Marriage- More than a trip down the aisle?
Marriage is under attack from almost every quarter. This militant anti-Christian view of marriage has infiltrated every sphere and stratum of our society. It is attacked by comedians, soap operas, and by modern militant feminism which seeks to rid itself of every maternal and wifely instinct. Marriage is under attack by those who consider it to be an antiquated piece of Victorian which can now be dispensed with by our more enlightened and liberated age.
It doesn’t seem very long ago that the world once considered that when a man and woman lived together outside of marriage, they were living in sin. But so successful has been the attack on marriage as a sacred and abiding institution that such is no longer the case. Concubinage (the state of being or keeping a concubine), the defiled bed, cohabitation are becoming the norm. Martin Luther stated in 1521, “There is no estate to which Satan is more opposed than to marriage.” If ever the Christian is to combat this humanistic, atheistic and sinful attack then it is essential that Christians themselves have sound and God-glorifying marriages which are built upon a solid biblical foundation.
How, then, is the Christian to view marriage? Marriage, according to Ephesians 5, is to be a mirror which reflects the love of Christ for the church and the love which the church has for Christ. Marriage is to reflect that glorious relationship. It is an astonishing thought that every Christian marriage is to portray the love of Christ for the Church. This is a great mystery.
Can our children say to the unconverted that Christ’s love for the church is something like their mother’s and father’s love for each other? The Christian marriage is to radiate the amazing and sacrificial love of Christ.
Divine love is to permeate the Christian home, and this is why none should enter marriage lightly and unadvisedly, but thoughtfully and wisely, considering the purposes for which marriage was instituted. This then is the biblical ideal set before us.
Marriage is to be an illustration of the apostle’s teaching about love however what we see today is far from what it should be.
Do you agree?
Pray
So, God has been impressing a concern on my heart regarding prayer all week. If I am honest with myself, I think He (God) has been drawing my attention to this for a while now but sadly, due to my fast paced life (which was slightly reduced as I had to relocate briefly for business/work) I haven’t attended to this yearning as much as I should. Thank God for this relocation, I can now see what I have missed or should I say what I have not improved on.
I started pondering on prayer and I realise how much it becomes easy to put a timetable to it and complete a tick box daily, after all it would mean you have prayed for that day right? For a while now, my prayers have been very selfless and more to the kingdom of God at large and God knows there are things I really need to pray for but each time I start, I end up praying for everyone and everything else apart from the things I feel I need (smile). I always thanked God at the end of my prayers anyway and I always felt God knew why this was happening and I am very happy for Him to lead me in my prayers.
So, I began a brief study on prayer and then it struck me that; a lot of us stand a good chance today in fighting evil, sin, false teachings, selfishness and all the lies of bad habits which are intended to derail us from God. Had it not been the prayers of our Christian fathers, mothers, mentors and saints of old, we would struggle a lot more than we are struggling now.
I look at nations who went across the world in the early days to propagate the Gospel, who made their laws via the pillars of Christ and the bible but now debating in their parliaments why Christ or the bible should be relevant in the society today. It is sad, yes I know but the question suddenly came to mind wondering about a missing generation of spiritual guidance from the past?
My point is that if we don’t pray for the generation to come because we are too busy chasing life (nothing), we have done nothing to empower the future generation and we thereby expose them to the desolating waves of sin and every manner of evil this world will throw at them.
Please let us pray for our young ones, our children and our future. Fathers, lay hands on your children and prophecy to their future, mothers, bless your children and your fruitfulness. Let us speak to the future of the saints to come so they can be sealed and covered for Christ today.
Maranatha
Why do we live the way we do?
As always, another year opens its curtains to us, some of us have started this year on high notes already and some may have already encountered set backs and oppositions as the month unfolds but don’t be dismayed, you are made to last.
One of the things I have been awakened to as the month began is to evaluate my principles according to the word of God. Now this may sound cliché to you however I need you to hear me out. You see, many of us have certain convictions, principles, beliefs that we live by daily. Most of our daily walk is shaped out of what we believe, what we are convicted of and what principles we have. If you attended a church service on the 31st of December 2011, you may have been absorbed by prophetic declarations made in relation to the year 2012. That declaration becomes somewhat of a conviction and guide to how you enter and take on the New Year and as such, your attitudes and faith is fuelled by what you have heard and accepted.
I find that in most areas of our life, we have some sort of principle we live by, some sort of conviction or reason to engage or behave in certain ways. I wonder if we ever ask ourselves why we live the way we live? What are your principles, convictions or way of life based on?
Are your principles based on a movie you watched, or something you heard someone say or do, or are your principles based on past experiences? What exactly is the basis of your principle? God centered or person centered?
For example if you are married- why do you think you are committed to your spouse? Is it because it’s the normal thing to do or is it because you are convicted by God in his word to stay committed? In every facet of our existence, there is a principle you and I live by- think about it for a minute.
The question though is what is your principle based on?
Daniel and his friends refused to eat and dine with the King because they had a conviction in GOD and they knew the law of God concerning what the King was asking them to do and so, refused to commit to anything outside the word of God. Joseph refused to be intimate with Mrs Potipher because he feared GOD
Their principle and conviction was God based!!
As we begin this year, we need to clearly understand the reason why we engage in certain behaviours, practices and actions; we need to also evaluate the principles by which we live. Let us examine ourselves, review our convictions in line with the Word of God and by the help of God, and discard any principle or beliefs that don’t sit inside the knowledge of God as we start a fresh year.
In the words of Charles Stanley, ‘Obey God and leave the consequences to HIM’.