Faith Archives - Page 7 of 16

Just the Two of Us

Marriage. The attempt to destroy the definition of this union has been attacked. The sanctity of this covenant has been minimized. The idea of marriage as choice of convenience and comfort over commitment and constancy has seemed to prevail in a society that prefers to follow trends instead of the truth.

A few months ago I wrote an article stating why everyone should see “The Case for Christ” and it seems as if the “Case for Marriage” needs to be defended as well. Scripture illustrates marriage through the life of Christ and the comparison between Christ and the church to a man and his wife.

Never About How You Feel

Despite the persecution that Christ suffered, when it came to choosing to love us over pleasing His flesh, Christ chose to love us. Love never says “me first” when the last piece of cake is in the fridge and it’s German chocolate cake (my favorite!!). Love doesn’t leave the dishes in the sink another day waiting to see whose going to be irritated enough to do clean them. When you love someone that love is looking for opportunities to put itself on display. A choice that says “I love you” not “I love my comfort more than you.”

When It Matters Most

My wife knows that no matter what is going on in my life, she is my priority. At the beginning of the day she’s the first person I talk to. Throughout the day and till the sun goes down, I’ve got her on my mind and she knows it. I pay attention and study her like I’m trying to get a PhD because the pursuit didn’t stop after the day I said “I do”. You should always be your spouses biggest fan, strongest support in times of need, and a listening ear instead of a criticizing mouth.

Loving You Is Easy

Simplicity is often complicated with excessive thought. The day that a couple vows to love one another is the day that covenant begins. All of the instructions are listed within the vows. When I made the promise to love, it was a decision that I purposed in my heart would be my mission in life. As a believer in Christ this decision is easy because he that dwells in God dwells in love because God is love. Therefore, all I have to do is dwell in Him, and love towards and for my spouse is not laborious, it’s easy. Anytime choosing to love my spouse feels like work then I am not abiding in God. Loving is easy when perfect love is at work in you.

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When you are committed to giving your all in your marriage there may be times that it can be tough. Physically you might have had a long day and don’t have any Koolaid left in the pitcher to pour, but when it comes to your spouse, God refills you so that you can be what they need. You fight for your marriage to be all that Christ displays in His love for us because at the end of the day it’ll be just the two of you. Bill Wither’s said it best:

And darling when the morning comes

And I see the morning sun

I want to be the one with you.

Quality Time with God

One of the five love languages is Quality Time. This is the love language that speaks the most to me. I believe it’s great to have quality time with the one you love. It’s essential to building a strong foundation to your relationship and then the longer that you are together it becomes more important. As a relationship matures spending quality time together keeps you connected. Just like we need quality time with our spouse, we need quality time with God. Here are two reasons why quality time with God is important.

1. A solid foundation.

Like a natural relationship, quality time is essential to the start of your relationship. When we are first dating, we spend every moment of time together. We look and make time to spend with that person. When we first come to know God and accept Him into our lives, it’s like seeing the world with the new relationship goggles on. We see God in every ray of sunshine, we see Him in the clouds, we see Him in the smell of fresh grass in the morning.

[ctt template=”8″ link=”mcx19″ via=”yes” ]Quality time is essential to our relationship with God[/ctt]

Having a new relationship with God makes it so that we can have our Bible just fall open and He will speak to us. We feel His presence in every worship song. Every message we hear seems to speak to our hearts and the situation that we’re in. It is in this newness of the relationship that we set our foundation in Him.

2. Keeps you together over time.

There are so many couples today that get divorced when the kids move out of the house. They realize that over the past 18 years, their lives have revolved around the kids so much that they feel like they don’t know each other anymore.

Over time our relationship with God can become “stale.” It can feel like we are doing the same things over and over. Go to church every week, read my Bible, try to pray everyday, this can be the routine that we fall into. This becomes the routine of our walk with God and we neglect the relationship with God. Having quality time with your spouse over the long term can keep your relationship fresh. As couples grow together they learn different skills and hobbies. Having quality time together allows us to share those new skills and hobbies.

We have to be proactive about our relationship with God too. God should be given the highest priority in our lives. Spending quality time with God keeps the things we do everyday from getting stale.

How do you keep your relationship with God fresh?

What’s Your Assignment?

The Assignment

Do you have an assignment from God? Are we all really called to do something great? If so, is it possible to know what exactly is this great assignment?

I’m a firm believer that the answer to these questions and many others that we have about our assignment from God is “Yes!”. We are called to do something great. There is something specific that each of us needs to do with our lives.

Does God Have a Plan For Me?

Jeremiah 29:11(ESV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God has a great future for us! How do we know what His plan is for us is? How do we begin to walk out that plan?

How to Find the Plan

Through seeking God we begin to know what He has in store for us. This part must be intentional. So many times we pray about direction and clarity, only to sit around and do nothing. Our mindset can be that God is just going to place everything into our laps.

I don’t think that God gives us the whole picture of our assignment all at once. Many times it would be too much for us to handle and the pressure we would feel to live up to that would crush us. So He gives it us one piece at a time.

The Best For My Children

While my children are 3 and 1 years old right now, I can relate to this. In my heart I already want the best for them. I want to put them in the best situations so that they can succeed. My heart wants them to accomplish something great. I’m already beginning to plan things out so that I can give them the best options possible. God does the same for us. Just like I wouldn’t tell my 3 year old son, all of the lessons, classes, and skills that are in my heart for him to do. God doesn’t tell us everything.

My son is not ready for that right now. He wouldn’t understand and instead of pursuing the plan, he’d probably quit, pick up his Thomas the Train toys, and play.

What’s Most Important

I believe the key is to know that God has a plan for us. But like a little child, we can’t throw a temper-tantrum when we don’t know the whole plan. Let’s continue to seek Him for the next step. Then be diligent and have the consistency to complete those steps.

This is how we can begin to know what our assignment is from God.

What steps have you taken to know your assignment?