GPS to a Joyful Marriage

It is interesting that the end of Chapter 6 in Ephesians talks about putting on the full armor of God.  Chapter 5 talks about marriage, and the beginning of chapter six, how to treat your parents and your children.  Is it a coincidence that these most important chapters for our lives fall together?  Of course not! Verse 11 and 12 of Chapter 6 say “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (plans) of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world., against spiritual wickedness in high places.” “For we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood…”   How easily we become offended though by flesh and blood.  We have to constantly remind ourselves of this war around us and prepare ourselves for the battles we face daily, even hourly.  Sometimes, the people we love the most, especially our spouses, are used as pawns of the dev...

The sixth chapter of Ephesians talks about the relationships between children and their parents, and slaves and their masters.  Verse 1 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”  Verse 2 says, “Honor your father and mother - which is the first commandment with a promise - that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” It seems simple and clear to me that we should obey our parents as children and honor them as we get older.   However, disobedience and dishonor of parents goes back to Biblical times, and we need to take this call to honor our parents seriously.  God meant it so seriously that we are promised a long life on earth for our obedience and honor to our parents. Verse 4 tells us, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Before I turned my life around, and my children were small, my son and I had the tendency to “exasper...

Ephesians 5:32 says, “This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.” The idea of the church as the bridegroom of Christ is not a concept that is easily grasped.  I personally believe that God intended the comparison (Christ and the church - husband and wife) to show us the ultimate importance of the marriage relationship. What could possibly be greater than Christ’s love for us, His followers (the church)?  That is His desire for marriage, that we hold it sacred and love it above all else. The church, here, is not the building, or congregation or fellowship hall.  The church is God’s people.  He loved His people so much that He sent His only son, Jesus, to die for our sins.  What could be more passionate than that? Do you feel that passionate about your marriage?  Would you do anything for its survival, to make it right?  Even more so, the husband is the one called to treat his wife as Christ does the church.  I...

Dear Friends - My apologies, this was scheduled to automatically post this past Monday--but didn't.  I've been out of town the past month and haven't had regular internet usage.   So sorry.  Here's the posting for this week.  Will be back in Florida tomorrow. Ephesians 5:25-27 tell us, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Christ died on the cross for our sins. He died, or gave Himself up for the church. Men are called to give themselves up for their wives. This is a lot more difficult task and a much greater level of devotion than women are called to make. Submissiveness is reciprocal in the marriage relationship. We can’t forget that. When a man only demands submission from his wife and gives nothing in return, he ...

Ephesians 4:29-5:20 basically tell us how to live as Christians. Even more so, these ‘rules’ should apply to our marriages. Somehow, many Christians seem to think their marriage relationship is exempt from the rules in the Bible that refer to dealing with other people. Our spouses and our families are the ones we should hold in the highest esteem and treat them better than anyone else. We often fail to do that. Eph. 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” If we would always strive to treat our spouse this way, there would be no divorce. I don’t think we understand how important forgiveness is. Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Remember, unforgiveness is like taking poison and hoping it will kill the other person. It will do you more harm than th...

One of my favorite books in the Bible is Ephesians. Paul gives us some wonderful guidance in this book for Christian living. My favorite verses on marriage are in the 5th chapter of Ephesians. I want to spend some time looking at these valuable verses. I’m going to start in the 4th chapter, though, because the suggestions here for individuals are necessary for a healthy marriage. Ephesians 4: 17-19 “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.” Does this sound like the state of our society or what? You could replace the word “Gentiles” with “people who aren’t walking with God.” I wish I could...

My dear friends, I am arriving in Pennsylvania today to visit family and friends. Both our adult children and our future daughter-in-law have ventured on this trip with Rick and me, so I know we'll be having a great time! My access to the Internet may be limited, and I will probably not post an article on Friday. We won't be headed back to Florida until next Monday, but I hope to have a new posting by then, one way or the other! Stay tuned. I've been talking about how the devil doesn't want you to be successful in your marriage or Christian walk and will continue to bombard you with negative thoughts to sidetrack you. He wants you to be weighed down with lots of baggage from your past. We need to learn to control our thoughts and get rid of those ideas that hinder our relationships with God and our spouse. The best way I've discovered to fight the enemy is to pray the Ephesians prayer every day. I wanted to share it with you because it is very powe...