DAILY VIDEO DEVOTIONAL
They looked so young – too young to get married. He was twenty, and she had just turned nineteen. Tears could be seen in his eyes as he made the commitment, “I do take this woman to be my wife.” A huge smile erupted on both their faces as the pastor pronounced them man and wife.
They had only known each other for nine months. He had been a follower of Jesus for less than three years, and she had just given her heart to Christ within the previous six months. Were they ready for such a commitment? Did they understand what they would face in the future? I’m certain that the answer to both those questions was a hearty no!
If I had been their counselor, I would have encouraged them to wait a little longer before getting married. But, I wasn’t. I couldn’t have been because I was that young man, and the young lady was my sweet Texas born wife whom I affectionately call Tex.
Neither of us had any idea what life would be like with each other. We were both immature and fairly naive about life. However, we both had a deep love for Jesus and a genuine love for one another that would carry us through decades of mountains and valleys in marriage. We learned a great lesson early in our relationship that would enable us to love one another and grow as a couple.
Tex was God’s gift to me that would show me how to become like Jesus. The same was true for her. God has used her as His chisel to carve the image of Christ in my life. He has used me in a similar way to form her into the likeness of Jesus. The starting place isn’t the most important part of a successful marriage. It’s the direction in which the couple is heading.
God desires that each of us would grow into the image of Christ. That’s His path. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He knows our moral and spiritual deficiencies. Yet, He loves us so much that He sent His Son to forgive and cleanse us from every imperfection. He also gave us His Spirit to develop our moral and spiritual fiber. The Holy Spirit often carves the character of Christ in us through the relationships He has given us. When we embrace this truth, Christ-like character forms in our innermost being on a daily basis.
When I look back at the great moments of my character development, most have been formed during conflict or suffering. Love has been carved in my heart through conflict, and faith has been chiseled in the furnace of suffering. The person who has walked with me through both strife and anguish has been Tex. She has been God’s comfort in suffering and His chisel in conflict. She has been God’s instrument to enable me to grow into the image of Jesus.
The Bible describes the relationship between a man and a woman in marriage as a great mystery. However, we don’t have to ask, “who did it” in this story. We know the One who takes two naive young people and transforms their lives into the image of Christ. We even know how He does it. God’s Spirit uses each spouse to carve Christ-like character into the other. The couple that learns this secret of God’s marriage mystery will grow in their relationship with God and with each other.
Romans : Chapter 5
1) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2) through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3) Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4) perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5) And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 6) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7) Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9) Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10) For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11) Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
Book of the Month
Sammy Tippit told his fiancée, “I can’t promise we’ll be rich, but life won’t be boring.”
Sammy had no idea what an understatement that would become. Beginning in the bars of Baton Rouge and the nightclubs of Chicago, Tippit has shared the news of life-changing faith in Christ all over the world – including in the middle of a revolution in Romania, the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda, and war in Burundi and the Congo.
Sammy’s lifelong adventure has come at a great price. He’s been cursed, threatened, arrested, deported, and blacklisted. He’s also been personally broken, ravaged with illness, and devastated by grief.
Yet he continues to preach to in stadiums, in open fields, and via satellite technology to hundreds of thousands around the globe. For all other books…
About Sammy Tippit Ministries
STM has been providing inspiration and help around the world for nearly 50 years. Sammy Tippit, founder and president, is a world renowned counselor, teacher and evangelist with experience serving and helping people in over 80 countries. Sammy provides materials that help people tackle a broad array of social, societal, psychological and spiritual issues. He is particularly passionate about making materials accessible to other countries around the world. Sammy is married to Debara “Tex” Tippit, and they have two children and five grandchildren.
Sammy Tippit Ministries is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization.
Contact: info@sammytippit.org
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