I think perhaps the hardest thing that any pastor could ask a congregation to do is to become personal witnesses and to share their faith with somebody who is not a believer. If you ask people, “Why don’t you witness? Why don’t you share your faith with others?” you would get a lot of different answers...
Some time ago a man just dropped in my office who obviously was despairing of life. It did not take long for me to know that he had virtually come to the end of his rope. He had no meaning, no purpose in existence. I had just been teaching to our church the Roman road of salvation and I decided that I would use that plan of s...
A news article began, “America is thirsty for some good news.” It was referring to inflation, a coal strike, and trouble in the Middle East. But the good news that America really needs is the good news announced by the angel that day when the friends of Jesus came to the tomb where he was buried. The angel said, &...
John Greenleaf Whittier once wrote, “For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’” Those words are the sad commentary on many a life. People start with such great promise and have such golden opportunities. But they make the wrong choices and miss their opportunities...
Part of the act of baptism in the church of India is for the candidate to place his hand on his head and say, “Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel.” We might ought to initiate that practice in our churches, because many of us have forgotten that witnessing is our commission also.
We Christians do not unde...
The Bible is the greatest textbook on marital relations ever written. All other books are but amplifications, illustrations, and applications of the basic truths in the Bible.
In many places the Bible sets out the duties of a husband to his wife. Here they are as a good reminder to every husband.
1. Love her. The first and most often–mentioned responsibility of the husband is to love his wife (Ephesians 5:25). The kind of love that the Bible talks about is the kind of love that Jesus showed when he died for us on the cross. Real love puts the interests, desires, and wishes of the other person first. This is the way that husbands are to love their wives.
2. Be understanding. We are to be reasonable, sensible, and understanding of our wives (1 Peter 3:7). We are to try to see things from their point of view. We are to try to put ourselves in their place. There is no substitute for sweet reasonableness in marriage.
3. Support her. The Bible says that if a man does not provide materially for his family, then he has disowned the faith and is worse than a nonbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8).
4. Live joyfully with her. Marriage is to be a joy and a delight. The Bible teaches that the man is to enjoy life with the woman he loves all the days of his life (Ecclesiastes 9:9). There are no more valuable qualities than laughter, humor, and good-naturedness in the marriage relationship. Learn to enjoy every day together.
5. Avoid bitterness. An irritable, quarrelsome, fault-finding nature can destroy any relationship. It can change a marriage from made in heaven to hell on earth. It is so easy to become a sour, bitter, and sullen person. Don’t let it happen to your marriage (Colossians 3:19).
6. Assume leadership of the family. The husband is to be the head of the wife. This is not a privilege to be abused. It is a responsibility to be assumed. It means that the husband is to lead his family in all things, including spiritually.
At least one-half of the marital problems could be solved if husbands would treat their wives right. Our duty is clearly set out in the scriptures. Now let’s do it.