Do Not Deprive One Another

shock

Can they really talk about that in church?  Sometimes the Bible is a little shocking!

After entering into a relationship with Jesus I began to attend church weekly.  I started attending a ladies Sunday school class where the teacher taught with contagious passion.  I couldn’t wait to get home and read more about the story.  I became intentional to live out the Biblical principles.  It wasn’t easy but I would prayerfully ask God to help me put into practice what I was learning.  I began to see an overwhelming improvement in my marriage.  My husband was not in a relationship with Christ, nor did he have any desire to attend church, but he loved the changes in me.  He enjoyed the benefits of my relationship with Christ.

One morning my teacher taught out of 1 Corinthians 7 on the principles of marriage.  She said we should not deprive our husbands sexually.  I gasped with utter shock!  I looked around the cold concrete-block room and hoped no one had witnessed my expression of shock.  After class I ran home so I could tell my husband what she had taught.

We sat together and discussed the lesson.  “Is that really in the Bible?”  “Can you talk about that in church?”  “Does God really care about that subject in our marriage?”

Each week as I returned from church he would say “What did she teach today?”  I not only had the privilege of sharing what I was learning, I had the joy of living it out in our home.  I began to see a slow gradual change in his behavior.

There were times when I grew weary, became discouraged or lost hope.  It felt like he would never come to know Christ.  It was a huge burden until the Lord released me of the responsibility to “save” Steve.  He showed me, it was my responsibility to grow and develop in my own relationship with Christ.  I could trust God to be faithful to work out Steve’s salvation.  It was 4 long years before he repented of his sin and acknowledged Christ as his Lord and Savior and we have enjoyed pursuing Christ together ever since!

Image courtesy of “Woman Seems To Be Totally Surprised” by stockimages by  at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Copyright©2016, Gloria Stucky

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