Contempt for believes is growing, the thought of God's people living in victory and joy, is too much for the unbeliever, they often try to sabotage us, but they can't. They don't understand that our joy and victory is based in Christ, not how others treat us.
Psalm 121:7
"The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul."
Proverbs 6:12-13
"A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing. There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:"
Proverbs 28:1-7
"1 The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
2 When a land transgresses, it has many rulers,
but with a man of understanding and knowledge,
its stability will long continue.
3 A poor man who oppresses the poor
is a beating rain that leaves no food.
4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
but those who keep the law strive against them.
5 Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.
6 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
7 The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,
but a companion of gluttons shames his father."
Psalm 125:1
"A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the LORD Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever."
1 John 1:5-10
"5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us."
1 John 2:2
"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
"15 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also."
Never allow grown children to interfere in your marriage. Many people who have been married a long time have children that have left the nest, their children feel some sort of entitlement to judge the marriage interfering with decisions that should be between Dad and Mom alone.
It must be made clear to adult children, when they begin to advise or speak out about the marriage of their parent, that they have crossed the line and are trespassing where they have no right to go.
There are many children who have made judgements about their parents marriages that are based on the faulty memories of a child. Often children remember events and attitudes based on the feelings they had at the time, rather than the true meaning of the event.
Since parents don't express to children what the challenges of their marriages are, the children are remembering how they felt rather than the accuracy of the situation. And there is no way a child can know what goes on with parents in private.
The best advice I can offer, is that adult children not judge a parent based on what they thought they saw, or how they felt while they were small children. Sometimes children will judge one parent as mean while the other parent was nice. Often children think that a parent who has rules and disciplines them, is the mean parent, while the lenient parent who has no rules is the nice parent.
It is best for parents to be in solidarity on discipline and training, but often this is not possible. Many parents are desiring to be pals with their children leaving most or all of the discipline and training to the other parent. When this occurs and the children grow up, the children develop their favorite parent, withholding love and encouragement from the less favored parent, even harboring contempt in their heart for the parent they cannot control.
Children who have understanding hearts will love their parents no matter how many warts they have. They will love them both equally, never attempting to come between them in their sunset years.
If you have adult children who work to divide and conquer over the marriage, it is time to explain to the children what you see happening, informing them where their place is, as children who honor, not marriage managers. If they continue to work to divide, then they must be put out of the relationship.
No where in the word does God tell children to evaluate the marriages of their parents or make sure their parents are doing what the children think they should do. Adult children are called to love their parents, not to judge or manipulate them.
Ephesians 6:1-3
"6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth."
The more pride we have the less we can learn. Those with great pride can have a lot of facts and knowledge about the Bible, but they will lack wisdom. Pride prevents deeper learning and impedes wisdom.
There are those who remain spiritual babies their entire lives because they are too focused on themselves.
