Wedded Wednesday:Freedom for the Captives

This post is by my friend, Melissa Powell.  Melissa is married to her husband, James, and has two step children.  She is a Children's Church director at our church.

 

 

Marriage

O where do I start?  It's my most favorite thing in this life.

 

My marriage is a story of going from following religion to following Jesus.  From good to great.

Stay with me here.

 

When I first met my husband we were both good people.  We tried to make the right decisions and tried to walk the religious walk, but still live in this world. 

 

Revelations 3:16

So, because you are lukewarm-

neither cold nor hot,

I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

NIV 

 

The Lord doesn't want us to be lukewarm He wants us to "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" Joshua 24:15.  But my husband and I still hadn't 100% committed to that.  We were on the church roll but we weren't on the Jesus scroll. :) 

 

So when The Lord moved us away from our families and friends, we had no other choice but to rely on each other. We started going to church in Lumberton where the pastor counseled us and then married us.  I'm pretty sure that's when we both became sold out. There was no more compromising.  A while after that, we found our home church (Freedom Fellowship)! Our soul church, where I felt like I should have been my whole life because the Spirit of The Lord is there.

 

Backing up a little, previously I thought about what I would write if Tera would ask me to write.  I talked to my husband about it and told him everything I was thinking (My husband is so wise).  I kept on giving examples of how sinful we were and who we use to be VS. how much The Lord has changed us.  My husband however felt like I was glorifying our past to much instead of giving glory to the one who has blessed us.  The one who broke strong holds and chains that we didn't even know that we had.  Isaiah 61 (end of verse one): To proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.  So this is what you got instead :)

 

I talked to a woman that I work with this week and she said in her house it's God first, marriage second and everything else will fall into place.  In my flesh I was thinking "That's not right! What about her children?"  Then the Spirit spoke to me, "She's right!  If you don't have your marriage right, you are in return, hurting your children.  If you can't be nice to the one person that is suppose to be part of you( "and the two will become one flesh so they are no longer two but one." Mark 10:8),  then what hope do they have that someone could truly love them later on in life?

 

In closing, I would like to challenge you to pray for your husband everyday. Ask him if you can pray for him. Hold his hand and pray over him.  If he is the kind of man that you feel like you can't ask him that, then just pray for him alone and see how The Lord can move in your marriage.

 

Your sister in Christ,

Melissa

 

1 Corinthians 13:7

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.