God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

First of all, let me start with a disclaimer…I’m not married anymore. I have been single for 17 years.

Okay, now that we have that straight, let me say something else…you don’t need to be married in order to know what makes up a good marriage.

If you are a consistent Bible reader you know that the Lord tells us about a man’s role in marriage in the book of Ephesians chapter 5, while the womans role in marriage is discussed in Proverbs chapter 31(See posts 66 and 67). Therefore if you want a “Hallmark” type relationship, we have a wonderful resource that shows us how to acquire all that we desire in a relationship.

There are people in the world that think that a lengthy marriage means a good marriage. I am not a believer in this camp.

The most important quality of a great marriage, is when a couple puts the Lord first place in their lives. They do this by consulting the Lord through the Bible to guide every aspect of life.

In the Bible we will learn what to do with our money and our time. We learn what capacity the husband and the wife should work. We will also learn who should take the head of household role- yes, God even designates that!

Digging into Scripture imparts wisdom and this wisdom guides us perfectly. If a couple DOES NOT align their life with the Lord- they are simply enduring marriage and their advice will be based on the current trends of the secular world instead of the timeless teachings of the Lord.

Build Your House on the Rock:
 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”(Matt 7:24-27)

In the book of Genesis, we will see that the Israelite men were choosing their wives based on looks…hmm that brings to mind the T.V. show The Bachelor...

“Then the people began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them. The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives…The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on earth and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil…and the Lord said I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth…but Noah found favor with the Lord.”(Gen 6:1,2,5,7,8)

The people of the earth were multiplying fast. Men were marrying any beautiful woman they wanted, disobeying the laws of the land and forgetting to consult with the Lord for guidance when choosing their future wife. They used superficial characteristics and desire to decide which woman to marry. We will never receive God’s full blessing in a marriage if it is based soley on looks, intelligence, fun, worldly prestige, fame, or any other quality. If we want a lasting, loving and strong marriage it requires each person to have faith in, and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. If not, at best it will feel empty.

The impact of our marital choice is far reaching. If a Christian marries a person who doesn’t fear the Lord, the standard of the home life gets lowered. The children may not be raised in a Bible based church, so they never learn that God has conquered every problem we will ever have and by living our life “in Him”(following His teachings) we too will conquer everything that comes against us. Without this knowledge the children in secular or non Christ following homes will develop a self reliance and acquisition of money mindset. Many people think that if they have wealth they are secure and life will be much easier. Scripture sets the record straight telling us that our security lies in the Lord.

“The rich think of  their wealth as an impregnable defense; they imagine it is a high wall of safety.”(Prov 18:11)

” The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.”(Psalm 28:7-8)

Children not raised with the Bible do not realize that following God’s teachings leads to blessings whereas not following them leads to consequences. Without God at the center of our families we are building our home and family life without a safety net. When we encounter job loss or devistating health issues, we are ignorant as to how God can help us. We aren’t aware of the many Bible verses on health, healing and prosperity. These verses are promises God gives His faithful followers who have discovered the treasure trove found within the Bible. Not only that, without a solid faith in God, we may panic and succomb to depression because Satan infects our minds to focus on the negative.

God is not a dictator and He allows us free will to believe in His promises and laws or not. His laws are as sound and as unchanging as His law of gravity. His kingdom doesn’t change and evolve for God is the same yesterday, today, forever. (Heb 13:8)  His laws were set in motion when He created the world and they work every single time.

Just like there is an animal kingdom, we enter into the Kingdom of God by choosing to be a follower/imitator of Jesus Christ- in other words through faith and obedience. This is when we start to live a life of joy, peace, contentment and a profound desire to turn from the world and its earthly pleasures that are fleeting.

This world we live in is dominated by Satan’s followers- even church going people who live as they choose are dominated by Satan and have not entered the Kingdom of Heaven.

We need to bring light to the world by living as Jesus instructs. People will start to see our children growing up to be competent, kind hearted faithful people who serve others. Our peace and our joy will be evident, as will the lack of drama in our lives. All these characteristics of the good life are given to us as we choose to stand for Christ and fight the good fight of faith.

Arming ourselves with knowledge of the Word of God will lead us to the best spouse and it will bring us as close as possible to those lovely love stories on the Hallmark channel. There is still sin in the world and we will endure hardship and problems however followers of the Lord will overcome everything by living “in Christ”.

A home is a refuge for families who love and FOLLOW the Lord. For those who do not, it can be lonely at best and a war zone at worst.

Which home do you have?

Lisa