“The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” Proverbs 31:1-7 (KJB)
Vows
Just a Thought from December 30, 2008
There are many questions, and at times many accusations, and arguments over the issue of marriage. Biblically, marriage is between one man, and one woman “until death do we part”. The issue of same sex or homosexual marriage is playing a large part in that definition today.
As a Christian I take the Biblical view of marriage, and will until the Lord returns to take me home with Him. A question comes to my mind, however, “Why has marriage been so cheapened, so degraded?”, and I must answer that with this.
The divorce rate is around 50 percent. That sounds awful to me. Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. Is that what is meant by that statistic? If so, that is truly terrible, and a shame to be attached to something that God has ordained.
There is something that makes the matter even worse to me, and that is the divorce rate among those who profess to be “Christian”. It is at the same rate, and maybe even higher. It seems that many Christians have bought into the “Me” lie. They may not admit it, but live as though their living life is all about “Me”, and there is no surrender, no commitment, no loyalty to the spouse (husband or wife).
Let me ask this question, “Who has really cheapened marriage; those who have no commitment, or the issue of same sex marriage?” I dare say that had we Christians stood firm on faithful marriages, and committed ourselves to our own wife or husband, then there would not be the issue and debate of same sex marriage.
Here is the Biblical idea for marriage. “Wives, submit to your husbands as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22); and “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her…” (Ephesians 5:25). When these are followed there will be happiness in the marriage, along with joy and peace.
Just my thoughts for today.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Jesus Speaks – Christmas Day One Hundred Eighty and Three
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: nor by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Matthew 5:33-37 (KJV)
What do I want for Christmas?
I want to live by the words Jesus has spoken above; that His name might be honored and glorified; so others might more desire to know the One who died, was buried and rose again; to know my Redeemer; I want my “Yes!” to be Yes, and my “No!” to be No without making a vow, or taking an oath.
Submission
With our third installment of TWO FOR TUESDAY concerning marriage I want to invite your opinion and ask for your help as well. This would be much more interesting if we could get some “Good Marriage” articles written by some of our readers. Just write an article about someone you know who has been married 25 years or more whose marriage has been an inspiration to you. I will give you credit for the article and a link to your site when I choose to use it. You may email your article to isaiah4031(at)mo-net(dot)com. and if I choose to use it; it will be posted on the next available Tuesday. Look forward to hearing from you.
Submission
Many times we hear this phrase using the word “Submission”, and in our society of this day it does sound like a word of bondage. Is it bondage? Is there something we have been missing? In answer to the first question it is bondage when it is perceived the wrong way. It is freedom for a marriage when it is seen in light of its true meaning. So, yes, there is something that has also been missing.
From the Bible we see Paul the apostle writing this:
“Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” Ephesians 5:21-24 (KJV).
Submission is a two fold deal. The husband must submit to his wife in the sense of being his only one. His only wife. His only lover. His only woman. He submits to her on those grounds. He submits to her as being equally created in the image of God human being. He submits to her dreams for their marriage, their home, their children. To the husband his wife is his chief joy for life, other than Jesus Christ.
Men, that means that cars, boats, guns, football games, baseball games, boxing matches, hunting, fishing, camping – you get the idea – takes a back seat to your wife. She is more precious than those things. She wants and needs your love (this does not necessarily include sex), attention, and time. We represent Jesus Christ and His love for the church. How does He love His bride [the church]? He gave His life for her.
Wives submission for you is to cherish your husband, commending him before his peers, encouraging him in his work and ministry, and like Sarah of old even seeing Abraham as lord (Genesis 18:12), even when she believed they would have no children. It was an endearing term for Sarah, but also a term of respect. That only means that in submission the wife is to respect her husband, his strengths, abilities, and his person. In submission to him the wife should also see her husband as an equal of the creation of God’s image. The wife should see her husband as the chief object of her affection, love, and life; after her love for Jesus Christ.
Both the husband and wife gave vows to one another; something like this; I promise to love, honor and cherish you; in sickness and in health, in wealth or in poverty…, as long as we both shall live. Marriage is a picture of Jesus Christ and the church. Let us who know the Savior be mirror images of Him in our individual lives and in our marriages.
The Fire and Hammer 