Today is October 27, 2020
Verse of the Day -- Jeremiah 17:10
I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test
the mind.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God knows your true motives.
MINI BIBLE STUDY FOR THE DAY
Mankind's sinful mind tries hard to justify everything
we do, but God is not as interested in our actions as He is in the reasons behind our actions. He is interested in our motivation.
What was the real reason you did what you did? Was it to please God-or man?
All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,
But the LORD weighs the motives. -Proverbs
16:2And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men,
but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God." -Luke
16:15
There is an abundance of Scripture that shows God knows our every thought.
The LORD knows the thoughts of man,
That they are
a mere breath. -Psalm 94:11
See also Psalm 139:23; Amos 4:13; Matthew
9:4; 12:25; Luke 1:51.
And we'll be judged not only on our actions (what we allowed God
to do through us) but also our thoughts and motives!
Therefore
do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden
in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God. -1 Corinthians
4:5You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend
it on your pleasures. -James 4:3
the former proclaim Christ out
of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives . . . -Philippians 1:17
QUESTION FOR THE DAY
Dear Compass,
I am confused as
to how to find a husband. What are rules for dating? How long should you date before getting married? What are the characteristics
someone should look for in a spouse? What are the "deal-breakers?"
ANSWER:
In today's secular world, dating could be viewed as "practice for
divorce." A typical person begins to date someone who they believe will meet all their needs. But after a while, for
myriads of usually self-centered reasons, they "break up." The process of dating and breaking up is repeated over
and over until the solution to every relationship problem is to start over.
Eventually two people
hang in there long enough and get married. The husband expects his new wife to never change and the wife expects her husband
will change-a recipe for disaster. When the honeymoon fades, problems arise, and from past experience the cure is known, practiced
over and over during dating-it's time to "break up." But in marriage it's called divorce.
The
Bible offers a quite different model for relationships. First and foremost, the Bible teaches that no human can fulfill another
human's needs. Only God can do that. So the first principle in finding a spouse is not to try to find someone to meet your
needs. Rather, wait for God to bring a biblically oriented person into your life, someone who trusts Jesus fully in every
area. How they love God is a good indication of how they will love you.
Being attracted to someone
is good. But true love is not an emotion. It is an act of will. For you, as a Believer, to say, "I love you," means
you are saying, "I will allow God to love you through me, using me any way He wishes."
If
a guy says to you, "I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to serve Him. I want you by my side for the rest of my God-ordained
days and for us to serve Him together. I want to love you (act not emotion), provide for you and have all the children God
will bless us with," pray about accepting his offer.
It doesn't matter if he's rich or poor,
fat or thin, tall or short, black or white or what age he is. You have a great opportunity to have an awesome Christ-centered
marriage. You don't HAVE to take the offer, but you have found a potential husband who will lead you spiritually with incredible
joy in Him.
Within the context of the above, any list of "deal-breakers" should include
(in no particular order):
- God is not first in his life.
Just because he goes to church doesn't mean he's a God-first guy. What's his testimony? What's he been like since
he became a Believer? Does Scripture drive his life? Does he know what he believes and can he defend it scripturally? Is he
looking for a scripturally solid, biblically sound, Christ-loving bride? If he is prideful, opposite of humble, decline to
continue.
- His flesh is uncontrollable.
If at any
time he pushes inappropriate behavior, he is telling you he is not "God first." Most guys will see where the girl's
lines are drawn. A guy who lets God establish where the lines should be drawn is exceptional. If he is a man given to anger,
decline to continue.
- He has no direction.
If he
has no job, no education, no vision, no idea what he wants to do-he's just "trusting God," he's a loser. Move on.
The Bible clearly says to get your act together before you take on a wife and home. He may be a great husband one day, but
not yet. And don't wait!
- He doesn't respect his parents.
God says we are to honor our fathers and mothers, so any guy who doesn't do that is ignoring a clear scriptural command.
- Your parents object.
Regardless of whether or not your parents are
solid believers, if they say this guy is bad news, listen! As hard as it would be, assume God is talking though your parents.
Most likely you're missing something that they see. God gave us parents to protect us as we grow up. (BTW - Any
dad who doesn't take an active role in checking out a prospective suitor for his daughter is not much of a protector. Too
often a dad takes more of an interest in who's borrowing his car or boat than in who's taking out his daughter for a test
drive!)
Regarding how long you should date-
You should
make it clear that you are not interested in dating. Rather, you are interested in finding a Godly mate. That'll weed out
non-Christians and most weak Christians. Stick to your guns regardless of how long it takes. God wants you to keep your eyes
on the long-term, not the short-term.
When you have found the Godly man who captures your heart,
get engaged, set the date with enough time to plan the wedding, and get married. Long engagements are rarely good. If you
can't get married for a year, don't get engaged.
Age is not really a factor-many who marry late
in life crash and burn. Many who marry young stay married forever. Success has everything to do with having a doctrinally
sound, God-centered marriage and little else.
God has designed you to be a helper to your husband.
So when you evaluate your prospective husband, seeing some areas where he has shortcomings is a plus. Those are areas where
you may be used as a great complement.
Lastly, pray. Pray like crazy. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians
5:17). Pray for your husband now, even though you don't know him.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life. -Proverbs 31:12
"All the days of her life" would include BEFORE you get married-before you know who he is!
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Scripture taken
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