One Man with One Woman
With all the turmoil regarding marriage today, I thought I’d post some thoughts regarding this God given institution. Here are some key bible verses found in the new and old testament:
Gen. 2:24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
Eph. 5:31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two united into one.”
In Genesis this scripture comes right after the creation of woman from Adam’s side. In order to comply with God’s plan, a man and a woman are to form a family through marriage. Also note that the bible says a man leaves father and mother implying again that it takes a man and a woman to form a family through marriage.
Here are a couple of reasons for the marriage sacrament.
Gen.1:28 God blessed them and told them, “Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals.”
Other translations say be fruitful and multiply. Clearly procreation is part of the reason for marriage. That purpose is impossible if a marriage is two people of the same sex. God’s plan is to populate the Earth with His special creation having babies after marriage.
Eph. 5:28-29 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church.
Another reason for marriage is to show the world how much Jesus Christ loves them. This scripture comes right after a lengthy discourse on how a husband is to love his wife and a wife is to respect her husband and how God treats His beloved church.
Marriage is a picture of how much God loves mankind and desires an intimate relationship with us. It is a gift that helps us lead a joyful and fulfilled life. It’s no wonder there is so much opposition to biblical marriage. I’ll write more as to how God’s gift and plan got messed up in future blogs
Do you pray like Paul?
How do you pray for people in need? We often pray that God will deliver them out of their needs.
Have we ever prayed like Paul does in Ephesians 1:17-20?
He prays for these things:
1. That God would give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Why?
2. So that we would know the HOPE we have of a glorious inheritance in the future.
3. So that we would know the POWER we have for the present situation.
I am praying differently. It sounds like this,
“Lord, I care about my friend who has this need.
I want them to be delivered from the financial, physical or relational pain.
I don’t want them to feel the pain.
However, I ask that You will give them the Spirit of wisdom and reveal Yourself to them.
Let them come to know You better because of this need.
Show them the HOPE they can have for the future.
They are experiencing pain now.
I ask that they begin to see that their ultimate hope is living with You in Your painless presence forever.
I also pray that they will experience your present POWER for their current need.
Remind them of Your power that raised Jesus from the dead.
They have the same power available to them for this need.”
Hope for the future and Power for the present.
What a great way to pray for people.
Ted Sellers
Run for the Gold!
OK, so the 2012 Olympics are finished. Team USA did very well winning 104 medals.
China had 87 and Russia had 82.
Were you impressed by the dedication of the athletes?
They trained for years to be able to do what they did on the world’s largest stage.
I remember the two little 6 year old girls who were in a gymnastic class together.
They had been training for the past 10 years! Serious training pays off in GOLD.
Consider what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 in The Message Bible
“I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line.
I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition.
I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.”
Can we allow these athletes to encourage us in our Christian lives?
Do we have sloppy living?
Are we alert to Satan’s efforts to trip us up in our race?
Can we get caught napping?
We may not be able to run like Usain Bolt or stick the landing like McKayla Maroney or
slice through the water like Michael Phelps.
However, we can run to Jesus when we are in need,
we can stand firmly on God’s truth when tempted and
we can swim in the ocean of God’s deep love for us.
Let’s keep our eye on the goal where God is beckoning us onward to Jesus.
We are off and running and we are not turning back. Philippians 3:14 Message
Ted Sellers
