"Marriage is a journey that requires directions. These directions are provided in God's Word, coupled with prayer and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit who indwells us."~ Colin Campbell
One of the greatest acts of courage in the Bible (and of course there are many) was displayed by Jonathan, King Saul's son in 1 Samuel, chapters 13-14. In 1 Samuel 13:5-7 we read, "And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horseman, and the people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude... When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits."
But in chapter 14 we read of how with great courage, Jonathan and his armor bearer discovered themselves to one of the Philistine garrisons. Jonathan spoke words of faith and courage when he said to his armor bearer: "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restrain to the Lord to save by many or by few."
In that first encounter, Jonathan, with his armor bearer, slew about 20 men, then God took over. Remember that the only people in all Israel with sword and spear were Saul and Jonathan. Through the spiritual weapons God has given us, we can be like Jonathan. Through prayer, we can expose ourselves, slay about 20 devils, and just see what God can do with the rest!
~ Colin Campbell
Joshua 7:11-12 says, "Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed thing from among you."
Abortion, adultery, divorce, homosexuality, marriage breakup and pornography are "accursed" and unless the church repents and cleanses itself through repentance and the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, we will continue to lose in the battles of the Lord.
~ Colin Campbell
The nation needs men who will not compromise their moral values, even under extreme pressure. It needs men who will not compromise truth, even if it financially advantages them to do so. Some men will say anything to get what they want, whether in marriage, promotion, election to public office, or government hand-outs.
God looks for men who will not compromise biblical values, no matter what! The Holy Spirit who indwells all Christians is not compromising. He must be grieved at the way we compromise so easily over divorce, accepting the children He wants to give us, and homeschooling them to save them from humanistic propaganda and morally corrupt peers.
~ Colin Campbell
Job said: "Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me" (Job 27:5).
A man of integrity will always speak the truth, no matter what pressure he is under to do otherwise.
A man of integrity will always speak the truth even if it hurts him to do so.
A man of integrity will not only speak the truth; he lives the truth.
A man of integrity is trustworthy. If he says he will do something, he will do it. You can bank on his word.
~ Colin Campbell
Who can tolerate a spineless man?
The nation needs men with backbone--
Men with backbone in their commitment to Christ and His course!
Men who have stickability in the battle of life!
Men who will not bend and bow in the face of opposition!
Men who will not give up on their marriage and fatherhood!
Men who, no matter what the enemy hurls at them, will not quit.
~ Colin Campbell
"Marriage is a knot; not a noose!~ Colin Campbell
"Marriage ordained by God is with one man and one woman. No exceptions."~ Colin Campbell
"Marriage is much more than a ceremony and a certificate. It is a daily building assignment."~ Colin Campbell
Revelation 5:12: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." The Lamb of God shall reign, and all those who have become lambs, by the virtue of His blood, shall reign with him.
Men, God's government is opposite to man's government. In man's government, the eloquent, slick, smooth-tongued, rich, and powerful reign. In God's 'government those who are meek, submissive, gentle, and humble, first towards God and secondly towards their fellow-men, shall inherit the earth and reign with Christ over it.
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
Men of meekness are gentle with their loved ones. They do not desire to hurt or crush their feelings. They are also gentle when dealing with the souls of their fellow men whom they seek to influence for Christ at all times. However, when it is appropriate, they will not hesitate to make a bold stand for righteousness against the enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
The bride in the Song of Solomon, of whom we are a type in this world, is portrayed as "Beautiful as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners." Verse 10 pictures her: "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?"
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
"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5).
Men, meekness is a great virtue that God loves to see alive and active in His people. I notice in Scripture that meekness is closely associated with other virtues . For example:
"Meekness and gentleness" (2 Corinthians 10:1).
"Lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, and forbearing" (Ephesians 4:2).
"Patience and meekness" (1 Timothy 6:11).
"Gentleness and meekness unto all men" (Titus 3:2).
"Meekness and fear" when giving reason for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15).
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
"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4).
When judgment is fast approaching a city or nation it is appropriate for that city or nation to mourn and repent. When the citizens of Nineveh heard the message to repent because of approaching judgment, they mourned with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Jonah 3:5-9 tells us that their pagan king urged them to "cry mightily unto God." The king actually preached repentance to his people, insisting them to repent even more than reluctant Jonah, saying: "Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?" (verse 9).
Verse 10 tell us: "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not."
It is high time for all Christian married couples, who are even considering divorce, to repent like the people of Nineveh and turn away from every hard word and action. We must do our own personal effort to seek with all our hearts to put things right where we have done wrong. We must never be so insensitive to God to think that all the adultery, fornication, divorce, as well as abortion, will not invite God's judgment on the land, except we repent.
We dare not kid ourselves that abortion and sexual perversion is not happening in the house of God (the church). Instead, it is gathering momentum. How shameful to hear of Christians who attended "Fifty Shades of Grey." It is indeed time to mourn and grown in the spirit. Do we not care that ever increasing numbers are lining up to have abortions, often accompanied by their "loving and caring" youth pastors?
I do not take pleasure in being an alarmist or some type of doomsday prophet, but the truth is that someone has to sound the alarm. I also do not wish to proclaim that I am some holier-than-thou, pointing-the-finger preacher who wants to condemn all to hell. Far be it. For we all need to repent in some way or other. None of us are entirely guiltless. Nor am I.
Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up and heard the seraphim crying with covered faces, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:1-3). What was his response? "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5).
Ezekiel 9:4 says: "And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. . . Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary." Would you? Would I be one who would receive the mark and thus avoid the judgment?
Joel 2:17 says: "Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?"
Be encouraged to mourn and weep for our own sin and the sin of the nation.
Colin Campbell
The second Beautiful Attitude is: "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4).
We Christian men should know what it means to "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep (mourn) with them that weep" (Romans 12:15). We should mourn over the things that our Savior, Christ Jesus mourns over as well as experience His comfort.
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
We find the first beautiful attitude in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The kingdom of heaven is given to the poor in spirit.
Worldliness makes for an empty marriage.
Heavenliness makes for a rich and loving marriage.
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
I mentioned yesterday that we would discuss the "principle spices" mentioned in Exodus 30:22-33. God commanded Moses to make the anointing oil with certain spices--pure myrrh, SWEET cinnamon, SWEET calamus, cassia, and olive oil. The composition and measurements had to be precise and the anointing oil was never to be used in any secular way.
This is a picture of the anointing of the Holy Spirit that was poured upon Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:9 states that Jesus was anointed with "the oil of gladness above thy fellows." We note that two of these chief spices were SWEET. This anointing made Jesus more gracious that the elders and priests of His day. We read in Luke 4:22: "All bare him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." In John 76 they said: "Never man spake like this man." This testimony was because of the chief spices typified in the anointing oil that was given to Him without measure (John 3:34).
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
The word "blessed," meaning happy, is used nine times in the first eleven verses of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-11). Every married couple wants to have a blessed and happy marriage.
Often when the word "blessed" is used in the Scriptures it has a double emphasis meaning "happy, happy" or "doubly blessed." God wants us to not only have an average or ordinary marriage, but a happy, happy and doubly blessed marriage!
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
Men, the best place to live out the Sermon on the Mount is in our marriage (Matthew, chapters 5 - 7). This is where the rubber meets the road. Our marriages comes first, followed closely by parenting our children. Together, this makes the nucleus of the Christian family.
How is it possible for children to feel secure and protected if their daddy and mommy do not demonstrate the right attitudes towards each other? Although the children may not voice the problem or even understand what is wrong with their parents, they feel the vibes and tension.
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
We praise God today that all but one of the Supreme Court judges in Alabama upheld the traditional view that marriage is only between one man and one woman. We must continue to pray that the federal government will not intervene and over-rule the leadership of the states as they did over the issue of the Ten Commandments being displayed in the courts of Alabama.
In the all important sermon that Jesus gave on the Mount of Beatitudes, often called the (Beautiful Attitudes) in Matthew, chapters 5 - 7 Jesus concluded by saying: "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24).
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
Men, I mentioned in my last post that whatever it takes for a man to woo a woman and bring her to the altar to say, "I do," is what it takes to hold the marriage together. Because of the storms that currently attack the very existence and idea of marriage, we need to MORE THAN DOUBLE OUR EFFORTS to maintain and grow our marriages.
In today's world of divorce, and even multiple divorces, plus the homosexual agenda that degrades holy wedlock, it makes it harder for marriages that are going through struggles, small or great, to survive. All of this means that we Christians have to work harder than ever to keep our marriages strong and meaningful. We Christians have Christ on our side and we can do all things through Him (Philippians 4:13).
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
AboveRubies
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