marriage

Have you said, “I do.” to Jesus?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 ESV

On our block, there are twenty people I call my neighbors, and in my directory, I can find a dozen others, that I call our friends. But over the years, the names on all my lists have changed except for one: my wife, Nancy. If, like us, you had a traditional wedding ceremony, you said words like these “Do you _____ take ___ _for better or worse, for richer, or poorer, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful as long as you both shall live?”  In the exchanging of vows, we entered what the Bible calls a covenant relationship. The same is true with God, and for us to be more than just the friends and neighbors of Jesus, there must be a moment when we say, “I do.” In the wedding ceremony there are more than vows, there is also the moment of the exchanging of rings.

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My wedding band remains on my finger, as a public statement that I belong exclusively to Nancy. She has a say in my affairs that no one else does. It symbolizes our inner commitment. In Christianity, God has a ring for us to put on called baptism. Once we have said, “I do” to Jesus and confessed Him as Lord, we put on His ring by being baptized. Though the water doesn’t make us a believer, it shows God, as well as my friends and neighbors, that I have accepted Jesus as my Lord, that He is in charge of the affairs of my life, and I gladly put on His ring. But, as the commercials say, “wait there’ s more!” After the vows and the exchanging rings, there comes a moment when the minister turns to the groom and says, “You may now kiss the bride.” For most of us guys that was no problem. We were delighted to do so! In the Christian life, Jesus also has something like that kiss, called communion, The Bible says that as often as we do it, we remember His death until He comes. The death of Jesus was His ultimate act of love, to pay the price for our sins so that we could go to Heaven and live forever with Him. Yes, eternal life is wonderful. Heaven has streets of gold, jewels in the walls and beautiful places for us to live, but best of all, it is an eternal covenant relationship with Jesus. If we have fallen in love with Jesus, that relationship all begins at an altar, with a vow, “Jesus is Lord.” A ring, “following Him in baptism” and a kiss, “remembering His death in communion. Jesus is a wonderful, loving, and eternal Lord. Have you said, “I do” to Him?

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Just a Few More Miles

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments 
It’s been fifty years of marriage dear
Now you know my math’s not strong
But that’s two thousand and six hundred weeks
If my calculator is not wrong

And with leap years and those quarter days
The months slip by so fast
It’s hard to count the meals you’ve cooked
And the birthdays that have passed

Paying the electric bills
The joy of Christmas each December
And teaching boys to pray and trust
Oh our loving God remembers

And walks with us down all the roads
Through hardships and our trials
Let’s finish well and trust Him still
For there’s just a few more miles!

Just a Few More Miles
by Peter Caligiuri © copyright 2023
All Rights Reserved

On a Personal Note

/ pastorpete51 / 14 Comments 
The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
    and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 15:33 ESV

If Solomon had been married as long as we have, he might have added the footnote that, “Lots of humility along with ‘I’m sorry and please forgive me’ comes before making it to your 50th wedding anniversary.” Probably somewhere about wife number four hundred Solomon lost track of anniversaries so I won’t press him on why that was left out. So as you might have guessed this Friday will mark 50 years since my very special, forgiving and patient wife and I took our first steps down the aisle together.

Yeah, she still can’t believe I loved those ridiculous platform shoes, but she was smiling anyway! Rather than the traditional cruise, we decided on a cross-country road trip to visit family and a few friends, would be a lot more fun. I may or may not be posting now and then along the way, along with a few photos.

So what can I tell you that we have learned along the way?

A real marriage is real work through real problems – but with God’s help and grace we discovered that real love isn’t something we fall into, it is something to learn step by step.

“What can I do to help?” works better than sitting in the car, honking the horn while she is getting the kids ready for church!

You’ll never remember what the heck was in the news you were watching or reading ten years from now, but you’ll remember every shot that went through the net while playing basketball with your kids!

Baby sitting your grandchildren often show us some of the things we missed while rushing around trying to be a good mom and dad.

Praying together every night before we head to bed, helps two people to sleep better and be prepared for unexpected changes, challenges or disappointments that come in the morning.

Jesus really never leaves us and walking with Him makes walking with each other possible all these years!

PS I hope you like this practically ancient song that was popular back in our day by Paul Stookey of the Group Peter Paul and Mary.