covenant

March 19 – Tap Out

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Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. Proverbs 31:3 NIV

The term Mixed Martial Arts did not exist 25 years ago. But today, many around the world know those words to mean a skilled fighter in a varied assortment of ancient fighting disciplines.

And now days, there are sporting venues that pay guys and gals “skilled” in MMA big time dollars to showcase their talent. With the rise of the MMA movement, the words “tap out” have become infamous.

Stay with me, I’m going somewhere! “Tap out” is what a fighter is persuaded to do when they find themselves in a submission hold. Many times, their refusal to “tap out” could lead to them being rendered unconscious or severely injured. Sounds barbaric?

Here’s a thought instigated by a king’s mother striving to prepare him for the challenges he would face that might prove fatal: Don’t dissipate your virility on fortune-hunting women, promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders (MSG). So, in other words, tap outs have been around a very long time.

And don’t think for a minute it’s a one-sided affair. Just because this advice was to a son, many beautiful daughters’ hopes and dreams have been severely altered by a teenage tap out event.

Wisdom is wisdom. And no matter our age, these words still resonate. May the temptation of momentary pleasure not put an unsuspecting choke-hold on our otherwise fruitful lives and render us unconscious or tapped out!

December 24 – Then He Parted the Sea

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Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

We live in a world that denies miracles and begs for evidence and facts. Commitment is no longer a covenant if it’s not convenient.  But God’s light of truth continues through the ages to shine in the darkness, changing hearts from the inside out, whether the darkness likes it or not.  For this Christmas season and the end of an often tumultuous 2014, we had to share this true story of a couple we know and love dearly.  Please feel free to share as you might need to.  And may it make your resolve in an Almighty God solidify into an unwavering confidence that cannot be shaken. 

Merry Christmas!

Lorenzo and Jennifer 🙂

This is a very special anniversary for us and Cindy let me share this because we know someone out there may need it……

In high school I met this cute little cheerleader they called Pigeon. I took her away from a good, safe home and stole 18 years of her life. I didn’t set out to do this, but that’s what happened. We don’t live in a world that tolerates her kind of commitment. We don’t understand it and it makes us angry. When I look back my heart is so broken for her, but she knew about things that I didn’t understand yet. She talked to the sky and I didn’t understand that either, but I was glad she did because she found peace there. I would try to do better, but failed every time.

18 years later we were broke and homeless. I was shattered and I deserved it, she was gone and the only thing I knew to do was talk to the sky. I did and she was right, even without a promise that anything would get fixed, I had peace.

She didn’t know where her prayers would take her, but she always knew they were heard. Maybe for the first time ever, I wanted more for her than myself. I hoped her prayers would take her somewhere safe. They brought her back to me and I have had the most unbelievable, undeserved 18 years humanly imaginable.
Thank you so much God. Thank you so much Cindy for 36 years.
18~18~36

Exodus14:14 God will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” ….Then he parted the sea.

November 27 – Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

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He who finds a [true] wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22

Right now, as I write, winter has come and cold has once again become the description of the morning.

I am in my forty’s and it’s been getting cold around this time my entire life. Therefore, you would think I would learn to put all my “cold gear” up in a safe spot when the cold time is over so I will have it the next year. I can’t find a thing!

Oh well, I guess I’m not the only one, because the store is out of my size in just about everything I need right about this time every year…just saying, fellas.

But finding my soul mate was a bit different than finding a pair of misplaced gloves or a stocking hat (man, how I wish I had paid attention to this when I was young and knew everything). My mate for life wasn’t lost; just hidden.

The Biblical account of Adam laid out in Genesis 2 gives us a clue. God puts Adam in the Garden He made for him with a few important instructions. And then He gives Adam the privilege of giving names to the animal population. But before He does, God states, “It’s not good for man to be alone. I will make a fitting helper for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

The man didn’t have a clue that while he was naming those animals, he was “finding” a wife. He couldn’t have known what he needed, but it was obvious out of all the creatures he saw, nothing “fit” him.

God had hidden his mate in a place he could never look…on the inside of him! I don’t know how, I just read what it says. And that’s the only sense I can make of this thing called marriage.

Try as I did to find the perfect person for me, I fell short. It was when I gave myself to being busy with what He was leading me to do, that I “found” her. “And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts; but for Adam no fitting helper was found. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep upon the man and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that spot.” Genesis 2:20-21

This “one flesh” idea we call marriage derived from the Father of All Creation Himself. And many of us have suffered deep scars trying to figure it out. Believe me, I’ve got a few of my own.

But the sacredness of such a covenant is other-worldly. And nothing in the universe fulfills like waking up to discover the one thing you’ve been missing. I have to say, “wow!”

September 16 – Sweet Fidelity

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Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth. Proverb 5:18

FIDEL’ITY – Careful and exact observance of duty, or performance of obligations.

Marriage is a covenant between the two parts that make mankind (Genesis 1:27-28). It’s deemed holy and sacred in the sight of God. My, how wonderful it would be if all of humanity felt the same!

Sin has a way of distorting beauty and blessing into a sense of bondage. So many couples begin their union with grand aspirations only to find themselves bewildered not many months after.

I believe a comprehensive insight of fidelity, or lack thereof, is noteworthy. Most of our love affairs start with an emotional explosion. And so our dream machine goes into overdrive and the realms of reason can be overlooked.

Therefore, there is no careful examination of the facts, figures, or family that may be affected by way of this “love exchange.” Though this can happen, a solid commitment to the covenant can help any couple through the pitfalls waiting in their future.

Today’s Proverb suggests rejoicing when it comes to your marriage vows. It could be easy to be surprised when trials come. Then finding joy can be the last thing on our minds. But this truth remains: great marriages come from great tests. Knowing that makes the rejoicing comes much easier!