For thought and meditation [Archive]

rl69

02-03-2017, 07:38 AM

Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage.—Hebrews 13:4 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=38cb06c507&e=3dd732485b)I was watching a television interview a while back, and the interviewer asked a pastor, "Don't you think it is time to bring the Bible kicking and screaming into the 21st century?" I wanted to jump through the television screen! I wanted to say, "No sir, it is time to bring culture kicking and screaming back to what the Bible teaches, because that is where the problems are coming from." Either we're going to accept that the Bible is the source of truth on marriage, family, and every other topic, or we're not.

You can't pick and choose what parts of the Bible you agree with, or what fits with current culture. If you follow cultural clues, your marriage may be doomed. Instead, you have to come back to the Word of God, and develop a biblical worldview—see things through a scriptural lens.

And to have a successful marriage, you must also be filled with the Holy Spirit. You see, we have the power given to us from God to do what He has called us to do. Ephesians 5:18-19 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://2) says, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves." In the Greek, it is implied that it's done over and over again. In other words, be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit—again and again. When you get up every morning you might just say, "Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. Help me to be the husband, the wife, the parent you have called me to be."

I will be honest with you. There is no way that I can do what the Bible tells me to do without the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no way a husband can love his wife as Christ loves the church without the power of the Spirit. And there is no way a wife can submit to the leadership of her husband without the power of the Spirit. We need this power. Keep asking for this power. And remember, the only authoritative source on any topic is the Word of God

Blackwater

02-03-2017, 12:02 PM

WOW! What stong medicine for what ails us now! The divorce rate has hovered near 50% for a long time now. Decades! And the family is THE underpinning of ALL civilizations! Truly we've become a "sick" society when these things are present. There's no way around it.

People today are SO hooked on their own aspirations, wants and needs, on BOTH sides of the marriage issue, that it's almost a wonder that ANY marriages last and become truly treasured bases for life. And yet, when I go out to eat, I see old couples slowly walking, hand in hand to their cars, and men unlocking and opening the doors to their car for their women, and I can't help but marvel at them. THEY do it RIGHT! They're just as much, if not more, concerned about their "other half," mutually, that they have no ROOM for serious dissension. And when conflicts of desires come up, each is giving, and OK to go with the other's wants as much as with their own. And they win a prize by doing that, that ALL of us seek, but most are simply unwilling to simply execute for our own selves, as well as for our spouses.

Marriage IS .... THE #1 institution on which all real civilization is based, and we've allowed gov't and the media and PC and liberal theology to separate husbands and wives for so long, most of us can't really even imagine how to do it otherwise than the way we have done it in the past. This is a sure sign that Satan has his claws into us VERY deeply, and in one of our most vulnerable and consequential spots. When we solve our "family problems," we'll find our national problems have, to a large degree, just evaporated and disappeared.

But to do that, we have to set aside our egos, and use our natural cognitive rationality, and just THINK our way through any disputes or conflicts that inevitably come up. I know it's been said that women and men just naturally don't think alike, but that's just a condition of being. How we HANDLE those differences makes WORLDS of difference in the results we get.

And yes, I know some on both sides CAN be obstinate and haughtily demanding, and yes, they CAN be a serious problem. But even serious problems have a way out. It's just more involved and more demanding than most are willing to undertake. And so .... we get all the divorce, split homes, kids growing up without a father in the home, and falling prey to the world around them for lack of solid leadership, etc., etc., etc. Marriage CAN be tough sometimes, but it's IMPOSSIBLE when both sides have no "give" within them. We've lost our ability to "give" when we need to. But it CAN be regained, IF we truly want it again. Our estimation of an event's real importance is often sorely exaggerated. Realizing that can, if we let it, be a good start toward learning to get along, and work things out in a more equitable and livable fashion. A very, very few things must be unchangable, like our morals, ethics and religious convictions, unless something reveals a need for their change. But it's not barter material, and "barter" is not the best way to "solve" conflicts. It inevitably leads to one of both feeling "used."

Disagreements shouldn't be a contest of wills. That only separates what is supposed to be a single unit. But as with most things, it's our free will, and the choices we make with it, along with our lack of real thought and consideration of the factors involved, often, that leads us to wind up hating the one we once truly loved and needed and honored. It's SO easy to lose that initial infatuation. It's really inevitable, I believe. But what CAN develop, if we exercise the great judgment and discretion we're capable of, within the confines of the best instructions we'll ever receive in this world - the Bible - a new sort of quiet and much deeper appreciation of our "better halves." That's what those old couples walking hand in hand did. And if they can do it, why can't we? And the benefits of doing that are SO great, it's a wonder we choose the many other ways to go in our relationships. We miss so much! Oftentimes, because we simply don't WANT to see the alternatives, lest we not get our own way in everything. It's a simple choice, like most things in life. And both sides should be able to, on occasion, have their way, even at the expense of the other. THAT is how "mutual respect" simply works, and if we don't like doing that, we always seem to not like the RESULTS of doing it any of those "other ways."

What a silly bunch we can so often be, and at such a great cost not only to ourselves, but to our families, children, and ultimately, the nation and the world. And all we ever really have to do is sit and actually THINK about things, and make our options in a more enlightened and perceptive manner. Then, maybe WE can be one of those old couples one day, walking hand in hand, and looking into each other's eyes with a glow that's unmistakable to any onlookers, too!