We are CELEBRATING SINGLENESS! (Part TWO & Part THREE)

By popular demand, we're blogging both Part TWO and Part THREE of Keith's testimony TODAY.  If you have a minute to write to us, we always like hearing your encouraging responses.  

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          ...Well, I finally came up with a plan.  I thought, "I could out-smart those voices by convincing myself that I was born without 'the marriage gene'!  That would surely shut 'em up!"  Well, just like every other thing I tried to do on my own, my plan didn't work.  The voices continued.

           

          By the time I was about forty years old, I decided that, if I can't shut 'em up, I'll flood 'em out, with God's word!  That was the very BEST decision I have ever made in my life!!  I began seeking God and meditating on His Word, with a greater diligence than I ever had before.  It was only then that the voices went from deafening, to annoying, to tolerable-like whispers... at least for the most part.  Finally, I learned that "I" had to stop dwelling on things that were not of God, like TV shows.  Realizing just how destructive and suggestive primetime television programming was becoming, I knew I had to do something about that.  So I called the cable company, and cancelled it!

          If you truly want a Godly mate, there are a few things that really helped me prepare for the day that God allowed me to meet Brenda.  I encourage you to practice what I endearingly call "The Tried-and-Proven 5-Step Prep" I've laid out for you this Valentine's Day week. 

1)  Turn the TV off!  If you look to Hollywood to set your expectations for a mate, loneliness will remain your companion.  Recognize that unreal, or unreasonable, expectations rob us from receiving, not only our peace but, every good thing Jesus Christ wants us to have.  Having said that, I am in no way suggesting you compromise yourself by settling for someone who you know does not know and love God wholeheartedly.  After all, marriage was not man's idea, it's God's, and it will NOT function correctly with-out (on the outside of) God and His Word.  ~Never forget this:  Without GOD... it's NOT Holy Matrimony.~

2)  YOU cannot "FIX 'em"!  If you think you can change someone, you are deceived, and brace yourself for a torturous ride.  Only Christ Jesus has the power to change the human heart.  Marriage is not a 50/50 arrangement; it's a 100/100 commitment.  So, relax!  Trust God to introduce you to a "Godly possibility."  I must warn you, however.  Just because someone, in an attempt to win your heart, says they are a Christian, it doesn't mean they are!  Standing in a church building on Sunday makes someone a Christian about as much as standing in a garage makes you a car.  As a safeguard for us, Jesus says in Matthew 7, “¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them." 

3)  Prepare for what you are praying for.  You do NOT want to meet the prepared, unprepared.  Diligently seek God.  Become the kind of person that you've been asking God to bring to you.  Be passionate about, and in love with, God and His Word.  And do everything as God and His Word tells you to.  Look in the mirror.  Do you dress, and carry yourself, in the same way that you have envisioned your future mate will?  If not, change it!  *You can't BE something you're NOT, but you can BECOME something you're NOT.*  I once heard it said that "'Insanity' is doing the same thing over and over each day, while expecting different results."

4)  You don't get married because you NEED to; You get married because you WANT to!  And you'll never have the "want-to" until you don't have the "need-to."

5)  Finally, the word "single" does not mean "not married."  The word "single" means: to be Separate, Unique and Whole.  So, before you are ready for marriage, you must first become "single."  Only until you become "single" will you be ready for marriage.  Becoming "Separate, Unique, and Whole" within yourself should be your goal; not "becoming married."

The moral of this blog is, no matter what you've done, no matter where you've been in this life, the dreams you've carried since you were a child - to be joined in Holy Matrimony - can only be fulfilled by God, the Author of Marriage Himself.

IN Christ Jesus, Keith (and Brenda)

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