Today’s Scripture: Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. Colossians 2:7 NLT Tyndale
I am so thankful for Christ’s nourishment. I am also being taught that this wonderful nourishment makes us strong and vigorous. Today I am breaking my word count rules for a special message, confession and revelation.
Today I am celebrating my 24th wedding anniversary. That’s the good news; the bad news is I have to confess that I have not nourished and cherished my wife as I should have over most of those 24 years. The greatest news is that God nourishes and gives us what we need.
Do you or others doubt that you have it in you to love as you should? Thank God, through Christ we receive the nourishment, the daily bread we need to be renewed. In recent weeks I have been taught the critical importance of cherishing and nourishing my wife.
In Ephesians 5 we husbands are instructed to love our wives as Christ loved the church and that Christ cherished and nourished the church. Hmmm, I had not been following this good word and I was starving our marriage and my wife. In God’s perfect timing I just “happened” to be reading Ephesians exactly when I needed to be and was introduced supernaturally to a book by Joy Callahan called God’s Marriage Code of Conduct. I had been breaking His code, His plan and Joy helped me to realize my responsibility to cherish and nourish my wife.
Today in reading this scripture I realized also that only by Christ’s nourishment can I nourish others. Do we have in us to do it? NOPE, that is in our flesh but praise be to God He nourishes us. In His nourishment we have plenty of love that overflows to nourish others. So let’s just sink our roots down deep into His rich soil and receive His rich nourishment that will fill us with His love that gives us the strength to vigorously nourish others.
I am thankful for Ronda and for her patience and forgiveness. I look forward to many more years where Christ’s nourishment will create an abundance of love so I will richly give her the nourishment and love she will cherish. I pray now for your marriages as well and that we men follow God’s plan and cleave to our wives in wonderful and passionate celebration of this love He has given us.
Today’s Prayer: Almighty Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Christ Jesus who nourishes us. Help me Father to sink my roots deeply into Your soil so I fully receive You. Use me Father God to nourish those I love most and to share Your love with all others. Thank You for teaching me and continuing to teach me how to live as your child. Thank You for my wife; teach me to love her as Christ loved the church. Amen
Tom Raines
Christian Affirmations 4 Life
Tom, may God bless you as you bless your wife with your love. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you Meg. God is amazing. He knows what lies ahead and prepares us and then restores. So thankful! I appreciate you kind words.
Congrats tom on your anniversary. But even more, thanks for allowing God to speak to you about how to treat Ronda. It is a testimony to God’s goodness.
Thanks Bill, He reveals where we are out of line and lovingly and perfectly restores us and draws us in!
I’m late to wish you a Happy Anniversary. I hope you had a good celebration!
A good companion verse to this which I love is found in Jeremiah 17:7-8 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. (NLT)
Our trust in the Lord and obedience to his word is our nourishment! Praise God!
Thank you Kimberly! Thank you for this verse, I love it! I actually have a tree in the woods I visit that I call my “God tree” it is along a small creek with moist rich soil and I am amazed at the strength and number of branches it possesses. I pray over that tree and am thankful for the branches He creates in us! Bless you!!