Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

~ Colin Campbell

All true Christians need to know that a once slain sacrificial Lamb dwells within their temple (body). He is risen from the dead and He will reign forever and ever. More than that, He is worthy to reign. It is a humble, submissive, meek, innocent Lamb who conquers sin, Satan, and all evil.

The truth is that God has chosen in Christ, lambs of meekness to reign over all of His creation. If we are not lambs in spirit and character, our use for God is very limited.

It takes lambs to make a successful marriage, a successful nation, a successful city, a successful church, and a successful in God's economy. We read in Revelation 19:7 that it is a Lamb that is wedded to the ready bride. The wedding of all weddings is called "The marriage supper of the Lamb." Two meek lambs joined together make a most successful marriage.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

In Revelation 5:6 John reveals Jesus Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but also standing in the midst of the throne as a meek, submissive, innocent Lamb who is worthy to reign. His reign will be very powerful against His enemies.

Jesus was meek in spirit to those who had a repentant heart, but He was a Lion to those who opposed righteousness. Men, this is the kind of meekness God looks for in us.

Philippians 4:5 (JBP) says: "Have a reputation for gentleness."

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Meek men are not pushy, shovey, or demand their own way. They are not "bulls in a china shop" where there are lots of delicate porcelain dishes. They do not run rough-shod over other people's feelings.

Meek men are not haughty, proud, or arrogant in their associations with their fellow men.

It is wrong to associate meekness with weakness for Moses was a very powerful and strong leader as he led the Israelites out of Egypt. He was no pushover timid lamb when dealing with the hard-hearted Pharaoh. And yet Numbers 12:3 states: "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth."

Jesus Christ was not a man to mess with when it came to facing the devil or the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Yet in Matthew 11:28-30 He says, "Come unto me . . . learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Meek men are lowly and gentle with their wives and families but they are bold as lions when dealing with the enemy.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

The question is: Do we mourn over the innocent blood that is shed in the abortion clinics of our nation? Do we mourn more for the Christians who are beheaded, raped, and burned alive by ISIS? Both shed innocent blood and both deserve to be mourned. We should also mourn over the unclean pornographic addictions, not only in the world, but also via the Internet in the church. We should mourn over the marriage break downs within the church.

There are many things we should mourn over before the Lord in prayer. May God save us from insensitive hearts towards the great need in the world right now. What about the precious souls in North Korea who greatly suffer at the hands of a brutal, communist regime? What about the Christians who suffer and are tortured in Islamic nations? What about the multiplied millions of souls who have never once heard the gospel? Do we mourn over the corruption of our government? Do we mourn over the killings in our streets?

Does Jesus weep and mourn for the fatherless and widows? What do we do? Much of the time we seek for more pleasure and hardly shed a tear before out great High Priest and Intercessor. 

I think we desperately need our hearts to be softened so that we may feel something of the aching heart of Jesus Christ.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Should we not weep over our cities?

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Men, the poor in spirit are those who are not full of themselves and their own importance. They do not try to push their own way on others. On the contrary, the poor in spirit realize the importance of being broken for Christ. They have come to understand how much their spirits need Jesus Christ to fill them and take control of them.

Those who know anything about horses know that they are not much use to man until they are "broken in." The term "broken in" means that their will is broken to do the will of the master. The poor in spirit have their will broken in to Christ. They do not fill their spirits with this world's goods even though they may live in the midst of luxury. They realize that the gap in their spirits is uniquely made for God alone.

Any man or woman who enters into marriage with the idea of pushing or shoving their own unbroken will on to their spouse will find their house in ruins sooner or later. The Christian marriage must be Christ-centered, not self-centered. What's the use of even trying to hold a Christian marriage together when our spirits have not become poor (broken) to our own willfulness and selfishness?

There may not be many who can be rich in this world's goods and at the same time keep their spirits poor. I believe it is possible but the person would need to be mature and always on guard.

The kingdom of heaven that is given to the poor in spirit not only refers to the next life. Rather, it talks about the effects of the heavenly kingdom on our lives now. The joy, peace, and provision of the heavenly kingdom are for us to experience now. Our marriages also can experience the unity and love of the heavenly kingdom right now. However, the condition required to experience the blessing of the heavenly kingdom never changes. We must be poor in spirit to the things of this world.

God spoke to the prosperous farmer in Luke 12:20, 21: "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

In Song of Solomon 3:6 they ask the question: "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh, and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?"

The bride describes the Bridegroom in Song 5:13: "His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips (his speech) like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh . . . his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedar. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend."

Men, this same Bridegroom lives inside of you and me by His Holy Spirit. Are you revealing these qualities to your wife? Do you speak gracious words to your wife?

John 12:16 says: "And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." This anointing of the indwelling Bridegroom should make our Christian marriages very sweet, gracious, and full of gladness. This is what true Christian marriage is meant to be. These principle spices are in Christ for every Christian married couple to experience.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Those who begin their marriage by daily praying and reading God's Word together will soon discover the abundant happiness God wants them to experience. These principles, the most beautiful attitudes, that Jesus teaches are without exception to be learned and applied. It is sad that many Christian marriages are anything but happy and this is directly related to the amount of effort the husband and wife put in to apply these attitudes to their individual and collective lives.

What an amazing blessing for children to be brought up in an environment where these "principle spices" (Exodus 30:23), which I will talk about tomorrow, abound in both the marriage and family life.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

A home where there is constant disagreement, verbal fighting, clashing of wills, or even the cold "silent treatment" is no place for children. Tempers, anger, shoutings, and accusations destroy security and are not conducive to healthy emotions in children.

Christian couples may attend church and outwardly convey that "all is well with my soul," but is it really? Jesus Christ came and died for us that we might have life and have it MORE ABUNDANTLY (John 10:10). And yet there are few Christians among the multitudes who have really found this abundant life. The big question is: Why is this the case?

The answer is clear and simple. How much have you sought to familiarize yourself with Christ's teaching in the Beautiful Attitudes? Many Christian want Jesus, but they do not want His teaching. Perhaps they may listen to His Word, but they don't want to apply it to their lives. Jesus said in Luke 6:46: "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

To accept Jesus and yet not apply His teaching to our lives is false and results in the marriage chaos happening across the nation. The teachings of Jesus, coupled with willing hearts to apply them, will save our marriages and homes. To believe that Jesus is the answer to the world and yet fail to follow His Word with all our hearts is to build our marriages and homes on the sand.

Jesus' teachings are the only solid rock--the only solid foundation--that no storm, no matter how huge, can prevail against it.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

The real reason why marriages (homes and families) fall apart is that we do not build them upon hearing and doing the sayings of Christ. The storms and floods are certainly assailing marriages and only those that are built upon the words of Christ will survive. The rest are falling and crashing to the ground.

The devil does not want Christian marriages to succeed because marriages mirror Christ, the Heavenly Bridegroom and the church who is His bride. Also, Christian marriages procreate children who when they are raised up in the fear and admonition of the Lord are a major threat to Satan (Ephesians 6:4).

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

If married couples could demonstrate to the world the love, unity, and care that God intends us to express in our marriages, why, the world would knock down our doors to find out what we have that they do not have.

The question is: How is this possible if we, God's people, do not allow Christ into our marriages? He must be in control of our individual lives as well as our joined-together lives.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

We all live in homes that too a few months or more to construct. But that is not the end. We have to keep maintaining the home in order to keep it ship shape and as new as it was the day we first took possession. We have to keep cleaning the home. Stains have to be removed from carpets, doors need new latches, walls and ceilings need repainting from time to time, plumbing needs constant attention and so on.

Our marriage is like a house. It may take a few months to prepare for the time of the wedding ceremony, the honeymoon is over in a week or two, and then the work of maintenance begins. Just imagine what a new home would look like, both inside and out, without a maintenance program. It would soon deteriorate.

Men, I believe that whatever brought your marriage into being in the first place is what it takes to keep it going. Whatever you did to win your wife's heart in the beginning is what it takes to keep her happy and contented through the years.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Vows are indeed sacred and we should treat them with utmost respect, coupled with the fear of the Lord.

The divorce rate in America has made a mockery of holy wedlock, thus weakening God's high moral standard. Divorce should in no way be "the norm" of the Christian church. Sad to say, with approximately 50 percent of Christian marriages ending in divorce, it is pretty much "the norm" in this nation.

We who call ourselves Christians should be weeping over the sacrilege of our broken vows that invoke the name of our triune God. Sadly, we ask: Where are the tears? This does not mean that I, as a pastor, should not be merciful and understanding to those who have, for whatever reason, suffered the sadness and hurt suffered by break-up and divorce. The church should make every endeavor to help and support a suffering couples with all the love and care we can give.

The reason why we Christians of this 21st century cannot muster the strength to fight in this day of battle and experience a resounding victory over the perversity of the homosexual agenda is that we have become weak through our failure to stem the tide of divorce. Sad to say, unless we repent, the homosexuals will put the final nails in the coffin of holy wedlock between one man and one woman.

We must ask ourselves: Is God pleased with the state of the church for the way it treats the values of a Christ-like marriage for the world to see? Answer: Definitely not. In fact, quite the opposite. We must repent that the pearls of God's design for marriage have, and are being trampled on.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

We read in Scripture that marriage symbolizes the spiritual relationship that Christ, our heavenly Bridegroom has with His bride, the true church that is meant to be always seeking to please her ever-loving Husband. That is why we as the bride of Christ should steadfastly resist all efforts to pervert the marriage act and the ordinance of holy matrimony that God has blessed, not only within the church, but also outside of it.

The well-being of our nation is dependent on our allegiance to uphold the truth and our resistance to all that is false.

Men, we need to pray about the government taking control of the Internet. There is talk of them passing a bill, "Net Equality," but as usual, no one knows anything about it. Sound familiar? They will surely try to stop all opposition against gay marriage, etc. The Internet is a major bastion of our freedom of speech and we do not need the government taking control.

Pray, stand up, and speak out. Call your representative and be a voice.

Isaiah 59:19 says: "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." The standard needs standard-bearers. This means you and me.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell