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Abigail's Newsletter |
April 8, 1999 |
| How often do you have intimate times with your
husband? How often with God? What is intimate time? Intimate time is time spent together
sharing feelings, thoughts and our innermost selves with another. It may be a time of
physical love between husband and wife. Or just speaking to one another during dinner, or
driving down the road. It is listening, affirming and encouraging. Whenever true intimate
time is shared, there is vulnerability, and you may feel exposed, but true intimate time
is also filled with trust and security. It is security because there is a commitment to
one another, to love one another, and support each other in all circumstances. |
"Because God has said, 'Never will I leave
you; never will I forsake you.' " Hebrews 13:5b There is security in our relationship
with God. Intimate time with God includes reading His word, which leads to a deeper
knowledge of God, His laws and the truth. It includes prayer, sharing our innermost with
God. And is affirmed by positive actions which show of our love for God. We also act out
our love for our husbands in all we say and do. Make a date with your husband for some
intimate time. Share your innermost feelings, listen to his thoughts and feelings. Don't
forget to include some time to share physically as well. Even a |
kiss goodbye, or a hug when
returning home can be an intimate moment, sharing your love.
"May your unfailing love come to me, O
Lord, your salvation according to your promise; then I will answer the one who taunts me,
for I trust in your word. Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my
hope in your laws. I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. I will walk about in
freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. I will speak of your statutes before kings
and will not be put to shame, because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands,
which I love, and I meditate on your decrees."
Psalm 119:41-48 |
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April 16,
1999 |
| God sacrificed His only son, so that we may
have everlasting life. What a gift He has given us! And an example to live by. It is this
example which Paul uses to help describe the marriage relationship, as intended by God.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church an gave himself up for
her. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself." Ephesians 5:25, 28 NIV And Christ is an example for
wives, too. "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord." Ephesians 5:22 NIV |
Christ submitted to God the Father, even unto
death, death on a cross. It was a sacrifice for the church, His holy bride. Even at
Passover, Jesus used the marriage symbolism at the last supper. His words "This cup
is the new covenant in my blood" were the same used in the marriage ceremony. When
the woman drank of the same cup, she was legally married. The disciples drank of the cup
at Passover, and were the first believers in the new church of Christ. God has joined man and woman in holy matrimony, never to be
separated, joined as one flesh. |
And in the same way we are joined with Christ
as His church, His bride. Only through his sacrifice, the blood of the new covenant, are
we joined to Christ. "For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to
save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and
only Son." John 3:16-18 NIV |
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