ARE YOU PRAISING AND THANKING YOUR LORD?

"...Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among
the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is
exalted. Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world." Isaiah 12:4-5

This Sunday is one week after we celebrated Resurrection Sunday. Are
you still praising and thanking God for all that He has done for
mankind this past week? Jesus Christ arose and He defeated Satan!
May you continue to praise, worship and thank your Lord for all that
He has done, and is still doing, for you and your loved ones. Be
sure to go to church this weekend!

"I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for
ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name
for ever and ever." Psalm 145:1-2

Do you take your salvation for granted? Are you praising your Lord
daily for all that He is doing in your life and in your marriage?
If your spouse came home suddenly, would you continue to put your
Lord first? Would you make time to continue to praise the Lord,
praying and reading your Bible when your spouse is not around each
day? I know you may think, I would never stop praising my Lord, but
I know that the Enemy wants us to never praise and thank our Lord
for all that He does for us. Do you know that praise defeats the
enemy? Satan will leave if you start praising and thanking your
Lord.

My prayer is that you will always praise and thank your Lord,
especially in the dark stormy days.

May I share a story about Jesus going into a village where there were
ten men who had leprosy. Imagine your Lord coming to your town that
had ten spouses who had fallen into sexual immorality and had
divorced their spouses. What would you do?

"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border
between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten
men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called
out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he
saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as
they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was
healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself
at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus
asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was
no one found to return and give praise to God except this
foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has
made you well." Luke 17:11-19

I know personally I cried out to my Lord so many times during my
stand, "Have pity on us Lord. Have mercy on us Jesus, heal my
husband and touch our family. Lord, nothing is too hard for You to
do!" These men had no hope with leprosy, they were unclean. Their
only hope was to cry out to Jesus, praying that He would have
compassion on them. The men had heard of all the miracles that
Jesus was doing as He traveled from one city to another.

Have you chosen to sell out to your Lord Jesus Christ to be your
only hope in restoring your marriage? Have you come to the point
that you know that the only One that can touch, change, heal and
deliver your spouse from the bondages of sin, is your Lord Jesus
Christ? Have faith in your Lord, He will never fail you.

Jesus told the men to go and show themselves to the priests, who had
the authority to say to the men with leprosy that they were clean
and able to return to their home. First, they all obeyed Jesus and
when they did on the way to the priests they were cleansed and
healed. Is it not shocking, that only one man came back praising
God in a loud voice and he was a Samaritan, a foreigner! So do not
allow the enemy to say to you that you are not worthy enough to have
your marriage restored, as that is a lie from the enemy. What is
the Lord speaking to your heart about this story?

Have you had many miracles and answers to your prayers? Are you
praising and thanking your Lord for all that He has done in your
life? Do you have a restored marriage? Are you praising and
thanking your Lord for your Lord restoring your marriage? Are you
helping others proclaim that God heals hurting marriages? Be
careful, when your marriage is restored that you do not become like
the nine other men that were healed and disappear never thanking the
Lord or helping others to find Jesus to restore their sick bodies or
hurting marriages. May you go and proclaim the power of your Lord
Jesus Christ!

"O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever." Psalm 30:12

God bless,
Charlyne Steinkamp
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.®
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061 USA
http://rejoiceministries.org
http://stopdivorce.org


A SUNDAY BOBSERVATION -

When we were divorced, I would get angry and upset observing other
married couples together, especially in church. "It works for them.
Why didn’t our marriage work out?" That was really a rhetorical
question. Our marriage stopped functioning because I had blown it,
time and time again. Yet, the Enemy had me deceived and I could not
see that sin was why we were divorced; primarily my sin. This Sunday
pray that your prodigal mate’s eyes will be opened to what Satan has
done.

It was difficult for me to attend church and see all the "happy"
couples. After SIXteen years of ministering to people in hurting
marriages, I now know that a surprising percentage of those church
couples are far from happy. Many were facing issues exactly liKe
ours, but were taking off the boxing gloves one day a week, and
wearing masks to church.

This past week, I heard a well-known Christian leader say that of all
he had been involved in, from books to broadcasts, keeping his
marriage healthy had been the most difficult task the Lord had ever
given him. Charlyne and I can testify that keeping our marriage
healthy requires work, but it is a work for which we have Jesus. He
is the key.

Today, when you sit in church, and see husbands and wives together,
please pray for that marriage. Doing so will give you an entirely
different perspective on attending church alone. Have a blessed
Sunday.