Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying this sunny day! Lots more snow out our window now than when we left a couple weeks ago for N.C. God’s timing is so good as we got home just about the time, Al started not feeling so well. After we unpacked he went to bed and slept and slept, some coughing, etc. His covid test was negative so we are thankful for that. So this morning, I went back to Aldi’s and got chicken to make lots of soup for him etc. To be safe though we won’t go to Bible study today or the party tomorrow but isolate ourselves as we don’t want to pass anything on. We are grateful we are not at a hotel but home!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
There is a marriage crisis is our country today and the family unit has broken down. Children are left as victims, as well as parents. So many no longer believe in marriage and we have the lowest marriage rates since recording marriages in 1867. Ericka Anderson writes how devastating this crisis is to our culture with less marriages has come a higher rate of crime and poverty and less emotional and physical wellbeing for families. We also see more drop outs, and more domestic violence as the cost of the family breakdown is enormous.
I wonder if communities and schools realize the benefits of the family unit. The Heritage Foundation found having married parents reduces child poverty by 80%.
God created the union of marriage and it is important for His kingdom and also holds society together in a way the government can’t. Sadly, the government is seeking more control of the family and resents the parent’s influence. But Government can’t love a child but a parent can! Millennials are asking today of what makes a lasting marriage when so many end in divorce. Studies show that those who cohabit before marriage are 15% more likely to end in divorce; but faith-based marriages are most likely able to increase the odds with a long and good marriage. Marriage is symbolic of Christ’s relationship to the church. When we stray from God’s plan, society falls apart.  But if we instill Christ centered values in our children like humility, love sacrifice and service, chances for a lasting marriage increase. For Christians it is not just signing a marriage license but it is a binding contract that is symbol of Christ’s love for us.
As Christians let us not live according to the worlds’ view of marriage but as Ericka says, “It is a binding spiritual contract with God at the center as each man and woman surrenders his or herself daily to the other. In the hardship of surrender come unconditional love and acceptance.”
Jesus said in Matt. 19:4-6 (NIV), “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So, they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Let us do all we can to preserve marriage and the family!
Challenge for today: Be an example and also encourage others to have a godly marriage and family.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy