As long as we both shall live

The Bible celebrates an exalted view of marriage.

Our culture, on the other hand, propagates many myths about it. And, quite frankly, one of those myths is that marriage is just a legal contract. But in the Book of Malachi, God calls marriage a spiritual covenant. And He emphasized the spiritual component by explaining that when that covenant is broken, people are actually breaking faith (see Malachi 2:14).

If marriage is only a contract, it is disposable. For those who see it this way, if a marriage does not work out, they simply mutually decide to terminate the agreement. Others, because they view marriage as a simply a social custom, put off getting married. Instead, they live together. They rationalize that it is a way of making sure the relationship is really going to work. Interestingly, statistics now show that people who live together before marriage are more likely to divorce than those who do not. As it turns out, living together doesn’t prepare people for marriage; it prepares them to keep their options open.

I appreciate that the Bible views marriage as a spiritual covenant. There are nearly 300 references to the word “covenant” in the Bible. A covenant was an exclusive, solemn and binding mutual agreement between two parties before God. Second only to your decision to follow Christ, your marriage vow is the most important spiritual commitment you’ll ever make.

Maybe it is time to rethink marriage. Instead of buying into the myths of our culture, let’s embrace the clarity, challenge, and satisfying joy for a lifetime that is offered in God’s Word.

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The Message Your Life Sends

In the final book of the Old Testament, God told the people that they were sending mixed messages. Their faith whispered one thing, but their faithless actions shouted something else. Our actions always send the louder signal.

So God told them that they would lose their blessings. He actually says this: “I will curse your blessings” (Malachi 2:2). Curse is another way of saying Wreck. If we waste our influence, we wreck our lives. We know from the context that the people were sending the wrong message by giving God garbage for sacrifices -- the blind and crippled animals in their flocks. They were giving God the leftovers. And God seems to say, “I can’t bless this mess. You're sending the wrong message about My honor.”

These days, we tend measure blessings as health and wealth and easy livin’. But for God’s people in Malachi’s dat, blessing was the privilege of knowing God, serving, God. To be blessed was to be graciously loved by God and to have the privilege of sharing that grace with others. When our actions do not demonstrate that God really is the highest priority in our lives, we miss out on the privilege of serving God and being used by Him. We miss the blessing of blessing others.

What kind of message does your life send to your kids, your grandkids, your friends at school, or the people you work with? There is always a ripple effect. Our actions always send the louder signal.

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The First Thing God Wants You to Know

Malachi had a tough assignment. Because the people of his day had grown complacent, contentious, and disobedient, Malachi was called upon by God to issue a stern warning.

So what will God say through Malachi? How will God begin? What will be the first words out of His mouth? We find God’s opening words to His wayward people in Malachi 1:2:

"I have loved you," says the LORD.

Amazingly, God never speaks to us, except out of love. Whether He speaks kind words or severe words; liberating words or corrective words – in all the ways God speaks to us – He always does so out of love.

Incredible! Of all the things God wants us to know – the fundamental thing is this: “I have loved you!” “I have loved you!”

This truth is a significant part of my own journey with God. As a teenager, far from God, I was overwhelmed in a very personal way by God’s gracious love.

And notice God doesn’t simply say, “I love you,” but, “I have loved you.” In other words, not only does God love us now; He has always loved us! Our entire lives have been peppered with these overwhelming evidences of God’s specific love.

I marvel that the first words of God to His wayward people are an expression of love. God never speaks to us, except out of love.

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Beach Baptism 2010

Beach Baptism 2010 from Green Valley Church on Vimeo.