9.1- Our 55th Anniversary.

 9.1-

Our 55th Anniversary.

This week 55 years ago I spent my last week as a single person.  I was excited and overwhelmed about the prospect of marrying Sheila Self.  We had some plans to have a fun loving family life.  We have.

What marriage to Sheila gave to me was a partner who could envision the calling that God had put on both of our lives to work with Jesus on building up our family and building up the church with Jesus at the same time.

This was difficult for Sheila at first, because it took her a while to understand the kind of temperament she had and how this would fit into encouraging other Christian women in the church and in the community.

When she grasped that she had her own unique gifts to bring to it from God it worked out well.  She was a gracious hostess when needed, but she was also happy to support others who might even be more gifted in that and she applied her favorite work to working with paper.  A bulletin or a series of encouragement letters to prisoners or cards for birthdays and anniversaries or collecting a series of pictures for a video to celebrate a major event in our family life.

She was and has always been and will be an inspiration to me as help meet.  I wanted to be a preacher, teacher, encourager and trainer of people to be disciples of Jesus or better disciples of Jesus.

She has done this work with me for 55 years and we celebrate on this day.

PS. Devotional Reminders on this special day.

Larry I have some questions for you about your 55 years of marriage to Sheila and how God helped it along.

Okay.

What would you say were the advantages of marrying a Christian wife?

She is someone who is given to opening her home to people, especially lonely, poor and marginalized people. 

Those who are looking to grow in their spiritual walk are especially important to her.

A couple who love Jesus because He loved sinners will be in a good place together with Him.

This fellowship in a home and family setting will often push people to higher standards of love and joy and mercy.

We were always so lost without Jesus guidance and so found when honest in his amazing grace. 

She will have a view of God as generous and willing to supply what He promises. The expectation in a follower of Jesus is that He will provide.

She will not be satisfied with just hoarding things.  She will want to take some reasonable risks in life to keep things growing and interested.

She will have as her main goal, not the words of people saying "Well done" but the Lord Himself at the end of life saying, "Well done good and faithful servant."  She will be able to know that in times of testing it is not always connected to something someone has done wrong, but that at times it is the evil one who is being allowed some freedom to bring pain to us under the watchful hand of our loving God.

She will be real about her needs with her God and her husband.  God will always here and meet the need.  The husband on a good day will do what he can to meet her needs.  Our Father in heaven as taught to ask for daily bread and know that He will provide.

She knows how to celebrate life as a daughter of God.  Sometimes it is time to mourn and you can mourn with those who mourn.  She has read and understand the Messiah was called to fulfilled the promise of the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by dying on that cruel cross and has called all disciples to take up our cross daily.  When we fall down with it He will provide someone to help us carry it to the end.  She knows God as her helper.

She also knows how to laugh at life.  She has prepared her family for all kind of circumstances so she can laugh at life.

The orderly and passionate celebration of Jesus as Lord of Lord and Kings of Kings will be a joy in her heart.

She will be fearless for justice toward the poor and oppressed.  Because Jesus says the sick and poor are to be taken care of whatever the cost, she will be willing to pay the price of true discipleship. Her power will come from the Holy Spirit and so it will be focused on doing the right thing regardless if no one else is willing to do so.

She will have as her goal in life to be actually beyond this life into the resurrection with Jesus.

She will know that God power and His nature can be seen in what He has made.

Fairest Lord Jesus is the ruler of all nature.  Flowers and lawns and beautiful pictures of God's creation will be important to them.

These women have very high standards of what the people of God, men and women should stand for in this messed up world.  They know that without the grace and mercy of God there can be no peace, but with the flow from the heart of God all things are possible with Him.  Therefore, they are friends of all who strive to follow God's precepts.

Eccelesiastes 

4.

7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

8 There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

9 Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.