Marriage IS a Mystery


I'm excited because in 32 days we will be going to Cabo to celebrate 21 years of marriage with friends and family. I am looking forward to a time of loving Christ, enjoying life and making memories. Most of all I am excited about celebrating 21 years of marriage to my best friend, companion and lover for life Robert Poole Jr.

As I reflect on our time together, and how we are still in love, I think on others who are now in love, but it came at a great price. I think of others who decades earlier pronounced undying love in their wedding vows and now hate each other because of infidelity, abuse, lies and the like. I also think of those who are about to get married and wonder, do they have the stuff to stick. This presents the mystery of marriage and has left many, including Christians scratching and shaking their heads.

Herein lies the mystery of marriage. Paul in Ephesians 5:31-32 calls it a great mystery. He says, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." So what is the mystery? It is, how do two completely different people get married, stay married and continue to enjoy marriage? The answer to the mystery is the Lordship of Jesus Christ over both husband and wife in the marriage. I say this because the reason why Christian marriages fail is because one and or both REFUSE to submit the Lordship of Jesus Christ by obeying the Scriptures.

Joshua 1:8 and James 1:22-25 both say that by hearing and heeding God's Word will guarantee success in every area of life, including marriage. James tells of how if you hear and don't heed you are self-deceived. And we all know that self-deception is the worst deception. He concludes the matter in verse twenty-five by stating, "But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." In essence, if you do the work, you will be blessed!

There you have it! Mystery solved! Work the Word in your marriage and your marriage will be blessed. Robert and I have personally experienced this coming on 21 years of marriage. We have had our challenges just like everyone else, BUT both of us are submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and what He says goes, whether we like it or not. We forgive one another because we are commanded to forgive in Mark 11:26 if we want God's forgiveness. Ephesians 4:26-27 says, "Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." So, we don't give place to the devil by going to bed angry.

If you are married and refuse to obey the scripture for whatever the reason, you marriage will go down as an unsolved mystery. You will have to stand before God and give an account as to why you didn't allow Him to solve the mystery in your marriage with the policies, procedures and principles of His Word. You don't want to go out like that. Yes, marriage is a mystery, but if you fear God and keep His commandments you will live in peace and joy, knowing that the mystery of your marriage has been solved!

Love, peace and blessings,

Dr. Sheila

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consider the Consequences

I remember speaking years ago to a friend who is a social worker. She said something to me that has stuck with me to the point that I often share it with others I may be talking to. She said, "There are consequences to everything we do. If you do good, there will be good consequences. If you do bad, there will be bad consequences." This is such a simple truth. It is displayed throughout the Bible, yet, due to the sinful nature of man, many times mankind still make bad choices. Moses told the people in Deuteronomy 30:19 to choose life so that they may live. However, as we know from reading the history of the Israelites after the death of Moses they did not choose life. They chose to disobey God repeatedly and this led to them being taken into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Here's the clincher, God will allow you make bad choices and suffer the consequences. Don't believe it? Look at how Acts 7:42 reads in the Message Bible: "God wasn't at all pleased;
Read more

P - P.R.E.S.S.

Good morning! This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad, and so should you! I am excited about today's teaching in the series, O.C.C.U.P.Y. Until He Comes. This is the area where many times believers faint and give up. However, now is not the time to give up! We must put this leg of the teaching into practice. We MUST, P - P.R.E.S.S. When you think about the word "press," apply this acronym; Put Resolute Energy in Standing Strong. Isn't that powerful? That is what we have to do in the press! You may be caught between a rock and a hard place but you must stand firm in your faith knowing that nothing is too hard for God. P.R.E.S.S.! The thing that I love about the press is that it is the warfare of occupying, and warfare is good because we win! It is the area where we are faced with opposition while training to be about the Father's business. The enemy is prowling about seeking to devour those who are weak. The Word of God tells us to re
Read more

Expect God To Do It

This has been an exciting year! We have seen the hand of the LORD at work in our lives, experiencing His love, peace and blessings. God has taken the good, bad and ugly, and put it all in the mix to work out for the good. Now, a new year is on the horizon. What will come of this year? What new journey will be embarked upon? What kind of growth will be experienced this year? The new year always presents itself with these questions and many others, building hope that the new year will be better than the last. This is a good thing because God wants His children to have hope. The Bible declares in Romans 5:5, "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." That's the New King James Translation. The first part of that verse in the King James Version says, "And hope maketh not ashamed..." Both translations use the word "hope." This is powerful because a simple definition of
Read more