts were, I can’t afford a ticket right now nor can I fix my car. I jumped out of the car - not to assess the damage but to open the trunk, hit the button that reactivates the gas line, jump in my car and get out of there before someone stops and involves the police. (There was no damage to the guard rail!)

As I got back in my car, turned it around and headed home I thanked God that it was not as serious as it could have been. My mind and body began to react with thoughts and pain. I pulled over to the side of the road to check to see if my tail lights were actually functioning; they were. I began to consider what I was supposed to “get” out of this episode of life. Well, this is what I heard God saying to me:

The closer you get to me and the restoration of your marriage the more furious Satan is going to attack. It is easy to slide and end up going the wrong direction. Stay close to me, put all your faith and trust in me and when your faith is not enough, I will give you extraordinary faith beyond what you are capable of having in your humanity. Keep your engine running and I will get you turned around quickly and back on the correct path. Your trip will end safely as you reach your destination. The aches and pain will subside as you feel the warmth and safety of being “home” with me.

The last 20 minutes of my trip home I cranked up the praise songs and sang as loud as I could giving God the glory and praise that He is so worthy of. I told Satan that he was not going to kill, steal, and destroy my marriage or my family - I even laughed at him that he thought he could have victory over me and my family. I know God is working so fervently in my life and in healing and restoring my marriage. The message may not be directly related to your standing for your marriage but it is about faith and the presence of God in our lives.

My prayer for you is to be able to “let go” and let God be the driver on your road to a healed and restored marriage and your walk with Him.
ove and Blessings – Dan”

Even though there is so much about standing for the restoration of our marriages that’s very difficult, probably one of the most consistently difficult is understanding and putting into practice the Lord’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 7:15, which says But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.

I’m not even going to address how that verse is perverted by most of today’s Christian leaders to allow and condone divorce and remarriage, because that’s not the point of what I want to share today; and most people reading this have already gotten beyond the deception of that false teaching, which is discussed in great detail elsewhere on the site. So that means we need to find out what it does mean, and why the Lord asks us to do it in the first place, and I’m really excited about the revelation or insight He gave me about that this morning..

There’s been a lot of conversation lately in our FAM Chat sessions and on the private sites about the difficulties of letting go, and how important it is to totally and completely trust God, which will be the topic of tonight’s FAM Chat. So I’ve been thinking about it more and more over the past few days.

Last night, one of the ladies in the fellowship met with her husband to discuss the division of their property, because he has filed for divorce. And she was the one who asked for the meeting; because she said she would rather they work that out between themselves instead of going through the lawyers. I was so glad to hear she had done that, because I had a very messy divorce, which did absolutely NOTHING to glorify Jesus Christ, and only served to make restoration of my marriage even more unlikely in the earthly realm. In addition to that verse saying we are called to live in peace, there are so many verses in the Bible that tell us to seek peace, pursue peace and be peace makers. So maintaining and seeking peace in our relationships with our spouses, even when they want to leave us and do a lot to hurt and disappoint us, is obviously very important to God. But any time we find ourselves in the midst of the legal system and in court, by their very adversarial nature, they do little to promote peace. In fact, they almost ALWAYS make bad situations a LOT worse. So I always suggest doing everything possible to avoid relying on the courts and very flawed legal system to help us in matters of divorce, and even child support. There are a ton of scriptures indicating that doing so directly opposes the will and ways of God; like casting all of our anxieties on God because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), leaning not to our own understanding and trusting God with ALL our hearts and acknowledging Him in ALL our ways so He will direct our paths(Proverbs 3:5-6), not causing God to oppose us because of our pride and humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God because HE WILL lift us up in DUE time (1 Peter 5:5-6), seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness because we know He will give us everything else we need (Matthew 6:33), and letting our gentleness be apparent because the Lord is near, and taking all of our request to GOD in prayer with thanksgiving, without being anxious about ANYTHING (Philippians 4:5-6). And how interesting it is that after that last passage, Philippians 4:7 says And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So that, along with the other verses, is a pretty good indication of HOW we let our spouses go and manage to live in peace as we’re called to do in 1 Corinthians 7:15! And what an awesome praise report the woman who met with her husband had this morning! The peace she had last night surprised her and since she was not so overwrought, she was able to see how terribly unhappy her husband is, and to have genuine compassion for him. And her faith and confidence in the Lord to meet her needs and restore their marriage is stronger than ever! And everything she did was in complete agreement with the above referenced verses and many others, and our God and Father WILL be faithful to reward and bless that kind of faith and obedience!

And then I have a lengthy conversation with another one of the fellowship members last night who understands in his head that he needs to let go, but just doesn’t seem to be able to DO it. So this morning, as I was thinking about these situations and the FAM Chat tonight, and how exciting it was to see how the Lord had given the woman the peace, not to mention grace and strength, to do what she did last night with such a calm and confident attitude, I kept wondering why it’s so important to the Lord for us to let go. I mean I understood that it’s important, because He made us and He knows how we’re wired. And for some reason, releasing our spouses is important in that respect, because as long as we’re holding onto them they will just try harder to get farther and farther away from us. But it kept going round and round in my head that there had to be more, and I couldn’t believe it when the Lord reminded me of something He had shown me a while back about WHY Jesus wept when Lazarus died. And that gave me the answer. It’s ALL about FAITH, and demonstrating in meaningful and measurable ways that we trust God to fulfill His word in every respect. We have to show God that we believe and expect and rely on HIM to do exactly what His Word tells us He will do, and that we know that His Word will NEVER return void, that it will ALWAYS accomplish what He desires and sent it to accomplish. And He confirmed that by reminding me of a personal experience I had in my personal life, when the Lord told me that my husband was my Isaac on the alter”, and then what ended up happening, with totally unexpected results and consequences. But I’ll save that for another post too!

One Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church, I heard a preacher on TV teaching out of John 11 about the death of Lazarus and how Jesus cried when he died. I’ve heard that same message over and over again so many times in my life and never had the reaction I had that morning! He said Jesus cried because he loved Lazarus so much that He was grieved by his death. And I yelled at the TV “That’s not true! He wouldn’t cry because he was dead, because He knew He was going to raise him up for the glory of God and Himself, so that can’t possibly be why he cried!” I was so surprised, but I knew without a doubt that was true, so I started thinking about why He WAS crying, and the insight that flooded my mind was almost overwhelming, because there was so much that it really did come like a flood. The main thing I remembered at that time was that Jesus even told the disciples that Lazarus was asleep, which they thought He meant literally, but Jesus explained that He was in fact dead and that He was going to raise him up. And when He had been told that Lazarus was sick in the first place, He even said that it was for the glory of God. I didn’t have time to read about it then, but I asked my pastor about it later that day, and he thought I was wrong, that Jesus cried because He loved Lazarus and it showed His human emotion! Well, I love and respect my pastor, but I knew in my spirit that was hog wosh and couldn’t wait to read it to see for myself. He even said something about Jesus was a man at that time and didn’t have all the knowledge of God, and I knew he was straying way off from my thinking on that one! Now with that in mind, read John 11, VERY carefully and thoughtfully. I have no doubt I could write a book about this passage and everything the Lord revealed to me about it, but I hope and pray that as you read it, you’ll see all of the amazing significance it has for us as we stand for the restoration of our marriages. In fact, I’ll do a SOF post about that soon. But the main point I want to make here is that Jesus was not crying because Lazarus was dead. I believe He was crying because Mary, who had earlier demonstrated such great love for Him, had lost faith and confidence in Him. That’s why seeing her tears and despair grieved Him so much and moved Him to cry Himself. Why didn’t Mary come with Martha in the first place when she knew Jesus was there? Why did Jesus specifically send for her? Why did He wait for her before going to the place where Lazarus was buried? And why did John think it was necessary to remind us that Mary had poured out the perfume on Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair? Those are just some of the reasons I believe Mary’s lack of faith is what caused Jesus’ troubled spirit and tears. And we know Jesus was troubled by people’s lack of faith, based on what He said about not being able to perform miracles in his own home town. And His grief is NOT because we don’t believe in Him. It’s because He knows what our lack of faith will cost us, because it is the one thing that can and will keep us from receiving all of the best He died to give us. And we can see how important that is, because ALL through this passage, Jesus repeatedly ask everyone if they believed in Him.

Then when we read the rest of the chapter and realize that it was that very act, that very miraculous, public and sacrificial act, that eventually led to His death; it’s reasonable to believe that added another dimension to His pain and grief. And yet, we do the same thing to the Lord all the time, because all He wanted then and all He wants now is for us to believe in Him and to believe that NOTHING is impossible with Him, that He has the power to bring that which is dead and buried back to life…and that He WILL do it all for the glory of God and Himself. And the very last verse in the passage about Lazarus proves how and why that happens, because John 11:45 says Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. And when the people around us, all of the nay sayers, see the Lord restore our hopeless, dead marriages, they will put their faith in Jesus too! And the word of our restored testimonies will be used to keep Satan from destroying many more marriages and families and Jesus will certainly be glorified!

And one other interesting observation I made is that it’s not very likely the Jews came just to see Mary, and not Martha. Personally, I think that’s just God’s way of making it easier to better understand the true significance of this passage, because it’s a lot less about God’s power to perform miracles than it is about how absolutely essential it is for us to BELIEVE THAT HE CAN AND WILL PERFORM THEM!!! And when we don’t believe that, we literally grieve our Lord and Savior, because we are in effect saying that we don’t accept and appreciate the precious price He paid to earn our faith and trust. And if we’re unable to let our spouses go when they want to leave in obedience to God’s Word, with confidence in His promises, we are in effect calling Him a liar. So God asks us to let our spouses go, and to continue to live in peace with them and ourselves, simply as an act of sacrificial, faith filled trust. And when we take that step of faith in obedience to His Word, HE WILL BE FAITHFUL TO DO ALL THAT HIS WORD PROMISES SO JESUS WILL BE GLORIFIED AND THE DEVIL WILL BE DEFEATED! And when we don’t have the faith needed to do that, God will be faithful to give it to us when we ask for it, and when we get SERIOUS about reading and studying HIS word (and that’s not reading what someone else writes ABOUT it; it’s reading the Bible for ourselves), which we know because Romans 10:17 (NKJV) says So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So I pray for all of us to have the faith and confidence we need in Jesus to LET GO, so we will be supernaturally blessed and encouraged!

Words can’t adequately express how personally exciting it is for me to witness the level of support, ministering and encouragement now taking place among the FAM Fellowship members for each other! The Lord has truly blessed the ministry with some of the most wonderful Christians I’ve ever known, and I feel truly blessed to see how the Lord is working in our midst! So I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot more activity here than usual, because our members keep sharing awesome messages of encouragement with each other that I just can’t resist sharing with everyone! And last night one of our men from Australia shared the following message on the men’s site, with a link to a very encouraging and inspiring article as follows:

“I’m not sure if I found this link at this site or if it’s something I found while googling. But either way it’s a really good read by David Wilkerson. It could probably be subtitled “God of the impossible”. It has really encouraged me. I urge you guys to read it at this link.”

The following message and prayer was posted on the ladies’ fellowship site yesterday by Alex, and since I know it will be very encouraging for anyone standing for marriage restoration, I greatly appreciate her permission to share it here, and I’ll be adding the prayer to the prayer section of the site in the next day or so..

“Today God led me to Joshua and the story of Jericho’s walls falling. Then he led me to Ephesians 2:14-16. These verses refer to God’s plan to unite Jews and Gentiles under the blood of Jesus and therefore unify them but as I read, I felt the Spirit telling me to claim this for my marriage and I claim it for all of our marriages. This is the scripture: For he himself (Christ) is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…his purpose was to create one new man out of the two, thus making peace and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross.

Lord, I ask that each of us would enter our Promised Land with faith in you, not looking to our circumstances. I pray that as you did for the Israelites, Lord, please go before us and let the walls crumble entirely by your power. Lord, remove the barriers in our own hearts and the hearts of our spouses so that we may first and foremost be reconciled to you. But also Lord, show mercy and grace and make us again one in body, mind and spirit with our spouses. Break off and nullify the unnatural bonds our spouses may have with other women and men and with the world. Lord, I pray our spouses would have no peace in mind or body until they have been convicted by the Holy Spirit and surrender themselves to you, confessing and repenting of all manner of sin and neglect. As our spouses repent Lord, keep us in your perfect love and will that we might minister to our husbands and wives and further confirm for them the unconditional love that waits for them both with you and in their marriages. Lord, as we stand for our marriages, help us to not be afraid to cry out our pain in your open court. Help us to remember that you see our innermost hearts and let us not be tricked by the enemy into feeling guilty for our suffering. As standing wives and husbands, Lord, strengthen us and purify us each day so that we will not harbor any anger, resentment, bitterness or unforgiveness towards you, our spouses or those they are sinning with. Lord, this is our genuine prayer. You know our pain, our weariness. We ask that each day you will show incredible faithfulness and love by equipping us to stand. I pray for peace for each one of my standing sisters and brothers. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Claim this for your husbands and wives, Romans 14:4 To his own master a man stands or falls. AND HE WILL STAND, because the LORD is able to make him stand.”