I thought there was nothing more in the world of weddings that could be discovered, but I was wrong. Check out this website: http://www.inflatablechurch.com. Click the enter the site area on the middle of the page and check this out. I'm not real sure what the market demand is for something like this....since no one really values marriage anymore anyway!
Speaking of marriage, by now you have probably heard that the divorce rate "in" the church has surpassed the divorce rate "outside" the church. Sad...but even worse is the reason why! If you think about it - it actually makes sense. The reason the divorce rate "in" the church is higher is because less people "outside" the church are getting married. Instead they are just living together and not going through the "formality" of marriage. They only see a piece of paper as the primary benefit...
Both aspects of this grieve the heart of God...marriage was the first covenant relationship created by God. Before governmental, financial or educational institutions - there was marriage. The "covenant" aspect of a marriage relationship is the foundation for all other "binding" agreements we have today. The fact that people consider it unimportant shows the nonchalant attitude of most toward something as important as marriage.
The fact that Christians are getting divorced at record paces also grieves the heart of God. Marriage is not easy - by any means. But that doesn't mean that when things get tough, you can give-up or cave-in and just move on. Problem is though...just like many Christians give up on their marriage when things get hard, many give up on God in the same way:
"the 'Fair-weather Christian' has no problem serving and living for God when things are going well and the weather is good. As soon as the storm clouds roll in and the clasps of thunder can be heard, they whine, complain and tend to blame God for their circumstances. This person is always in church; in fact they may serve in many capacities at their church. The problem lies in their heart. This type of person is never content and often grumbles or complains when things are not going their way. They see people as a means to get their way. Unfortunately, they see God in pretty much the same light. The danger with this type of person is that they are often convinced their religiosity and superficial duties equate to salvation. This type of person may have often grown up in the church. Their familiarity with church life causes them to live religiously but never really have a life changing encounter with God. Because of the lack of a real relationship with Jesus, they do not live in the power of the Spirit, but on their own power. This causes frustration when things don’t go their way and they can’t fix their own problems, so they blame God. They live in the disappointing and delusional lifestyle of self-fulfillment."
(This excerpt is taken from the book Wake Up America by Steve Strickland, released in January 2008, Tate Publishers)
If you haven't got you copy yet...it's not too late! http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60247-809-1
(available in audio book too on this site)
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