Chapter 26-Keeping The Flame Alive; Day869
November 18, 2012 1 Comment
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
Gardens don’t grow by themselves, they need to be tended and cultivated and weeded. the same is true of a marriage.
Is happy and lasting marriage possible?
Yes, when the couple learn to adjust to each other.
Every divorce represents a broken dream
Every divorce represents a shattered hope
Every divorce represents a ruined expectation
Every divorce represents a violation of God’s original blueprint for marriage.
Every divorce is a failure of the commitment made at the wedding when both said “I DO”
Every divorce is an evidence that word “as long we both shall live” was just a mere one line sentence of no importance during the wedding day.
Divorce just did not happen overnight. It started long before the signing of the papers or the physical separation.
Divorce started when the spouse began to contradict in ideas and intentions
Divorce happened because spouses ignored the warning signs and did not do anything to repair/adjust
Divorce is not the end of the journey
Divorce also can be a great beginning
3 Steps-Keeping the Flame Alive
1. Commit your marriage to God
Marriage is between Husband, Wife and God [God being in the middle]
Two vows we made at the wedding, one to the spouse and one to God – A promise of commitment
Marriage vows are vows of absolute faithfulness to each other and God
But whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks heart and understanding (moral principle and prudence); he who does it is destroying his own life. Proverbs 6:32
Grow together in your relationship with Christ
2. Commit yourself to your marriage
Don’t take your spouse for granted
Don’t drift apart, stay close at all times
Give priority to marriage
Put the welfare of marriage first above friends or relatives or other activities
Make marriage as the central part of your life, everything takes off from marriage and not marriage on the sideline
Address marriage as a responsibility and not a privilege
Always do something to strengthen it, not weaken it
3. Treat each other with affection and respect
Mutual affection and respect are essentials for a strong marriage
Encourage daily
Learn to forgive daily
Be sensitive to each others needs
Carry each other when hard time comes
Listen and listen well when your spouse is in a special situation or hardship
However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. Ephesians 5:33
Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]. Galatians 6:2
The 2 Most Important phrases in a marriage are
a. I LOVE YOU
b. PLEASE FORGIVE ME
A Word To The Unmarried
God calls some people to singleness and they may be better equipped to serve Him
Do not allow yourself to be drawn to a relationship that do not honor God.
Avoid sexual impurity of any type [heterosexual or homosexual]
Avoid falling in love with the wrong person for the wrong reasons
Don’t just look at the physical appearance
Look for inner qualities that will stand out during a long journey of comfort and sacrifice
Make it your goal to honor God in everything-including your marriage
Do not be in a hurry in the laying on of hands [giving the sanction of the church too hastily in reinstating expelled offenders or in ordination in questionable cases], nor share or participate in another man’s sins; keep yourself pure. 1 Timothy 5:22
Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worship fully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! Proverbs 31:30
Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or changes of clothes; 4But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3: 3-4
PLAN:
Daily Bible Devotional
Journal
Workout-40Mile Cycling
READING LIST:
Book-Permanent Innovation p.143
Book-The Journey, By Billy Graham p.266
TIMELINE:
0800, End of Sleep
1300, 40Mile Cycling
1400, 40Mile Cycling
1500, 40Mile Cycling
1700, Car Maintenance
1800, Car Maintenance
1900, Read/Journal
Marriage is a life-form of love which binds two human beings in the closest union possible. This fact gives a very definite structure to the manner in which man and wife approach the Christian life. Union in marriage first of all gives a basic orientation to one’s stance before God. Married people in many ways stand together before God in love, and together receive His love. For in learning to give themselves as completely as possible to one another spiritually, physically, and in every other way, man and wife should be learning how to give themselves to one another – love, they should be learning to open themselves more authentically to God’s love.
Man and wife, precisely because of their married love, have their own special responsibility to love man and his world. They have received a gift in one another’s love, and this gift is meant to overflow into the world of men. The married love of husband and wife is intended not only to enrich their own lives, but those of many others, who are the recipients of their capacity to love, a capacity which is increased by the proper exercise of married and parental love.