Until They Are Found

God 0

What may we say was the reason for the lost sheep becoming found? Was the sheep saved by the doing of good works? Was the sheep saved by the following of law or commandment? Was the sheep saved because it recognised its own state of ‘lost-ness,’ and went searching for its shepherd? Heaven forbid! The lost sheep was found for one reason and one reason alone. The lost sheep was found because the Good Shepherd came looking. The shepherd commenced a search and rescue operation that would never finish, until his sheep was found.

His is a personal search, a persevering search, a successful search. He will search until they are found. The lost sheep contributed nothing to its being found.

— Peter Gray, Until They Are Found, p. 26

God Can Redeem Anything.

God, Guidance, Healing, Marriage 0

Our experience has taught us that God can redeem anything, so we never give up on anyone….

What we wanted to do with this book was offer hope for marriages through a paradigm shift. It comes from taking a different perspective — getting your eyes off yourself and putting them on the Lord.

We have a passionate desire to see marriages changed, made whole, and restored. Our prayer is that more and more marriages will epitomize God’s plan, not society’s. Although the world seems to hold virtually no hope for marriages and families being restored, we want to spread the word that “by his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT). It is possible for a marriage to be made brand-new!

If you can trust God to show you the bigger picture of your marriage, he will do it. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” In other words, he will direct you and make it clear where you are to go.

— Cheryl & Jeff Scruggs, I Do Again, p. 178, 183

Opportunities

God, Letting Go, Life, Trials, Trust 0

The fact is, we always have the choice to turn from a problem focus to a resolution focus. We get to choose how big we want to make a problem. We don’t have to do things the way we’ve always done them. This is a huge revelation for many of us. We can disengage from any situation. We can say nothing or simply walk away. A great beginning is simply to see problems as opportunities to let God into our lives. Take it from me. The sense of personal empowerment that accompanies letting God handle the problem while we attend to watching for the solution is life changing.

— Karen Casey, Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, p. 134

Walking With God

God, Guidance, Life, Obedience 0

From the Spirit come both wisdom and revelation. We need them both to walk with God, need them in generous doses to navigate the dangerous waters of this world. If you’re the sort of person who tends to lean toward revelation (just asking God for direct guidance), then you need to balance your approach with wisdom. If you lean toward a wisdom approach to life, you must deliberately and consciously include revelation. Ask God….

Knowing that, we need to admit that risk is always involved when we encourage others to walk with God. People have done a lot of really stupid things in the name of following Jesus. For that reason there are folks in the church who don’t want to encourage this sort of risk, this “walking with God.” Over the centuries they have tried to eliminate the messiness of personal relationship with Jesus by instituting rules, programs, formulas, methods, and procedures. Those things may have eliminated some of the goofy things that happen when people are encouraged to follow God for themselves. But they also eliminated the very intimacy God calls us to.

— John Eldredge, Walking with God, p. 204

Immeasurably More

Forgiveness, God, Healing, Marriage, Trust 0

I think the main thing is, if there is any confusion or doubt as to what you should do, to err on the side of trusting that God can do the impossible….

God can do immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine.  He can heal your heart, and he can resurrect your marriage, no matter what state it’s in.

As mere humans, we tend to limit God, especially in this extreme type of situation.  But where there is room for repentance, there is also room for forgiveness and grace.  If you can’t imagine such a miracle in your situation, choose to believe that God can and does.  And in practicing that power you possess to believe God and take him at his word, you will find the strength to commit to acting on that belief.  As we know from experience, reconciliation is a matter of trust, and it begins between you and God.

We didn’t have to remarry; biblically, the grounds for divorce were sound.  But that doesn’t negate the truth that God created marriage to be the foundation of the family, and he created the family to be the foundation of society.  The best thing we can do for ourselves, our children, and our society as a whole is to preserve marriages.  If you choose to give up your right to your ego and your pain and walk the road of forgiveness and grace, you are glorifying God and living according to his purpose.  You are giving an immense gift to yourself, your spouse, and your children.  If you allow God to heal your heart and bolster you with his grace and love, choosing to walk the difficult path, you will never regret it.

— Cheryl & Jeff Scruggs, I Do Again, p. 174-176

Beloved by God

Forgiveness, God, Love 0

If you believe that you are the beloved, you can offer forgiveness, even when it cannot be received.  For still you say, “I set you free and I am willing to forgive you even when you cannot forgive me, because I claim my belovedness.”  And you can move on, saying, “I can ask your forgiveness even though you cannot give it to me yet, and perhaps ever.”

— Henri Nouwen, Turn My Mourning Into Dancing, p. 80

Not Ever Hopeless

God, Healing, Marriage 0

Most couples believe there is a point when the situation becomes hopeless.  But I am here to tell you it’s not true.  Jesus promised that seeking reconciliation will bear fruit, so there is great hope that a marriage can be restored to a place beyond what a couple could even imagine.

— Cheryl & Jeff Scruggs, I Do Again, p. 164