Shining

Jesus loves His Church - He gave His life so that we might be brought into a relationship with Him through salvation. The Church is referred to in Ephesians 5 as His bride; we can read these verses:
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

It is amazing how life works when we submit to God's principles - now, that doesn't mean there won't be challenges or adversity, but when we follow His plan, we can experience His peace and satisfaction; we can face each day with the realization that He goes with us. God has provided principles we can follow on marriage and human relationships - He has shown His love to us and taught us what it means to be humble.  We experience His best when we are dependent on Him.

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The principles are so profound that we find a verse related to marriage in the Old Testament, in Genesis, but also in the New Testament, spoken from the mouth of Jesus. Genesis 2 says:
23 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Verse 24 is repeated in the books of Matthew and Mark, when Jesus spoke those words, affirming the Biblical viewpoint on gender and marriage.  For those who contend that He never taught on homosexuality or same-sex marriage, I submit those verses as evidence that He did - He laid out the genuine article, not a human-made counterfeit.

It was a celebrity wedding that was featured prominently by PEOPLE Magazine - that's not unusual. But, what is a bit unusual is that it featured two professing Christians and presided over by one of our Faith Radio programmers - Jim Garlow!

The groom was Lawson Bates, of the Bates family that had a reality show for a decade and is a budding Christian musical artist. He told the magazine: "I could have never even dreamed of marrying someone so kind, sincere and passionate about life as Tiffany! She has the absolute most beautiful heart, and I'm so blessed that God chose to bring us together."

The "Tiffany" is Tiffany Espensen, who worked for four years with Garlow's ministry, Well Versed. An article at BillyGraham.org in 2020 related that she had appeared in a number of television shows and movies, such as Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War.  The article says that Tiffany was born in China and abandoned by her parents because of the nation's one-child policy; but she was adopted by an American family.  She said: “Adoption reflects Christ, because God chooses us as His children,” adding, “I could’ve had a totally different story, and I’m just so thankful that He chose me.”

As her career unfolded, according to the article:

She remembers thinking, “Wow, look at this beautiful life. [God’s] given me these wonderful parents and opportunities. Why me?”

And she sensed God answering: “You can use this as an opportunity to shine a light on Me.”

Lawson was the subject of a Movieguide article, which reported:

“I became a Christian when I was 11. Some people say that’s too young, that’s too old,” Bates said.

“I think that in life you know, we’re all at different places, but each of us, you know, when God’s prompting us, whether it’s you know about our faith, personally, we just need to follow that, that prompting. I became a Christian at 11 and it’s the best thing I ever did,” he explained.

Bates said his parents are always there to answer any questions he or any of his 18 siblings have about faith and to “Steer the way if we’re in something that we don’t understand.”

An Instagram post embedded in that article quoted the reality star: "I hope these verse’s encourage you to never give up, because with Jesus at our side, you and I can face any high or low the world throws at us with the hope, peace, and comfort only He can give..."

Jim Garlow posted on Facebook:

TV Star (Growing Up Bates) and Movie Star Tiffany Espensen. The first wedding I have ever done on a yacht. The first wedding I have done where all guests were not allowed to post a picture until People Magazine released their article. The bride and groom told me, “We don’t care what you say in the wedding, except … just tell everyone how to receive Jesus!” A remarkable couple. Tiffany worked for us for four years, helping us found WELL VERSED. She will be Co-Host of the www.WellVersedWorld.org/futureconference/ & Lawson will be assisting as well - July 20-22 in Washington DC

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Bates!  I think that coverage of a wedding can always remind us as Christians to recognize God's intent for marriage.  In an age when the absolute truth found in Genesis chapter 2 is under assault, where gender and marriage are being redefined, we can rejoice in God's perfect plan.  Marriage is God's idea - it gives us the experience to express to and receive love from another person in a one-flesh relationship, and it also provides for furthering the human race through procreation.  

Those of us who are married can be resolved to make our marriages the very best that we can!  That means having Jesus involved and it means that we are to humble ourselves before God and one another so that He may be exalted.  We should regularly pray for and with our mates and be very careful to preserve and defend our relationship.