Christian Marriage Today

What builds a strong Christian marriage? Are we any different from the mainstream and should we be?

I was reading an article about Christian author; Mike McManus who just co-authored a book with his wife Harriet called Living Together: Myths, Risks, and Answers. The article is called Cohabitation a ‘trial divorce,’ not a trial marriage, written by Ed Thomas.

While I haven’t read Mike McManus’ book about Christian marriage today and am not familiar with the statistics used in the article by Ed Thomas, I find that Mr. Thomas infers sweeping generalizations regarding the numbers supposedly put forth in McManus’ book Living Together. Read the rest of this entry »

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I am enamored at the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of Jesus. That God has given us new life and rewritten old laws is incredible. Today I’ll read from Matthew 12:1-21 from the New International Version, you can read along at BibleGateway.com if you’d like.

Fruit of the Spirit - The Love Podcast
To read along…

Matthew 12:18 from the NIV

Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

That is my favorite verse. God gave this gift to Jesus and he in turn gave it to us. How incredible is that. He gave it to “the one I love.” Does that not speak volumes about love? We can empower good through loving others.

Is there someone you can love where you think love could make a real impact on another’s life?

Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Love was the first fruit listed in Galatians 5:22. Why? Because it is the most important. We have to love God with all our heart, love ourselves and love our neighbor. Without this love it seems hard to accomplish any of the fruit of the Spirit.

How should we love? As God loves us.

If you’ve ever been to a Women of Faith conference then I know I don’t have to explain their purpose to you. For those that haven’t, the Women of Faith conference experience is out of this world and you leave the forum as if you’ve just been on a weekend retreat with your closest Christian friends.

In the beginning…

Founded in 1996 to encourage Christian women of faith, the Women of Faith group began their journey with 10 sold-out events held in churches. The numbers of 36,000 for ten conferences in the first year, to me are phenomenal. I mean, I know if I tried to throw together ten conferences in a year, I’m guessing I might be lucky to get 36 Christians at each event. Read the rest of this entry »

Time and time again in the bible we are told He loves us and He will provide for us. If He cares for the birds, He will take care of us as well. Think of Job, he lost it all, but God gave him back even more.

He has given us Jesus, the Holy Spirit and blessings too numerous to count when we recognize them. We must remember how He will always love us. We must also remember how he calls us to do the same.

To close the week of love and the fruit of the Spirit, I thought I’d add a little family fun to the mix. Enjoy this video from GodTube.

Do you think love is the most important fruit of the Spirit? Do you think it adds something important to all the other fruits?

Are Christian marriages in trouble? No more so than a secular marriage. In 2004, The Barna Research Group found the divorce rate nearly equal between born-again Christians and the general public.

Getting married is a big job. Working at a Christian marriage should be an easier job. If a Christian marriage isn’t working what can you and your spouse do?

Determine why the marriage is in trouble. Christians and the secular population get divorced for different reasons. While seculars divorce for incompatibility, Christian marriages usually fail for one of three reasons; adultery, abuse and abandonment.

If you have a Christian marriage in trouble, and are a devout Christian, you can consider Christian counseling. Please take the time to recognize if you are in a bad situation, suffering from physical or emotional abuse. If so, make sure that you (and your children) are safe from harm.

What makes Christian counseling different from secular counseling when trying to save a Christian marriage? The Bible.

The Bible is recognized as the authority, the final word, on many issues. Scripture will be a part of the counseling process along with traditional psychology. Be prepared to look into yourself to address your obedience to God and his will. To make a sincere attempt to save your Christian marriage you have to be open to God’s word.

To read more about the Barna Research Group and the dilemma in Christian divorce rates, visit Christians Divorce at Same Rate as Others But for Different Reasons at John Mark Ministries. You’ll find a great list of reading resources on the topic which you can find from Zondervan.

It is interesting to note that the number one Christian book sold on the market today is Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages. If you are having some problems, and maybe are not feeling quite ready for counseling, consider reading this book or another that you would feel more comfortable with.

The Five Love Languages was first published in 1992 and to be the number one best seller on the Christian book list says a lot. Perhaps some new strategies can shake up a stagnant Christian marriage and offer you new hope for the future.

Does the Barna report equate to Christian marriages having failed? What can we do to save a Christian marriage? Are there some Christian marriages that should not be saved?

To families and soldiers, to the past, present and future…

In reflection on Memorial Day, we should remember for more than just a day. While it was instituted for us to remember those who made a great sacrifice to this nation and its people we should note that it is much more than that.

From An Army Wife’s Life we read:

And this day is also about their families–who carry the weight of that sacrifice.

This day is about those who have passed, but it is also about our living veterans.

And these are the days. So, let’s move forward and remember the sacrifices that our soldiers and their families continue to make.

This weekend we will be celebrating and honoring our veterans and fallen heroes in church. We sing Christian songs and invite veterans in our community to stand up for recognition. We may even go to a local parade. Some other ideas to observe Memorial Day include the following:

- Visit cemeteries and place flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.

- Visit memorials.

- Fly the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon.

- Fly the ‘POW/MIA Flag’ as well.

- Participate in the “National Moment of Remembrance” at 3 p.m. to pause and think upon the true meaning of the day, and for Taps to be played.

- Renew a pledge to aid the widows, widowers, and orphans of our fallen dead, and to aid the disabled veterans.

“…gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime….let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation’s gratitude,–the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.” –General John Logan, General Order No. 11, 5 May 1868

For further reflection, here is a Memorial Day tribute called American Medley from GodTube.com.

For additional ideas visit Military Moms. She recounts a few of her Memorial Day holidays including:

We’ve also visited the Florence American Military Cemetery in Italy; my great-uncle is buried there, and we took flowers to leave on his grave for Memorial Day in 2004.

Have you made plans for Memorial Day related to honoring relatives or our current military? What ways do you think you support the military during this holiday set aside for our heroes?

Love, He said the greatest of these is love. In my reflection it does seem that without love it is hard to accomplish any of the fruit of the Spirit.

Love is crucial to carrying out the remainder of the fruit of the Spirit. Isn’t it easier to forgive someone when we love them? We find ourselves more patient with those we love, in particular our spouses, children and our elderly relatives. Take any other fruit of the Spirit and add love to it and see how it changes the expectations of your actions.

To me, love doubles joy and peace and when someone who loves me follows through on acts of kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in seems more genuine when done in with a loving heart.

While it is hard work we should strive to nurture the fruit of the Spirit. Utilizing this gift helps us to grow and deepens our relationship with God. The starting foundation is love, genuine and generous. Love cannot be ignored, when it is apparent, it cannot be denied.

So, after loving God and loving ourselves, we love our neighbors. Not the ones that we like alone, but even the difficult ones that challenge us. Maybe they’ve never known love, maybe our turning of the cheek would be the first act of kindness, goodness or gentleness they have ever known.

How would that make you feel to make a different that like in someone’s life? Like offering food to a homeless man, you could be offering love to a neglected heart. You could even be bringing someone to God’s house.

I know that when I’ve felt down sometimes, love has come from the most unexpected of places. And on a daily basis the love the unconditionally flows from my family and friends is an incredible gift to me, strengthening me to carry on even when times are difficult.

How do you expect to be treated by those who “love” you? Do you think the love you share with others projects a Christian life and enhances the gift the Holy Spirit has given you?

As a child of God, we know that we serve a purpose and have a role to play in furthering God’s Kingdom. Whether we are the hands, feet, eyes or ears of God, our role is important. As women, we also need to note that our role may not be as traditional as we may think. In Acts 2:1-21 when Peter stands and addresses the crowd after Pentecost he quotes from the book of Joel and addresses both men and women. We have all been called to serve.

Today’s podcast is Acts 2:1-21. I hope I am as proficient in the pronunciations as my pastor, if not, read along at BibleGateway.com.

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost