Lifelong Love - Martin Wiles

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her. Ephesians 5:25 NLT

Although made for washing dishes, this cloth led to a sixty-three-year marriage.

Marion came from a troubled background. His mom and dad divorced when he was young, leaving his mom to raise him and his sister. She tried her best, but the day came when she couldn’t afford them any longer and sent them to live with her mom.

The grandmother did the best she could, but another tough day arrived when she had to decide which one to keep. She kept Marion’s sister and enrolled Marion in a boy’s home. As soon as he was old enough, she enlisted him in the military. 

On this day, Marion was home on leave, visiting his mom. Dejected and lonely, he sat on the couch, not saying much to anyone. Idelia, a family friend, was visiting. Noticing Marion’s dejected look—and knowing Idelia needed a man—Grandma intervened. Taking the dishcloth, she wrung it out and handed it to Idelia. “Take this washcloth and wash Marion’s face with it,” she said. Though an odd request, Idelia obeyed. Marion obviously enjoyed the gesture, and they eventually married.

When my wife shared that story about her parents, I chuckled. Having known them for more than a decade, the story fit. As I’ve watched their relationship over the years, I’ve noticed her dad’s obedience to Paul’s instructions—and her mom has followed suit too. They love and submit to each other—two necessary components for lifelong love.

Successful marriages take mutual love and effort. Love isn’t lust, and marriages based only on lust are destined for failure. Outward looks change—which dampens what lust feeds on—but inner beauty lasts. Marriages based on this endure through the easy as well as the tough times. These marriages aren’t entered into with divorce as an option if things get tough. 

Perseverance characterizes lifelong love. Marion and Idelia’s marriage endured tough days. His military career took them to countless places and into two wars. Idelia spent numerous days and nights alone, wondering whether the one whose face she had washed would make it home—but she hung in there. They gave and served each other, and God blessed them with a lasting marriage.

Marriages take energy, perseverance, and love, but God blesses those who enter them for a lifetime. Make your marriage one that lasts.

Tweetable: Are you building a lifelong love? 

Prayer: Father, thank You for the partners You give us to spend our lives with. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's Word.

Pesterers - Martin Wiles

When you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. James 1:13-14 NLT

Some things just won’t go away no matter how much I swat at them.

Across the corn fields from my grandparents’ farm sat two sets of chicken houses. Thousands of chickens made their home there and laid eggs for buyers. And millions of flies hung around them—and my grandparents’ house.

Since my grandparents’ home wasn’t air-conditioned, keeping the flies from entering small holes in the screen door and screened windows challenged my grandmother. My grandfather, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind. While my cousin and I swarmed over the porch swatting as many flies as we could, our grandfather sat in a chair and enjoyed looking over his fields, gazing at his hogs, and watching the sunrise. Flies lit all over him and buzzed around his head. Rarely did he swat at them with the flyswatter or shoo them away with his hand. He merely enjoyed life.

James didn’t mention any particular pesterers—just that when I’m pestered in the form of temptation it doesn’t come from God. God can’t be tempted, nor does He tempt anyone to do evil. Trials and tribulation are another story. I like to think Satan brings the pestering—and he certainly works through it—but the problem is inside me. My sinful desires pull me in the wrong direction.

What pesters me varies from day to day: traffic, someone’s negativity, another’s pessimism, long lines at the grocery or retail store, a co-worker’s attitude, finances, unruly children, helicopter parents. Learning to respond as my grandfather did to the flies helps. If the things pestering me are just aggravating and not sinful, I can let them buzz around, ignoring them for the most part. Most of the time, they’ll go away or work themselves out. Like flies that retreat at night.

If my pesterers carry the potential for sin, I need a different reaction. Ignoring the pesterer won’t work, nor will trying to rationalize a sinful decision. I must arm myself with the swatter and drive the pesterer away. And this I do by praying, reciting Bible verses, changing locations, changing my thinking, and putting on the defensive armor God gives.

Pesterers can steal our joy and lead us into sin if we’re not careful, but God gives the power to overcome our irritants. Depend on Him to show you the action you need to take.

Tweetable: How do you face your pesterers? 

Prayer: Father, when the pesterers come, give us courage and wisdom to respond appropriately. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's Word.

Flashback Friday - Empty Nesting - Martin Wiles

Empty Nesting

In the space of two short years, I found myself mired in the empty nest syndrome.

One of life’s eye-opening experiences was when I could no longer say I had a daughter or son in high school. Two years after my daughter left for college, my teenage son decided to move in with his mom. All of a sudden, the house was empty. No one’s dirty clothes to pick up. No one to cook meals for. No one’s laundry to wash. With the exception of the television or radio…silence. And it wasn’t golden.

One of life’s rites of passage is being on our own. Children will leave the nest. Read more...

Tweetable: How do you handle the empty-nest syndrome?

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's Word.

The Wrong Preserver - Martin Wiles

But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Matthew 14:30 NLT

Even if I had grabbed it, I doubt it would have saved me.

As a preteen, I loved fishing with my grandmother on the Santee River. The fact that neither of us could swim didn’t deter us from going. I’m not sure what kind of life preservers existed in the 1970s, but even if fancier ones were around she didn’t buy them.

My grandmother equipped her aluminum boat with a small motor, jugs of water, a bag of sandwiches, a paddle, and poles and bait worms. And finally, lifejackets. If you could call them that. They were no more than cushions with handles sewn on. I’m not sure they would have saved me, but who would have had time to grab one if I was tumbling over the side of the boat?

Fortunately, neither of us ever had to rely on one of her primitive life preservers. We used them to sit on—but for nothing more.

Peter used the wrong preserver as well. Perhaps he thought he was a super disciple—a little better than the others . . . a little closer to Jesus . . . a little higher on the faith totem pole. Until Jesus walked on the water and asked him to join Him. Peter proudly stepped from the boat and did well with his water-walking—until he saw the waves and felt the wind. When he cried out for help, Jesus extended a life preserver.

The preservers available to me when I’m confused or when life takes a detour are numerous: addictive substances, prescription meds, books, counselors, friends, monetary spending. None will preserve my sanity. Some may help, but only if I reach for Christ also. Through prayer, meditation, Bible study, and time spent with mature believers, Jesus helps me make sense of my circumstances.

Jesus never disappoints—as my grandmother’s life preserver surely would have. He casts me a preserver every time I need one, and as often as I need one. He even throws it when I don’t think I need one—when I think I can handle things on my own, as Peter did.

And Christ isn’t selective in who He throws the preserver to. Anyone who calls out, as Peter did, gets a preserver—and a nice one at that.

Don’t let life’s circumstances sink you. Cry out to God, and He’ll throw you the preserver you need.

Tweetable: What life preserver do you depend upon?

Prayer: Father, turn our eyes toward You when life’s situations sink us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's Word.