(Anyone remember Charles and Caroline Ingalls?)
I Want a Man, Not a Mouse!
As for the one who shares my life,
It was my choice to be his wife!
And for our jobs, if I could choose,
I wouldn’t want to wear his shoes.
No, I won’t sign the lib’s petition
To do away with wife’s submission,
I’d be a fool to boss my spouse,
I want a man and not a mouse!
I do not have to prove my might
For we are equal in God’s sight,
But we’re to function differently,
God made us that way purposely.
He’s my provider, what a gem,
And I’m a helper fit for him.
To live the role God planned for me
With joy, makes me completely free!
~Nancy Campbell, Above Rubies
Lessons From the Cedar Tree
Cedars resist decay and repel Pests! This is another wonderful feature of the cedar. This quality is an important part of our marriage, too. Perhaps you are having a self-pity trip and dreaming that you deserve someone better than your husband. Resist this evil thought in the name of Jesus!
Perhaps you think you could do better on your own. Repel this deceiving thought in Jesus name! Resist and repel all resentment and all negative thoughts about your marriage union. The devil roams about seeking to devour your marriage. He wants to destroy. Don’t be deceived by his seducing temptations.
A true marriage will also resist all evil. Hebrews 13:4 (NET) says: “Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled.” Refuse all flirtations with other men. Do not even think you can have a platonic relationship with another man while you are married. It is dangerous and always leads downhill. You covenant on your wedding day that, forsaking all others, you will be faithful only to your husband.
Refuse all kinky sex. God has made it beautiful without doing things that are unholy which in the end only lead to frustration and bitterness. Keep the marriage bed pure and holy.
Cedars are also fragrant. The cedar exudes a gum, which gives off fragrance. Does your marriage exude fragrance like the cedar?
Cedars have remarkable lasting qualities and are noted for their durability. In fact, there are some cedar trees that are estimated to be two thousand years old! This is how God sees marriage–durable and lasting. When we make the covenant of marriage before God and witnesses, we are in for the long haul! It is “forsaking all others.” It is “until death do us part.”
We live in an unprecedented hour in history when divorce is as rampart in the church as it is in the world. How God’s heart must grieve as the beautiful institution of marriage, which He ordained, is attacked and torn apart by the devil. This is not the vision of “lovely homes” which God designed.
How can our marriages last? Only by doing it God’s way. Our selfish flesh continually puts a spanner in the works! “Self” and “selfishness” are the root of all problems in marriage. We need to lay down our own rights, both man and woman, and embrace the same attitude of Jesus who did not cling to His rights as God. Instead, He made himself of no reputation, He became a servant, and He humbled Himself and was obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:6-8). The outworking of this truth in our lives is sufficient to keep a marriage to the end.
Too many people think that love is a feeling. When the feeling dies, they think love has finished. Love is a commitment. It goes beyond feeling. It goes beyond circumstances. Even when we have no vestige of love left within us, God’s inexhaustible love is still available to us. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes the kind of love we need to survive marriage. It is agape love, which starts with: “Love endures long” and ends with “love endures without limit.”
King Solomon used cedar timber to build God’s temple, and his own palace, because of the durability of the wood. God wants our marriages to be built of cedar too, not poplar or untreated pine that will not stand the tests of time.
May you have a marriage like the cedar tree.
Do something to make your marriage beautiful and special today.
~From Nancy Campbell, Above Rubies, A Lasting Marriage
Caveat: I pray this will edify and encourage each and everyone of you that is living in a difficult marriage, but I am not speaking to those in an any kind of abusive situation! Please go to a safe place and get help. The Lord is for you and will help you – call on His name! Also, visit here.
Colin and Nancy Campbell, from New Zealand, are blessed that all their children and many grandchildren live near them. Wesley is the oldest and owns the Christian band, the NEWSBOYS. Stephen manages the NEWSBOYS. Pearl and Serene are the authors of TRIM HEALTHY MAMA and committed to raising their families.
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