⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.   ~Romans 12:9-12 (NIV)

In the NIV, this section of Romans 12 is entitled “Love in Action.”

Devoted. Defined as very loving or loyal. It also means “given over to the display, study, or discussion of.”  (Oxford American Dictionaries)

As a child of the 70′s, when I hear that word, my brain automatically connects to the song “Hopelessly Devoted to You” in the movie Grease.

It’s the song of a broken heart and unrequited love. It’s a song of a love that loves no matter the response of the object of that love.

Maybe you find yourself brokenhearted today. If so, you have a special place in my prayers because you are worthy of being loved.

Maybe you are just in a hard place with your spouse right now. You know he loves you, but it just isn’t quite what your soul is longing for.

Or maybe you are doing ok in your marriage, but the cry of your heart is for it to be more than ok. You long for your marriage to be a love story that will inspire others to trust God for their own marriage.

No matter where you find yourself today, let me encourage you to take these words from Romans 12 to heart and put love in action today.

Love your husband with loyalty. Display your love openly. Become a student of your husband…his likes, dislikes…the little details of him as a unique and God-created man. Discuss your love for him with him and with others. It is a good thing to let your love be made known!

And pray. Trust. Hope.

Because God is faithful.

With love,

Rebecca 

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We must always be on guard for this world belongs to the Deceiver.

We are cautioned by Paul to not be deceived in Colossians 2.

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. ⁷ Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.⁸ Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. ⁹ For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. ¹⁰ So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. (NLT, verse 6-10, emphasis mine)

As a wife of almost 23 years, I have to admit that, in those years, there have been times when I have been deceived. I can remember as a new bride thinking that my husband was going to meet my every need. I believe this is a common feeling among new couples. The excitement of beginning a life together is very heady and can cloud our common sense. I mean even at the tender age of 22 I knew that my husband was not perfect and that he could not possibly meet all my need, yet, sometimes my attitude toward Keith was just that and I was often hurt as my expectations were not met. Thankfully for me [and for Keith] I knew that Jesus is the only one who can and does meet my every need!

Another way I was deceived as a wife was to think that Keith, during times of conflict and stress, was my enemy. Scripture is clear in its teaching that Satan is our enemy and not flesh and blood [this includes our husbands!].

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)

Yet, in the early days of my marriage, I believed that if we were not like-minded about a certain situation then we were on opposite sides and, therefore, pitted against each other. This idea is absurd, yet I was deceived.

These two things sound silly now, don’t they? Of course your spouse is not your enemy and, of course, every need a wife will ever have is not met solely through her husband.

But there are truths from the Word that Satan distorts and uses to lure us into sin. For you see, dear sisters, sin is what separates us from the power we have in Christ.

When I posted a few weeks ago, I shared what the Lord had been teaching me. It has been a refreshing experience to be confronted with the subtle ways that I have been lead astray.   he belief that “living a balanced life” was what I was to seek had seriously derailed me from the truth that Christ has brought to those who love Him. Yes, the very truth of the Word that will set me free. “Living a balanced life” sounds – well right – doesn’t it?  It rings true in our world. After all we say this in church, ministry, play, school and in relationships.

However, Jesus has called me as an Imperfect Wife and Daughter of the King to walk in HIS TRUTH. The truth of the matter is I am to follow Christ. Christ lived a decidedly unbalanced life. Everything, EVERYTHING that Jesus did, He did because the Father told Him to do it. The scale or measure of Jesus’ life was tipped decisively in favor of the Father. He didn’t balance His selfish desires with the desires of the Father. No, He died to himself and his will and chose the way of the Father.  (See John 8:25-32)

Wow. Convicting, isn’t it? Makes us realize that some of our selfish wants and desires, even in the context of a godly marriage, seem small.

I am learning that the way to easily follow Jesus is to not be deceived.

Some steps I am learning to take so that deception stays far from my life are:

1.  Trust that Jesus is the Truth and that EVERYTHING He says is trustworthy. I am learning to do this by practice and continued obedience as God increases my faith. This is a big one for me as I like to be in control.
2.  Run ALL things, even if you have always believed a certain way, through the filter of the Word of God [the Bible]. God’s Word is clear and God is a God of order and not confusion.
3. Pray for discernment. When we are open to hear from the Lord, then I believe that He will answer us and give us wisdom [the ability to apply the knowledge from His Word](see James
4. Never give up. No never.  In fact, if I had given up every time there was a problem in my marriage Keith and I would have never made it out of the first year of our marriage. It is a fact that we still battle the sinful nature [flesh] but remembering that we have the One Who Made Us New living inside of us is the “secret weapon” to our not being deceived.

Dear sisters, the All-Knowing One, Christ Jesus, has defeated the Deceiver.  Walk in the Truth and Freedom that we have in Christ! Tip the scales in favor of Christ and stop striving to strike a balance. Balance is settling and that is just what the old serpent, Satan, wants. Christ has come that we might have LIFE and have it to the FULL. Now that is unbalanced!

♥Kim

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