Nehemiah 13:23-31
I often remind Sarah that she made the decision to marry me when I am being crazy with Paisley running around the house, dancing in the kitchen, or outright just being crazy. (If you know me well, you know I am just a giant kid at heart ?) The same is true when she does something outside of the normal day to day life we live. It's all fun and games, but the reality is we do have the choice in who we married. Nothing against my parents, but I am glad we do not have to worry about arranged marriages anymore. As I look back on Sarah and I’s relationship, especially the dating stage. I think of all the choices that had to be made. I remember talking through differences of opinions on topics, but the one thing we both agreed we could not be different on was our faith. We spent months talking through our beliefs and understanding to make sure we were equally yoked. For some people, they hear this term, and they don’t see the importance, but I warn you, it is very important! As we read today's scripture, we see men of Judah marrying women from Ashod, Ammon, and Moab. Nehemiah goes on to talk about how half the children spoke one language while the other half spoke another. While I could not imagine being able to communicate with my own children, the major thing is that these nations did not believe in God. They worshiped other gods. When we as Christians speak about being equally yoked, we speak as to our faith in Jesus Christ. We must understand that the choice of who we marry truly matters. The Bible tells us that if a spouse does not believe, we should pray for them to come to know Jesus Christ. For those who are reading this as teen or young adults who are beginning to date, do you or have you asked them if they are giving their life to Jesus Christ? Although you may think it does not matter in the beginning, it does. God created marriage to be an amazing experience with blessings, but we must make the choice on if we want to follow God’s design or do it our own way. We know the right answer to the last statement, thankful God can use all things for his glory, let us strive to follow God’s plan and further His Kingdom.
I often remind Sarah that she made the decision to marry me when I am being crazy with Paisley running around the house, dancing in the kitchen, or outright just being crazy. (If you know me well, you know I am just a giant kid at heart ?) The same is true when she does something outside of the normal day to day life we live. It's all fun and games, but the reality is we do have the choice in who we married. Nothing against my parents, but I am glad we do not have to worry about arranged marriages anymore. As I look back on Sarah and I’s relationship, especially the dating stage. I think of all the choices that had to be made. I remember talking through differences of opinions on topics, but the one thing we both agreed we could not be different on was our faith. We spent months talking through our beliefs and understanding to make sure we were equally yoked. For some people, they hear this term, and they don’t see the importance, but I warn you, it is very important! As we read today's scripture, we see men of Judah marrying women from Ashod, Ammon, and Moab. Nehemiah goes on to talk about how half the children spoke one language while the other half spoke another. While I could not imagine being able to communicate with my own children, the major thing is that these nations did not believe in God. They worshiped other gods. When we as Christians speak about being equally yoked, we speak as to our faith in Jesus Christ. We must understand that the choice of who we marry truly matters. The Bible tells us that if a spouse does not believe, we should pray for them to come to know Jesus Christ. For those who are reading this as teen or young adults who are beginning to date, do you or have you asked them if they are giving their life to Jesus Christ? Although you may think it does not matter in the beginning, it does. God created marriage to be an amazing experience with blessings, but we must make the choice on if we want to follow God’s design or do it our own way. We know the right answer to the last statement, thankful God can use all things for his glory, let us strive to follow God’s plan and further His Kingdom.
Posted in Devotional