Solemn words establish a foundation for marriage. Do you remember the words you spoke?  On the wedding day no one can anticipate what the future may hold. Unfortunately some enter into a marriage that soon turns bad. Dreams are shattered when heartaches come, but how many remember the commitment made, for better or for worse?  Has your marriage been better than you expected or worse than you expected? Better I hope, but did you mean it when you committed yourself to your marriage partner hoping for the best, but not knowing what might come?  

There are more elements to the marriage vows however. We also say for richer or for poorer. I confess that in all my years of ministry I never thought finances alone could be the issue is breaking up a marriage. Usually when there are troubles finances are involved, but I never thought they might be the sole issue. One day I heard about a couple from my previous pastorate. The lady had found an older man who was quite well off. She was tired of the financial pressures that accompany most of our marriages. To my utter amazement I found out she had left her husband primarily to move up in the world. I was stunned.

I believe most people assume that as life goes on their financial picture will improve. For many it

does not work that way. It can be difficult to get ahead in this world, but hard times should drive us together and hopefully together on our knees. Financial pressures can come from overspending or from a lack of resources to meet basic needs, but either way such difficulties can easily come between a married couple. It is hard to see others succeed while we fail or to see others have much while we and our children struggle to get by.

At the same time we are wise to recognize that there are so many things money cannot buy. Financial comfort cannot guarantee good health or a happy home. Wealth has opened the door for self confidence rather then humble trust in the Lord. Most of us think if we had just a little more we could be happy, but experience demonstrates that is seldom the case.

Of course, specific phrases used in a marriage ceremony like for richer or for poorer are not taken directly from scripture, but somewhere a long the line a wise preacher understood the role of finances in marriage. He saw the value of identifying one’s perspective on money as a significant consideration in making a lifetime marriage commitment in a very uncertain world. If happiness in marriage is dependent on financial well being, disaster may occur in a moment of time.  If we are committed to marriage for a lifetime, financial struggles will drive us to the Lord and ultimately strengthen us in Christ.

In this column we are discussing the role of the Holy Spirit in the prayer life of the believer. Last time we began to consider Romans 8:26-27 and saw that the Spirit helpeth (helps) our infirmities. Why does the Holy Spirit help our infirmities? Verse 26 is clear when it says, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought.  Sometimes we are conscious of that truth. We may have a very heavy burden to bring to the Lord, but we simply do not know how to pray, nor for what we should ask. Have you had that experience? It is wonderful to know that in those difficult times the Holy Spirit will help us. In those moments of frustration when words fail us, He who indwells us will step in to intercede on our behalf. Then there are those times when we think we know exactly what to say and are ready to pour out our hearts to request great things from the Lord. I am glad we are welcomed into God’s presence at those times, but I am also glad the Holy Spirit will intercede in those situations too. We may think we know what is best, but if we got everything for which we asked we might be very sorry. In his love for us, God often delivers us from our own foolishness, by not giving us exactly what we request. How grateful we should be for this special work of the Holy Spirit, who sometimes by-passes our surface requests, but deals with our concerns at a far deeper level.

This work of intercession is described in our text as with groanings which cannot be uttered.  What does that mean?  The term groaning speaks of grief. A related form of the word is translated sighed in Mark 7:34, where our Lord Jesus sighed before healing the man who was deaf and dumb. It reveals how our Lord grieved over the burden this poor man endured with his physical problems. The Holy Spirit grieves over the burdens we carry and, in the depth of His compassion for us, takes our plight to the Throne of grace. We cannot grasp the greatness of that blessing.

It is at that point the Father is ready to respond to our situation. Verse 27 says, And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. The Father will respond because He knows what is the mind of the Spirit. In other words, He knows what the Spirit has in mind as He intercedes for us. We must hold this truth until next time.

                                           School is about to start and I am reminded again about Moses’ instructions to parents given in Deuteronomy 6:6-7. And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. The school year will bring about a change to the schedule. For some it will be home schooling of one kind or another. For others it will be the Christian School. For still others it will be the public school. Some may think our text may be more easily fulfilled in the home school setting than in another educational model. I have not found that to be the case, because home schooling often makes mom more of a teacher than a mom. When the school day is over it can be hard to re-establish a motherly image for the children. Moses was establishing a practice for family life. It was a call for children to hear and learn the things of God in the day to day family experience. My intent is not to pit one type of schooling against another. I do want to emphasize that what Moses was encouraging was not a particular type of academic program. He was advocating a somewhat unique family experience that is often missing in the family of “home schoolers”, “Christian schoolers” and “public schoolers”. It was the desire to rally parents to understand the importance of personal time with their children when problems could be discussed, burdens shared, questions asked and the end of it all would move a young person toward a closer walk with the Lord. This critical aspect of child rearing and family life is often missing because of hectic schedules for all, but also because sometimes parents are ill prepared to engage in this special element of training. Parents must not try to excuse themselves for failure in this area because they don’t think they can handle it or would not know what to say in such discussions. THIS IS PARENTING!!

Do you believe the Lord’s coming for us is near? I challenge myself over and over to think how busy I should be as a light in this dark world. My husband just said recently, when the homosexuals came out of the closet, the Christians got in the closet! Matthew 24:37-39 says, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Do you think we might be approaching a time that is “as in the days of Noah?” I’m afraid things can get much worse before our Savior comes for us, but once the rapture occurs there won’t be a chance for those who have heard the gospel, and rejected it, to get saved. Are we busy about our Father’s business? Who have you witnessed to today? Join me in being a bolder witness for Him. We have the answer to the troubled lives people live today. Our time is short. We need to be diligent in proclaiming that truth of salvation to a lost and dying world.

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