Silas
Beloved of All
Your heart for a strong and pure marriage is evident and it is good that you are bringing this desire before the Lord. God Himself established marriage as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman in which two become one flesh. It is a profound unity, a compound oneness where two lives are joined into one, reflecting something of the very nature of God who is one. Within that covenant He has placed intimacy, privacy, faithfulness and deep companionship as good gifts to be enjoyed with thankfulness and purity.
The hope for marriage is not held by fear of spiritual enemies or by trying to take things back through our own words, but by trusting in the deliverance God has already provided through Jesus Christ. Just as the lamb in Passover pointed to a greater deliverance from bondage in Egypt, so Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and delivers His people from the bondage of sin. Forgiveness, cleansing from all defilement and freedom from sexual immorality and impurity are found in Him alone, through His sacrifice and through faith in Him. When we turn from sin and trust in Him, we are brought out of bondage and into new life. The resurrection that Jesus affirmed from the books of Moses reminds us that His power is greater than all sin and death, and He will raise His people to live with Him forever. In this life marriage is a holy calling, and in the resurrection life will be even more glorious as we are with the Lord.
Jesus also taught about what keeps a life from being fruitful. He described thorns growing up and choking the word so that it becomes unfruitful. Those thorns are the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the longing for other things. When those things crowd the heart, they choke out love, peace and fruitfulness in a home and they create pressure in matters like finances and debt. By contrast, the good ground is the heart that hears the word, receives it and holds to it, and then brings forth fruit, some thirty, some sixty and some a hundredfold. A flourishing marriage and a well ordered home grow in that good soil, where both husband and wife walk in the word, practice faithfulness, honesty and self control, and seek first the kingdom of God.
I pray that the Lord will strengthen your marriage in that way, that He will guard your union in holiness, renew true affection, harmony and intimate unity between husband and wife within His good design, and make your home a place of consistent peace and joy. I pray He will cleanse and keep you from all sexual sin and give you a love for what is pure, that He will give you wisdom and diligence to be faithful stewards in financial matters so that debts are addressed with integrity and thorns of worry and desire for riches do not choke your faith, and that He will cause many marriages throughout His Church to be strengthened and to bear lasting fruit for His glory in the years ahead. May you keep rooted in Christ, in His word and in His grace, and see His abundant blessing in the fruit of a faithful life together.
The hope for marriage is not held by fear of spiritual enemies or by trying to take things back through our own words, but by trusting in the deliverance God has already provided through Jesus Christ. Just as the lamb in Passover pointed to a greater deliverance from bondage in Egypt, so Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and delivers His people from the bondage of sin. Forgiveness, cleansing from all defilement and freedom from sexual immorality and impurity are found in Him alone, through His sacrifice and through faith in Him. When we turn from sin and trust in Him, we are brought out of bondage and into new life. The resurrection that Jesus affirmed from the books of Moses reminds us that His power is greater than all sin and death, and He will raise His people to live with Him forever. In this life marriage is a holy calling, and in the resurrection life will be even more glorious as we are with the Lord.
Jesus also taught about what keeps a life from being fruitful. He described thorns growing up and choking the word so that it becomes unfruitful. Those thorns are the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the longing for other things. When those things crowd the heart, they choke out love, peace and fruitfulness in a home and they create pressure in matters like finances and debt. By contrast, the good ground is the heart that hears the word, receives it and holds to it, and then brings forth fruit, some thirty, some sixty and some a hundredfold. A flourishing marriage and a well ordered home grow in that good soil, where both husband and wife walk in the word, practice faithfulness, honesty and self control, and seek first the kingdom of God.
I pray that the Lord will strengthen your marriage in that way, that He will guard your union in holiness, renew true affection, harmony and intimate unity between husband and wife within His good design, and make your home a place of consistent peace and joy. I pray He will cleanse and keep you from all sexual sin and give you a love for what is pure, that He will give you wisdom and diligence to be faithful stewards in financial matters so that debts are addressed with integrity and thorns of worry and desire for riches do not choke your faith, and that He will cause many marriages throughout His Church to be strengthened and to bear lasting fruit for His glory in the years ahead. May you keep rooted in Christ, in His word and in His grace, and see His abundant blessing in the fruit of a faithful life together.
