Bright Side of the Madness

Boaz Ministries

Unless you’ve been sleeping for the last 20 years or so, you’d be hard pressed not to admit the world is flushing itself down the toilet bowl of amorality, decadence, self-centeredness, wickedness, celebrity adoring, and mayhem.

If your moral center can stand it, just spend a few days reading the newspapers, tabloid magazines, looking at what’s on television or in the movies, video games, fashion trends, etc., etc. You will see that society has lost all sense of what is right, what is wholesome, what is positive, what is encouraging, what is decent, and loving.  Yes, if we look hard enough these positive qualities can be found, especially if we look in the homes of truly saved believers. But society as a whole is clearly in the hands of the enemy.

However, if we believe Jesus is coming back to indeed take the faithful in a twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) then we must believe in preparing for that day by not falling into the trap of supporting or being part of the madness. Wickedness and chaos is all around us, but therein presents the bright side of opportunity. 

If we can see what is happening to this world then we can see that we have an opportunity to make a choice not to be part of it. By doing so we set ourselves up to be among the group that can live peacefully in spite of the world’s deviant calamity because we believe we shall have eternal peace in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Lord knows it is hard, but we must make a choice every day to live for the love of God by living to love each other and conducting ourselves worthy of that privilege; saying “no” to the world and “yes” to righteousness. 

Bruce

For the Marriage Minded

Boaz Ministries

We are precious!

When we know the depth of God's love towards us, we realize how precious we are in His sight. His love and way of loving is something to be shared. As believers, there is no other alternative. Let us return God's embrace, accept His love - and learn how to share what He has freely given to us with our loved ones.

"The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

Jeremiah 31:3 NIV

Boaz Ministries 

Let's Get What Peter Said...

Boaz Ministries

The Message

1 Peter 3:
1-4 The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.

4-6 Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as “my dear husband.” You’ll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, not anxious and not intimidated.

7 The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God’s grace, you’re equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don’t run aground.

We really can't imagine any couple, or individual, who can't get with this. Live in a way that declares to the world that your relationship with God is the truth that seals the covenant of your relationship with each other. You are unbreakable, unstoppable; in a word, FIERCE!

Create Your Mosaic!

Boaz Ministries

"Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun, for this is your reward in life for the toil in which you have labored under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:9

We encourage each one to discover the many ways a seemingly small gesture, a subtle expression, a loving glance, or a thoughtful note, can create a wondrous mosaic of incredible memories...with staying power of everlasting proportions! That's nothing less than fierce!

Having a Bad Day?.

I found myself on the verge of a bad day today. Even after my morning worship; after I got mid-way into my work, a series of events began to align themselves in a manner that had me headed for a collision.

It didn't matter that I had a plan, or that I saw this situation brewing, I recognized it, was mad about it. And you know how we can sometimes get into that "bring it on" mode - not to be confused with the confidence we have in Christ handling it for us. So for a moment, I was blinded by my annoyance, my unrighteous indignation. And I know when I allow that to fester, I'm no good to anyone, and I am certainly not a vessel God can use. In the very next instant, I came to myself and had to laugh out loud. This situation, these circumstances were no surprise to the Lord. And I had already asked Him to lead and guide me through this very day, so why was I stressing?

He knows our days upon this earth. And He has a purpose and plan for those who diligently seek Him. A momentary bad day is nothing in the eyes of the Ancient of Days. My mind thought back on some scripture that moved me through the turbulence that almost took me off balance; I share them here for your encouragement today. There's much more in store for us on this journey, as we allow ourselves to be refined by the hand of God.

Let us stay connected through prayer and study of His Word. His love for us is an all consuming fire - fierce enough to see us through it all!

Psalm 33:10-11
The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

A Word About Adultery

Adultery in the Heart and Mind

“But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Matthew 5:28 (NLT)

The Holy Spirit finally moved in me to understand and accept the depth and meaning of this scripture, which goes beyond that which is obvious in the Word itself. For many years I struggled with this scripture (especially when I was single) because my definition of “lust” had nothing to do with adultery. But as I begin to understand and connect the dots of scripture, the Lord’s plan for my life, and how the enemy uses people to draw me away from God’s plan, I see why this scripture is among many that men must keep in front of them at all times.

At the risk of using an overused term, lust is indeed a “Blessing Blocker”. It is a great obstacle in the path of prayer, and an impediment to the work of the Holy Spirit. Lust is very powerful and can consume a man’s mind every time he sees a woman that is attractive to him. This can take place all day long under the right circumstances. Lust will test our mental self-control and our willingness to call on the Lord in an instant to strengthen us so we can get through that moment. Because of the powerful nature of lust, we have no other choice but to rely on the power of the Lord to overcome it. 

The enemy is well aware of our lustful nature and he will use a woman to push our lust button whenever he can. A woman need not do anything but be in our line of sight and be attractive to us and the enemy is all over it to keep us off the path of righteousness.

The key for me was to understand where the “Adultery” part comes in. If we are to be married to the Word of God, married to the pursuit of righteousness, and married to the belief that God is real and in control of our lives; then the lust in our hearts and minds for someone other than our wife is an adulterous act against him.

As men we are weak in the area of lust. However, we are strong in our ability to be aware, make choices, and call on the Lord. James 4:7 tells us to, “resist the devil and he will flee.” Like the bully and punk that he is, he will.

Bruce

Boaz Ministries