White Marriage Matters

Is My Married Life Where It Should Be?
1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61254-867-8
Verlag: Brown Books Publishing Group
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 200 Seiten

Marriage Matters can help you improve your marital relationship with a clear understanding of how Jesus relates to His Bride, the New Testament Church. Since God created marriage, He intended your marriage (like the Church) to be Christ-like and pleasing to Him. Discover the true blessing of a heavenly marriage on earth, one filled with purpose, holiness, joy, and beauty.

Autoren/Hrsg.

White, Bruce

Leseproben

CHAPTER 1 What Is Wrong with My Marriage?
Why Am I So Unhappy? “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’” (Genesis 2:18-23) Why This Book? You may have picked up this book because of the title. Or perhaps someone who cares a lot about you gave you this book, hoping to help you and your marriage. Maybe this book was a gift to you from your spouse, a family member, a friend, a neighbor, a coworker, a Christian counselor, or a pastor. However this book came to be in your possession, I am eternally grateful to our gracious and loving Lord that this book is in your hands. I firmly believe you are reading this book because of God’s sovereignty. But I must warn you. You may be very disappointed with the answers to these two questions, “What is wrong with my marriage?” and “Why am I so unhappy?” But the truth is the truth whether we like to hear it or not. Isn’t this also the case for when you and I get sick? If we are not feeling well, we go to the doctor or to the hospital, seeking help, seeking healing. But then we find that the physician must first diagnose the problem; he may want to stick you with a needle to draw blood or make you drink medicine that tastes horrible. They may give you a shot or pain medication, or they may suggest immediate surgery, or all of the above. All you know is that you want to feel better. But if you are going to get better, then you are going to have to allow the physician to diagnose you, and then you have to receive the proper treatment in order to heal. That medical treatment may turn out to be costly, scary, hard, painful, and expensive. But you want to get well, don’t you? The same holds true for diagnosing, helping, and healing our hurting marriages. We have to allow for the diagnosis and then receive the appropriate treatment in order to have any hope that our marriages will “get well” over time. There are two realities that everyone in this world, whether they are a Christian or a non-Christian, married or unmarried, must at some point come to terms with: 1. Truth is fact. 2. Everything has a purpose. First, truth is fact. For example, two plus two equals four. That is the truth; it always will be; it is one of the facts of life. There is nothing you or I can do to change the fact that two plus two equals four. You can try to change it, but everyone around you will notice that you are being foolish, silly, and unwise. You would also be showing just how little you know about the subject of math, regardless of what you claim to know. Other people know that two plus two equals four, and they know that you should know that too. Two plus two equals four, and that is just the way it is. A fact does not change. A fact is always a fact. And other aspects of our lives are affected by these same unchangeable facts. For example, the truth of two plus two equals four is the basis for all forms of math. All geometry, calculus, physics, chemistry, and equations used in areas of finance, accounting, business, taxes, and the building of homes and skyscrapers require this fact as a foundation for more advanced equations. Even NASA’s work in aeronautics to send spaceships, satellites, and shuttles into space relies on this simple truth! If the truth of two plus two equals four was changeable, it would make everything built upon it unstable, and anything unstable cannot be depended upon and can even be very dangerous. This is true with hard science and the kind of facts upon which an organization like NASA relies. This is also true when it comes to marriage. If sound, true, mathematical facts are not applied correctly on a NASA space project, terrible consequences result. If sound, true, Biblical facts are not applied in a marriage, terrible consequences result. Second, everything created has an intended purpose. Has anything ever been created without a purpose? If there is no purpose for the creation of something, then why create it? The very definition of purpose alludes to this: a purpose is either the reason why something is created or the reason for which something exists. Anything created without a purpose is a waste of resources, time, and effort. Correct? Some things even have multiple uses and purposes. We call those things “multipurpose.” If a created thing, such as marriage, is used for its intended purpose, it works well. But if a created thing, such as marriage, is not used according to its intended purpose, then it breaks down. If it has been used improperly and begins breaking down, it can cause major damage to itself and to other components. Some people ask themselves the question, “What is wrong with my marriage?” I believe there is really a much better question. How about, “What is wrong with my understanding of marriage?” or “What is my belief system surrounding the concept of marriage?” If you and I understand the underlying Biblical truths and the Biblical purpose according to which God intended for marriage to exist, then we will be able to live in a more holy and happy marriage and also be able to show others how to as well. Let me ask it this way. If my Toyota breaks down, why would I take it to a Ford service department? Or to a Chevrolet service department? While those servicemen may have general knowledge of vehicles and repairs, what I need is specific knowledge of my vehicle. Ford and Chevrolet mechanics do have vehicle maintenance experience because they maintain vehicles, but they are not experts when it comes to my vehicle, my Toyota. So how would they intend to repair it? Would it not make more sense to take my Toyota to the Toyota service department since it was made, created, by a Toyota manufacturer? Of course it would. As a matter of fact, Ford and Chevrolet would not even give me a manufacturer’s warranty on a vehicle they did not make. We don’t tend to think this logically about our marriages when they are in need of repair. We might prefer to sit and listen to a talk show host give their personal thoughts on marriage or ask a coworker at the water fountain (whose own marriage might even be failing) if he or she can tell us how to repair our own failing and dying marriages. But did these individuals create marriage? No. Do they know the best way to repair something that they did not create? Of course not. Would it not be wiser to go to the original source, the original Creator, the Maker of marriage, the One who created the very first marriage union and the very first family? Surely you have heard the old cliché, “If you keep on doing the same old thing, you will keep on getting the same old results!” So let’s seek to be wise and do something new and worthwhile with our resources, time, and effort and discover a totally new outcome concerning our marriages! Are you ready to embark on a journey of a lifetime? Would you like to see marriage work in a way that you previously only dreamed of? If so, then keep on reading. Let’s start the journey together. The Truth about Marriage “What is wrong with my belief system about marriage?” is a more appropriate question than “What is wrong with my marriage?” for several reasons. It forces us to confront a number of facts, truths, about what marriage means. This question also forces us to examine the purpose of marriage. We cannot avoid these two topics if we are going to repair our marriage. We must rely on the divine truths about marriage, truths upon which all marriages are based. First of all, as Christians, we know from the Bible that God created marriage. Since God is its Creator, He is the only one who can say how marriage is to be entered into, with whom, how it is to be lived out, and for how long. When God created marriage, He, being holy, made marriage holy. We acknowledge this when we call it “holy matrimony.” There is absolutely nothing inherently wrong in something that is holy. It is rather our own unholiness that destroys holy matrimony. Marriage is a divine covenant and not just an earthly contract. A covenant is a permanent and sacred agreement between two people. A contract is an earthly agreement between two people for a specified period of time. Either party, at any time, can decide to break and end a contract if they so desire. Marriage is more than an earthly contract, even though each state in the United States has the couple sign a marriage license the moment they are married to each other. Marriage is a covenant, and a covenant is for life. A contract can be honorably or dishonorably broken between two people, and other contracts can be entered into. Covenants are not to be broken, except by death. Marriage, according to God, is only ended by the death of one of the spouses. Humans are only to be in two covenants in life. A covenant is...