Build A Strong Marriage: Erect Boundaries With Friends of the Opposite Sex

For years as single people we have been urged to foster lasting relationships, be open, honest and learn to communicate our needs clearly and effectively in preparation for our spouse. However, once we’ve received that special person into our lives that we wish to cherish, share our hopes and dreams with and connect with on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level, most of us haven’t been taught beyond that. We haven’t been taught how or when to break ties with or “cool down” some former relationships that may be detrimental to the budding marriage covenant itself. Of course, we’re talking about being friends with those of the opposite sex.

In this day and age you may not think that men and women being friends is an issue because society is so free about what it readily accepts and people think nothing of seeing a married woman sitting in a quaint café, joking and playfully touching a male that isn’t her spouse. But as those of the faith we have to learn to nurture that which we so prayerfully desire. We want to believe that men and women can be just friends—and they can. We’d like to think that once married, neither spouse should have to give up their carefully cultivated friendships with those of the opposite sex in lieu of the marriage itself—and they don’t. There are just serious boundaries that need to be erected to make sure that the emotional needs of the two in the covenant are being fed by each other and not by an outside party.

Bruce Wilkinson, the author of Prayer The of Jabez teaches a marriage seminar on “Leaving and Cleaving” according to Genesis 2:24 that instructs married people on proper behavior for couples. The Word says, “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh.” The definition of cleaving is: to adhere closely, stick, to cling and to remain faithful. Respectfully a couple is not fully “cleaving” if their physical assistance, mental fortitude or emotions are often found outside of the home remedying someone else’s problems and creates issues within their own relationship.

While we may believe that God implores us to be givers and to do good to our neighbors and enemies, none of that supercedes Genesis 2:24 in which we are instructed to “cling” to our mate. Furthermore the Word implores us, “Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil,” (Romans 14:16 KJV). Your midnight assistance at a friend’s house may be good-natured, but a better option might be to have them call the proper authorities if they have a safety or health issue and check in with them by phone. Sure, it may seem a little secluded to function this way, but God’s Biblical laws and statutes were designed to keep the marriage solid and intact and the enemy completely out.

M. Gary Neuman a noted marriage counselor and the author of Emotional Infidelity: How to Avoid It and 10 Other Secrets to a Great Marriage says, “You don’t have to have sex with anyone else to be unfaithful. Emotional infidelity is just as—and at times even more—destructive to your marriage.” He goes on to share, “We forget the emotional harm of relating to someone outside the marriage [especially] when that same energy can be used to relate to our own spouse”. Meaning, lunch at that new Thai restaurant or Steakhouse that you’ve been eager to try shouldn’t be something you experience for the first time with a co-worker or a friend of the opposite sex. Your marriage and the covenant promise are rooted in discovering new things together and growing as a spiritual unit. No matter how tempted, when it comes to offers presented to you by other people, a new restaurant or grand opening of a gourmet food store is a chance to grow and build memories between you and your spouse—otherwise as a runner up or second thought, it diminishes the excitement of the experience for them.

In my non-fiction book The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate I urge readers to do what they know is Biblically right. How we are to govern ourselves in a marriage is in the scriptures. Keeping your marriage thriving takes constant effort and the Word is our guide. Christian couples should never allow friends carte blanche when it comes to their time or resources and you should never become so exhausted helping others that you have little or no time left over for your spouse. Marriage requires DAILY nurturing. God didn’t designate your husband or wife to be a spare wheel or to glean what you have leftover to give after you’ve been a “giver” to everybody else all day long. Remember, cleave to your spouse—that means that nobody comes before them, not parents, career, friends or extracurricular activities.

Just as sure as God desires for you to feel safe with the person He has entrusted you to, it is His desire for them to feel safe with you. It’s hard to feel that safety when you’re wondering what a friend of the opposite sex [whether they’re married or not] calling late at night for consolation from your spouse truly means. Friends should never come to depend on you or your spouse exclusively either. If you have friends of the opposite sex that you converse with regularly that have never engaged your spouse in conversation, let alone met them face to face—you are in error! We should never find ourselves at any level having an isolated relationship with someone that doesn’t include our spouse. Anything that excludes one spouse is a potential set up. Once you are married all of your friendships become a “package deal”. They don’t get just you or your spouse, they accept both of you, greet both of you, extend “hellos” on the telephone to both of you and include you both in any invites or activities.

So, how do we get past the awkwardness and uncomfortable feeling that our spouse can get about the camaraderie with our friends of the opposite sex and realign the boundaries and secure our personal commitment to our mate? Lunch, dinner, church socials, trips to the mall, office parties, company picnics and other functions should always include our significant other. With the aggressive society we live in, no matter how long you’ve been friends with someone it is impossible to know every notion that may have crossed their minds. Often too late, many discover that a friend of the opposite sex was simply maintaining a friendship until a more appealing option presented itself. That’s why your spouse’s presence is so very important. It reinforces to any “mustard seed hopefuls” that they don’t have a chance because your loyalty lies elsewhere.

Those like me that advocate feeding the marriage and starving any opposition to the marriage warn against, “disclosing marital strife and unresolved issues to a coworker or friend” as well as “Traveling together alone with a coworker or friend of the opposite sex,” or “Social kisses” (the mouth is an intimate organ). Researchers have also noted that many affairs begin between men and women with safe marriages at home and close friendships at work. As they regularly meet for coffee breaks and lunch, these relationships develop into deep friendships. Coworkers come to depend on these coffee rendezvous, and soon they have emotional work friendships and crumbling marriages. Dr. Shirley Glass author of Not Just Friends shares, “Today’s workplace has become the new danger zone of romantic attraction and opportunity,” and that “Eighty-two percent of the 210 unfaithful partners I’ve treated have had an affair with someone who was, at first, ‘just a friend.’” From 1991 to 2000, Glass discovered in her practice that 50 percent of the unfaithful women and about 62 percent of unfaithful men she treated were involved with someone from work.

You can eliminate the problems before they arise by demoting the friendships a notch and promoting your spouse. If you let friends believe that things are going to be the same way with you now that you’re married as it was when you were single, it will be tougher for them to respect any boundaries that you try to erect later on. Prevent yourself from becoming a crutch to your friends. If they always want you to lend them your ear, learn to draw the line at some point and leave the counseling to the professionals. An occasional word of encouragement to a friend is all right as we are called to uplift each other, but it should not become a weekly pep rally or gab session where you are guiding your friend’s life and they can’t make a decision without checking in with you first.

What we all need to grasp here is that when you as a friend provide a sympathetic ear to friends of the opposite sex they can slowly begin to fashion you as the perfect mate in their mind without you even knowing it (especially if their own relationship is crumbling). The thoughts start with, “He/She is so attentive, sweet, helpful and they’re always available when I need them.” They can come to rely on your daily phone calls; it nurtures them, brightens their day and then in a weird twist they can begin to believe that they have claims on your time. Thus, we need to err on the side of caution and keep any possible intrusions at arms length while we nurture the true love that we were given.

It’s truly not about being under the watchful eye of an insecure spouse, because the majority of the time the issue isn’t insecurity or jealousy at all, but rather feelings that stem from what your spouse may feel is your friend’s inappropriateness and disrespect for the marriage covenant. Imagine that its like having the seed of a beautiful flower you hope will one day bloom that you just planted in fertile soil, you’ve barely covered it over and watered it before its dug up by someone else seeking “attention” before it (the seed) has had a chance to form roots, push itself up from the earth and grow towards the sun. Understand that your friends of the opposite sex won’t approach you with a fork tongue, horns and a pointy tail, but we need to realize that sometimes the friends that you’ve had prior to marriage can on some level feel territorial. It’s not always in the speech, sometimes it’s in the way they “need” you in the middle of the night and expect you to drop everything like you did when you were single.

In all fairness, I’m not for a second saying that all male-female relationship are premeditated, but when we enter into a marriage we still need to put personal feelings aside and heed 1 Thessalonians that says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil,” apply it to our everyday lives and make sure that if there are any improper actions that we are quick to hold our friends accountable. We can defend our friends (because we’ve known them for so long) and leave our spouse feeling “uncovered” and “exposed” by saying, “he/she didn’t mean anything by that,” instead of making it clear to your friend(s) in an appropriate manner what kind of kidding and joking will and won’t be tolerated. It is all right to say to a friend, “Listen, my husband/wife is uncomfortable with it when you…” A true friend, who is happy for you and has no selfish motives, will respect that and govern themselves accordingly.

A healthy marriage is a beautiful thing and the institution should never be entered into lightly. You should go into it fully understanding that and requiring that everyone in your circle understands how much you value it. The Word says, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder,” (Mark 10:9). Like the vinedresser in the vineyard we have to be prepared to realize that with our friends if need be we may have to cut ties a few wayward branches that have the potential to ruin a very fruitful harvest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Linda Dominique Grosvenor has made her foray into non-fiction with the runaway bestseller The Plural Thing: Spiritually Preparing for Your Soul Mate. Her expertise on dating and relationship issues has been used in articles for publications such as Modern Bride, Jolie, Jewel, Honey and MORE Magazine. A tireless advocate Grosvenor is also the co-founder of the Love Better Camp a non-profit organization that is dedicated to aiding individuals and families in learning to love better, which can improve their overall quality of life. Log on and visit her official website at www.LindaDominiqueGrosvenor.com and for more information on her ministry check out www.ThePluralThing.com and www.LoveBetterCamp.com.

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April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month

For the past twenty years, I’ve worked as a community public health educator. After obtaining my Masters in Public Health, I opted against working for the health department.  Instead, I decided to go into the drenches, teaching underserved communities the importance of preventative health. Every day, I interact with individuals who struggle with chronic diseases and wage war to find quality treatment within a fractured healthcare system. Despite their failures and the socio-economic deterrents woven around their lives, many have fought to overcome issues we couldn’t wrap two thoughts around. Why? Someone came along and dared to love them during the most hideous time in their lives. So when I threw my hat into the literary ring, I drew upon these real-life experiences. Hence, my stories deal with real-life health or social issues. 

The premise for my latest release, If I Were Your Woman deals with cancer.  Soon after the leading male character meets the love of his life, he’s diagnosed with testicular cancer. Needless to say, this news prompts a series of challenges and conflicts for the couple. April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month and every man and for that fact, woman should become acquaint with six key areas of this disease: (1) what is testicular cancer (2) the detection of testicular cancer (3) the symptoms of testicular cancer (4) how is testicular cancer diagnosed (5) the treatment of testicular cancer and (6) the prevention and screening treatments for testicular cancer.

1. What is testicular cancer?

· Testicular cancer is a disease in which cells become malignant (cancerous) in one or both testicles.

Testicular cancer accounts for only one percent of all cancers in men in the United States. Annually, 8000 men are diagnosed, and approximately 390 will die from the disease. The occurrence of testicular cancer is seen in men between the ages of 20 and 39, and is the most common cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 34.  Testicular cancer is most common in White men of Scandinavian descent.  However, the rate of this disease has double in White men in the past 40 years and has recently begun to increase in African-American men, although the incidence between the racial occurrences remains unknown.  

2. The detection of testicular cancer

Most men don’t feel ill nor do they report any symptoms associated with testicular cancer. Hence, it is important for men to perform a monthly TSE (testicular self examination). This exam is painless and is an excellent tool for men to recognize any changes of their testicles. A TSE involves holding each testicle between the thumbs and fingers of both hands and gently rolling it between the fingers. Men should pay particular attention to any hard lumps within the testicles or changes in the way it feels. 

3. The symptoms of testicular cancer:

· Pain or swelling in the testicles

· Lumps or nodules in the testicles, whether painful or not

· Enlargement of the testicles or changes in the way the testicles feels

· Pain in the lower abdomen, back or groin

· Swelling in the scrotum or collection of fluid within the scrotum

It is important to note that there are other benign conditions, which can be associated with the symptoms listed above. 

Do not self-diagnosis any medical condition! You can’t be sure whether you have testicular cancer or not based on symptoms alone.  That’s why it’s important for men to see a health care provider immediately if they experience any of these symptoms. 

Remember, when detected early, testicular cancer is highly curable with a cure rate in excess of 90%.

4. Diagnosis of testicular cancer:

Testicular cancer is mostly commonly diagnosed through a testicular ultrasound.  This ultrasound is 100% accurate in differentiating testicular cancer from other possible diagnosis. A testicular ultrasound determines the density, size and shape of a testicular mass.  In most cases, when a solid testicular mass is discovered, it is a sign of a tumor since most testicular conditions involve fluid build-up. 

5. Treatment of testicular cancer:

There are several ways to treat testicular cancer.  The most common way starts with an orchiectomy, which is the surgical procedure to remove the testicular mass.  Once removed, the mass is sent to a pathologist to determine if it is indeed malignant and if so, the stage of the cancer. Other treatment options include: Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection, Chemotherapy, Radiation and Surveillance.

6. Prevention and screening treatments for testicular cancer:

There is no standard or routine screening test for the early detection of testicular cancer. Also, there are no proven ways to prevent testicular cancer.  However, performing monthly TSE’s and knowing the symptoms of testicular cancer increases the possibility of detecting the disease at an early stage, when it’s most curable.

Until next time – stay well and be blessed!!

LaConnie
www.laconnietaylorjones.com

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Say In A Word

Many in the Body of Christ have not received the revelation of the greatness that is within. “Do you not know that your are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16).  When we (the flesh) die daily and allow His Spirit to have complete control, we began a walk on a journey that gives voice to the power within the Sons of God.

The faith, the absolute trust and confidence in the power of the Creator, who is within you, has a voice. God has given each of His sons a measure of faith that enables them to complete the assignments that are given. Your faith speaks according to the level of Word that is engrafted within you. Can Jesus find the faith within the Sons of God that will manifest and make a difference in the earth?

The Centurion faith in Luke 7:1-10 and Matthew 8: 5-13 is an example of great faith. The Centurion received revelation and understanding that the words of Jesus have authority over everything. As Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh, “the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (I John 3: 8b). Jesus came to us as the Living Word, speaking and breathing life. “It is the Spirit who gives life, He is the life-giver: the flesh conveys no benefit whatever, there is no profit in it. The words, truths, that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and life.” (John 6:63 AMP).

In Luke 7:1-10, when the Centurion heard of Jesus, he sent Jewish leaders to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. His faith was speaking because he knew of the power of Jesus.  As Jesus came closer to his home, the Centurion sent another word extending his faith that Jesus did not even need to come into his home. The faith of the Centurion met Jesus before he arrived on the scene to do anything.  The Centurion’s faith said only “say in a word”, and my servant shall be healed.” (Luke 7:7).

This Centurion was no ordinary Roman official. The scripture indicates that ‘he loveth our nation, and hath built us a synagogue.” (Luke 7:5). He would have had to been acquainted with Jewish laws and customs to complete such a task. Is it possible, that with all of this authority, that he could have had the privilege to listen outside the temple to the reading of the Word? Maybe the words of the Old Testament, a particular Psalm reached his ears. “He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them fro their destruction.” (107:20).  Did the Centurion’s “faith cometh by hearing, and by hearing the Word of God?” (Romans 10:17).

When Jesus heard of the faith of the Centurion in the words that he sent, “He marveled at him and turned Him about, and said unto the people that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” (Luke 7:9).  The word marvel is defined as amazement or filled with wonder at something surprisingly extraordinary. Jesus found faith that was not among his own people that He was sent to. Remember in Nazareth, at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus found unbelief and rejection in his country. “And He could do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief.” (Mark 6:5-6).

As Sons of God, we need the boldness of behold and beware activated in our faith so that Jesus marvels and manifests His mighty power upon the earth. Our faith, our simple trust, needs to rise to meet and touch to be engrafted in the move of the Holy Spirit for mighty manifestations of God’s power in the earth realm. We have read about the move of God in the Bible, heard about Azusa Street, and the great healing revivals. The question is, are you ready to see and be an active and willing vessel to be used for the glory of God?

“And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” (Mark 16:20).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a Christian author, her writings reveal trials and tribulations as well as edification to the soul. Her books express the need to talk about Jesus Christ from the ordinary everyday perspective with titles that are uncommon and the cover art as well at the Blood Drop Inheritance Group.  As a contributing author, her articles are posted on www.aakulturezone.com and www.thechristianvoice.info  websites that are based in South Carolina and The Christian Voice Magazine that is published and distributed in the Carolinas.

Recently, the vision of the company, Blood Drop Inheritance Group , expanded to enter into the area of Christian greeting cards. Promise Cards are uniquely designed with words of divine inspiration.  The Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Conway carries an exclusive collection, "One Step Notes", a new line of note cards has just been launched with designer paper and rainbow lucent colors. Four new children’s inspirational greeting cards, based upon "Destiny’s Closet", her first children’s book, are featured exclusively at the Tree Trunk  in Charleston, SC. and The Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Conway, SC. Destiny’s Closet will be available in March.

Becky is a member of Tree of Life Ministries under the leadership of Pastor Elaine W. Green. Becky lives and works in the Grand Strand Community of Myrtle Beach, SC.

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Atlanta, GA (BlackNews.com) — Women’s health advocacy is making tremendous strides, with government, foundations, non-profits and private industry leading the charge for greater awareness and treatment of health conditions impacting women. But unfortunately the same intensity has not been unleashed to adequately address health problems for men.

While outreach efforts have raised the awareness of breast cancer, urged women to seek proper prenatal care and lead to critical research into the major health problems of women, there seems overall to be far less advocacy for men. As a result, there has been far slower progress at addressing the chronic illnesses disproportionately striking men.

In fact, the health conditions of African American men exemplify the disparity, with black men experiencing some of the poorest health outcomes of any demographic in American society. The National Center for Health Statistics says life expectancy for a black male child born in 2004 is 69.5 years, compared with 75.7 years for white males born the same year.

To be sure, the statistics tell a bleak story about the health outcomes of African American men. Black men have higher death rates than women for all the leading causes of death. Moreover, black men suffer from higher rates of prostate cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and other chronic illnesses.

The reasons for these disparities range from the impact of racial discrimination to poor access to healthcare services to the barriers caused by poverty to a lack of information about preventive care and many other factors.

What’s clear, however, is that if research, preventive awareness and unhealthy behavior for men are ever going to change, it will take an advocacy effort similar to what feminists did for the women’s health movement. Clearly, it was the campaign by women’s activists that changed the nation’s attitude towards women’s health. Now, the same is needed to help change health outcomes for men.

In parts of the country, there are advocacy programs that are making a difference. In 2008, the Lorain (Ohio) County Branch of National Urban League in partnership with Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved at Morehouse School of Medicine and Pfizer launched a Save Ours Sons program for 42 African American males.

The program’s objective was to develop a national, replicable health education model to reduce diabetes and obesity in African-American men, as well as connect program participants with comprehensive primary healthcare providers. The six-week program had a tremendous impact. At the start of the program only eight participants had a regular physician. After the intervention, 29 had a primary care physician. In addition, there were other healthy results. For instance, the participants:

* Increased exercise levels (98% exceeded goal of 150 min/week)
* Decreased obesity and overweight status by 7%
* Decreased hypertension by 23%
* Increased health insurance enrollment by more than 58%
* Increased local media attention about African-American men’s health by 400%.

Meanwhile, in Detroit the 100 Black Men of Greater Detroit, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the American Cancer Society joined together to sponsor an awareness campaign aimed at reducing deaths from prostate cancer. Members of 100 Black Men are visiting locations in the community, such as churches, barbershops and community centers to distribute information about prostate cancer, while giving advice on how to improve their overall health.

Programs, such as these, are helping in local communities. But advocacy for improving the health of men also must become a national cause.

It’s time for men’s health to become a top priority for the nation.

Dr. Henrie M. Treadwell is director of Community Voices of Morehouse School of Medicine, an organization working to improve health services and health-care access for all. Dr. Clare Xanthos is senior researcher of Community Voices. Media seeking interviews with Dr. Treadwell or Dr. Clare Xanthos please contact Nicole Germain at 443-540-3121 or ngermain@mjgcommunications.com to schedule.

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“…it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” ~1 Peter 1:16

What does holy mean? I did some research and found that it is defined as having a moral standard of living, Christ-like in character, separate, pure, set apart. It was defined in spiritual terms, as a spiritual position or state of being. And while I agree with those definitions, I think too often we think that holiness is merely a spiritual thing. Meaning, if we attend church, read our bibles, serve in ministry, don’t cuss or drink, or commit other sins (that we’re aware of), we believe we have achieved holiness. Today I’d like to discuss another side to holy living; the reality that to be like Christ, we have to attend to not just the spiritual, but the physical.

The word says in 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” It goes on to tell us in the 20^th verse of the same chapter that we were bought with a price; to honor God with our bodies. If we are going to be Christ-like we must honor him not just with our spirits, but with our physical temples as well.

Many of us, try as we like, are only half-holy. We know the word. We haven’t skipped over this scripture in the bible, so what keeps us from taking care of the Lord’s temple? What is really holding us back from the place of complete holiness to God? I think it’s our hungry hearts and our aching spirits.

Despite the billions spent on diet and health products, Americans are more overweight than ever. The problem of obesity is epidemic. The solutions of diet and exercise are not the singular remedy. The root cause has to be addressed to really get a handle on the problem. It’s not just a love of food, or a lack of discipline. We like to blame it on those things because we often don’t like to talk about the real reasons we overeat. Usually they’re intensely personal. Here are a few:

• We need comfort when we’re stressed, tired or overworked. We know this, because we call the foods we reach for comfort foods.
• We are depressed or anxious.
• We need to anesthetize pain from abuse: current or past. Self-medication.
• Boredom. Our lives are unfulfilled.

We have to break these cycles of destructive behavior or they will destroy us. Obesity, irregular insulin levels, fatty levels in the blood all beat the temple God has given us down to a battered pulp. Then what do we do with our battered bodies? The battered body is sluggish and tired. It doesn’t want to go to mid week services, or even interact with its children. The battered body doesn’t want to make love to its spouse. It’s too beat up to enjoy life fully. Additionally there are obesity related diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, certain cancers, joint deterioration and more aliments that tear at the temple and keep us from being whole in our physical person.

In my novel, Secrets and Lies, the character Jonah Morgan is not overeating, but he is using another unhealthy coping mechanism: alcohol, and lots of it. Jonah’s heart is hungry for a relationship with Christ; his spirit is aching from the burden of un-forgiveness. His childhood pain is tearing him apart, so much so that he has completely checked out emotionally and physically on his family. He can’t sleep at night. He’s tired. His hungry heart and aching spirit have created a battered body.

Jonah’s alcoholism is an unhealthy, addictive behavior. So is overeating. Anything we do in excess is gluttony. Gluttony is the sin that keeps us from achieving true holiness. If you’re overweight or you engage in some other activity that negatively affects you physically, get at the root cause of your problem. Find out what’s eating you before it literary gobbles you up.

Let’s discuss this. Have you ever compared substance abuse to overeating? Do you think this comparison is accurate? Can a person’s heart be completely surrendered to God if they have an eating problem? Share why you agree or disagree. Feel free to share your testimony in this area or a plan for change.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rhonda McKnight is the owner of Legacy Editing, a free-lance editing service for fiction writers and Urban Christian Fiction Today, a popular Internet site that highlights African-American Christian fiction. She’s the vice-president of Faith Based Fiction Writers of Atlanta. When she’s not editing projects, teaching workshops about writing or penning her next novel, she spends time with her family. Originally from a small, coastal town in New Jersey, she’s called Atlanta, Georgia home for twelve years. For more information, visit http://www.RhondaMcKnight.net.

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We have known for years that numbers are special to God. They are all through his divine plan for this world and the New Jerusalem to come. Some of the numbers that we can identify within the Bible are 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 24 and 50 to list a few. We walk in the blessing of God based partly through numbers.

The number 10 represents the perfection of divine order. When we look at the year 2010, we need to understand its significance and what it means to us. Every year, every decade, and every century marks something significant to God. Numerically 0-10 represents every numeric value in the English number system. So then when we get to 10 we have covered all the numeric symbols that would be used. It is important that the people of God take this year seriously and walk in the blessings of God with great expectations.

We can literally go through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and find God using the number 10 as a variable in his blessing formulas. Let’s take a few minutes and go through the Bible.

Genesis 5:14
And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.

Genesis 8:5
And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

Genesis 50:26
So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus 26:1
Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.

Exodus 34:28
And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Joshua 24:29
And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

1 Samuel 21:11
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

2 Kings 20:10
And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

Psalm 90:10
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

The above are just a few scriptural references for the record. As you can see, the number 10 plays an important role in biblical history.

Cain, Joseph and Joshua received their years of living plus ten. It was the tenth month that water finally receded enough for land to appear again after the flood in Noah’s time. God gave Ten Commandments to Moses that we still honor today. The tabernacle of God was surrounded by ten curtains. The Holy Ghost fell upon those in the upper room ten days after Jesus ascended back to glory. In Malachi chapter 3 we find that if we follow the principle of tithing God will opens windows of blessing for us. What is tithing a tenth of what we earn.

This is the year for divine perfection in your ministry, finances and life in general. Just like the receding of the waters believe God for the pulling down of strongholds, debt payoffs and cancellations so that you can tread above waters again. God wants to make a profound statement through you and in you that will be everlasting from generation to generations. God caused fire to fall down from heaven ten times. (Gen19:24, Lev 9:24, Lev 10:2, Num 11:1, Num 16:35, 1Kings 18:38, 2 Kings 1:10, 2 Kings 1:12, 1 Chron 21:26, 2 Chron 7:1) each time was a statement to prove to the opposition that he is God alone. God wants to burn some things off of you and from around you that your adversaries will know once and for all that you serve a true and living God.

Beloved this tenth year in 2000 is the completion and promotion for all of the saints who have been going through hell. Lift up your heads oh ye gates and the king of Glory shall come in! This is your year to be blessed tremendously above all that you can ask or think!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pastor Sam Livingston is a seasoned pastor, lecturer, teacher and Author of “The Essentials of Fellowship”. He is married to Meraldine Hicks Livingston and blessed to have two children, Sammy K Livingston Jr. and Candace I Livingston. Pastor Livingston is a graduate of NC A&T State University; B.S., Webster University; Business Administration, MA and he is a student at Luther Rice Seminary’s Master of Divinity program. Total Package Ministry airs via television bi-weekly throughout Coastal South Carolina. He thanks God for the opportunity to carry the healing ministry to a hurting nation.

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