Marriage Monday ~ Bucket of Hope filled with Forgiveness

"But you are a forgiving God, 

gracious and compassionate, 

slow to anger and abounding in love. 

Therefore you did not desert them,"

Nehemiah 9:17b

Last week I shared about the Buckets of Hope our church provided for our local Public Safety Officers and their families. This week I wanted to share a little more about the gift of Forgiveness our Lord gives us in the Bucket of Hope for our marriages.

In Nehemiah 9:17b we see that God is a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love. The people of Israel turned away from God. They rebelled & forgot the many miracles He performed among them but he did not desert them. When they cried out to Him He had compassion for them and pardoned them. 

In verse 30 we read where God gave them warnings through his prophets but they did not listen to His warnings so He handed them over to their "neighboring peoples". In verse 31 we read of God's great mercy, "But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God."

Sweet sisters, there are times where you or your husband may mess up. Things may be so bad that you feel like turning your back and abandoning your marriage. Please don't desert your marriage! Follow God's example and be merciful. Be slow to anger and abounding in love.

But you may say ~ "Mary you have no idea how bad it is. How could I ever forgive the way I have been hurt and overcome the pain I feel?"

My answer to that is go to God. Tell Him how much you've been hurt. He wants to know your pain and your sorrows. When you release it to Him then He can begin to heal your deepest hurts. God will help you forgive your husband. He will heal you inside so that you can begin to repair your marriage.

Forgiving your husband may not be easy. Here are a few other verses that may help you. Please know I am praying for you. I would love for you to leave a comment letting me know how I can pray for you.

"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" Matthew 18:21,22

"Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath." Psalm 78:38

"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you." Psalm 86:5

"who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion," Psalm 103:3,4

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:18,19

Lord I thank you for the love & hope you give us. Thank you for not deserting us when we sin against you. Lord I pray that you will be in our marriages.  Help us to stay true to our husbands. Lord where there is pain and hurt in our marriages give us the strength to forgive. Help us to restrain our anger instead showing love and mercy to our husbands. Thank you that you can redeem life in marriages that are deep in the pit. Thank you for breathing new life into marriages that need to be healed. In your name I pray, Amen.

In His Calm,


Mary

Marriage Monday ~ Bucket of Hope

"I called on your name, O LORD, 

from the depths of the pit.

You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears

to my cry for relief."

You came near when I called you, 

and you said, "Do not fear."

Lamentations 3:55-57

This past Sunday my church prayed over 155 "Buckets of Hope" for the men & women of our Public Safety Office. The men & women who serve & protect our community are hurting. Every day they risk their lives to keep my family and the people of our town safe. Losing 2 officers in the line of duty with in 1 month has brought lots of pain and questions.

As a church family we want to minister to them. One of the ways we are ministering is by filling buckets with prayers, love & hope. Each bucket will contain a message from our Pastor, a Bible, a water bottle with the plan of salvation, a T-shirt, a DVD & soundtrack from the movie Courageous, soda, popcorn & homemade cookies, and gift cards from area businesses & restaurants. Each bucket has been signed with messages of hope, thanksgiving & prayer.

The prayer of our church is that each person & family who receives a bucket will feel the love of our Lord and Savior.

As our family made cookies & cards for some of the buckets I couldn't help but think about how there are marriages who need their own "Bucket of Hope".

There are marriages who are hurting & broken. Husbands & wives are fighting to repair pain & sorrow. 

Does your marriage need a Bucket of Hope? 

Are you struggling in the 'depth of the pit' of a broken marriage? 

Have you tried to protect your marriage from the threats of an ungodly world only to be attacked by pornography, infidelity, & addiction. Are you buried under the weight of financial difficulties, anger, or unforgiveness? 

Please know there is a God who can pull you and your marriage out of the 'depth of the pit'. In Lamentations 3 Jeremiah called out to the Lord from the depth of the pit he was in. The Lord heard his plea and replied 'Do not fear'.

When you call out to God He will answer your plea and reply DO NOT FEAR. 

Do Not Fear for God is with you. He will hear your cry. He will give you the hand to pull you up from the depths of pain & heartache.

God has his own "Bucket of Hope" all you need to do is ask for His help. 

What is in God's "Bucket of Hope"?

• His message of forgiveness, love & how to have a Godly marriage is in The Holy Bible.
• The gift of Living Water is found in Him.
• "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14
• Christ gives us the courage & hope we need to overcome any difficulties in our marriage. 
• "But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." Hebrews 3:6

If your marriage is struggling, go to the Lord & ask Him to give your marriage the Living Water it needs. Ask Him to help you forgive & love your husband. Ask Him to help your husband to forgive & love you. Above all remember that Christ gives you the courage & hope to overcome any obstacle in your marriage.

I would love to pray for you & your marriage. Please leave me a comment and let me know how I can pray for you. 


I'm linked today with Courtney at Women Living Well.




In His Calm,


Mary

One in Christ

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:13-18

• Do you and your husband often find yourselves at odds? 
• Is there unresolved frustration, hostility, or hurt? 
• Is there a wall standing between the two of you?

There is a way to overcome the hurt, frustration & hostility. That way is through Jesus. He is our peace. He will help mend fences. He will heal hearts. Our passage today tells us that Jesus has broken down through his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. Christ died on the Cross for us. Through His death he saved us from our sins making us one in Him. Christ's love for us shows us the love we are to have for our husbands.

When Christ died on the cross he died for the Jews & Gentiles who were very much opposed to each other. Upon His death he made them both part of Himself, "abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two". He did this to make peace between the two groups "making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility". 

Christ wants us to be one with our husbands. But sometimes it can be so hard. Our flesh can sometimes get the best of us. 

• we are in bad moods and we just don't want to be nice
• we may be carrying some unresolved hurt and anger
• we may have so much on our mind that we don't want to stop long enough to share our concerns

Will you do something for me today? Will you take time to sit in The Calm of God's Presence and think about your relationship with your husband? Ask yourself some questions.

• Do I need to go to my husband and ask for his forgiveness because I've hurt him?
• Is there an area in which I need to forgive my husband?
• Do I need to take the time to sit and talk with my husband and let him know what is going on in my life?

Then spend some time in prayer asking God to help you talk with your husband. The conversation may not be easy. But, as it says in our passage "now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." 

Dear Lord, I pray that you will open our hearts and our eyes. Help us see if we have hurt our husband. Give us the humility to go to him and apologize and ask for forgiveness. Lord if we have been hurt give us the strength to forgive our husband. Please mend the pain and soothe the anger. And Lord, if we need to slow down and spend some quality time with our husband please help us do that. Help us prioritize what is important and help us show him how important he is to us.


I am linked today with my friend Julie at Come Have a Peace. Join her today where she is talking about creating conversations with our husbands.


In His Calm,

Mary