Lent 2025 – Lighting a Fire of Commitment – Prayers for Marriage and Divorce – Purity 1612
Purity 1612 03/21/2025 Purity 1612 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of a white coral fence and white barn standing out in the darkness as the sky is painted with the purple and pink hues of twilight time comes to us from an unknown FB friend who shared this magic moment on social media on July 29th, 2021. If this memory is yours, let us know and we will photo-credit you on the blog after the fact.
Well, It’s Friday, thank God, and as we begin the last day of the work week, I am resting on the Lord’s mercy and grace as my aspirations to fast for Lent this past week didn’t go as I planned. The feast days of St. Patrick & St. Joseph, this week gave me a break from fasting but they sort of destroyed my momentum, rhythm or motivation for fasting and I am accepting that although I thought my spirit was willing my flesh has been weak and I hope to do some soul searching this weekend to light my spiritual fire for lent once again.
Speaking of seeking to get back that “repentance feeling”, Dr. Charles Stanley’s In Touch devotion for today touches on that topic so I am sharing it this morning to help motivate those of us who have grown cold in our devotion to follow the Lord in earnest. Dr. Charles Stanely writes:
“Lighting the Fire Again
Since even good things can be a distraction, choose to prioritize your relationship with God.
Let’s continue looking at the Lord’s warning to the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:4). The Ephesians’ fervor is gone, though they’re still going through the motions of serving God and even defending the faith.
Christ’s warning to them extends to us, too. He looks at distracted and complacent Christians who are laboring for every reason but the right one, and He cries out, “I don’t want your empty service; I want you!”
Our heart can gradually cool when we give higher priority to other relationships and activities than to the Lord, making them idols in our life. The truth is, anything that distracts from God qualifies as an idol. (See Exodus 20:3-5.) Returning to a life of passionate service for God begins with repentance. We must assume responsibility for drifting away. Then, we’re to put Jesus Christ back on the throne of our heart and reconnect with Him through meditation on Scripture and regular prayer.
God desires an intimate relationship with every believer. Are you excited about Jesus? Our best and purest devotion will be to whatever or whomever we prioritize above all else. If that is not Jesus, repent and ask Him to rekindle the flame.” – Dr. Charles Stanley
Amen. In our daily lives, we can be distracted and drawn away from the most important relationship that we have – our relationship with God – so let’s try to find some quiet time alone with the Lord this weekend to commit ourselves to following Him through this season of Lent.
Speaking of Lent and our relationships, our second most important relationship would be the relationship with our spouses. While there could be some debate over the hierarchy of our priorities in the Christian life, I believe they are, from top to bottom:
- God,
- Family, (with our spouse over and above our kids and other family members)
- Church/ministry,
- Work, and then
- Other interests, activities, or hobbies.
Unfortunately, we don’t always put our spouses first, after God, and we can grow cold in our devotion to them and conflicts between us can even tear us apart. As a person who has suffered the loss of a spouse to divorce, I know how important maintaining a marriage is and how devastating it can be to go through a divorce.
So, in the spirit of prayerful repentance, I am sharing the “Marriage and Divorce Prayers” from the Steps to Freedom in Christ as JPEGs on the blog today (I was in a rush) to give you way to pray for your marriage, to heal from divorce, or in my case both. Dr. Neil Anderson writes:
You can download a JPEG of this prayer here: Marriage Prayer.
You can download a JPEG of this prayer here: Divorce Prayer
Amen. During this season of Lent, we want to be sure to draw close to God but we should also consider our other relationships and how we represent God’s kingdom in them. I hope these prayers for marriage and divorce will bless you in this season of Lent to recommit yourself to your marriage or heal from your divorce.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Loving and Serving Others.
Matthew 5:43–48 (NIV) You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Today’s verses are the first of two passages of scripture that fall under the twentieth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Loving and Serving Others.
20. Love your enemies and those who persecute you.
Today’s Bible verses are some of the most challenging instructions that Jesus gave His disciples. Jesus raises the bar on our commitment to do good, and to love others as He loves us, by commanding that we are to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.
We might find this to seem impossible but as Jesus’ apprentices, we need to realize that our Teacher is only telling us to follow His example. Not only did Jesus forgive and pray for those who crucified Him, yup those would be His enemies – for sure – but He also went out of His way – came to earth as a man and died an atoning death – for us.
To help us to grasp the concept of loving our enemies, we should never forget how we were enemies of God before coming to faith in Jesus Christ. I was a big rebel, a big sinner, and in many ways, was desperately wicked. I was guilty of many sins and was an active blasphemer and follower of a false religion when Jesus came into my life. I doubt I was God’s public enemy number one, but I was definitely one of His enemies.
If God could love me, save me, and give me hope, purpose, and a future, who am I to judge someone else and withhold my love – given to me by God – from them?
So, remember how you were an enemy of God’s to motivate you to forgive your enemy and to show them love where possible and to pray that they could be blessed and find Jesus too.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 111
… recognize those who labor among you, and manage you in the Lord …
– 1 Thessalonians 5:12
It’s easy to criticize the pastor and elders of your church. They are in a position of authority and eminence. But, consider: they “labor” at the task of ruling (“managing”) your congregation. That is not an easy task (Paul’s choice of the strong word “labor” emphasizes that). This fact can be easily forgotten. So Paul urges members of the church to “think quite highly of them” because of “their work” (v. 13). When they do their work conscientiously it is nothing less than “labor” (much of which is done behind the scenes so that it cannot be readily appreciated). They deserve recognition. The eldership is, in itself, difficult because the task often involves dealing with difficult people. Add to that the work of teaching and preaching, the additional tasks of a pastor (who also rules), and you have strenuous work! Pray for those who labor among you; they bear a heavy burden and need your prayers. And, by the way, when is the last time you expressed appreciation to any of the elders of your church for their efforts?[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 119.
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