There is no better testimony of Christ’s love than a healthy marriage.

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However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. --Ephesians 5:33 Perhaps the best way for Christian couples to have a strong testimony to the rest of the world is to have a strong, holy marriage. Marriage is meant to be a picture of what our relationship should be with Jesus Christ. Christians are called the bride of Christ, and He is the head, or the groom, of this relationship. That’s why the Bible tells husbands to love their wives with every fiber of their being—even with their lives if necessary. That’s exactly how Christ loves us as His bride on earth! We need to be reminded often that one major purpose of Christian marriage is to be a vibrant testimony to the outside world of the difference that Christ can make. Nothing shows the love of Jesus Christ to this world better than a committed Christian couple sacrificing for each other and lifting each other up. Unfortunately, that’s also why a Christian marriage that fails is a disaster on many levels.  When Christian marriages fall prey to various problems and fall apart, the world wonders if Christ really makes any difference. This is on top of the damaged and destroyed lives that divorce causes among couples and families. Of course, Christians aren’t immune to the problems that plague all human relationships. But we must remember that Christ designed Christian marriage to stand out and be pure in an impure world. It’s easy to get discouraged by the fact that Christian marriages are failing just as frequently as secular ones. But there is something positive you and I can do about that. We can make sure our own marriages are Christ-honoring, and we can pray for and encourage the married couples in our families, churches, and neighborhoods. Stand strong for marriage, by taking time to pray for your marriage…and for the marriage of someone you know. There is no better testimony of Christ’s love than a healthy marriage. Today, pray for a married couple you know, that they will follow the Lord.

Renewed Temptation

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
Matthew 4:8–10

I read about a group of online shoppers who suggest a technique called “cart abandonment.” You find an item that you’re interested in and put it in your shopping cart, but don’t make the purchase. They say that almost without exception in a few days you will get a coupon or a special offer. The sellers know that you are interested because you put the item in the cart, and they will try to do whatever they can to get you to come back and complete the sale. They don’t give up just because you didn’t purchase immediately.
The devil works the same way. Even though Jesus completely shut down his first two temptations, Satan still came back with a third one. Saying “no” to sin today does not mean that the temptation will not return tomorrow (or sooner). Sin is not defeated once and for all, but must be fought and resisted again and again and again. If Satan repeatedly tempted Jesus, we should not be surprised that he does the same to us.
We are instructed to be constantly on guard for his attacks. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan knows the effectiveness of repetition, and he uses it as a tool to wear down a person’s resistance toward sin. Alexander Pope wrote:
Vice is a monster of so frightful mien
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Victory over sin requires alert resistance to temptation every time that it appears.