Beauty For Ashes Archives - Page 7 of 8

April 3, 2013 By Janice

God has promised to restore and strengthen you

BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 5 – God Has Promised to Restore and Strengthen You

1 PETER 5v8 9 10 – Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Don’t be Afraid of Satan’s Roar!

Unfortunately we can’t hide or avoid this spiritual battle against the forces of evil. As Christians, Satan is seeking to destroy us and one of the ways he tries this is through our marriages. He is the source of the fiery trials that we endure. This first verse describes the devil as a roaring lion seeking to devour us. The lion roars just before pouncing on its prey to startle and frighten the poor creature and take it by surprise. Don’t be afraid of Satan’s roar, we need to stay alert so we can see him coming before he catches us off-guard. Lions are strong, frightening animals, but they do not have much endurance, so when the prey withstands the initial “roar”, the lion will leave it alone or “flee” from it. It is the same with the devil. We have to withstand his initial roar, and he will eventually leave us alone, the Bible says he will flee from us.

Don’t Try to Do This Alone

Personally, I don’t believe we should be telling our marriage problems to everyone and anyone who comes our way, but I do believe we need to talk to someone like a Pastor or another trustworthy Christian, preferably one who has been through the same experience and understands your situation. I say this because the battle is not for you alone. Jesus is the good shepherd and He will lead His sheep, we are the flock, but unfortunately the devil is prowling in the hills like that lion mentioned before, looking for that solitary sheep which has somehow wandered off from the flock and is vulnerable, discouraged and weak. This makes it easy prey for the devil. It is important to have someone come alongside you at times like this, so call someone now and talk to them, don’t try to fight this alone. God has given us good Christian friends in the body of Christ who will help protect us from the enemy. They will pray for you and encourage you.

You Are Not Alone

In the last study, we talked about how God comforts us so that we can comfort others going through the same experiences as we do. Peter also assures us in 1 Peter 5 9 that we are not alone in our suffering and that God will deliver us. Another great promise from our caring Abba Father! Remember, your fellow-Christians are going through the same things! God has been and always will be faithful to His Church in the midst of suffering. So why is God allowing family problems that torment us? Why does God allow us to suffer sickness and disease? He is doing with you as he did with Jesus. He is bringing you through suffering and into glory. The path we walk as Christians is not an easy one, but it has to be none other than that of Jesus Christ.

God's love is for always! — God’s love is for always!

Take Courage!

The all-seeing, all-powerful, all-loving, all-gracious God cares deeply for you. He loves you. People may speak evil of you, or do evil to you. Trials and temptations attack on every side. God sees everything and He feels your pain. Remember to cast your cares onto Him, knowing that when you do this, He will never let you be shaken. Trust Him, tell Him you love Him. Your steadfast faith in your sufferings shows what your relationship is with God. If we are Christ’s, then whatever we face is for His glory and for our good.

Stand Firm

You are not alone, you have sisters-in-Christ all over the world, who are suffering the same as you. God has promised to deliver you like He has done for me and for many of them. So stand firm, trust Him to do what He says He will do!

Beauty for Ashes

GEN3X – Help for wives of men involved in pornography

April 3, 2013 By Janice

God will give you all the Care, Comfort and Love you will ever need

BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 2 – God Will Give You All the Care, Comfort and Love You Will Ever Need

PSALM 91 – Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”. Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because He loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

When I am feeling threatened or attacked by the devil, I use my Sword, which is the Word of God.

I quote verses from the Bible at my enemy, especially Psalm 91 and the result is I feel God’s protection and comfort almost instantly.

This is my favourite Psalm and I have memorised it so it becomes engrafted into my heart.

I have it stuck to my fridge and I put my name in there and pray it over my life.

I would strongly advise you to do the same, so:

read it, recite it, pray it and proclaim it.

God Is Good All the Time

The first verse is so powerful and if we are obedient and do what it says to do, we will find the rest we so need!

God is a good God, He is a God of love and He loves you so much, He wants the very best for you! He will ALWAYS honour His promises, but there is something we must do to claim these wonderful promises and that is to “dwell”, or remain, stay, live in the secret place of God. “WHOEVER dwells in the shelter of the Most High WILL rest in the shadow of the Almighty”. Every child of God looks towards His mercy seat, but we all do not live in the most holy place. We can all run to it at times of need or crisis, but when all’s okay, we wander off again. Please don’t just run to Him in times of need, stay in relationship with Him in every circumstance – good or bad.

When we are in continuous communion and stay close to God, we get to possess all those wonderful rare and special benefits that are missed by those who follow at a distance. There is no shelter imaginable that compares to the protection of Jehovah’s own shadow. There is no better refuge when going through a storm!

Snuggle up close to your Abba Father, He is the Source of the Shadow. He is standing there waiting for you, His little girl, longing to give you ALL the care, comfort and protection you need and crave.

He Will Protect You

Verses 11 and 12 tell us: “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Did you know that in the Spiritual realm God has angels waiting on standby for your protection? You just need to cry out to Him and ask Him to send His angels down to protect you. God will do what He has promised and set His angels in motion. I have prayed this prayer on a couple of occasions when I thought things were impossible, and God changed my situation around straight away. Isn’t God’s provision wonderful?

He is the God of the “I WILL”

Thousands of years before you were even born, this prophetic Psalm was written, God-breathed, JUST FOR YOU. He has promised to respond to your pleas for help in every threatening circumstance. He has made preparations ahead of time for whatever your situation. “HE WILL call upon Me, and I WILL answer him; I WILL be with him in trouble, I WILL deliver him'” (Psalm 91 15).

I love how God uses these words “I WILL” over and over again here. When you call on Him, HE WILL BE WITH YOU IN TROUBLE AND HE WILL DELIVER YOU! This is a mighty promise, you need to claim it over your life, your marriage and all your circumstances.

Please feel free to email me any time you wish.

Beauty for Ashes

Gen3x – Helping the woman whose husband is involved in porn

March 28, 2013 By Janice

Allow God to heal your broken heart and bind up your wounds

BEAUTY FOR ASHES- HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 8 – Allow God to Heal Your Broken Heart and Bind Up Your Wounds

Psalm 147:3 – He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds

Isaiah 61:1- He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted

There is healing for the broken hearted. I don’t know about you, but that really comforts me. God has promised to heal your broken heart and to bind up your wounds. These verses have really impacted me over my journey of healing and I pray that they will impact you also.

Ask God to Bandage and Sew up Your Wounds

The words “bind up” in both verses come from the Hebrew word “chabash” which means “to tie, bind, to restrain, to bandage”. I believe God reached down into my innermost being and touched my wounds. It felt like He had bandaged them and had began to heal me from the inside out. To think of God bandaging up my wounds is a comforting thought. He can and will do the same for you, God loves you so much and He will take the time to personally reach down and bind up or bandage all your emotional wounds.

“Heal” in Psalms 147:3 is the Hebrew word “raphe” meaning, “to heal, to sew together or mend.” Have you ever had to have stitches? Why does the surgeon need to stitch our wounds? It is to hold them together so they have time to heal.

We can’t physically see the healing God does inside of our bodies, but He is at work and is sewing you together again “stitch by stitch” so that over time you receive complete healing.

“He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147 3)

“He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted.” (Isaiah 61 1)

What Does it Mean to be Broken?

When I looked up the dictionary, the meaning I got for “broken” was this: reduced to fragments; fragmented; ruptured; torn; fractured; not functioning properly; out of working order. Is this how you feel? Do you feel like your heart has been reduced to fragments? Ruptured, torn, fractured? IT REALLY HURTS! It’s like your heart has been shattered into many pieces. You may feel crippled emotionally and exhausted physically. Ask God to help you, to strengthen you and to heal you. Hand it all over to Him, trust in Him and allow Him into those broken places.

Allow the Great Physician to do Heart Surgery

God, who is the greatest Physician ever, will come in and perform heart surgery on you. Can you picture Him lovingly fitting all those little pieces back together again? God will mend your broken heart!

Healing is a process though, so try to be patient, it may take time, but God’s timing is always perfect. He will heal you and strengthen you and perfect you.

Just open up your heart to Him and allow Him to do surgery on you. You won’t regret it, I know because He fixed me!

Beauty for Ashes

Gen3x – Helping wives of men who are involved in pornography

February 21, 2013 By Janice

What Does It Mean to Come Under Submission?

BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

DAY 14 – What Does it Mean to Come Under Submission?

EPHESIANS 5:23 – For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body.

This Does Not Mean That Women Are Inferior

This is a verse which has caused many debates over the years. In the past, I didn’t like it, because I wrongly came to the conclusion that it meant wives are inferior to their husbands. However, it doesn’t say this at all. The bible tells us that men and women are ‘equal in status in Christ’, but each have distinct roles in life. It is biblical for men to have the authority, but this doesn’t mean that we are ‘under the thumb.’ Men and women need one another. In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 1 Corinthians 11:1. Men are to respect women the same as women are to respect men. So the husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image.

Matthew Henry wrote: “The woman was made out of Adam’s side. She was not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved”

Submitting is Not Always Easy

Submission should be a natural response to a loving husband, a continual attitude. When a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25-33), then submission will be easy from a wife to her husband. Unfortunately, not all men make it easy for a wife to submit. Some are selfish and do not love their wives as Christ loves the Church. God does not intend marriage to be a one-sided submission of a believing wife to a selfish, domineering husband. Submission is a position of honour and completeness. Submission is not a wife being a “doormat” for her husband. However, as wives, we must submit in reverence and obedience to Christ. God will give you the strength to submit when you surrender to Him first.

You Do Not Submit to Anything Unbiblical

Ephesians 5:24 says, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”

Submission in marriage should always be Biblical

A wife should submit to her husband in everything that is biblical. Your husband has no authority to overrule your conscience by asking you to join him in a sinful act. If you are a godly woman, and your husband asks you to do things according to HIS corrupted will, and those things are sinful and contrary to the bible, you should not do them. You are not being submissive to your husband according to GOD’S will and for the good of your husband. Even if your husband is a godly man, and commands you to do something against God’s will, you should not do it, as your husband is acting in a fleshly way. Please don’t blame yourself if your husband gets angry or quarrelsome when you do the right thing. His bad choices have absolutely nothing to do with you. It is up to him to choose life or death, blessings or curses.

Prayerfully and with a meek and quiet and submissive spirit, you can win your husband to obey God’s word.

Before Sin, God was the Only Authority

Adam was created first and Eve was created to be a “helper” for him (Genesis 2:18-20). Because there was no sin, there was no authority for man to obey except God’s authority. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world, and then authority was needed. Therefore, God established authority to provide us with the protection we need. First, we need to submit to God, which is the only way we can truly obey Him, then 1 Corinthians 11:2-3 tells us that the husband is to submit to Christ as Christ did to God and the wife should follow his example and submit to her husband.

True wisdom is submitting to and obeying the authoritative Word of God, with the power of the Holy Spirit, of course. When we do this, we will live under the blessings of God and develop strong healthy homes.

Beauty for Ashes

Gen3x – Helping wives of men who are involved in sexual sin

January 20, 2013 By Janice

Are you heavy hearted and crushed in spirit?

BEAUTY FOR ASHES – HELP FOR A HURTING WIFE

Day 1 – Are you heavy hearted and crushed in spirit? God promises a beautiful exchange

ISAIAH 61v3 to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

God Loves you and Will Never Break His Promises

Your Abba Father loves His children. He doesn’t want to see you, his precious daughter, hurt or mistreated in any way. I don’t know what your situation is, but because God has led you to this website, I believe it’s because your husband has been involved in pornography or some other sexual sin and whether you have just found out, or you have known for a while now, I know that you will be feeling betrayed, unwanted, let down, cheated, heavy-hearted and so much more. This verse in Isaiah 61:3 is a promise TO YOU from God that He will transform you, and comfort you as you open your heart to Him and allow Him to have His way in you. God never breaks His promises, I know personally, because He has done all of the above for me and so much more! You will need to put your trust in Him, and allow Him to take control of every situation in your life.

A Little About Me

Unknown to me for the first 15 years of my marriage, and in fact, since a very young age, my husband was involved in pornography and the fruit of this was making him very angry and aggressive. I cried out to God but I thought that He didn’t hear my cries. I was ashen faced and heavy hearted, my spirit was crushed and grieving. We lived in a home full of strife, then my husband brought his secret out of the darkness and into the light and God has been doing a wonderful transformation ever since. God sent Jesus to set the captives free and my husband and I have both been set free from the prison Satan had us in.

I was a prisoner, bound in chains of hurt, bitterness, resentment, hatred, anger and so much more, but praise God, He has broken those chains and He set me free emotionally, physically and spiritually. He healed me of all my deepest hurts and brought me a peace which I could never have imagined possible.

Just like the above verse says, I am become like a tree – “they shall become trees of righteousness” with my roots well grounded. God has made me stronger and my once ashen face is glowing with joy, I am full of praise and thanks for what God has done instead of feeling heavyhearted and full of self-pity. Best of all, the Lord is being glorified for all He has done – “that He may be glorified”. It’s my heart’s desire that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will experience the same transformation which I did so that God may be glorified!

Assurance in Jesus Christ

God has done just what He said He would do and I believe He has called me to walk this part of the journey with you and to use my experiences to help you recover from the pain you have been feeling and to become all that this verse says. God sent Jesus Christ to come to earth and die for you. He has already purchased your complete healing with His blood. Now, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit will minister to you. He will Counsel you, help you, strengthen you and guide you. The Holy Spirit knows exactly the right timing in your life, and the only One Who knows what it will take to help you.

You are not alone. So be patient, put your trust in God and He will help you! (Psalm 37:5)

You can email me at any time you wish.

Beauty for Ashes

Gen3x – Help for wives of men involved in pornography