双语灵修（葛培理牧师） ：1月20日 美滿婚姻

1月20日

美滿婚姻

“丈夫也当照样爱妻子，如同爱自己的身子；爱妻子便是爱自己了。”以弗所书5:28

每一天，都有成千上万的新婚夫妇举行婚礼。每一对新人在婚礼上，都会许下“至死不渝”的誓言。可悲的是，遵守这些誓言的，最多有一半的人。因为现在每两对已婚夫妇中就有一对离婚。最新统计显示，三十多岁的女性中，有百分之六十的人，都预计会离婚。这个数字相当惊人。

美满的婚姻需要具备三个要素，这些要素缺一不可。首先，要彼此相爱。很不幸，爱，被好莱坞和电视曲解了，他们认为爱就是生理需要和感觉。使徒保罗在哥林多前书十三章定义了什么是爱。你去阅读，就会明白上帝是如何定义爱的。男人爱妻子，如同基督爱教会，为教会舍己。如果男人如基督般无私地爱妻子，哪个妻子能不积极回应和顺从呢？

其次，要理智成熟。家里不可能风平浪静。太多的人一遇到问题就离婚。如果你愿意把你的婚姻交给上帝，祂会让你理智地解决问题，即便是一桩貌似错误的婚姻。上帝会帮助你，因为祂恨恶离婚。

再次，基督中保。信仰是婚姻成功的重要因素。现代人生活压力很大，婚姻不容易。但是，没有基督做中保，婚姻就更加不容易。

将基督放在你个人生命的中心，也放在你婚姻的中心，肯定不会错。家庭一起读经、祷告。你就能在你婚姻的四周建立起坚固的堡垒，抵御任何风暴的袭击。

今日祷告：

天父，求祢带领我们成为彼此相爱的家庭。用你的圣灵充满我们，让我们始终在你的同在和荣耀中活出爱与饶恕。祷告奉耶稣的名，阿们！

January 20

UNTIL DIVORCE US DO PART

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.He that loveth his wife loveth himself.Ephesians 5:28

Thousands of times a day a man and a woman stand before an American clergyman or magistrate to be united in marriage.In virtually every ceremony they vow to remain married“until death us do part.”

Tragically,one out of two of these vows will never be fulfilled because divorce now parts one out of every two married couples.A recent Census Bureau report found that for women in their thirties,60 percent of them can expect to be divorced.Sixty percent!

There are three elements to a successful marriage,and each needs to be present if a marriage is to succeed.The first is love.Unfortunately,love has been redefined by Hollywood and television to mean something that is only physical,only feelings.But the apostle Paul defined love beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13.Read it and you will know how God defines love.Men are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it.What woman could not respond and submit to such a selfless expression of Christlike love?

Maturity is the second important ingredient in a successful marriage.Too many are getting a divorce at the first sign of trouble.God will give you the maturity to handle your problems even in what seems like a“wrong marriage”if you’ll let Him.He will do this because God hates divorce.

Third,faith must be an ingredient for a marriage to be successful.Marriage is difficult enough these days with all of life’s pressures,but without Christ at the center of a marriage and a home,it becomes even more difficult.

Determine to put Christ at the center of your individual lives and then at the center of your marriage and it cannot fail.Be faithful in your Bible reading and prayer time…together…as a family and you will build a fortress around your marriage that can withstand any storm.

Pray for the day:

Father,lead us to be families who love you and one another.Fill us with Your Holy Spirit,so that we will love and forgive and continue to live always in Your presence and for Your glory;in Jesus’Name,Amen.