A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Wednesday,
January 23, 2019
"Holy
Marriage"
Message
summary: Today
let us consider the
Biblical, God-ordained
design for marriage, the
uniting of one man and
one woman in a covenant
commitment for a
lifetime. Today let us
again remember that,
"Marriage should be
honored by all".
Listen to our
message on your audio
player.
"But since
there is so much
immorality, each man
should have his own
wife, and each woman
her own husband" (1
Corinthians 7:2).
"Marriage should be
honored by all"
(Hebrews 13:4).
Yesterday we engaged in a conversation with a young man who had just completed a 30 day drug rehab program for opiate addiction through Teen Challenge. He now lives in a half way house and is working as a temp in a company we serve. We sought to encourage him by sharing several of what we have seen as helpful and even essential keys to keeping on the right path and staying faithful.
Like so many we hope he will overcome. This brought to mind those we have seen overcome for the long haul. Today we share an example:
Yesterday we engaged in a conversation with a young man who had just completed a 30 day drug rehab program for opiate addiction through Teen Challenge. He now lives in a half way house and is working as a temp in a company we serve. We sought to encourage him by sharing several of what we have seen as helpful and even essential keys to keeping on the right path and staying faithful.
Like so many we hope he will overcome. This brought to mind those we have seen overcome for the long haul. Today we share an example:
Brooksyne
saw a post on
her Facebook
page
celebrating
the
anniversary of
a wedding I
had conducted
in January
2006. In fact
the post had a
rather
unbecoming photo
of me at the
service.
Yvette had
been a part of
the church we
served in
Massachusetts
who had a very
hard life. (We
have a link to
her story
below.) The
wedding
service was
very special.
Yvette and
Wayne had both
been
associated
with Teen
Challenge
where they
first met.
Family,
friends from
church, and a
large
contingent of
friends from
Teen Challenge
made up the
witnesses to
their wedding
ceremony.
Teen Challenge was originally so named due to its outreach to teens back when it was founded in the late fifties by David Wilkerson. But soon after the ministry started it began to reach out to people of all ages who are trapped in various addictions.
The message remains "Jesus is able to save and deliver" and through the years scores of men and women all over the world have experienced miraculous and long-lasting deliverance. I served on the board for the New England Teen Challenge and have many friends who went through the program going back all the way to my college days when I met Sonny Oliver. (We also have a link to his story below.)
The Teen Challenge folks sure made up an interesting group at the wedding. They tend to be socially less restrained than many (in a good sense in my view); not impolite, just very expressive. As the service progressed one of the groomsmen was very concerned that I had forgotten the "You may now kiss the bride" part and gestured to remind me. I whispered (but inevitably loud enough for all to hear since I was using a microphone), that it was coming up.
Toward the end of the ceremony it seemed that practically everyone thought I would miss it and there was an anticipatory rumble throughout the congregation and even from Wayne and Yvette. At the appropriate time I said, "Wayne, you may finally kiss your bride." As I introduced the new Mr. and Mrs. the congregation erupted into earnest applause as the couple departed down the aisle.
The kiss was anticipated in large part due to a commitment that Wayne and Yvette had made during their dating period. They knew the effects of immorality and had made a commitment to refrain from physical intimacy during their courtship, including kissing, deciding their first kiss would be their wedding kiss!
The Scripture's forthright statement in the daily text is just as needed today as 2000 years ago, perhaps even more: "But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband" (1 Corinthians 7:2). *
Indeed there is so much immorality in our world (unless we merely redefine immorality as many are doing). But using God's standards as expressed in the Holy Scripture we clearly see that there is so much immorality. Thus "each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband". This is a reinforcement of the Biblical, God-ordained design for marriage, the uniting of one man and one woman in a covenant commitment for a lifetime. Today let us again remember that, "Marriage should be honored by all".
Be encouraged today,
Stephen C. Weber
Teen Challenge was originally so named due to its outreach to teens back when it was founded in the late fifties by David Wilkerson. But soon after the ministry started it began to reach out to people of all ages who are trapped in various addictions.
The message remains "Jesus is able to save and deliver" and through the years scores of men and women all over the world have experienced miraculous and long-lasting deliverance. I served on the board for the New England Teen Challenge and have many friends who went through the program going back all the way to my college days when I met Sonny Oliver. (We also have a link to his story below.)
The Teen Challenge folks sure made up an interesting group at the wedding. They tend to be socially less restrained than many (in a good sense in my view); not impolite, just very expressive. As the service progressed one of the groomsmen was very concerned that I had forgotten the "You may now kiss the bride" part and gestured to remind me. I whispered (but inevitably loud enough for all to hear since I was using a microphone), that it was coming up.
Toward the end of the ceremony it seemed that practically everyone thought I would miss it and there was an anticipatory rumble throughout the congregation and even from Wayne and Yvette. At the appropriate time I said, "Wayne, you may finally kiss your bride." As I introduced the new Mr. and Mrs. the congregation erupted into earnest applause as the couple departed down the aisle.
The kiss was anticipated in large part due to a commitment that Wayne and Yvette had made during their dating period. They knew the effects of immorality and had made a commitment to refrain from physical intimacy during their courtship, including kissing, deciding their first kiss would be their wedding kiss!
The Scripture's forthright statement in the daily text is just as needed today as 2000 years ago, perhaps even more: "But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband" (1 Corinthians 7:2). *
Indeed there is so much immorality in our world (unless we merely redefine immorality as many are doing). But using God's standards as expressed in the Holy Scripture we clearly see that there is so much immorality. Thus "each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband". This is a reinforcement of the Biblical, God-ordained design for marriage, the uniting of one man and one woman in a covenant commitment for a lifetime. Today let us again remember that, "Marriage should be honored by all".
Be encouraged today,
Stephen C. Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father,
how grateful we are
for the union of a man
and a woman in holy
marriage. You designed
the family unit to
work together, play
together and support
one another as they go
through the
celebrations and
difficulties of life.
Help me to be
absolutely committed
to my marriage partner
and to the family You
have chosen for me.
May I bring vitality
and blessing to my
family this day. In
Your name I pray.
Amen.* 1
Corinthians 7 also
teaches that some have
the gift of celibacy.
When I had
last conducted a
wedding ceremony in
Massachusetts in 2000
prior to our move to
Pennsylvania the
Massachusetts marriage
license designated the
couple with the
traditional titles
bride and groom.
Massachusetts was the
first state to pervert
the definition of
marriage and this
happened shortly
before I conducted
Wayne and Yvette's
wedding. At that time
Massachusetts
designated the couple
on the state issued
marriage license as
party A and party B!
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
We wrote a story about
Yvette many years ago titled "No Hopeless
Cause"
A message about Sonny Oliver.
"He Can Take It"
Video
Brian Free and Assurance
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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