What Makes a Marriage Strong?

I have just come home from a wedding. The daughter of a prominent family in our town was getting married. Her parents attend our church and we've come to know both the bride and groom, so we went to the wedding to show our support of this family. Both the bride and groom are strong in their Christian faith and they were sure to make Christ the center of their wedding. There was a large, flower-covered cross in the background. The couple also assembled a unity cross as part of the ceremony. In their personally written vows, they each spoke of God's leadership in bringing them together and promised to serve Him together, until "death do we part".

I began to wonder just how many couples would be getting married in the next couple of months. This is the beginning of "wedding season", you know. Of all the couples getting married, I wonder what fraction of them have consulted with God about their potential spouse. Could very many actually say, "God brought us together and we want to serve Him together for the rest of our lives"?
I dare say I doubt there would be many, even among people who claim to be Christian!

God created a wife for Adam "and brought her to the man." He put them together. She was formed to be his helper in life. If God created a wife just for Adam, I believe He continues to bring couples together when they seek to live for Him.

Will life be easy because it's a "match made in heaven"? NO! We are human. We sin. We make mistakes. We fight. We are selfish. We want our own way! This is why Jesus taught us about forgiveness. We must not only love, but we must also forgive. Strangely, the cycle of loving and forgiving and loving some more, makes a marriage stronger. Each time we fail and ask forgiveness, we must become vulnerable to one another. This forms a stonger bond than was originally there. Don't ask me how it's possible. I don't know! I only know it's true because I have experienced it!

I hope and pray that the young couple who took their vows tonight will have a long and happy marriage and that they will still be serving Jesus together 35 years from now!

Resurrection Day Thoughts

Many people, on this Easter Sunday, are going to church, quoting scriptures and song lyrics about the Savior who was pierced for our sins and rose from the grave on the third day, conquering sin and death. I love those scriptures and I enjoy singing all those songs but I do not want to merely repeat what has already been said.  Instead,  I want to ask a question to those who are believers in Christ, those who are celebrating Christ's resurrection today. When you go back to your regular routine tomorrow, to work or school or whatever you do, will the remembrance of Christ's death and resurrection impact where you go, what you do or how you do it?  Will you be the same tomorrow as you were yesterday? Did your worship today change you in any way? Did you truly repent and worship today, or was it just your usual holiday routine? When Christ left Heaven, He knew He was coming to die as the perfect sacrifice lamb to forgive us of our sinfulness. He has called everyone who calls himself a Christian to be holy, "set apart", for His glory. Tomorrow, will the people around you know that you are different somehow? Will they see the joy in your heart because of your relationship with Christ? Will you let your light shine?

On Godly Dating

Our church got to serve lunch to the Baptist Collegiate Ministry students at the local university. My husband and I were also asked to do a 10 minute devotional. We decided to speak on Godly dating and relationships. There is SO much that could be said, but we only had 10 minutes!

Here are the basics of what we shared:
      -God  created man and woman to be married. The woman was created to be her husband's helper.
      -The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church.
      -Wives are to respect their husbands.
      -When considering whether or not to date a person, you should ask yourself a few questions:
1. Would a relationship with this person draw me closer to God or pull me away from him?
2. Is this person a Christian, living out his/her faith in word and in action?
3. Do we have common interests and similar or compatible long-term goals?
4. Were we raised in similar ways or are there major differences that would affect our relationship?
5. Are we of the same religion/religious faith? If not, am I willing to change?

A good rule to follow: Don't date someone you wouldn't want to marry!