Blog / Marriage
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Romans 5:8… But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)
Think or Feel?
Many of the difficulties we experience in life and our marriages can be traced back to our inability to understand what informs our actions. In Scripture, we see clearly the basis of God’s actions for us – His love. Yahweh, as a loving being, performs loving actions for us – not based on how we make Him feel, but based on His character.
God does not love us, because He needs us. He loves us, because He IS loving – no matter how unfaithful or stubborn we are towards Him, it does not change His actions. As the apostle Paul told us in Romans, God acted on His commitment to...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
1 Peter 3:7… Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, 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.
Her Top Needs – Emotional Intimacy
Yesterday, we looked closely at the husband’s top needs, which revolve around his need for sexual intimacy. The opposite side of this paradox is the wife’s need for emotional intimacy. According to the research of Willard Harley Jr. and published in his book– His Needs Her Needs: Building an Affair Proof Marriage, a wife’s top 3 needs are: affection, conversation, and openness with honesty. Each of these needs address her emotional strengths,...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
1 Cor. 7:3-4…. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. (NIV)
His #1 Need
The greatest paradox of God’s design of marriage revolves around the top need for each spouse. Man’s intense sex drive often creates great discomfort to his wife, and the woman’s deep desire for emotional intimacy challenges husbands comfort zone like nothing else can. God intentionally created this tension in order to drive each spouse to their knees – marriage cannot work as designed without divine intervention. Today we...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Matthew 19:5…. and Jesus said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. (NIV)
His/Her Needs
According to the research of Willard Harley Jr. and published in his book– His Needs Her Needs: Building an Affair Proof Marriage
His Needs Her Needs
1. Sexual Fulfillment 1. Affection
2. Recreational Companionship 2. Conversation
3. An Attractive Spouse 3. Honesty & Openness
4. Domestic Support 4. Financial Support
5. Admiration 5. Family...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Matthew 19:4-6…. "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' (NIV)
Different, but Good
In our world today, society tries to reduce the differences in men and women, as if the uniqueness that God built into the male and female designs were flawed. However, Scripture emphasizes the beautiful traits that belong particularly to men or women. The physical contrast in male and female bodies are obvious, but God also built in significant spiritual and emotional trait differences as well. In order to accomplish Yahweh’s marital objective, husbands and wives must seek to truly, understand, embrace, and accept the differences that God intentionally designed.
Dr....
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Ephesians 5:31-33… “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Authentic Commitment
Some words lose their meaning over time. For example, a lot of people use the word “love” in contexts that robs the word of real meaning – “I love ice cream” or “I love football”, etc. As this is done repeatedly in a culture, people begin to deduce that love is about feelings or pleasure, not about commitment that lasts a lifetime.
Commitment is often best...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Deuteronomy 24:1… If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house… (NIV)
Grace & Divorce
What is the Christian response to divorce? It’s not to add on to God’s word by saying that divorce is an unforgiveable or unpardonable sin. It’s not to say that divorce is never acceptable or right. It’s not to raise the standard above what God has said. Nor is it to merely accept a standard or practice that is clearly below what God has set. Deuteronomy 24:1 is not a command to divorce, but the objective account of one who does divorce based on some "uncleanness" or...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Mark 10:2-9…. Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” “What did Moses command you?” he replied. They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (NIV)
Unequal Disunion!
The statistics are in …
• In the United...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Matthew 5:31-32…. “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” (NIV)
God’s Design
Where do you go when you are looking for counsel regarding an important matter? Would you ask a dentist for advice concerning the pain in your foot? Would you ask your plumber about an upcoming legal case you are involved in? More importantly, who do you listen to when it comes to the most important earthly relationship you have? Do you look to the One who designed marriage or to someone who...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
James 5:16…. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (NIV)
Colossians 3:5… Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (NIV)
Winning the Battle
Many followers of Jesus Christ have given up in the daily battle against sin in their lives. For some, they have just become weary of the constant attention and effort it takes to defeat sin. For others, they have lost hope and become fatalistic – accepting that they cannot overcome the temptations and addictions to particular sins in their life.
It certainly...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Philippians 4:8… Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (NIV)
What’s Filling Your Mind?
The truth of the matter is that in today's society, it is impossible to block out everything sexual. We live in a culture where sex sells everything — a major ploy to attract consumers. Sexual immorality in all of its forms is now paraded as legitimate fare for everyone, thanks in a large degree to the media and entertainment sector. However, the move towards purity is not just about what not to do or what to avoid.
We can be proactive about what we put into...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Job 31:1… I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully (Gaze) at a girl.
Proverbs 6:25… Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes,
Lust Protection
“You can't keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.” (Martin Luther on Temptation)
We are bombarded with temptation everyday on every front of life. There is a two word response to temptation that will change everything and short circuit the cycle that leads to sin: “Look away and Look to Christ” Jesus Christ is the author and perfect of our faith, and the one who has modeled dealing with temptation. He is the one who said he would never leave you or forsake...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
James 1:13-15… When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Proverbs 4:25-27… Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Keeping the Eyes Pure
Sadly today, one of the largest profit industries in the world is the world of pornography. The porn industry averages over...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
1 Thessalonians 5:3-5… It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God. (NIV)
Marriage and Holiness!
Christian counselor Gary Thomas says, “What if God made marriage to make us holy, not to make us happy?” Often today, the focus of marriage is an attempt to find someone to make us happy. No person has the super natural powers to keep anyone happy for very long. Eventually, we all wound one another, and unfortunately, often wound the people the most that we are closest to.
Holiness is not something that can...
Invigorate LIFE
a daily dose of Scripture and thoughts from Sunday’s message
Matthew 5:27-30…. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (NIV)
The Heart of the Matter
In this part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches the crowd around Him about a misconception regarding the Law in the Old Testament. The Jewish...
