If there’s one thing me and my beautiful bride have learned in our short time together, it’s the importance of being “together”. While life has taught us both some tough le…
Source: Life Together
Month: October 2016
Life Together
If there’s one thing me and my beautiful bride have learned in our short time together, it’s the importance of being “together”. While life has taught us both some tough lessons about trust, faithfulness and forgiveness, we continue to enjoy just being together. Maybe it has something to do with leaving our familiar surroundings, or maybe it’s the fact that we are still newlyweds! Either way, we are still learning to be together without smothering each other.
We read recently in Galatians 5:26… Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Some unusual wisdom from an unmarried man don’t you think? I try to lead Christie in prayer every morning, asking the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom on how to serve one another. If we plan to do life together for a lifetime, then we must never take each other for granted. Nor can we afford to be overly sensitive and stifle the freedom that Paul speaks about in Galatians. As you do life together today, please enjoy being together, and savor every moment!
Ronnie & Christie Bruce
Are you walking through a trial?
The Lord is wanting you to trust Him here and now. You have to realize you are in training through this struggle, and you are on a path designed just for you. This path is not of your choosing, but it is the Lords way for you. He is doing things behind the scenes that you could not even imagine. But are you going to trust Him? Life sometimes is messy and we cannot see clearly what is before you, behind you, or beside you. Jesus just wants you to cling to His hand and walk with Him through this trial. Although you cannot see him, His presence is right there with you and He is your rock. You must know He is taking care of you and your issue. Focus on enjoying Him through all this, and learn what all He is to you. Through your circumstance scream for resolution, but refuse to obsess about your problems and how you are going to fix them. Instead, affirm you trust in Jesus and trust Him. Wait hope-fully sit back and just watch to see what He is going to do.
Micah 7:7
Therefore, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
Ronnie and Christie
What is your foundation?
Jesus should be the focus of our life, and he also needs to be our foundation. He is the only foundation that we can lean on that will not be shaken. When we do not know Jesus, we have nothing to build our life on because every time we try to create something on our own it usually collapses. Without Jesus, everything in our lives are meaningless. Ever since Jesus became our savior; we have built on the rock of His presence some things we do have flourished, and some have not. But with Jesus we have had that firm place to stand. The key to us being steady in life, is to always put Him before ourselves. When we make Jesus our focus, it is then we can walk steady throughout our life. We will have so many distractions along the way, but we have to remember to let Jesus always be our guide. Keep looking ahead to Jesus step by step as He loves us throughout our entire journey.
Psalms 16:8 I have set the lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Ronnie and Christie
Do you Care?
It occurred to me recently how often we forget how to truly “care”. I’m not talking about the “uncaring” comments of political candidates (at least not today). But I wonder what would happen if we would actively care about our closest relationships. I constantly battle the temptation to put the pressing issues of our world on a higher priority than the REAL issues that meet me face to face daily. Do I care more about what might happen between foreign countries, or someone’s opinion on facebook who may or may not even be my “friend”, or even the all important presidential debates, or do I care more about whether I am treating my wife and those close to me with love, dignity and respect?
When our Heavenly Father says He CARES for you and me, do we really understand the depth of what that means? It seems so natural for me to be selfish, insensitive, rude, impatient…you get the picture! But to “care” for someone, I first must understand unconditional love. You will probably never care for me if you have never loved me. And when Jesus told us to love our enemies, how much more was He telling us to care deeply for our family and close friends? Instead of lashing out at my spouse or kids, because I let my guard down, I need to remember how to “care” for them. And that means that I need to put their feelings and interests ahead of my own in that moment.
What a different world this would be if we all learned to “care” for each other, as God cares for us. It might require trading our selfish motives for unselfish acts of kindness (putting their needs ahead of my needs). It might also begin with forgiveness by saying “I’m sorry”, as we humble ourselves and stop trying to win every battle. Caring about the small things may bring victory in the bigger picture. If you have trouble caring for someone, ask God to show you how to love them first.
Ronnie & Christie Bruce
In the Midst of Trouble
Sometimes the Lords control over our lives places us in humbling circumstances. When you are in the middle of adversity and you feel powerless, you long to be in control of your life once again. Sometimes when we are in these places it is the best place to be. It seems like when we are going through a difficult time, that is when we rely of God the most. We have one life and two choices, we can either lash out at our circumstance, or we can allow God to use our hurt for his glory and draw closer to Him. When we are going through trials our need for the Lord is greater than ever. The more you draw near to Him, the more you will feel His unfailing love and also affirm your trust in Him. You can even be joyful in your circumstances trusting that Jesus is working behind the scenes and you will come out of this and He will lift you up. He is wanting us to cast ALL our cares on Him, trust him, and you Will come out on top!
Psalms 32:10
Romans 12:12
Psalms 16:11
1 Peter 5:6-7
Till Tomorrow,
Ronnie and Christie
Doing Life Together Everyday 