It is officially summer. School ended two weeks ago. Mike took the first week off with the girls before summerblast started. They helped a lot of people who needed physical labor.
My dad for one. Dad and Linda got a divorce about 2 months ago. They had been married almost 10 years. Divorce is so hard no matter what. It is heart-breaking. They put their house on the market to sell and it sold in about 1 month. Which was great for dad, not so much for Linda because she didn't have a plan on where she and Jordan and all the cats and dogs were going to live.
Mike went to help dad move out an entertainment center and noticed that the entire house was still put together...and they were closing on it in 3 days. So we went over and helped Linda and dad pack up her things and then move into an apartment.
My heart just broke for her. I was a little angry at my dad. I know there are two sides to every story, but he is the leader of the house. I feel like they did not do all they could to save the marriage--namely, get Christian counseling to guide them with their issues and turning to God.
I believe that God saves marriages. I know He does. He did for us and we will give God the glory for delivering us. Marriage is tough. It is humbling. It is also a blessing and a ministry.
There are so many couple we know who are struggling in their marriages and it breaks my heart. Satan really assaults the family unit and we must pray for a protective hedge around them and put on the full armor of God everyday.
Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, (it says when) you may be able to stand your ground...Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
Ephesians 6:13-18
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Marriage Part 2
Continuing on from the Focus on Marriage Simulcast by Focus on the Family:
Beth Moore spoke on submission. Ephesians 5:21-33.
Submission is not about inequality. It is about order. Something with 2 heads is a monster. She said Tony Evans gave a great definition of submission: learning to duck so that God can hit your husband.
She also talked about getting our identity from our husbands. What if we got our identity from Christ instead? What if everyday I got filled up with Christ, knowing I am loved, valued and cherished by Christ, instead of draining my husband dry trying to get all my needs met by him?
Something else that Mike and I have done is to hang out with couples who also want to make it. It is encouraging and uplifting to know we are not the only ones who have been through the valley, but also to know that we learned so much and can encourage and KNOW what others are going through. To know we have really messed up, but today is a new day. We are not just well, we are healed. We are miracles. That is what gives people hope.
Del Tacket spoke. He is the spokesperson for the Truth Project. I highly recommend doing the Truth Project. It teaches about living a Christian worldview in today's world.
Anyway, he talked about creation and how God would create something and say "It is good." Then their was a divine pause after man was created. "It is not good for man to be alone."
Why not?
Because what God has made reveals Him. Aloneness is contrary to God's nature.
Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge...
Job 12:7-9 "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
What do we see? Immense diversity and astounding unity. It is an ordered diversity, there are systems in place (like the solar system, water cycles, our bodies with all of their systems-skeletal, muscular, cellular, circulatory, nervous...) We also see relationship. Everything is in relationship. Protons, neutrons, electrons, blood clotting, weather... But nothing is more grand than the human relationship. It is all about relationship. God sets the example of relationship in the Trinity. The Triune God has the perfect relationship. In the Triune we have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father and Son are One. Father and Son sends the Holy Spirit. Son submits to the Father, Father loves the Son. Husband and wife are one. Children come from husband and wife. Wife submits to the husband. Husband loves the wife. It is a beautiful picture and I wish that I could draw it out.
One last thing Dr Tacket mentioned that I found very interesting: If prayers feel like they are bouncing off of the ceiling, men, check your relationship with your wife. 1Peter 3:7 says "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wife, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."
God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16) It destroys the image of God that He stamped on the family. Divorce is a serious issue with God, and the consequences are deep.
My prayer is for God to show us afresh the relationship we have with our spouses. To comfort and provide guidance in our marriages and for us to be a light for those around us.
Beth Moore spoke on submission. Ephesians 5:21-33.
Submission is not about inequality. It is about order. Something with 2 heads is a monster. She said Tony Evans gave a great definition of submission: learning to duck so that God can hit your husband.
She also talked about getting our identity from our husbands. What if we got our identity from Christ instead? What if everyday I got filled up with Christ, knowing I am loved, valued and cherished by Christ, instead of draining my husband dry trying to get all my needs met by him?
Something else that Mike and I have done is to hang out with couples who also want to make it. It is encouraging and uplifting to know we are not the only ones who have been through the valley, but also to know that we learned so much and can encourage and KNOW what others are going through. To know we have really messed up, but today is a new day. We are not just well, we are healed. We are miracles. That is what gives people hope.
Del Tacket spoke. He is the spokesperson for the Truth Project. I highly recommend doing the Truth Project. It teaches about living a Christian worldview in today's world.
Anyway, he talked about creation and how God would create something and say "It is good." Then their was a divine pause after man was created. "It is not good for man to be alone."
Why not?
Because what God has made reveals Him. Aloneness is contrary to God's nature.
Psalm 19. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge...
Job 12:7-9 "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
What do we see? Immense diversity and astounding unity. It is an ordered diversity, there are systems in place (like the solar system, water cycles, our bodies with all of their systems-skeletal, muscular, cellular, circulatory, nervous...) We also see relationship. Everything is in relationship. Protons, neutrons, electrons, blood clotting, weather... But nothing is more grand than the human relationship. It is all about relationship. God sets the example of relationship in the Trinity. The Triune God has the perfect relationship. In the Triune we have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father and Son are One. Father and Son sends the Holy Spirit. Son submits to the Father, Father loves the Son. Husband and wife are one. Children come from husband and wife. Wife submits to the husband. Husband loves the wife. It is a beautiful picture and I wish that I could draw it out.
One last thing Dr Tacket mentioned that I found very interesting: If prayers feel like they are bouncing off of the ceiling, men, check your relationship with your wife. 1Peter 3:7 says "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wife, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."
God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16) It destroys the image of God that He stamped on the family. Divorce is a serious issue with God, and the consequences are deep.
My prayer is for God to show us afresh the relationship we have with our spouses. To comfort and provide guidance in our marriages and for us to be a light for those around us.
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