A survey was conducted on this similar topic. The exact question was the following: Do you believe it is important for God to confirm your companion and why? The majority (approx. 95%) responded with an abrupt “YES”. The most popular responses are listed below:

* It is important to have God’s blessing and approval. This way I know that if things go wrong in the marriage, they will work out for the best because God ordained the marriage”.

* I have a ministry and I need to be certain that whoever is by my side will not bring me down but help me, and best of all, both be compatible to each others ministries”

* I want it to be the right timing and only God knows. I don’t want to suffer the consequences of not waiting.”

* I know of people who thought they married an angel but once they were behind closed doors, it was as if their partner had been transformed into a total stranger. God knows us best and knows who our partners are, what better than to have God confirm and save us from future regrets and unpleasant surprises”

If this is true, that the majority of our young people want God to bless and confirm their time of courtship before they tie the not, why is it that many do NOT wait? I am pretty certain that we can all answer this question. Many of us make decisions after our own desires which lead us to depend more on our flesh rather than our God.

For example, let’s look at the following passage that will help to broaden our understanding.

Genesis 6:1-3
Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

Since the beginning of time, God has always made a distinction of who His children are and who are not. God was disappointed with His children who had made faulty decisions for choosing their wives. It is clear in this passage that God does not want us to choose for ourselves, God needs to be a BIG part in our determination as to who we’ll eventually marry.

Let’s break down the following line:

“the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for them selves, whomever they chose.”

“WERE BEAUTIFUL”

Many of us have said “oh, he/she blinded me with his/her beauty” Just as beauty became their focal point, it has also become the focal point of many Christian youth. Beauty blinded their understanding and the direction of God’s will. They were not careful enough to govern what they saw. Some people say “I couldn’t help it”. The reason why many cannot control their desires, is because they continue to gaze and stare at what they shouldn’t be, whether in a magazine, computer, or on the street. All of this places us in great danger of not listening to God’s instructions.

“THEY TOOK WIVES FOR THEMSELVES”

Notice in the verse that once beauty became their focal point, then this is what their decision of life were made upon. They lost their ability to reason. The flesh took control, and they NEVER got it back. It is important to understand that marriage is a binding agreement between two people that should never be broken; this is if you fear and want to obey God. They were enticed by the beauty of these women and were sadly surprised with the deadly consequences of their choices.

After reviewing these scriptures, the question remains: will we wait on God or will we wing it and whatever comes about our decision comes? I am certain that there is not one person who would like to live the next half a decade married to someone who will be more of a burden than a blessing. This is usually why marriages do not last because we tend to marry for the wrong reasons instead of looking for guidance from God.

*  Perdonar – quitar la culpa del culpable.

El perdón es una gracia de Dios.  ¿Sabes?  En la antigüedad era mandato de Dios que se hiciera sacrificio de un cordero para perdón de los pecados.  Este cordero debía ser perfecto y sacrificado conforme a la ordenanza de Dios.  Sin embargo, el pecado aumentó a tal grado que ya no había sacrificios suficientes que pudieran cubrir los pecados de la humanidad que ahora habían traído como resultado la separación entre el hombre y su Dios.  Fue entonces cuando “de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda, más tenga vida eterna.” (Juan 3:16).  Vez, Cristo tomó el lugar del cordero perfecto y “…sufrió la cruz, menospreciando el oprobio…” (Hebreos 12:2) por lo que ahora tu y yo: “Justificados, pues por la fe (en Cristo), tenemos paz para con Dios por medio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo…” (Romanos 5:1).  Cristo fue el autor de la gracia – don inmerecido.  Él llevó nuestra culpa.  Nos correspondía a nosotros morir; sin embargo, Jesús lo hizo por nosotros reconciliándonos con el Padre para que obtuviésemos Su perdón.  Una vez le recibimos al creer en él y confesarle públicamente (bautismo) – “Porque con el corazón se cree para justicia, pero con la boca se confiesa para salvación.” (Romanos 10:10) – somos participantes de Su gracia y perdón.

Ejercitando el perdón.  Imagínate un joven de diecisiete años, muy amado de su padre, pero muy odiado de sus hermanos.  Sentenciado a morir en una cisterna y luego al esta no tener agua, vendido por unas veinte piezas de plata.  Solo, sin padres ni familia, expuesto a un nuevo idioma, nuevas costumbres y no solo esto sino que de ser hijo, pasa entonces a ser esclavo para siempre.  Este fue el comienzo de la juventud de José.  Sin embargo, aproximadamente treinta y cinco años más tarde; acompañado por Dios, ocupó un lugar muy destacado en Egipto.  Un día llegaron unos ancianitos en grande necesidad; José los reconoció como sus hermanos.  Al verlos comenzó a llorar disimuladamente.  El solo hecho de pensar en las consecuencias que habían acarreado sus hermanos por el pecado y los recuerdos tristes de su último encuentro, le causó gran dolor.  José no hubiese querido que sus hermanos, su propia sangre y carne, sufrieran tanto como lo estaban haciendo.  No cabe duda que José era un varón de Dios.  José los perdonó y en vez de tomar ventaja sobre ellos ante su posición en Egipto los consoló y les habló al corazón.  Estos ahora postrados delante de él, le pedían ser sus siervos.  José les respondió: “No temáis; ¿acaso estoy yo en lugar de Dios?  Vosotros pensasteis mal contra mí, mas Dios lo encaminó a bien, para hacer lo que vemos hoy, para mantener en vida a mucho pueblo.  Ahora, pues, no tengáis miedo; yo os sustentaré a vosotros y a vuestros hijos.  Así los consoló y les habló al corazón.” (Génesis 50:16-21)

Miremos a este modelo del perdón:

El perdón fue verdadero.  Aunque sus hermanos no habían conocido el carácter de un varón de Dios, ni el ejercicio del perdón; José había aprendido un estilo de vida diferente en la presencia de Dios.  Se había acostumbrado a no fingir, y a desechar la simulación que había en sus hermanos.  Su perdón fue una auténtica evidencia de su carácter de hombre de Dios.

Lo sucedido le causó dolor.  José lloró al darse cuenta de las consecuencias de la mentira de sus hermanos y le dolió en gran manera el verlos siendo esclavos de la aflicción y el remordimiento o falta de paz que arrastraron por tantos años.  José demostró que había perdonado al sentir dolor por el pecado de sus hermanos.

Supo ocupar su lugar.  Aunque esa pudo haber sido su oportunidad de enorgullecerse, no ocupó ese lugar sino que respondió: “¿Estoy yo en lugar de Dios?”.  El sabía que solo Dios puede perdonar y tenía muy en claro que el perdón no era un merecimiento (algo que se merece), sino una gracia, y la gracia es un don de Dios.  Solamente Dios podía decir NO.  José pudo perdonar al permitirle a Dios que ocupara Su lugar.

Aprendió del error.  Los hermanos de José le habían hecho un mal que les había traído remordimiento toda su vida.  No tenía al Dios de José, ni tampoco lo habían conocido de la manera que José había aprendido a conocerle.  El momento que habían hecho el mal solo estaban pensando en el “aquí y ahora”, o sea cumplir el deseo de su corazón, sin pensar en las consecuencias.  Sin embargo, Dios le había enseñado a José una interpretación diferente acerca de todo lo acontecido: “Vosotros pensasteis mal contra mí, pero Dios lo encaminó…para hacer lo que vemos hoy, para mantener en vida a mucho pueblo.”  Si José no hubiera tenido un corazón perdonador, no hubiese podido aprender a valorizar las pruebas como Dios quería enseñarle.  Por el contrario, su amargura hubiera tomado dominio y hubiese puesto condiciones a los planes de Dios.  Pareciera que en el corazón de José abundaba el fruto del Espíritu: “amor, gozo, paz, paciencia, benignidad, bondad, fe, mansedumbre y templanza” (Gálatas 5:22-23).

El perdón fue evidente.  José sabía que en el corazón de sus hermanos no tenían paz.  Por lo cual, les habló al corazón y consolándoles les dijo: “No tengáis miedo… yo os sustentaré a vosotros y a vuestros hijos.”  Los tranquilizó, les prometió abundante sostén y los consoló con ternura.

Quizás tu y yo hemos vivido experiencias duras que han llegado a marcar nuestro corazón en ocasiones por el resto de nuestra vida.  De todos modos, Dios quiere que seamos felices en el.  Sin embargo, esto implica que aprendamos a recibir de él y a ejercer para con otros la gracia del perdón.  Nosotros habremos perdonado cuando cada una de estos pasos se hagan realidad en las situaciones duras, necesitadas de perdón, que hemos vivido.  Una vez esto acontezca, entonces habremos madurado un poco más y habremos obtenido el verdadero carácter de mujer u hombre de Dios.  Aprendamos a amar…aprendamos a perdonar. Solo podremos si dejamos que Dios ocupe Su lugar.

Imagine that we are about to enter God’s office…we are there for an interview for the position of “Ideal Mate”.  We look around thinking about how it will go.  A feeling of butterflies in our stomach does not let us stop playing with the pen in our hand.  All of the sudden we hear our name and are asked to go in.  The interview is about to start….  But wait!  Instead of us handing in our resume we are given a blank one that we must complete.  What will it look like after we are done?  Let’s take a look…

Résumé
Objective: Why do I want this position or relationship?
Experience: How prepared am I?  How mature am I?

Males
Am I conscious of my responsibilities as as head of the household and father?
Do I have a job to support a family?

Females
Do I know my responsibilities as an administrator of the house?
Do I know how to do the house shores?
Am I concious of my position and responsibilities as future wife?
Do I have spiritual stability?  emotionial?  material?

Education: Have I accomplished my educational goals?

Materially: Christian life

Interests:
What are my standards?
What do I hope to obtain from my partner?
What do I want?  What do I need?
What does God want for me?
What does God see and know I need?

Weaknesses:
What are the weaknesses that may affect my relationship?
Which areas of my life would God still be trying to shape?
Which attitudes or habits may destroy my relationship?

Strong Areas:
What are the areas that may be a blessing to my relationship?
How can I be blessing to my partner?

Time:
How much time am I willing to commit?
How would the administration of my time affect my relationship?
What place will God have in my life once I have a partner?

When it comes to that “special someone”, God will never give us someone that will not love us the way God wants us to be loved.  The bible says that for everything there is a season.  And this is the season when God is shaping us to His image and wants to use us as an instrument of blessing to those around us.  Although we may think it is taking long, God is not crazy and he’s preparing the way so that we may reap the fullness of His blessing and be ready for it when it comes.

Are we ready yet?  Let’s think again!

On the other hand, when it comes to choosing a mate, we must never settle for the first thing that comes by. Rather, we should ask ourselves: “Does it meet God’s criteria for what He wants for me and knows that I need the most? Will it compliment the ministry He’s called me for?

See, in the Bible there’s a man called Esau, who had a twin brother named Jacob. One day, when Esau came back from the field – he was a cunning hunter – he came back tired. Most likely he was too hungry. His brother Jacob had prepared a pottage, something like a stew. Since Esau was the firstborn, he was automatically born with birthrights. Knowing this, Jacob took advantage of Esau’s vulnerability. When Esau asked for some of the pottage, Jacob asked him to sell him his birthright. Taking for granted God’s blessing, Jacob acceded for a plate of the stew in return. Later, he procured his blessing with tears but could not get it back.

Like Esau, many times we overlook our blessings because we are too focused on the one thing we feel we need at that specific moment and know that we can’t have. We take for granted what is ours thinking that we must get what we don’t have. WARNING: “It is when we focus on the one thing we can’t have that we fail to see all the things we can enjoy.”

Remember Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? God had commanded Adam, saying: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: ‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it.’ For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Now the serpent was more subtle. One day while Eve was walking around the garden, the serpent began to make her question God’s commandment. “Yeah, has God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) As if God was such a cruel God that would purposely prevent us from something that would be a blessing to us. Sadly, the devil kept on playing mind games with Eve, until she finally fell in his trap. The devil was able to achieve its purpose… to tempt, question, confuse and destroy. DANGER! It may look good, but, is it what God wants for us?

“When we are hungry, we are easy prey for the devil… he’ll come to question our identity and challenge us to provide for ourselves.” We will hear him whispering in our ears: Perhaps you’ve waited long enough; why don’t you just get it for yourself? You’ve got to make things happen for yourself; faith without works is dead. What are you waiting for? CAUTION: When we are not in the spiritual position God wants us at, we are easy to be played by the devil. But, the rule of thumb when considering a mate should be: NEVER settle for okay when God wants to give you the best.

“God wants us to be happy and complete.” If he says NO to us is only because he’s preventing us from a miserable, non-successful, and unhappy life that may come along after we have entered into a relationship with that special someone. If he says WAIT, it may be that we are just not ready yet to handle the full blessing He wants to gives us. There may still be some baggage that we are carrying around with us that we need to leave behind before we invite someone to be part of our life. Also, He may just be aligning everything so that when the time comes, nothing prevents us from enjoying His blessing in our life. More so, He may be taking this time of waiting to prepare us for that ministry He wants to put in our hands. Why try to pick the apple on the tree that is not ready to be eaten yet when we can enjoy the one that is red and juicy and has been put in our hands to enjoy? REMEMBER: In the path of the Lord, it’s not about us anymore… It’s about His divine plan for our life and those around us.”

Should we take a look one more time? What do we see around us? Wonderful friends, loving parents, interesting new things to learn, new experiences with God… Let us dare to enjoy what is available to us…”embrace each season with joy, in the full confidence that God knows what’s best for your life today; tomorrow, and forever…” Are we really that hungry that we will settle beneath our calling?

As children, we all had different aspirations in life; some may be able to relate to the ones I’ve listed. But for some reason many times those goals are shifted and sometimes never accomplished. It is necessary illustrate the importance of education in our lives as Christian youth. Christ has always been considered as the “foundation of all knowledge”. It is our responsibility to prepare ourselves for the purpose of making a Godly impact on the world. We can use the secular knowledge we obtain with a higher calling of good.

As I mentioned before, all of this requires commitment and dedication; first to God and then to our own hidden strengths. Many of us think we are not capable of achieving such goals or we just aren’t “smart” enough. That is a complete lie, and it is the mission of the devil to make us feel vulnerable and worthless because he knows that by knowledge our eyes are opened and we can fight with the tools of wisdom. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 that wisdom is the ability to impart knowledge; a desire to learn; truth and uprightness. When we learn, we discover many things that before were so hard to comprehend. God does not want us to speak only out of our own personal experiences, but to be intellectuals that speak from logic and study rather than to decide based on emotion.

We cannot give up on ourselves and believe that we are not capable of making it. Some of you are ready to enter or complete high school, and some have already made the step of higher education by applying or entering in a college. Yes, it is a challenge that we sometimes feel is impossible to complete but we have the Conqueror of Conquerors by our side; our Lord Jesus Christ. Many do not have that privilege. People grow and change physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, but our sovereign, unchanging God will be with us, and direct those changes to make us into men and women of integrity and impeccable strengths. The Bible says in James 1:17, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 18:24, John 15:13-14-God never changes. Jesus is our friend and sticks with us. He is closer than a brother. He will never leave us or forsake us. We need to trust in these promises. Our efforts, trust, and positive attitude towards God are crucial ingredients for these changes to occur.

We are all children of God and we want to become men and women that preach the word of God with true understanding of the content in order to further educate others, such as our friends, family, future children, and non-believers. We do not want to be an individual that just assumes that whatever he knows is all he needs to know to be as competent to address an issue as anyone else. It is understood that not everyone wants of can continues his or her education in a four-year college, but you can always attend a two-years college, or go through special training, and most importantly attend Bible institute, which is the most valuable knowledge anyone can obtain.

Education is the key to all knowledge, especially to the complete truths found in the biblical scriptures. We cannot continue to ignore that fact. You may feel overwhelmed with all the choices you are faced with everyday, but the decisions you make today will be your future. Remember; don’t let anyone or anything shatter your dreams of becoming the best you can be. Always set higher expectations upon yourself and never limit your potential to strive. You are a child of God, which means you’re a warrior and a conqueror.

Relationships// By Ivette Gonzalez
“And the Lord God said: It is not good that the men be alone; I will make him an ideal help” (Gn. 2:18)

Imagine that you didn’t have to worry about marrying the wrong person because you know that all along that ideal person has been reserved for you. Wouldn’t that be nice? Let’s think about Adam for a moment. God planted a garden in Eden and then gave Adam the opportunity to take care of it; plants, animals, fruits, etc. But knowing that Adam would not be completely happy, “…then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.” You see; God knows our needs. He was the founder of relationships; for all species he created a mate. And he created women for men, and vice versa. It is normal to fall in love. God intended for it to be that way. But, for that reason he also wants us to understand that we don’t have to stress out about it, because he already knows who is the one for us.

So, when God when? May be our next question. The bible says that if we delight our selves in the Lord, he will give us the desires of our heart. When we delight our selves on something, we take pleasure on it. We don’t stress about other things; we just concentrate on whatever we are doing at that very moment without worrying about time. Have you ever felt stressed because you are being pressured to do something by a certain time or otherwise you will not reach a goal or meet a deadline? Were you enjoying yourself at that moment? Probably not. You see, when we are pressured on to something, we tend to feel overwhelmed, preoccupied, unhappy, etc. These will bring doubt, which will in turn bring confusion, and end up in us not accomplishing our goals the way we wanted. As youth, there comes a time when we begin to feel pressured about not having met that special someone. Friends start getting married, family members begin to ask if we have a boyfriend or girlfriend, coworkers tend to make comments, and so on. The point is we may be driven by all these facts into making decisions we will later on regret.

When it comes to relationships, we must be very careful not to put at risk all the blessings that come along with God promise for a companion. Consider Solomon, he asked God for a discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong. God granted him his request, but “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter-Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.” The result…as Solomon grew old, his women inclined his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God. God knew all along what was going to happen. He also knows what will happen in your life and mine. He wants us to be happy with that person He’s chosen for us. We don’t need to go to Egypt searching, because He’s got the one for us right here in Israel. Therefore, He asks that we wait on him without despair for love is patient and perseveres. If we love God, we will wait on Him

Ministry// By Ivette Gonzalez
“This hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Ro. 5:5)

Have you ever felt disappointed just because others received what they had been waiting for and you didn’t? The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reminds us that our wait in the Lord is not in vain. Since the very first moment we accept Christ in our hearts as our personal Savior, we compromise ourselves to Him. We declare to the world that we promise to follow Him, live for Him, and wait on Him.

We may ask ourselves, why is it so critical for us to wait on God’s timing? Well, lets just say that this is the part of the game that we all need to learn how to play. You see, because we all have certain aspects of our character and personality that needs to be developed to its fullest in order for us to be a blessing, God has to take time to work in our lives so that His purpose in us can be accomplished just the way He’s planned for us. Just like when you go to school to become educated in a specific career. You have to go through certain trainings and therefore wait the necessary amount of years to obtain your degree.

At the beginning, it can sometimes be frustrating. There are assignments, tests, lots of things and terms to learn, and so on. You may come to a point where you even think that you’re not learning, that it is not working and that you’ll never be able to reach your educational goals. But as time goes on and that special day comes, you see yourself graduating and you feel satisfied with all the things you went through. You now feel that you didn’t loose your time but rather gained invaluable experiences. The same goes for our time of wait in the Lord. It’s during this time of wait that God develops our character and personality spiritually, emotionally and physically. He’s preparing us for a ministry.

How long should we wait? There isn’t really a specific amount of time. How soon God responds to our requests will depend on our obedience to His instructions. Solomon, also known as The Preacher, in his book of Ecclesiastes said: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” (Ec. 3:11). We should never be rushed into accomplishing our goals. Otherwise frustration will overcome us once we begin to see that our goals have not been met and our prayers have not been answered.

Remember when you were little and you were just starting to walk? I do. I remember being very excited about it, but it only took one fall and I decided not to walk again until a year later. Has this ever happened to you?

When it comes to waiting in Gods timing, it is always best to let Him do what He wants to do with us, for He knows what we need. Many times God begins to work in our lives…Oh! How great it feels. We are so excited; we want to do so much for the Lord that we suddenly start to go ahead of Him, and we end up falling. Right after; we realize that we have failed the test; we get scared and choose not to keep walking.

Do you remember Moses? He was chosen by God to lead Israel. At first he was very eager and enthusiastic; he had experienced a personal encounter with God. Assured of God’s commandments, he went on to do what he had been asked. While Moses obeyed God’s will, he witnessed every promise come through. However, it only took him one step ahead of the game to loose his entrance to the promise land. You see; he was doing okay up until he decided to do things the way he thought was best. It wasn’t really that fact that he disobeyed God what got him into trouble, but that he tried to show that he could do it on his own without God’s help.

We must never forget that we are all humans and as humans our thoughts, feelings and emotions will always be carnal unless the Holy Spirit controls them. Thus, we ought to give ourselves completely to the Lord and let the Holy Spirit take charge. If we devote ourselves to Him in such a way that our spirit conforms to His, there will be no period of waiting time too long for us for us to wait. For we will enjoy every aspect of it to it’s fullest. Our ministry will be a victorious one as we will witness God’s glory in our lives and be a blessing to all those around us. Foremost, we will give God the glory for his mercy and love.

Are you willing to wait?