They said what millions of others said, but she didn't say it all.
The world watched the wedding of Prince William and Kate in England. The world saw the pageantry and fanfare, the beautiful dress and the impressive celebration that followed. It was a ritual followed in England for hundreds of years. It has been replicated in smaller events around the world for centuries as well.
However, the vows of the couple were modified a bit. The vows that the couple took at first sounded traditional Old English, but there was one significant twist.
Did you catch it?
William promised to love Kate in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer until death. It is the same vow that has been shared by millions for centuries, including the funny sounding phrase "I plight thee my troth" which means I pledge to be faithful to you and you alone.
Kate gave the feminine response in her vows with the exception that she did not promise to obey her husband, only to honor and respect him. Hmmmm!
It was a beautiful ceremony filled with great pageantry. The price tag was in the millions, all paid for by the English government.
Jesus said in John 19:5-6, "..For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
It was a by the book wedding, except that the couple apparently agreed that Kate could ignore 1 Peter 3:1 "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands..."
And now the fairy tale begins!
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, September 06, 2010
She's having his baby, but he won't be her husband
She's having a baby for him but he won't marry her.
There is a very nice young lady who is living with a man without benefit of marriage. After a few years of shacking, she's now having a baby for him. She wants to marry but he thinks marriage is not necessary for him to be a good father, provider and significant other in her life. She's frustrated that he won't make their arrangement official. She feels that he does not want to make a commitment and is leaving the door open for his exit if times get bad.
Neither of them claim any great faith in God, especially one that would require obedience to His word or public worship. Her faith is greater than his but is not openly practiced because he is so critical of spiritual things, the church and Christians.
She's hopeless unevenly yoked, and now a child is about to be reared in this spiritually challenging situation. She wants a husband but all he wants to be is a Significant Other.
What's the difference between being a Significant Other (SO) and a husband?
There is a very nice young lady who is living with a man without benefit of marriage. After a few years of shacking, she's now having a baby for him. She wants to marry but he thinks marriage is not necessary for him to be a good father, provider and significant other in her life. She's frustrated that he won't make their arrangement official. She feels that he does not want to make a commitment and is leaving the door open for his exit if times get bad.
Neither of them claim any great faith in God, especially one that would require obedience to His word or public worship. Her faith is greater than his but is not openly practiced because he is so critical of spiritual things, the church and Christians.
She's hopeless unevenly yoked, and now a child is about to be reared in this spiritually challenging situation. She wants a husband but all he wants to be is a Significant Other.
What's the difference between being a Significant Other (SO) and a husband?
- Husbands promise they will protect the woman in their lives, the SO makes no promise at all.
- Husbands promise to stand with their wives through sickness and hard times, the SO makes no such claim. If she gets sick or even gains weight he may split.
- Husbands promise to love their wives and have no other women on the side, the SO won't even fix his mouth to say that.
- Husbands promise to provide for their wives safety, livelihood, and nurture, the SO may do some of that but thinks she can take care of herself.
- Husbands promise to love their wives like Christ loved the church, the SO is not willing to go that far; he wants to make whoopee and call it love, but that's about it.
Knowing that the man she loves only sees her as a convenient sperm receptacle, this very intelligent young lady, overwhelmed by passion, chose to have a child for her SO.
The bible makes no provision for the SO. It makes no provision for believers to live as though they are married (shacking) without committing to each other before God.
In fact, the Word teaches that if a couple feels they must "get it on" then they should marry or risk hell's fire. 1 Corinthians 7:9 says, "But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn."
The overriding reason that a man should marry the woman he claims to love is that he honors their relationship before God, cleanses the relationship and does himself a favor at the same time.
Look at what the word says:
Ephesians 5:25-28 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor—since they're already "one" in marriage.
Wouldn't it be great if a woman had a husband rather than just a Significant Other Brother?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
She called the mortician and he was glad
Who encourages those who encourage others? Does anyone care about the caregiver?
A while back, there was a power outage in our city nearly everyone was powerless. We were prepared with an ample supply of batteries, candles and other necessities. We thought of the local funeral director and my wife picked up the phone and called him to inquire about his safety and to offer assistance. To our surprise he was floored by the outreach.
"In all my years of reaching out to others no one has ever asked me how I was doing or offered to help me," he said. He didn't need any help but the thought has lingered with him continuously and serves as an encouragement in lonely times, that someone does care about him.
He helped thousands of families through their grief; he inquired about and cared for them long after their mourning ended, but no one ever called back.
After many years, someone actually inquired about his well being, he was encouraged, strengthened and inspired.
We have a responsibility to encourage each other, especially those who are facing difficulties. A word of sincere interest and concern helps. That's why we are taught to encourage each other. In a way, we hold each other's hand in crises and draw strength from each other to continue.
We need a little more hand holding as we strive to survive and thrive in this life.
1 Thessalonians 2:12 says, "holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life.
That one phone call to the mortician was a witnessesing moment that he has shared with hundreds of others. What would happen if thousands of us made one encouraging call a day?
Try it.
A while back, there was a power outage in our city nearly everyone was powerless. We were prepared with an ample supply of batteries, candles and other necessities. We thought of the local funeral director and my wife picked up the phone and called him to inquire about his safety and to offer assistance. To our surprise he was floored by the outreach.
"In all my years of reaching out to others no one has ever asked me how I was doing or offered to help me," he said. He didn't need any help but the thought has lingered with him continuously and serves as an encouragement in lonely times, that someone does care about him.
He helped thousands of families through their grief; he inquired about and cared for them long after their mourning ended, but no one ever called back.
After many years, someone actually inquired about his well being, he was encouraged, strengthened and inspired.
We have a responsibility to encourage each other, especially those who are facing difficulties. A word of sincere interest and concern helps. That's why we are taught to encourage each other. In a way, we hold each other's hand in crises and draw strength from each other to continue.
We need a little more hand holding as we strive to survive and thrive in this life.
1 Thessalonians 2:12 says, "holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life.
That one phone call to the mortician was a witnessesing moment that he has shared with hundreds of others. What would happen if thousands of us made one encouraging call a day?
Try it.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
I know what you did last night
I know what you did last night. Hmmmm
Remember the movie "I know what you did last summer?" A note from an anonymous person alerting us that our actions, thought to be secret a year ago, were really known by someone could be unsettling. Suppose such a note detailed knowledge of what we did last month, last week, or even last night were received, would we be a little unsettled.
We'd like to believe that there are some places we go and things we do that are out of the sight of those we don't care to know. Because we are human we often say or think the unthinkable, and do the unreasonable and unbelievable.
Sometimes we are ashamed of ourselves!
Then there is a mental note that seems to come out of nowhere, creeping into our dreams or popping up behind in an idle moment..."I know what you did last night. I saw it all. I heard it all... I know!"
It is a heavenly note!
There are no secrets from God, he has our lives bugged, videoed and angelically archived, dated and annotated. He knows!
He also knows what troubles us and what hurts. He knows what we pray about and why we cry. He knows everything!
There is a bible passage that tells us that he knows: "Psalms 139:4-7 You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too— your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful— I can't take it all in! Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? "
God knows what we did, what we are doing, what we are thinking and what we are planning. That's good to know because as I pray about something I know he hears me and will answer me in due time.
The best part is that despite what he knows about me...He loves me anyway!
Remember the movie "I know what you did last summer?" A note from an anonymous person alerting us that our actions, thought to be secret a year ago, were really known by someone could be unsettling. Suppose such a note detailed knowledge of what we did last month, last week, or even last night were received, would we be a little unsettled.
We'd like to believe that there are some places we go and things we do that are out of the sight of those we don't care to know. Because we are human we often say or think the unthinkable, and do the unreasonable and unbelievable.
Sometimes we are ashamed of ourselves!
Then there is a mental note that seems to come out of nowhere, creeping into our dreams or popping up behind in an idle moment..."I know what you did last night. I saw it all. I heard it all... I know!"
It is a heavenly note!
There are no secrets from God, he has our lives bugged, videoed and angelically archived, dated and annotated. He knows!
He also knows what troubles us and what hurts. He knows what we pray about and why we cry. He knows everything!
There is a bible passage that tells us that he knows: "Psalms 139:4-7 You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too— your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful— I can't take it all in! Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? "
God knows what we did, what we are doing, what we are thinking and what we are planning. That's good to know because as I pray about something I know he hears me and will answer me in due time.
The best part is that despite what he knows about me...He loves me anyway!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
He wouldn't tell her he loved her; she kept asking
He said he loved her, but didn't want anyone to know.
A friend answered his phone and spoke to one of his significant others. At the end of the conversation, she could be heard saying, "Say, you love me" to which he answered "I do." She repeatedly asked, "Say it! Say you love me." He looked at us and said, "I do." Finally, he turned his back and whispered into the phone "I love you." We all laughed; he didn't mean a word he said.
We've all seen the people who were ashamed to own their lovers in public. They are good people in private, but not in public. There are some who are not very good at the mushy stuff, but there are others who have a good reason why they don't express love in public; their secret may be revealed.
I would hate to be the secret lover, the one that is kept in the dark from the rest of the world. That's the one that hears all the words of praise in private but never in public. It should be a horrible feeling being the other woman or the other man.
Imagine how God feels when we confess our love for him in private but when we are among our friends, co-workers and school mates, we have to speak of him quietly, almost apologetically, afraid to let anyone know. It must be a horrible feeling to God to be our secret love, to be worshipped at home, privately but never never recognized in public.
Luke 9:26 says, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels."
Soon after my friend finished whispering "I love you" quietly into the phone, his other girl appeared just as he shut off his phone.
A friend answered his phone and spoke to one of his significant others. At the end of the conversation, she could be heard saying, "Say, you love me" to which he answered "I do." She repeatedly asked, "Say it! Say you love me." He looked at us and said, "I do." Finally, he turned his back and whispered into the phone "I love you." We all laughed; he didn't mean a word he said.
We've all seen the people who were ashamed to own their lovers in public. They are good people in private, but not in public. There are some who are not very good at the mushy stuff, but there are others who have a good reason why they don't express love in public; their secret may be revealed.
I would hate to be the secret lover, the one that is kept in the dark from the rest of the world. That's the one that hears all the words of praise in private but never in public. It should be a horrible feeling being the other woman or the other man.
Imagine how God feels when we confess our love for him in private but when we are among our friends, co-workers and school mates, we have to speak of him quietly, almost apologetically, afraid to let anyone know. It must be a horrible feeling to God to be our secret love, to be worshipped at home, privately but never never recognized in public.
Luke 9:26 says, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels."
Soon after my friend finished whispering "I love you" quietly into the phone, his other girl appeared just as he shut off his phone.
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