God's Sweetness

markmuldez:

There’s so much more to life than making the right decisions.

As Christians our decisions are based on how God speaks to us and how He directs our very footsteps in order to lead us to His good and perfect will for lives. But if we are honest there’s so much more to God than any of us can see or understand and a lot of times making those decisions aren’t easy especially if your options are both ‘good’. But at the end of the day, our goal is not necessarily to make the ‘right’ choices, rather making choices that aligns His good and perfect will.

Recently over the past few days I’ve been struggling with hurt, loneliness and disappointments. The things that took place in my life 7 months ago was a mixture of good and pleasing things. But on the other side there were times of struggle. Honestly, there are no words to describe or express what and how I’m feeling right now. It’s like sleeping and enjoying a good dream and ended up waking up because the good dream turned into a bad dream.

Sometimes God leads us to embark on a journey without knowing if we are even going to make it to the end. Sometimes in those journeys He is teaching us something in order to grow our character as a Christian. Along those journeys is making some hard decisions that aren’t necessarily ‘good’ and it can really sadden us or even break our hearts, but rather He leads us into making those choices because it’s for our best after all He is working “all things for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose.”

And as I was processing these things, God brought me back to this passage in Isaiah:

¹⁸ “Forget the things that happened in the past.
    Do not keep on thinking about them.
¹⁹ I am about to do something new.
    It is beginning to happen even now.
    Don’t you see it coming?
I am going to make a way for you to go through the desert.
    I will make streams of water in the dry and empty land. - Isaiah 43:18-19

The after effects of our past situations whether good or bad can really make an impact as to how we approach our future. If it was a bad situation, we can either learn, grow, move on and never make the same mistakes, or allow ourselves to wallow up in sadness and bitterness and just repeat the same cycle over and over again. If it was a good situation we can just continue and keep growing and as we do that inspire and encourage others to do the same thing.

If there’s one thing that I learned over these past 7months it’s this one truth: ABIDE IN CHRIST.

We will all face moments of difficulties, trials, struggles, doubts and uncertainties and in the midst of all these things, if we continue to Abide in Christ and in His word, we will find ourselves secure in our Savior’s heart. Never regret the things you’ve gone through because God allowed them to take place in your life. It just means that He is teaching you something that you will need in the future whether it’s a relationship aspect, ministry, etc.

At the end of the day whether your relationship with your significant other ended, or lost your job, or flunk a test, or made a stupid decision that led you to where you are now, remember that after those things take place they are considered part of your ‘past’ and God promises to immediately restore you and do something new.

You may even think at that time that your situation is impossible to fix and it may seem to appear that there’s a no way out, but God again promises to make a way for you even in that lonely, dry and deserted season. He is able and all powerful and will bring you to where He wants you to be all for the purpose of His glory.

As Christians, There’s so much more to life than making the right decisions. It’s about Abiding in Christ daily and allowing Him to be the center of our lives and allowing Him to influence our every decisions. So that we are not stepping outside His will rather we are always secure and aligned in His pleasing and perfect will for us.

There’s always a sweet beginning for every bitter ending.

Grace and Love in Christ,
Mark Muldez

I’m so glad Christ has better plans for me when my strength is starting to fail. It’s amazing how God chooses to work in our weakness so He could be the wings and the wind to our flight. I’ve been really down lately. It has been hard keeping everything to myself but last night, I was able to open up to my family. I’m glad I did that because the Lord answered my prayer. For so long, I’ve been asking for peace in my heart, and He gave it to me. I’m just really happy to know I have my family praying for me. Jesus Christ said He will always intercede and pray for me therefore I can trust in God’s sovereign hand in my life.

markmuldez:

EDITORS NOTE: Majority of my followers here on tumblr are gals and I’ve received tons of questions from you all in regards to sex, love and relationships. Due to the fact that I don’t have time to answer, here’s a letter that I found from this website called (GoodWomenProject.com) I hope that this letter would bring an enormous encouragement to your heart and a hope for your future. I pray that you come to an understanding that in Christ there’s restoration, healing, redemption and freedom.

To My Future Wife,

You’re beautiful. You’re stunning. You’re absolutely perfect in more ways than you know.

I know you’re out there; I know you’re living life just as I am mine. If not now, then someday you will read this letter and gain some insight into who I was before we married. That being said, it might be the only aspect of my life before we met to make you proud.

I say you won’t be proud because frankly I’m not proud either. My heart breaks knowing how I betrayed you with those other women. I regret every touch, every kiss, and every fake “I love you.” I was so consumed with lust that I had mistaken it for love, when you are the only woman I want to ever truly love. For everything, I want to apologize.

Whether it was teenage drunkenness, images on a computer screen, or fantasies in my mind, I defiled the essence of who a woman was. I deliberately turned my back on my calling from God and chose immediate satisfaction. Satisfaction that withered as soon as my pants were back on; satisfaction that left a bowling ball-sized guilt in my chest. She was a physical means to a lustful end, and I had taken advantage of a sinful opportunity. I didn’t see her as a daughter of Christ, and I was becoming her future husband’s greatest enemy. I didn’t treat her body as a temple and took from her what only one man deserved. At the end of the day, my heart was broken for this woman and shattered for you.

If you were in the room, I can only imagine your reaction. You probably wouldn’t watch, you certainly would not want to. Youd probably feel betrayed, like I was cheating on you in front of your eyes. You’d probably be angry, ready to slap me and kick her out of the room for stealing my affection. You’d probably feel your heart being ripped from your body, dropped to the floor, and spat on. You’d probably cry out to God for mercy not to watch, forgiveness for me, and the strength to move on. You’d probably feel broken, expecting more than just an apology. It may never be enough, but it’s all I can say – I’m sorry.

I can see the tears knowing I took from you what only you deserve. You deserve a husband that honors you in his words, thoughts, and actions. I have not been that, and I have begged God for his forgiveness. As promised, he has forgiven me, and I hope you can forgive me, too.

This is a poem I wrote to you, titled What I Undeserve.

What I Undeserve

as i watch the sun rise and the weary sun set,
it reminds me of your eyes all dressed in regret.
not regretful of your past, but regretful of mine,
knowing that it’s been all but divine.

He has chosen to forgive me long long ago,
with a heart of compassion that i see you bestow.
its one of many reasons i get lost in your soul,
trying to save the heart you’ve inadvertently stole.

i can’t wait til the day i see your shining face
all dressed in white at a methodical pace.
walking toward me to begin our life as one,
blessed by the Father, Spirit, and Son.

You are what I don’t deserve. God’s grace will bring us together when I have done absolutely nothing to deserve it. Yet I suppose it wouldn’t be grace if I did.

My prayer, at this present time, is that each day God is preparing my heart for you. Marriage is for life, so may what we’ll have last forever. I pray that Christ is not only your Lord, but that He is also your Savior, blessing you with the fruits of His Spirit. My worry is that if you’re in love with Him, then I will be such a disappointment. So I pray that each and everyday I will become less like myself and more like Christ, and that the fruits of His Spirit will also grow in me to naturally honor both Him and you, his daughter.

I know you’re not perfect either. I know you’ve made your mistakes too, perhaps with sins very similar to mine. If your heart is broken, I pray God will repair it. If you’re burdened from sin, I pray He will take away the guilt. Someday I want to look you in the eyes, forgiven, forgiving, and sharing with you a love the past cannot hinder.

I can’t wait to know you inside and out. I want to hear all your favorite stories, music, and movies. I can’t wait to meet your family and learn who you were before we met. I praise God for your beautiful soul and the blessings He will pour into my life through you. Someday we will share a life together. We’ll move on from the past, love every moment of the present, and gratefully await all the memories of the future.

“Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number; but my dove, my perfect one, is unique.” Song of Songs 6:8-9.

Your Future Husband,
JSP - (Good Women Project)

My idea was two people pouring themselves into each other, working hard to make the other feel loved, needed, appreciated etc… I realized that this view of marriage put the emphasis on the wrong thing, on the people involved. The point of this type of marriage is to bring pleasure and fulfillment to the people who are taking part in it.

As a Christian, as someone who is seeking to love God with all their heart, our purpose in life is to further God’s kingdom, to bring His desires to pass, not our own. (Matthew 6:10, 33) Nothing we do should be done for our sake, but out of obedience to God. (John 15:4, 10) God’s view of marriage was vastly different than mine. While I had envisioned two people working to please each other, God showed me that His idea was two people working together to please God. God did not make Eve to make Adam feel good about himself or loved or wanted, God made Eve because Adam was better off with her than without her. God showed me that the best way for me to love someone is to love God first and foremost, and to love that person as an outpouring of my love for God. Having my eyes focused on God and living to please Him will lead me to obeying His command to love. (1 John 5:1-3, John 15:9-12)

Loving my husband would thus be an outpouring of my love for God; my love for God always coming first. It does not take away from the love (living 1 Corinthians 13) that I would give my husband by loving him out of a love for God, but rather adds to it. My love would be a godly love, directed by God’s Spirit rather than a love that I would work at in my own strength. Suddenly it started to make some sense to me. I envisioned two people, both fixing their eyes on God and living to give Him glory, working better together than alone.

Yes, God in His sovereign power could decide to make a person who could serve Him best alone. This person might be able to do things a married person could not, and would be better off without a mate. However, just as easily, God could make two people who could serve Him best if they were together. Together they would be able to pray towards the same end, work the same mission, encourage each other to keep pressing on, raise godly children for the glory of God. Their purpose in life would be the same as that of a single Christian, to obey God, only they would be working at it together. They could be ministry partners, obedience to the Lord partners, faith partners, helping each other along, and thus better than either would have been alone. (Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10)

When I saw this, I was very excited! Yes, someone can love God with all their heart and be married! But, not if marriage is what I had originally thought; the purpose of marriage had to change in my mind first, for this to be true. Putting all these thoughts together, I realized that two things which had seemed separate actually brought me to a glorious conclusion. If my job in life was to obey God, and marriage was doing that same thing with a partner, and God knew what He wanted me to do to bring His plans about, then I only had one reason ever to marry. Out of obedience to His direction. Now I was free from my concern of “how will I know if I am getting a lemon or not?” I did not have to concern myself with it at all. I needed only to concern myself with obeying Jesus Christ, and if the time comes for me to marry, He can say, “That is the one, now is the time,” to us both, and we only need to obey. God knows all things, and He has a plan for my life. I need to obey Him so that His kingdom will come. 

No, I am not giving my heart to any young man that may come after it, but I am not saving it for my husband either. I am giving it all to God, because it is with Him that my heart belongs. 

— Emily Hipps 

She took the words out of my mouth. I want Christ, so deep that they need to search Him before they may find me. Christ is beautiful, so beautiful.

markmuldez:

Hello Anon,

The Bible doesn’t tell us how to “date” or “court,” whichever how you call the process to use to get to know a potential mate. Back in the old testament, families usually are the ones who helped their young men and women find their future mates.

As far as finding someone over the internet and possibly pursuing a relationship with that person, I don’t think that’s impossible. At my church, we have a few people who actually did a dating site and they’re married and attends our church and serves at our church. I’ve heard stories from people who met their spouse over twitter or some forums.

Nothing is impossible with God. If it’s His will for you to marry someone that you meet over the internet then it’s gonna happen. Obviously, at some point in the relationship, the couple needs to spend time with each other and meet at least once in a while to grow before stepping into marriage. But distance shouldn’t be an issue. Just think about this, God loves us so much that He made a way for us to be with Him through His So Jesus. He came down to earth and died for our sins! That’s a HUGE gap right there between Us and God, but praise be to God for His Son, He is our BRIDGE!

Bottom line: In all of the choices we make, though, it’s crucial to remember that it is God—not us—who brings us together with a spouse. As simple as it may sound, we shouldn’t have to work to find our spouse; we should be living out our lives with any desires for a spouse on the back burner and our desires for knowing God at the forefront of our hearts and making Him known. To live for His glory is our ultimate goal. Men do need to take the initiative in a relationship and pursue the woman, but God is still the one who brings the couple together. Seek God and He will fulfill (or change) your desires

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. - Matthew 6:33

In Christ,
Mark M.