Pray together

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Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. --Mark 10:7-9 Do you remember the first Rocky movie? I love the line when someone asks Rocky what he and Adrian saw in each other. He says, “I got gaps; Adrian’s got gaps. We fill in one another’s gaps.” What a great description of marriage! We fill in one another’s gaps! Have you ever noticed how in many marriages, the weaknesses of one spouse are offset by the strengths of the other? Working together, we are stronger than we could ever be separately. In marriage, when we can affirm our diversity and accept our responsibilities, then we can rejoice in our unity. In God’s miracle mathematics of marriage, one plus one equals one. How do we achieve that unity? Through the example of Jesus Christ who died for you upon the cross. He is the supreme example of love. Therefore His love is our standard. Maybe you’ve never had the right kind of model for your marriage. If you came out of a broken home, maybe you feel doomed to repeat the mistakes of your parents or your own past life. But you don’t have to! Begin today. Start afresh and ask Jesus Christ to help you. I want to encourage you today to follow Christ’s example of love and sacrifice in your marriage. You do this by affirming your diversity, accepting your responsibilities, and rejoicing in your unity as a man and woman who have received God’s grace and hope for eternal life. When you do, you can begin to “become one.” Pray together and ask God to help you “become one.”

Serving God with All We Have

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
Romans 1:14–16

In 490 BC, the Persian army, under Darius, invaded Greece in an effort to expand the great empire. On the plains near Marathon, the forces of Athens decisively routed the invaders. According to tradition and the Greek historian Lucian, a dispatch runner named Pheidippides was sent to take news of the triumph back to Athens. Pheidippides ran some twenty-six miles without stopping for rest. Lucian wrote, “Bringing the news of the victory at Marathon, he found the archons seated, in suspense regarding the issue of the battle. ‘Joy, we win!’ he said, and died upon his message, breathing his last in the word ‘Joy.’” The modern marathon race is based on this ancient story of endurance and sacrifice.
The Christian life is not a voyage on a cruise ship, but a tour of duty on a battleship. And the cause of Christ is worthy of every effort and sacrifice that we may be called on to make. Jesus calls for our complete and total commitment to Him. The Apostle Paul, after meeting Christ on the road to Damascus, served Him with all he had for the rest of his life. The Christian life is not a sprint, but a distance race, and we have God’s strength to keep running. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

The work of God is worthy of the investment of all that we have and all that we are.