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Additional Writings:
No Suitable Helper...By Mark Ayers
A Topical Devotion for Singles-
All work is copy written under New Creature Creations Inc.
All scripture is from the NIV unless noted.
Table of Contents
Day 1 No suitable helper Genesis 2:20
Day 2 God alone satisfies Psalm 145:16
Day 3 The Best for Last John 2:10
Day 4 The girl of His Dreams Psalm 37:4
Day 5 You can't Handle the Truth Proverbs 24:26
Day 6 Shot in the foot @ the starting line Job 31:1
Day 7 Dang If I do! Danged if I Don't! Proverbs 2:6
Day 8 No one really knows what it is like! JOB 2:11-13
Day 9 The sin of Comparison Exodus 20:17
Day 10 Crouching sin hidden dragon Genesis 4:6
Day 11 Under the Bus Ephesians 5:25-27
Day 12 Whats love got to do with it? I Corinthians 13:8
Day 13 What is taking so long? I Thessalonians 4:16-17
Day 14 Teach us to pray for her! Luke 11:1
Day 15 Dress not to impress 1 Corinthians 10:31
Day 16 Arranged Marriages are still for today (By the Father of providence) Gen 24:12
Day 17 I Corinthians 13:4
Day 18 I Corinthians 13:4
Day 19 I Corinthians 13:4
Day 20 I Corinthians 13:5
Day 21 I Corinthians 13:5
Day 22 I Corinthians 13:6
Day 23 I Corinthians 13:7
Day 24 I Corinthians 13:7
Day 25 I Corinthians 13:7
Day 26 I Corinthians 13:7
Day 27 Bouncing back bring God Glory Romans 3:23
Day 28 Job Moment: Singleness ordained by God Job 42:5
Day 29 Manipulation Cremation Judges 16:14-16
Day 1
No suitable helper
Genesis 2:20But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
The Bible says that God is love. We read in Genesis 3:20 that no suitable helper was found for Adam. Adam finds himself in a lonely state, a desperate state, and an empty state. I don’t know if your heart is there yet, maybe it is. Maybe you feel like the double-minded man who is tossed to and fro. Some days you’re desperate, empty and longing, and other days, you’re fine. A friend of mine said to me the other day, “I’m doing good today.” The impact of those words just absolutely hit me in the aspect of long term singleness. No Suitable Helper…those words echo throughout our lives for anyone who has tried to date. The question may arise, how do some guys get it right, right off the bat? They seem to have found their princess with the snap of their fingers, but for the others, it seems as if they are swimming through a sea of glass to get to the one that they love. And during this devotion, I want to take time for us to reflect on God’s providence, plan and purposes. We will look deep within ourselves, the heart of God and the scriptures as we examine the nature and purpose of love. This will be an intimate time to examine this reality that is in our lives: No Suitable Helper. The fact is that this is a season, it’s not eternal, and it’s not forever. If God has given you a desire, He will meet those desires; scripture is blatant about that. So my prayer for this devotional is that as the words of No Suitable Helper mark your life, you will begin to be at ease and at peace with the purposes of God. And, that you can wait and be still and know that God is a good and great God. He will not leave those who are humbly bowed before His throne of grace empty handed.
Day 2
God alone satisfies
(A fine line)
Psalm 145:16
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
I know the fine line between heiracy and orthodox theology is a hair. I’ve heard that throughout my Christian life. One of my pastor friends made a statement one time while he was preaching, and I thought it almost sounded heretical. But, as he expounded on it, it became a reality of truth. So, let’s look into it, and I’ll expound on it. He was talking about the creation of Adam and Eve and the whole “no suitable helper” idea. He said for Adam, God was not enough. Adam was created in the image of God, and a part of that image is the reality of the trinitarian love affair. The father loves the son, the son loves the spirit, and the spirit loves the father and the son equally. For all of eternity there has been this dynamic love affair between the trinity. They love within their same nature. Humanity was created in the image of God. God has instilled in us a passion and a thirst to reflect that eternal love affair that the trinity has. And, we want to love someone of the same essence, of the same likeness. And God, being infinite, has designed us to love an equal, finite being as an echo, expression, and opportunity of glory to glorify the way the Father loves within the trinity. So, this aspect of glorification would only be possible if a suitable helper was made for Adam, and her name was Eve. Adam saw her; he loved her as an expression of the love of the trinity. Therefore, God was glorified for providing this suitable helper, and God was also glorified in the expression of Adam’s love for Eve. So, the wisdom of God is also on display here because he understands that there is something in our hearts that wants to be expressed. There is a reflection of His image that must be exercised. God brings, in His wisdom, someone made in our likeness so we may love them to satisfy that desire. We read in Psalm 145:16, “You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” I want you to take your right hand and make a fist. Imagine, if you will, that’s the hand of God. Inside that clutched fist is that girl you’ve been praying for, that person you’ve wanted, that princess, the delight of your heart, the girl you’ve always wanted. In your frustration, anger, aggravation, and impatience, you take your left hand and try to force open your hand with your pinky finger with all your might. You may have done that as a kid with your Dad’s hand when he had something in it. That’s what we do when we try to force things. Basically we’re trying to force God’s hand to open. When it’s the Lord’s will for Him to glorify Himself by satisfying your desire to love someone as an expression of the love of the trinity, He will gently open up His hand and there will be the prize you’ve always wanted. So, don’t try to pry, don’t try to force, and don’t try to manipulate to open the hand of God. Wait and be patient and understand that God’s greatest desire is also to glorify Himself.
Day 3
The Best for Last
(God's working of providence is a mystery to all great men and women of God)
John 2:10
"Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
I don’t know if you’re a sports fan, but I am; although, I’ve never really been into “buzzer beater” games. They make me nervous. Don’t get me wrong, they’re cool to watch…seeing Christian Laettner catch a pass all the way across the basketball court to turn around and shoot and make the bucket at the buzzer is a pretty cool thing. Or, who could ever forget Michael Jordan turning some guy into a poster at the buzzer as he drills a three in his face and pumps his fist up and down the court. You have to admit that’s cool; there’s no way around that. I understand watching a blow out is not that fun. If most people see a professional football or baseball team up by double digits, they turn the channel. You can’t blame them for that but playing in a game like that (i.e. “creaming somebody”) is so fun. Of course, if you’re getting creamed, it’s not that fun. But, there does come a point in the game when you realize, “Hey, we’re going to lose, so let’s just make the most out of this thing and just have fun.” Sometimes I think God allows “buzzer beaters” to come into our lives, those come from behind victories. He likes to paint his servants into a corner. That’s basically a life of faith. Mark 10:27 says, “Not through man but through God all things are possible.” The context is talking about salvation. Think about that. The greatest problem we have is that we’re all condemned to go to hell. Our sinfulness is the greatest problem we all face. That problem is dealt with through God’s plan and God’s way. But, it is a hopeless cause. Humans can’t save themselves. There’s nothing righteous they can do to earn God’s favor. So, God in His mercy and grace takes care of their greatest problem. If God can handle the largest problems in our lives with salvation, He can also handle the minor league problems. And, for many, singleness is not a minor league problem but a major league problem in their lives. Still, in the diconomy of God, it is a minor league problem. And, maybe God is allowing long term singleness in your life in order for Himself to get the most glory and display the greatest work in your life (outside of salvation) in the bringing of a mate to you. He is a “buzzer beater” God many times. You may feel like the time is winding down and there’s no more hope, but God is a God who saves the best things for last. His first miracle had the nature of a “buzzer beater.” John 2:9 says, “The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine and did not realize where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then, they called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much too drink, but you have saved the best until now.” Understand this: God is the God who often times saves the best things for last.
Day 4
(Finding the girl of His Dreams)
Psalm 37:4
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I remember when I was in kindergarten, I used the think the coolest people on the planet were second graders. I remember one time at recess I saw a bunch of second graders walking to the movie theatre for a field trip, and I thought, “Wow, they get to walk to their field trips!” I just thought this was so grown-up. And, later on, when I was in fifth grade, I looked down on second graders. Sometimes we have high views of small things.
As we grow in the grace and knowledge of God, one of the prayers we need to pray is that the vision that God has for us will become our vision. The insight that He has for our lives will become our insight. The desires that He has for our lives will also become our desires. Our desires are so often tainted with sin and shallowness that we develop “bottom-of-the-barrel” desires. We have become champions of desiring small things. It’s because our delight is off. If your delight is off, then your desires will be off. And, if your vertical is messed up, then it’s just natural for your horizontal desires to be off.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the term acquaintance means, “A person who one knows, but who is not a particular close friend.” I think one of the most strategic moves of the devil is causing the modern church to become acquaintances with one another. The Bible says that the world will know that we are His disciples by our love for one another. It is very difficult to love an acquaintance. It seems as if we have designed church in such a way just to be acquaintances with one another. Even in our worship, we simply stare at the back of each others’ heads most often looking at a preacher. We never really get to know anyone intimately unless we’re in a small group setting of some sort. The first century church never had a problem with just being acquaintances with one another. They met daily, prayed daily, and shared each others’ burdens, causing a comradery and a brotherhood and sisterhood that was Biblically sound, which we lack today in many aspects. The reason the first century church got it right was because their vertical, their delight, was correct; therefore, their horizontal was correct.
It is natural for this dysfunctional type of fellowship to seep into our relationship with God. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord….”. We have become acquainted with the Christian terminology such as grace, mercy, forgiveness, wrath, truth and righteousness, not realizing that these are not only words but the actual characteristics of the God that we’re called to delight in. As I grow in the knowledge and grace of God that begins through prayer, I grow in knowledge of who God is, and I can see in a childlike way His grandeur, greatness, and what He does by His hand.
Then, I see the shallowness of my delight in Him. Then, by faith, I can trust in Him to impart in me my deepest desires. He knew me before I was formed in the womb; therefore, He knows my innermost being. He knows my innermost secret desires that I am too finite and too spiritually ignorant to discern. God also knows my future and my past.
I believe God takes our total existence in account and all the variables of who we are (our past, thirsts, wants, needs, hopes and dreams) and puts those together and divinely designs our most intimate desires for His ultimate glory and purposes. I believe New Creature Creations is that for me. I wanted to be a cartoonist growing up. I loved animation; I doodled all through school. But, when I got called into the ministry at the age of 17, I put it down and never picked it up. I started writing Vacation Bible Schools because our church did not have a lot of money, and I wanted God-centered type Bible studies for our Vacation Bible Schools. One thing led to another, and we began using puppets with the characters. Someone told me I needed to animate them, and through reading a book on visioneering and Psalm 145, I decided to take those characters and develop a company called New Creature Creations, a God-centered, animated curriculum using animation as the hook that talks about the characteristics and nature of God. I could have never come up with that on my own. That was God’s vision for my life, but it is the deepest desire of my existence to take cool, creative things and use them for the glory of God. God knows us the same way and will do the same with our mates. He will discern and take those intimate variables, and He will summarize that in someone who we need. So, pray that God will give us a vision for the type of woman He wants, the girl of His dreams, not ours.
Day 5
We can't Handle the Truth
Proverbs 24:26An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. I hate the dentist. I have had my "fill" of them. Get
it, "fill" of them. That was bad I know. Anyways, on May 19, 2006, I had
the left side of my jaw hollowed out because I had a
massive cyst growing in it. It was taking over my
face. If you ever saw the movie "Flubber," that is
basically what my x-ray looked like.
Reference:
http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movies/flubber/flubber.html
It basically felt like I was dipping a rubber ball
inside my mouth all the time. It was growing so large
that it hollowed out most of the bone. It had to come
out. I didn't want to deal with it. I wanted to put
it off. Sadly, there was no putting this one off.
It had to be dealt with, or I would look like the
"Elephant Man". The surgery took four hours. When I
woke up from the surgery, the nurse asked me who I
wanted to see in the waiting room. I told her, "I
didn't want to see anyone except my wife." The nurse
was out in the waiting room yelling for the wife of
Mark Ayers over and over and my mom responded, "What in
the world is going on? He is not married." I played a
really good joke on the nurse.
For some carnal reason, we deal with truth the same way
we deal with the dentist. We want to put it off. We
want to ignore it. We don't want to deal with it.
Often we are just plain scared. Here are some other
reasons we don't deal in truth with each other.
1) We are afraid of being hurt.
2) We are afraid of hurting someone else.
3) We are afraid of the venerability.
4) We love shadows and safety.
5) We are afraid truth may come true.
6) We are prideful because we want control.
7) The game of shadows is all we know.
8) We love the misery of not knowing.
9) Those who have dealt with us in truth have done it
harshly and not in a loving manner.
10) We have dealt with people in half-truths for so long,
we don't know how to be completely honest with people.
Add 2 more reasons why you don't deal in truth….
11)
_______________________________________________________________
12)
_______________________________________________________________
Half-truths are the giant cysts of our lives. They
hollow out our lives.
Bones are designed to hold things in place. Most
dating relationships do not have a skeleton because
they are filled with half-truths. Half-truth
relationships are "jellyfish" relationships or
"invertebrate" relationships. They have no backbone.
It takes a backbone to tell someone your feelings. It
takes a fearless leader to deal with someone of the
opposite sex in truth. It takes a godly woman to deal
with a man in up front truths. It takes someone who
is willing to be humbled by the hand of rejection and
providence. It also takes someone who is willing to
be blessed by the hand of God. We deal with those we
are interested in with half-truths because that is how
the game is played. I love asking people who have
been married for years how they did it. The folks
that have been together for fifty years or more, nine
out of ten times, always say, "Communication is
key." Where are those relationships today? Where
are the folks who just know after the first date?
Where are the godly people who meet and in three weeks
they are married, and fifty years later they are still
as much in love as their first date. They dealt with
each other in truth. They dealt up front with love.
They dealt in freedom. We run from it. Jesus said,
"The truth will set you free." They were honest, and it
paid off for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately,
people's feelings are our standard of truth in modern
society. The game has become our standard in dealing
with each other. I must always have the upper hand.
Do the "bee" dance to attract someone, then chase them
away when they get too close. I want a truth driven
relationship, not a worldly based relationship. Jesus
said He was the truth. The problem with truth is that
it costs. It exposes you. Honesty and truth go hand
and hand.
Stop lying to others and yourself. Stop dealing with
the person you set your affections on in half-truths.
This half-truth approach spills over into every
relationship we attempt. We are afraid of the truth.
We say we want all these deep, awesome, godly
relationships but we are consistently afraid to
develop a life of honesty with those we set our
affection on. Therefore, we are losers at love. I am
tired of being a loser at love. I want to be free.
Christ is the embodiment of all that is true in our
universe. Jesus never took people's feelings into
account when He dealt with them. He took their eternity
into account. I pray you will deal with the one you
love in truth, not in silly half-truth games but complete
truth. Remember, an up front truth is like a kiss on
the mouth. Love starts with up front truths.
Day 6
Shot in the foot @ the starting line
(Living in a society filled with Lust)
Job 31:1
"I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look lustfully at a girl.
Day 7
Dang If I do! Danged if I Don't!
(Asking women out)
Proverbs 2:6
For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Day 8
No one really knows what it is like!
JOB 2:11-13
When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
Day 9
The sin of Comparison
(Coveting your neighbors house, wife, kids,
2.5 dogs and white picket fence)
Exodus 20:17
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Day 10
Crouching sin hidden dragon
(The power of sin)
Genesis 4:6
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
Day 11
Under the Bus
(What it means to Lay down your life)
Ephesians 5:25-27
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Day 12
Whats love got to do with it?
(True love is a Love that last)
I Corinthians 13:8
Love never fails.
Day 13
What is taking so long?
(Waiting for my Bride the way Christ Waits on his)
I Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Day 14
Teach us to pray for her....
(In the process of Praying for her to come to you...don't forget to pray for her spiritually)
Luke 11:1
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
Day 15
Dress not to impress.....
(Live life in such a way to impress God...not her...Do things for the glory of God not to win her....)
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Day 16
Arranged Marriages are still for today....
(By the Father of Providence)
The plan of providence
Gen 24:12 Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
Day 17
I Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient
Day 18
I Corinthians 13:4
Love is kind. It does not envy
Day 19
I Corinthians 13:4
Love.....does not boast, it is not proud.
Day 20
I Corinthians 13:5
Love....is not rude, it is not self-seeking
Day 21
I Corinthians 13:5
Love....it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Day 22
I Corinthians 13:6
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Day 23
I Corinthians 13:7
Love....It always protects
Day 24
I Corinthians 13:7
Love....always trusts
Day 25
I Corinthians 13:7
Love....always hopes
Day 26
I Corinthians 13:7
Love....always perseveres
Day 27
Bouncing back brings God Glory
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Day 28
Job Moment: Singleness ordained by God
(Asking the hard question. Why Me?)
Job 42:5
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Day 29
(Manipulation Cremation.....With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.)
Judges 16:14-1615 Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
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