LEO J BOGEE JR
 |
|
God has given us an opportunity to practice our love for Him by practicing our unconditional love for one another. He has established the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman to illustrate the marriage covenant He has with us. God has commanded us to love Him, our neighbor, and ourselves. We get to practice, and practice, and practice loving each other, while we await the return of His Son, Jesus. Marriage is forever, God does not approve of divorce. Divorce is a sin and sin is never tolerated by God. When someone sins, death is assigned to them (James 1:15 and Ecclesiastes 8:11). God established the marriage covenant between Himself and mankind first, and between a “man” and a “woman” second. God warns us not to break our vows to Him (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6). The vows made at the wedding ceremony are forever. God’s plan for marriage is a vowed relationship between a man (not a male) and a woman (not a female). Only a man and woman have reached the maturity level to be married. God establishes the family unit first. A husband and a wife are a family. Children do not make families. Families make children.
Founder of World Christian Leadership and Training Ministries, Leo J. Bogee Jr. is a pastor, an evangelist, a teacher, consultant, lay counselor and a facilitator. His straight forward but sincere approach to personal transformation has made him a sought after speaker in churches, businesses, schools and organizations across North America. Leo is also the president and founder of Leadership Through Personal Awareness, Inc., a consulting company specializing in leadership training, organizational stability, crisis resolution and team building. He has been a career counselor, a marriage counselor, a relationship counselor and a personal counselor since 1979. Leo is a graduate of The George Washington University and a retired E-9, having served 25 years of active duty in the U.S. Navy. He currently resides in Hawaii with his wife Christine and son Andre. His insight into the truths of the Word of God has helped thousands of people to achieve personal wellness and freedom.
I believe there are three areas of personal growth that impact our lives on a daily basis. They are relationships, leadership, and an awareness of who you are as a person. This book is written to address the first of these three areas, and that is the area of relationships. Relationships lay the foundation for the development of sound leadership and provide validation for who you are as a person. Without relationships there would be no one to lead; and it would be impossible to establish societies, churches, and organizations.
Of course, our ultimate relationship is with our Lord and Creator, God the Father. His designed purpose from the beginning was to have a personal relationship with each person He created. Adam and Eve had that kind of relationship. God also gave them “free will” and with their free will came the ability to choose between God and evil. They would soon find out that evil desires lead to sin. However, with the introduction of sin into their lives, things began to change rapidly. Sin brought separation between mankind and God. However, God already had a plan to restore mankind to their original place and role in His Creation.
God gave Eve to Adam to be his wife. Marriage was the first relationship created between two human beings. These two human beings were clearly a man and a woman. Marriage is therefore the most important relationship God gave to mankind, and marriage is the foundation for all relationships between a man and a woman. Since relationships are important to God, they are also important to the enemy of God. Godly relationships will always be under attack and marked for destruction.
Therefore, it is vitally important to know and to understand that mankind has an adversary and that adversary is the devil. The devil is Satan. He is the fallen archangel whose name was Lucifer. Satan is a single being and cannot be in more than one place at the same time. He doesn’t have to be in more than one place at a time, because he has plenty of help from his cohorts, demonic spirits.
Demonic spirits are assigned to principalities, powers, and the rulers of darkness that resides in certain areas of the world. They are assigned to do three things and three things only, and they are: to steal, to kill, and to destroy. As you will see in the first three chapters, these demonic spirits hate human beings. They hate those who have given their lives to Jesus and they especially hate those who have given their vows in a Christian marriage. The main weapon of their attack is deception. Of course, deception works best on those who don’t know, understand, or believe that they are under attack by demonic forces. As long as you remain in denial of these demonic forces, you will blame other human beings for all your troubles. You will avoid relationships with people and miss God’s call on your life.
Relationships are an integral part of God’s plan for all of mankind. No one was created to be alone. During your time here on Earth, take advantage of the opportunities to be in relationship with as many people as possible. Each time that you do, you will grow and be strengthened in your walk with God. Actually, your relationship with other people defines your true relationship with God. You cannot love God and hate people. God has no Lone Ranger Christians. It is through relationships that God grows His Church.
On this “Road to Self-Worth,” be cognizant of God’s most Holy Spirit. He will lead you into relationship after relationship in order to help you fulfill the assignment that He has on your life. Let each person see the Jesus that dwells in your heart. Be willing to receive feedback (their experience of you in words) from other people in order to reveal the things that you need to change in your life. God only reveals to heal, not to hurt or embarrass or condemn you. God commands you to transform and renew your mind. The only way to do that is to make changes in your heart. All successful relationships will require you to make changes in your heart.
I hope that this book will help you grasp the common-sense meaning of the Word of God for relationships and be able to apply it in your life. The time you have here on Earth is all you get. This is not practice, but reality. You have an assignment from God that only you can fulfill. It certainly involves other people. Prepare yourself to have successful relationships, and if you choose a gloriously successful marriage. Get ready to be blessed.
Don’t take anything to the grave that
God gave you to use and to share
while you are here on the Earth.
Praise the Lord!
***
