During the month of February I want to address some issues that can make or break the covenant of marriage because I believe this union is close to the heart of God and a witness to the world of the mysterious union of Christ and His church according to Ephesians 5:31-32

What has kept us together for over 50 years? What wisdom can we sow from the lessons of our lives into others’ relationships?

It has been said that you can measure the mutual affection of two human beings by the number of words they exchange. After over 50 years of marriage I’ve learned that open deep communication is an essential part of intimacy. Not just surface words to break the silence but meaningful words that come from the unashamed naked depth of your innermost being. That is the only way we see into our spouse’s heart for as Luke 6:45 tells us “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Proverbs 25:15 A soft tongue breaketh the bone.

James 3:5-6 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity:so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Proverbs 12:18-19 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword:but the tongue of the wise is health.The lip of truth shall be established for ever:but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Proverbs 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

This Scarlet Thread runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation with one unique message. Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

 If we drain the blood from the Word we are only left with psychology.

Psychologists may be able to help you deal with your past but cannot help you with that black mark of guilt on your conscience. There is only One who has the power to cleanse the slate, the One who shed His blood and has promised“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Isaiah 43: 25). 

Page 67 “Developing A Secret History With God” Available from Barnes & Noble and Amazon or a bookstore near you.

Dear Father,

Help me that I may only be clothed with integrity and never in subtle pretense!

Show me, Papa, signs of danger least I fall!

Dear Child,

It is in relationships and your dealings and responses to others, you will see the signs, as the Holy Spirit, illuminates that which is not of My spirit, but of the flesh!

In our time alone you behold Me!

BUT

In your time with others you behold yourself!

It is in your interactions with others that you see clearly what you have learned while in My presence.

It is in interaction with others that your growth is tested

In My presence you stand naked

BUT

In the presence of others you may be clothed with “pretense”.

Do not fool yourself or try to fool others, be real, grow up and wear the character of integrity and authenticity.

Declutter your spiritual wardrobe that there may be room for the clothing of humility, grace, integrity and authenticity.

These are royal robes!

Moths and time cannot deteriorate these garments, but rather time matures them to shine even brighter!

Thus saith Papa

Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us. 

Acts 27:18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.

Spring cleaning your closet is not something someone else can do for you. Only you can make the decision on what to throw.

Only you know what is important to you. It’s a place to examine your lifestyle and threw away what is a waste, cluttering your life and robbing you of freedom.

Likewise in the spiritual realm it is something you must do alone. Only you can decide what to throw overboard. Only you know what is causing you to sink and pulling you down.

CHALLENGE: As the Lord shines His light into the hidden corners of our spiritual closets, let us do some spiritual spring cleaning by withdrawing and discarding our subtle masks, that we may be found clothed in the transparent “royal robes” that befit a saint.