My heart is pained for families who are reaping the consequences of sin. For fathers and mothers who are stuck in old patterns of addiction, verbal abuse, and worse. My heart is pained when I hear of a son losing respect for his father because he sees his dad's addictions, and for the mother who is trying to hold the family together. I can only imagine the struggles and fears she battles every day, as her trust in her husband is severely damaged or destroyed. As she struggles to raise her family right. I see the pain in her eyes and the longing of her heart for a right foundation for her family. To have a godly home -- a godly leader in her husband. She wonders if he will ever change. He has received Christ as his Savior, but has fallen back into old ways of thinking and acting.
Just because someone has trusted in Jesus for their salvation and forgiveness of sins doesn't necessarily mean that his outward behavior is automatically changed. It takes a renewing of the mind to the Word of God, as Romans 12:1-2 states: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Deep scars and old patterns of coping with pain from a person's past need to be healed and changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that happens automatically by looking at Jesus in His Word and resting in His forgiveness and grace as God's love is received and experienced. Sometimes parts of the heart have crusted over so tightly with defenses to pain that it's difficult to let the love of God shine in. That person has trusted Jesus to forgive them and trusted in Jesus' righteousness to save them, but his mind has to be renewed.
Even though you are one person, you have three parts: your spirit, your soul, and your body. Your spirit is made holy, righteous and totally perfect the moment you trust in Jesus' righteousness to save you from God's coming judgement on sin. We live in a day of grace where all who trust in what Jesus did for us are saved from God's wrath on sin, because He placed all His wrath against sin upon His beloved Son Jesus on the cross. Jesus was made a curse for us and took our punishment from God. What a blessedness!
But our soul (mind, will, and emotions) and our bodily appetites have to be changed by the renewing of our minds. Our new, made-righteous spirit is to have control over our soul and body, and that takes time. We need to humble our minds to the Word of God and receive instruction and wisdom and agree with the Word in order to be renewed in our thinking. "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." [Proverbs 23:7, KJV]
If you don't think on something, you won't do it. Meditate on something, and you will do it. You can't be tempted by something you don't think about. Our thinking needs to be changed and brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. If we sow to the flesh (first, in our thinking) we will of the flesh reap corruption. [Galatians 6:7-8, KJV] Even though our spirits are holy and righteous, our bodies and minds, relationships, families, finances, etc, can be destroyed because our minds aren't renewed to obey the Word of God and make it the final authority for life. Because we have a new nature on the inside of us, we need to set our minds to have a reverence and honor for God and His Word.
Praying for all the saints is vitally important. You may feel like you're "over the hill" and can't contribute anything of value to life or don't really matter much, that your "good old days" have come and gone. You can change your thinking, too; as a brother or sister in Christ, regardless of your age, you are greatly needed. Prayer is a much-needed ministry for the Body of Christ today. Will you join me in praying for families and marriages in the church? Will you make a decision to obey Ephesians 6:18? "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
Christian families and marriages are in trouble. Will you intercede for them? Pray that believers will have the holy "fear of the Lord", a reverence for the authority of God's Word. Pray that they will grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray in the Spirit.
Satan wants to destroy marriage and family. I commit myself to praying more for families and marriages. "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!" [James 5:16] I believe that when the saints are awarded [judged] in heaven, those who quietly gave themselves to a life of prayer will be awarded one of the highest honors!
Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy
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