Christ Will Rescue You: December 2019

Monday, December 30, 2019

Bound or Loosed

Matthew 16:19(NLT)

“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

You want to get back to the way you were, before all hell broke loose – but you know that’s not possible. What do you do when you don’t know WHAT TO DO?

I went to a wedding of a dear friend last summer. As I watched them declare their devotion for the rest of their lives, I prayed that they would be able to stand strong through whatever would come their way. Over the holidays I spoke to my friend’s brother, and he said that the two of them were having a lot of problems. In his words, “All hell was breaking loose in their marriage.” He believes it is because his brother is very egotistical and has anger issues. On the other hand, he said, “His wife is very needy and can’t seem to do anything without my brother’s permission.”

Marriage is not easy. Just about everyone that takes that walk down the aisle underestimates its challenges. And one of the most challenging aspects of marriage is dealing with the emotions of another person. At no time should one spouse ever disrespect the other, but situations will arise that will test our limits and stretch us beyond the point we ever thought possible. Most people that are married will attest to the reality that you see all sides to a person as you grow and become one. Sometimes you see things you couldn’t have imagined, even after knowing and dating your current spouse a while before you married.

God has given us the person of the Holy Spirit to dwell within our body temples. Jesus Christ told us in John 16:13 that the Spirit’s occupation is to teach, lead, and guide us according to the instruction he receives from Christ. Through His Spirit that indwells us, God will prepare us for marital partnership.

Ephesians 1:11 tells us that God predestined our existence even before the foundation of the world. Acts 17:26 tells us that He appointed the times of our births and the family that we would be born into. There isn’t anything about our lives God doesn’t know. He knows the person that is best suited to walk with us through life. The truth is that many of us don’t choose this person. We allow ourselves to fall for someone that hasn’t learned to love through Christ and has no intention of ever truly walking in God’s love. To our disappointment and detriment, and way too often for many people, physical or verbal abuse becomes part of life’s equation.

Heavenly Father does not want us in this kind of situation. He knows we’re not perfect and that we will get ourselves into trouble. This is why He tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6(NLT), “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” The truth of this passage is one that every individual must have as part of their foundation for life.

Sometimes people cross the line and go way past the issue of carrying baggage. They resort to hurting those who love them most. This is evil, and when we’re in a situation that leads to this kind of bondage, many of us feel overwhelmed. We don’t know what to do, but God tells us exactly what to do and exactly what not to do in Proverbs 3:5-6. We don’t lean on our own understanding, but instead, we seek His Word to find out His Will, and we lean on Him to direct our paths.

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus Christ tells us that he’s given us the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. We have the keys to unlock doors that lead to all the abundance the Kingdom of God extends. These keys are in your possession. As you use them, don’t walk down corridors that lead to where and who you used to be, because you can never be again the person you were before your life took a different turn. But you CAN be renewed! You can be stronger and better through the love of God in Christ, and this is where you must place your confidence.

Don’t stay locked in a situation that undermines your right to walk in the liberty of Christ. Trust God with all your heart and seek His Will in all you do. When you use the keys according to His Word, you will loosen those things that keep you bound, and God will show you a way out. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

It’s Never Too Late!

Romans 13:10-11(NLT)
“10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. 11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

In many abusive relationships, there is quite a bit of pretense going on. You learn to hide your pain, and no one knows how you’ve had to walk on eggshells just for a few minutes of peace. Around the holidays, things can become even more tense. The pressure on your finances to buy gifts, not to mention all the activities and festivities you may have to attend. You become very adapt at keeping up appearances to avoid any speculation or questions that suggest your relationship isn’t just as happy, secure, and loving as you want people to believe.

Of course, the truth for those in an abusive relationship is that their spouse or the significant person in their lives isn’t happy and loving; and the one thing your relationship isn’t or hasn’t been for a long time is secure.

Psalm 40:2 tells us that God will draw us up from a pit of destruction, and He’ll pull us up out of the mud. He’ll put us on a solid rock and make sure we’re secure and won’t slip. No one can do this but the Lord. Psalm 16:8(NLT) tells us, “I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” God wants us to be confident in Him. He wants us to rest in His peace, provision, and comfort so that our minds can be focused and steady. When we’re living in constant fear and pretense, our minds are scattered, and often this is when we lose a sense of who we are in Christ.

Psalm 82:3-4 tells us that Heavenly Father will give justice to the weak and fatherless, that He will also do justice for the humble and poor; He will rescue those that are weak and in need, and deliver them from the hands of the wicked. The Lord wants us in a safe place in every way. He wants our minds and souls free and walking in the liberty Christ offers. But we have a part to play in this as well. In Revelations 3:2, Christ tells us to wake up and begin to strengthen ourselves in him before it is too late. We must stop pretending to walk in love, and actually start pursuing the truth of God's love everyday. This is the love He wants us walking in, and we can trust it with our whole hearts.

So many of are making excuses and coming up with explanations for why we stay in abusive relationships. Some of us have done this a long time, and it will time to build our faith so that we’re courageous enough to leave. Know that God will not abandon us during this time. He is always with you, and through the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, He will help you to grow in His faith and power. Do yourself the greatest favor this New Year and be committed to pray and talk to God often. Know that it’s never too late to grow in Christ. He loves you and has great plans for Your life. ■

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

With God, Nothing Is Impossible

Galatians 5:1 (MSG)
“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.”

“I don’t want to leave my husband! I just want him to stop hurting me!” This is what a family friend shared over the Thanksgiving holiday. She and her husband were high school sweethearts and got married immediately after graduating high school. They’ve been married for twenty years and have three children together. About ten years into their marriage is when her husband started saying hurtful and demeaning things to her. He started slapping her face when they argued. Then one evening, his anger escalated, and he wouldn’t stop hitting her. Their oldest son jumped in to defend his mother.

Domestic violence and abuse is defined as violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse. But it also occurs in many relationships between couples that are not married. Studies suggests that an increasing number of teens experience abusive behavior during dating in high-school, and there are also many instances of it on college campuses as well. This is difficult to hear, and some ask why doesn’t the person that is being abused just leave. If it were that simple, the instances of domestic violence and abuse would not be increasing at the rate it is. Like many patterns in life, there are behaviors and mindsets around abuse that a person learns. If not addressed at the root, this behavior causes both the victim and abuser to become stuck in patterns that are destructive to their souls.

Society teaches us to believe we can have it all together, and that we don’t need to be spiritually strong through the Lord Jesus Christ. The reality is that all of us are weak and allowing ourselves to play any part in domestic violence and abuse is proof that we need the Lord’s help desperately. All of us are broken inside in some way. We can’t fix ourselves. It is impossible for us to come to Jesus Christ perfect. It doesn’t work that way. He tells us in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me!” We are to come as we are, broken and all, because only Jesus Christ can do a work on the inside of us through his Spirit.

He also tells us in verse 29 of this same chapter to “Learn about me.” This is the part many of us neglect. Do you know that the greatest joy in all of life is to know Jesus? Getting to know him is not a chore, it is a wonderful blessing. We have learned many harmful things in life. We have been programmed by society to think a certain way, and we must allow the Spirit of God to reprogram us. Ephesians 4:23(KJV) puts it this way, it says, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Our minds must be made new! We must think new thoughts, so that we act and behave like Christ.

Galatians 5:1(MSG) tells us, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” A victim may be financially dependent on their abusive partner. Without money, or even a place to go, it can seem impossible for them to leave the relationship, but with God nothing is impossible, and we must trust Him with every nook and cranny of our hearts. His Word tells us that we must never allow someone to put a harness of slavery on us. This is exactly what an abusive relationship is—it’s a harness of slavery, designed to steal our joy and power so that we feel hopeless and helpless. We don’t have to live that way, because Jesus Christ has set us free to live a free life. He will help us take a stand if we will give ourselves to him completely.

My friend is struggling to do what is right for her family. Her husband is not who he used to be, and only God knows why. But whatever it is that has caused him to harbor such anger, taking it out on his family is against the Will of God. Heavenly Father doesn’t want His people to be abused; and He doesn’t want a child to witness or be involved in an abusive situation with their parents. God’s love doesn’t hurt or cause pain. His love rescues us through the person of Jesus Christ.

We must be encouraged that God has provided us a way out. In Mark 9:23(NLT), Jesus Christ said, ““What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” You and I are not perfect. Every moment of every day we are being perfected in Christ. But our Heavenly Father is indeed perfect, and we must believe wholeheartedly in His awesome power and let Him help us to walk in the liberty that Jesus Christ offers. ■

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

“With God, Nothing is Impossible”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Don’t Go Back

You made a decisive move to do what you needed to do for your life – doubt and reservations begin to kick-in and you start to believe that maybe you were too impulsive…NOT, trust the truth within, don’t look back, keep it moving.

Deuteronomy 28:13(NLT) “If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.”

Jesus Christ said in John 10:10(NKJV), “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The first thing Jesus does is tell us about the thief. Who is the thief? The thief is the devil, and not only is he a thief, he is a liar too. Stealing, killing, and destroying is the devil’s game. One of the reasons that the devil is so treacherous is because most of us don’t recognize his tricks. The most precious things we own are stolen right from under our noses because we don’t know who the thief is, we don’t know how he operates, and we don’t know how to protect ourselves from getting tricked and robbed.

2Corinithians 4:4(NLT) tells us, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” Here in this verse, Heavenly Father shows us one of the devil’s tricks. It is to blind a person’s mind, so they are not able to see the glorious light of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that he came to the earth to make a more than abundant life available to us. This is the kind of life that God wants for all of His children, and we ought to want it for ourselves as well.

The light is always and forever front and center, beaming brightly, but because we don’t see the truth of who God has made us, the devil gets away with blindfolding us; and he uses people to do it. Whether it is the abuser, the spouse or significant person who doesn’t treat us well, or a person who doesn’t want us to reach our full potential; these are individuals that constantly try to keep the wool pulled over our eyes. We must wake up and see it for what it is.

Know that every decision you make to walk in your truest, highest self in Christ, is a move towards the light. We were created by God to be free, to walk in the liberty of His Son. Galatians 5:1(MSG) tells us, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” Many of us have taken mistreatment and abuse a long time, and then we make a courageous step to trust God and free ourselves from the harness of slavery. But often, we travel down the road of second thoughts and second guessing. We make the mistake of listening to the wrong people—people that the devil uses to blindfold our faith.

Whatever it is you’re facing today, at this very moment, don’t let emotions and feelings of fear keep you in the dark. God is backing you. He told His people, the Children of Israel, in Deuteronomy 31:6(NLT), “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” God does not change. He is the same today as He was back then. His promise of protection, refuge, and care applies to us living today.

Refuse to go back. God didn’t bring you this far to leave you. Like many women who have been in toxic or abusive situations, your gut instinct takes a back seat to what your emotions tell you, “Stay. You can handle it. It’ll get better.” Yes, sometimes it does get better…but in most cases, it doesn’t stay that way. God offers us a better way. He tells us in Deuteronomy 28:13 to listen to HIS commands, not what others may tell us or what we might tell ourselves. We are the head and not the tail. He drills it home by telling us we are above and not beneath. Trust God’s Word more than you trust your emotions.

God has done so much for you. It is because of His grace that you are here today. Don’t look back. Keep looking ahead to the great future God has promised you. Keep moving ahead until you reach the victory He has promised. He will not fail you when you trust Him with all your heart.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

When Its Best to Steer Clear

Abuse of any kind is painful, and it is never God’s Will for us to be subjected to it. If we will pray and seek His guidance, He will help us steer clear.

2 Samuel 11:2-4(NLT)
²Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. ³He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home.

As Christian women, we should live by a code of honor – a code that your body is meant for marriage and should only be shared with your husband, as God meant for it to be. This code is a symbol of our commitment to Godliness. Of course, there are many Christian women that have not and probably will not live by such a code, and it’s certainly their free-will choice. Nonetheless, sex outside of marriage is ungodly and not pleasing to our Heavenly Father. When I hear of women that are in dating relationships with men who pressure them for sex and resort to abuse if they don’t give in, it’s a reminder of this passage in 2 Samuel 11.

The Word of God doesn’t say that Bathsheba was pressured or abused, but it is certainly implied that someone as powerful as King David might not have taken kindly to her saying ‘no’. Her beauty might have offered perks that other women may not have enjoyed, but during this time in biblical history, women were not treated as equals; far from it. When David saw her, he wanted what he wanted, and he knew she was someone’s wife.

Scripture tells us that Bathsheba found out she was pregnant, and King David panicked. So much so that he had her husband Uriah killed on the front lines of battle, and Bathsheba later became one of King David’s wives.

God was not pleased with King David’s actions, and there is no hiding that David abused his power against Uriah and his wife, Bathsheba. As women living today, we’d be kidding ourselves if we didn’t admit there are men who have mindsets and attitude’s very similar to King David’s. Therefore, we must be very wise about the choices we make. Having an allegiance to God through the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a deeply rooted confidence that Bathsheba might not have had. We must wear this confidence like a second skin and represent Christ in our appearance and actions.

One of the questions that is always in the back of my mind is “Would God be pleased?” Answering this question honestly can help to keep us on a safe and prosperous path. Steering clear of men that God has not stamped with His approval can keep us out of compromising situations. Remember, Bathsheba may not have been able to take a stand for righteousness, but as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, you and I definitely should. If we pray and ask God for guidance in this area, He will let us know when it is best to steer clear.