Matthew 19:4-6 (New Living Translation)

“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”
————————–

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the approaching 30th wedding anniversary of my wife, Mary, and me. It’s only a few months away. She might jokingly tell you I’ve only been thinking about it because I’m trying to figure out how to scrape up enough money to celebrate it  (smile), But that’s not really true

First of all, let me get one thing straight: I do not deserve much credit for our marriage lasting 30 years. This goes to Mary. I am firmly convinced that she is the only woman on this planet who would have patience enough to put up with me for 30 years (smile again).

We have weathered many storms in these 30 years of marriage - health problems for both of us, financial stresses, unexpected job losses, some dreams not being fulfilled. And, I guess psychologists wouldn’t have considered us good candidates for a 30-year marriage since both of us come from very “dysfunctional” family backgrounds.

But we have made it this far and, if the Lord wills, maybe someday I’ll be writing a blog article about our 60th year anniversary.

To give you some idea of how long we have been married, consider that in 1979:

*The No. 1 song was the disco tune “Le Freak” and it was most often being played on vinyl records. There were no CDs or MP3 players back then.

*President Obama was 18 years old.

*Rocky II was one of the top-selling films of the year (there have been four Rocky movies since).

Today, I did a little looking on the internet and found that the average length of time that a marriage lasts now is only seven years. If that isn’t somewhat shocking to you, it sure is to me. Back when I was a youngster, very few of my friends’ parents were divorced. The vast majority stayed married for life.

People get divorced for a number of reasons. It’s not my job to judge or condemn anyone who has gotten a divorce.  Marriage isn’t easy. In fact, sometimes is downright hard. So, you won’t find me waxing self-righteous about managing to stay married for 30 years. However, I do think I am qualified to give a bit of advice about marriage.

1.  Love your spouse like Jesus loves us.  Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to suffer an agonizing death on the Cross so that we might have eternal life with Him.  While He was suffering on the Cross, Jesus was concerned about other people.

I have always been more concerned about Mary’s happiness and security than I have been about my own. She has always been more concerned about my happiness and security than of her own. The Bible calls this “dying to self.” This is the very nature of love itself.

2.  Let time pass to heal emotional wounds. When there are disagreements and arguments, don’t rush into destructive decisions in the heat of the moment.  Get some distance from each other for awhile, pray, and let time calm passions and help to heal wounds.

3. Be committed to the relationship for the long-haul.  Don’t let terms like “divorce” and/or “separation” enter into your conversations. God created the holy institution of marriage to last a lifetime (see above Scripture verses). If we view it any other way, we are being influenced by the devil himself.

4. Realize that though you are “one” spiritually in marriage, you are still two different individuals.  My wife will tell you that this has not been an easy one for me over the years. She has some hobbies and interests that I don’t share and sometimes I don’t give her the “space” she needs to pursue these interests (such as reading her romance novels- smile).

5. Accentuate the positive about your spouse.  Sometimes, we human beings can tend to focus too much on less desirable traits of another person and not enough on their positive traits.  We need to appreciate the good things about our spouses and not dwell on negatives that we may perceive in them.

Of course, I could go on and on with this, but maybe I’ll write more about marriage in the months to come.  One thing is certain: the destruction of marriages in our society has had a tragic impact upon families. It is sad for me to think about children whose parents will stay married “an average of only seven years” in 2009.

Love is never-ending. Marriage should be that way, too.

I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and how you cannot bear them which are evil: and you have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars: And have borne, and have patience, and for my name’s sake have labored, and have not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come to you quickly, and will remove your candlestick out of his place, except you repent.  (Revelation 2:4-5).
——————-

The other day I happened to flip the TV channel over to the sports network ESPN and saw a story that literally brought tears to my eyes.

It was about the mother of a famous NBA basketball player, Dwayne Wade.
Jolinda Wade was a hopeless drug addict on the mean streets of Chicago when she gave in to requests by a family member to attend a church service. In that church service, Jolinda had a “close encounter” with God that led her to turn over her life to Jesus Christ.

Now, Jolinda  Wade is “Pastor Jolinda Wade” and her famous son has just purchased a church building for his mother.

This was and is a touching and sometimes heart-wrenching story of God’s grace, mercy and redemption in the life of a woman and her family.

In my new book, My Close Encounter With Jesus Christ (which you can order from the “links” on my home page of this website), I tell of how I have become disturbed over the years to find that many so-called “evangelical” churches no longer preach and teach the simple, but powerful, message of God’s redemption  through the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the pastor at the little storefront church Jolinda Wade was talked into attending wasn’t worried about being “seeker friendly” and watering down the Gospel message. He preached the powerful Word of God that night and Jolinda Wade accepted Christ as her Savior and Lord and now has a new life in Christ!

Jolinda’s story brought tears to my eyes because it reminded me of my own salvation and about others who have been brought out of a life of sin and self-destruction by the life-changing message of the Cross of Jesus.

There are so many distractions in living today that sometimes Christians can forget that our most important calling as believers is to share this great message of God’s redemption with other human beings. We should be motivated to want to share this message because we love other people, pure and simple.

At this point, you may be wondering what the Scripture verses  (above) have to do with Jolinda Wade’s story.  When I saw this on TV, I remembered back 33 years ago to the time that I asked Jesus Christ to become my savior and Lord.  Besides the obvious greatest value of testimonies like this - that people will come to Christ after hearing them - another value of these kinds of testimonies is that they can help to bring a believer back to contemplating his or her “first love.”

If you are married, do you remember how you felt during your engagement period?  You were absolutely consumed with love and affection for your soon-to-be spouse.  But after many years of marriage, there are times when many married people lose that consuming fire of love for one another. Those people who are committed to their marriages are able to weather these storms and their marriage relationships grow and mature. But, sadly, other marriages end up in divorce court when “first love” is lost.

The same dynamics can come to play in the life of a Christian who loses his/her “first love” passion for God.  Many of us remain committed to our relationship with God during challenging times of feeling distant from Him, but others gradually fall away from their faith.

If you are reading this and you recognize that may have lost your “first love” relationship with Christ, then be encouraged that all is certainly not lost: “Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent.” Spend some time alone with God and tell Him that you are sorry that you have let other things - many times the distractions and diversions and stresses of modern life - come between you and Him.

Come on home to Jesus Christ. He is waiting at the doorway with outstretched arms. He wants to be your “first love” once again.

Jesus answered the Pharisees by saying, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:40)

___________________________

People who are “religious” but who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ in a personal and intimate way are often threatened by the worship of others. Especially if it is sincere, whole-hearted worship of God.

This was the case in the New Testament story of the Pharisees rebuking those who worshiped Jesus as He was approaching Jerusalem. The pharisees - “religious” leaders of their time - became angry and tried to order the worshipers to cease and desist.

Jesus answered in the Scripture above with a bold response that no doubt threw the Pharisees into a tizzy. “How could he say that THE STONES will worship him!!?” they must have cried out in agitated response.

I have heard this segment of Scripture preached and taught in many different ways. Often, a teacher will represent Jesus’ words about the stones as being mere metaphorical talk. In other words, Jesus was using metaphor to show the Pharisees that they had no ability to quiet the praise directed towards Him.

But I have also heard it preached and taught that Jesus was declaring in a literal sense that inanimate objects (“stones”) can declare the majesty of God.

I have always been inclined to believe in the second interpretation of this Scripture. The other night, I saw a television program that solidified this belief.

The program was about the great scientist, Albert Einstein, and his “theory of relativity.” I have to admit: science and mathematics have never been my specialty. But this program explained Einstein’s theory in simple terms that even I could understand (smile).

Einstein’s Theory is E=MC 2 which means: “Energy Equals Mass at the Speed of Light Squared.” How this translates is that mass has the ability to release energy.

This theory was the basis for the development of the first nuclear bombs. A massive explosion was created when energy was released by mass as a result of using neutron molecules to make the atom unstable and then break apart - beginning a chain reaction of other atoms splitting apart. This was the release of energy that cause the bombs to explode.

Scientists discovered that the metal uranium - which is often found in rocks - has very large atoms and an abnormally large number of neutrons. So, nuclear fission was created by using the atoms and the large number of neutrons in uranium.

I think by now you can see where I am going with this. To explode nuclear weapons, scientists used an inanimate object (uranium) which is often extracted from rocks to create the release of energy.

“I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out.”

Did Jesus know that stones literally have the ability to release energy? Since He was present at the creation of the world, this is self-evident.

Jesus was not speaking metaphorically about the rocks crying out in praise and worship of God. He was speaking very literally.

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created;
He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
ire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all this faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 148)

——————–
Today and every day, let’s all join the wild animals and cattle and mountains and hills and fruit trees and cedars and yes, even the rocks, in praise and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ!