Standing Up For God

This is an email that a friend forwarded to me:

From Ben Stein.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it’s just as fine with me, as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

How Not To Decorate A Wedding Cake

A cake decorator was asked by a bride to inscribe the words of 1 John 4:18 onto a wedding cake: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear.”

Unfortunately, the decorator didn’t know the Bible very well. So, instead of putting the words from 1 John 4:18 on the cake, the decorator wrote the words from the Gospel of John 4:18.

They read like this: “You have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.”

The bride and groom did not see the cake until their reception, as they were getting ready to cut it.

10 Rules For A Happy Marriage

Here are ten rules for a happy marriage:

1. Never both be angry at the same time.

2. Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.

3. If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your mate.

4. If you must criticize, do it lovingly.

5. Never bring up mistakes of the past.

6. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.

7. Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled.

8. At least once every day say a kind or complimentary word to your life partner.

9. When you have done something wrong, admit it and ask for forgiveness.

10. It takes two to make a quarrel, and the one in the wrong usually is the one who does the most talking.

These rules for a happy marriage are based on the writings of Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:

A better offer

Eric Snyder, minister of the Farwell Church of Christ, tells this story:

I recently did a wedding. During the wedding rehearsal, the groom pulled me aside and made me an offer.

He said, “Look, I’ll give you $100 if you’ll change the wedding vows. When you get to me and the part where I’m to promise to “love, honor and obey,” I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave that part out.” He gave me a $100 bill and walked away.

The day of the wedding the bride and groom were in front of me and we were to that part of the ceremony where the vows are exchanged. When it came time for the groom’s vows, I looked at the young man and said “Will you promise to bow down before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?”

Timeless advice for married couples

Although he was an unmarried priest, the great Orthodox preacher John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) gave some great advice for married couples:

We should love our wives not so much for their sake, as for Christ’s sake.

What if you devote the day to your work and your friends, and the evening to your wife; but she is still not satisfied, but is jealous for more of your time? Don’t be annoyed by her complaints; she loves you, she is not behaving absurdly – her complaints come from her fervent affection for you.

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