Quite frankly, I wasn’t eager to read about “the storm-tossed family.” But as I began to read Russell Moore’s latest book, I had to restrain myself from bombarding a friend with texted pictures of underlined passages from the book. You may not be eager to read about the tossing of Read more…
In her speech at the U.N. headquarters last week, Emma Watson announced the #HeForShe campaign, which encourages men to support women’s rights. I wrote about the new movement, feminism, and marriage in this article for StartMarriageRight.com. Click HERE to continue reading. Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Looking for God’s direction concerning your marriage? Here is some clear instruction from 1 Corinthians 7—along with some encouragement and challenge, too: Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other…. [I]f you are married, stay married. This is the Master’s command…. If Read more…
Here is a book that I would recommend even if it were nothing more than its title: Grace Filled Marriage. But now that I have finished reading Grace Filled Marriage, I am glad to say that I can recommend not only the title but also the entire book! If “grace” Read more…
The Kindle edition of Radiance: Secrets to Thriving in Marriage will be FREE on Amazon from November 29 through December 3. Learn God’s amazing design of marriage, women, and men. Whether your marriage is great or struggling, God is able to make you thrive right where you are. This encouraging Read more…
Last week, I shared with you a husband’s prayer. Today I want to share with you a wife’s prayer, based on Scripture. May God honor your prayers as you honor Him. I thank You, LORD, for my husband and for Your awesome design in creating him; thank You for shaping him Read more…
Do you have “his” and “her” towels at your house? How about “his” and “her” prayers? Today I want to share with you a husband’s prayer, based on Scripture. Next week, I will share a wife’s prayer. And as always, I am glad to hear your thoughts, too! I thank Read more…
How are you praying for your marriage? Here is a prayer, based on Scripture, that will enable you to fight for your marriage using “the sword of the Spirit”: LORD, I lift this marriage to You. In the spiritual realm, I want to surround this marriage with prayer and praise, just as the Read more…
“LORD, I lift this marriage to You. I ask You to put Your hedge of protection around this marriage and to thwart every enemy scheme against it. ‘Catch for us the little foxes’ that would eat away at this relationship–the little foxes of busyness and the little foxes of unresolved hurt Read more…
We tend to think that we love someone when that person attracts us. When we no longer feel attraction, we feel that we no longer have love. We see others as magnetic-like forces with the power to attract or repel us. But are we really helpless magnets compelled to move toward Read more…
You have probably heard of the five love languages, but are you familiar with the five languages of apology?[1] Here’s the basic idea: there are five components to a full apology. Many people find that one of those components is especially important to them. An apology with just that one Read more…
We can call bitter “sweet,” if we want. That’s nothing new. (See Isaiah 5:20.) But this semantic violence fails to produce anything more than confused thinking: changing labels does not change essence. If we call homosexual union “a marriage,” then we need another word for this: God’s design for one man and Read more…
How can you encourage spiritual growth in your husband? You could try leaving tracts on your husband’s pillow, reading Scripture loudly when he walks by, or keeping yourself busy by attending lots of church functions. You could, … but please don’t! It won’t work, and both of you will be miserable! Read more…
Are you giving your spouse your best “bread” or the leftover “crumbs”? When Jesus spoke with the Greek woman about the children’s bread and the pet dogs under the table, He was not belittling her; He was explaining His priorities and being faithful to His calling. Our spouses are our Read more…
How can we best understand the essence of worship? There may be no better illustration of spiritual worship than physical marriage. What marriage is between a man and woman is what worship is between God and His people. Although marriage and worship are expressed in and enhanced by activity, both Read more…
You may have guessed that we would not be able to watch the dancing king without noticing the seething shadow up in the palace window. If the king had noticed, it may have been because he felt the scathing heat of that shadow reaching him even in the streets below. Read more…
How do you see your marriage–as a power struggle? a fight for your rights? a duty? a trap? Let me suggest a radically different perspective. What if you saw your participation in your marriage as an act of worship? If you will see your “wife-ing” or your “husband-ing” as an Read more…
Forget your marriage. Why would someone who is committed to encouraging marriages tell you to forget your marriage? What I mean is this: Focus on your spouse, not on your marriage. Trying to achieve a certain kind of marriage can make us crazy! This is misplaced energy; we are actually off-target when Read more…
When we are wronged, how can we handle our anger? We answer that best when we look at what God does when He is wronged. John Piper considers this in his book This Momentary Marriage: “But even though God has never done anything that legitimately provokes our anger at him, Read more…
In reading “my new favorite book on marriage,” I was interested to discover an entire chapter devoted to the topic of anger. Author John Piper bases much of his discussion in This Momentary Marriage on the Biblical directives given in Ephesians 5:21 through 6:4. When the apostle Paul speaks to Read more…
“Yes! Yes! That’s right! That’s it!” That was my ongoing mental refrain as I read This Momentary Marriage by John Piper last week. It is an excellent primer on marriage, dealing with the most basic, most essential, and most profound aspects of marriage, such as the purpose of marriage, the Read more…
“Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7, RSV). The apostle Paul gave this instruction to all believers in Christ. But Dietrich Bonhoeffer pointed out that these words also create an excellent guideline for husbands and wives to apply specifically in their marriages. While Read more…
Though I speak to my spouse using diplomatic “I feel” messages and skillful conflict-resolution strategies, but do not love, I am become as sounding brass or as a car alarm that won’t shut off. And though I have an advanced degree in marriage counseling and understand the mysteries of why Read more…
Old Testament Nazarites, such as Samson, wore long hair as a symbol of consecration to God. In the New Testament, married women wore long hair as a symbol of marital consecration. The Scriptures say that this sign of submission is important “because of the angels” (1 Corinthians 11:10, NIV). Could Read more…
When Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, was He cognizant of the fact that He Himself would soon be in the same situation of being exposed before others? As He hung on the cross, Jesus experienced all of the varying “responses to nakedness.” There were accusers (like the Read more…
Do you think of one more person in the Scriptures who lay naked and vulnerable before others? Jesus told the story of a man who was brutally attacked by robbers on the road leading from Jerusalem to Jericho. In this parable, we again see contrasting responses to nakedness: 1. Both Read more…
Drunk and naked in his tent? That is how we find Noah in chapter 9 of Genesis, and it is a startling situation to find. After all, Noah was introduced to us as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God” (Genesis 6:9, NIV). Read more…
“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life.” 1 Cor. 7:17, MSG
