Christ Centered Marriage

Christ Centered Marriage. The tragedy that is sweeping the world today is the breakdown of the home. School shootings, teenage out of wedlock pregnancy, drug abuse, abortion, an ever increasing divorce rate, etc., are but symptoms of this breakdown. The one remedy for this unhappy situation is a Christ centered marriage. A Christ-centered marriage is united in Christ. The Christ-centered marriage is one where both husband and wife are united in Christ. A home that is religiously divided will have difficulties. Often there is a tendency for one to compromise Biblical teaching in order to keep peace in the family. The question of what to teach the children becomes a serious problem. Where will the emphasis be in regard to recreation, giving to the Lord's Cause, and involvement in church activities. With which parent will children attend worship services? These are but a few of the problems faced by a religiously divided home. The Corinthian brethren had problems because of religiously mixed marriages. However, both Paul and Peter make it clear that a Christian married to a non-Christian is not a sinful relationship (1 Cor. 7:12-14; 1 Pet. 3:1-6). Yet, keep in mind Jesus' teaching: "A house divided against itself shall not stand" (Matt. 12:25). Jesus also said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matt. 6:33). In view of these considerations, it is always best for a Christian to marry a Christian! A Christ-centered marriage is based on commitment. Jesus' teaching on marriage went back to the "beginning." He said, "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Matt. 19:4-9, cf. Gen. 2:24). The word "cleave" means "to adhere to" or literally, "to be glued" to one another. This "glue" is commitment! There is no problem in marriage too great to overcome if two people are truly committed to each other. A Christ-centered marriage is founded on fidelity. The inspired apostle emphasized the importance of fidelity in marriage saying, "Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband" (1 Cor. 7:2). Sexual relations outside of marriage is termed "immorality" (NKJV) or "fornication" (ASV) Fidelity in marriage brings happiness to the family. The Wise man instructed, "Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth" (Prov. 5:18). Be assured, Solomon is not talking about the plumbing system in Jerusalem! He is teaching his son the importance of fidelity in marriage. Such faithfulness causes married people to "rejoice." A Christ-centered marriage displays mutual love and respect. Jesus taught and demonstrated love. He said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). The apostle Paul taught, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it" (Eph. 5:25). He instructed Timothy saying, "Train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children" (Titus 2:4). The kind of love Paul is speaking of is not the perverted, worldly type displayed on the Silver Screen. It is a love demonstrated in both word and deed. It is demonstrated when both husband and wife speak to each other in a kind and courteous manner. This kind of love is demonstrated when words of appreciation and affection are exchanged by husband and wife. It is demonstrated when marriage partners are sensitive and attentive to each other's needs. Little deed of thoughtful kindness and consideration from day to day strengthen the bonds of love. A Christ-centered marriage is one that is built on the life and teaching of Jesus. These are but a few of the fundamentals. While we live in a wicked world where the home is under constant attack, Christ furnishes us with ample instruction so that we might overcome the onslaught of Satan. May we study his word diligently and follow it in order to have a Christ-centered marriage.

What Do you Think Of Divorce

"Marriage is a great institution and is one of those institutions started with God, but people have entered into it with just selfish intentions. People don’t mean what they say when they enter marriage. Think of two consenting adults standing before God and people saying these words; “I will love you, take care of you in life and sickness, in riches and poverty until death does us part.” A few years down the road they divorce, do they still remember those words? Divorce is so common that hardly anyone thinks of it as a tragedy anymore -- except, perhaps, the ones experiencing it. Somewhere along the line the idea of permanence was thrown aside. "Till death do us part" is still part of most wedding ceremonies, but we wonder if the two people take the words seriously. The Bible has a high view of marriage. It is to be a lifetime plan, not a convenience that can be disposed of in a lawyer's office. The love of husband and wife is, at its best, a hint of the deeper love between a human being and God. Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. Hebrews 13:4 Drink water from your own well -- share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in public, having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Don't share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. May you always be captivated by her love. Proverbs 5:15-19 The man who finds a wife finds a treasure and receives favor from the LORD . Proverbs 18:22 The apostle Paul, who was single, recommended the single life for people like himself, dedicated to God's service. But Paul was realistic enough to know that most people, no matter how deep their faith, were better off married than facing the temptations of the single life: Because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. The husband should not deprive his wife of sexual intimacy, which is her right as a married woman, nor should the wife deprive her husband. . . I wish everyone could get along without marrying, just as I do. But we are not all the same. God gives some the gift of marriage, and to others he gives the gift of singleness. Now I say to those who aren't married and to widows -- it's better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can't control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It's better to marry than to burn with lust. 1 Corinthians 7:2-3, 7-9 Paul also addressed a ticklish situation: What if a Christian's spouse is not a Christian? Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. And if a Christian woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not have a godly influence, but now they are set apart for him. (But if the husband or wife who isn't a Christian insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is not required to stay with them, for God wants his children to live in peace.) You wives must remember that your husbands might be converted because of you. And you husbands must remember that your wives might be converted because of you. 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 Paul had much to say on the subject of marriage. He has been accused of being "anti-woman" because of his discussion of a wife's "submission." The passage here will show that he did not have in mind an abusive or dominating relationship, but one based on mutual love. You will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything. And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 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. And we are his body. As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:21-33 From the above bible teachings, marriage institution is from the heart of God. He uses marriage to illustrate His love to the world. The big question now is; do those who entered marriage and those who intend to enter it know and honor marriage? Do they know that it is for life? Is marriage a contract or a covenant? All in all the mind of God is that marriage is for life, look at this. Genesis 2:18 New International Version (NIV) 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Malachi 2:13-16 New Living Translation (NLT) 13 Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. 14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. 15 Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”

Let Not The Storm of Marriage Overcome you

Hello praise be to God my dear friends. Are you having problems in your marriage? Is your marriage experiencing a storm? Are you about to give up? Don’t give up, just continue to trust the Lord and will mend everything. Did you know there's a connection between thunderstorms and the quality of the food you eat? High winds have a positive effect on many plants, stimulating their roots to grow deeper so as to anchor the plant more firmly in the soil. And when roots grow deeper, they find fresh reserves of minerals that are taken up by the plant and deposited in the fruit. And it's minerals that provide nutrition. A stressed plant offers the sweetest fruit -- in due time. And the same is true with us. When God allows winds of adversity to blow against us, we are forced to extend the roots of our faith deeper into the soil of God's promises and provision, just to hang on through the storm. But when the storm passes, we have newfound faith, strength, maturity, and humility as a result of learning to hold on to God. That's why God doesn’t remove every storm so that we learn to depend on the grace of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). But we have to give the process time. If you are in a storm right now, dig deep into God and hold on. The sweet fruit of peace and joy will soon appear. Patience is the shield of the soul that will keep it from rolling and tumbling in the greatest storms. Just remember that storms don’t last forever, they have seasons. See what the bible says; To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 Seek God in the midst of that storm and he will keep safe and focused.

Pray with us.

Dear M.R.N.U. prayer partners, This month of January, we had the privilege of conducting two marriage seminars in Namadi in Mayuge district eastern Uganda and Kabuga in Kamwenge district western Uganda, we saw the hand of God working in these meetings. And as I mentioned before in my letters to you that this is a year of addition, we have seen 26 souls added to kingdom of God confessing the Lord Jesus as their Lord and savior. In these seminars we have seen married couples recommitted their marriages to God. I would wish as we enter the second month of this year that we thank God for what He has done in January and pray that even in February, many souls should come to the Lord Jesus. Today as I was meditating on what next next month, the Lord brought to me 2 Peter 5:6-7 God brought me the truth of how humility is surrendering to God's will by finding a place of rest in us trusting Him completely in all areas of our lives. This humility is saying, "I can't Lord but you can and I trust in your love for me and what your word says concerning me." This is what activates the power of grace in our lives which is sufficient for us and exalts us to a place of supernatural peace and joy. However the opposite is also true, where we don't surrender our cares to The Lord and try to do things in our own strength, we demonstrate pride. The scripture says that God resists the proud and His grace cannot be activated to protect and elevate them in life. By resisting trusting in Him, we resist the power of His grace. 1 Peter 5:6, " Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you," So how do we keep the wonderful, supernatural grace of God activated in our lives? We simply do what the word says, by casting all our cares on Him continually, in all things. Being convinced of His unconditional love for us. Understanding that when He considers us, He sees us without the ugliness of sin. He sees us clothed in the righteousness of His son and holds nothing against us. That's what Jesus did on the cross for us. When we go boldly before this throne of grace, we can freely, without condemnation, cast our cares on Him, knowing that He will take care of us. v7, "Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." Dear friend, I so desperately needed a reminder of Gods' beautiful grace towards me, my family and M.R.N.U. It is our prayer that in the following days and months, you would take a walk through the scriptures, refreshing and renewing your mind to His supernatural grace available to you. His love for us is so much more than we could ever comprehend, allow your heart to be flooded with it so that you can spend the rest of your life enjoying Him and the life He has for you. I request you continue to remember M.R.N.U as they embark on the Nabigonvu seminar in Mubende district starting on Thursday 21st and ending on Sunday the 24th. Pray with us that the will of God be done. Thanks for being partners in the ministry and may the Lord reward you and your entire families in Jesus’ name. Your brother in the Lord, Moses.

The Way To A Happy Family

Do you what to have a good family full of love, joy and peace? Start reading, obeying and trusting the word of God, for this is the foundation of a happy family. Remember a good family life is a reward for following and trusting the Lord. Psalm 128:1, 3-4 New King James Version (NKJV) 128 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord.