Holding On

by Kay W. Camenisch

Two birds battled in our driveway.The beak of one was clamped firmly on the leg of the other and it would not let go. The captured bird wrestled frantically to break loose. They jerked, thrashed, and rolled. I sat spellbound as they continued to lurch and tumble as each fought to gain the advantage.

I spotted the birds as I was leaving home to run an errand. I don’t know how long they had been locked in combat, but it looked like a fight to death. After watching almost ten minutes, I needed to go, but the birds blocked my path. When the front tire of my car was within a foot of them, the attacking bird finally released its grip and the two flew away, free.

The battle reminded me of a time my husband, Robert, and I had struggled. We must have looked just like those fighting birds. Conflict threatened to destroy our marriage and we couldn’t seem to work through it. We kept thrashing and tumbling as we sought to gain advantage. At every turn, one - or both - of us was hurt. I thought the emotional bumps and bruises would never cease.

Greg Laurie: How to Get a 'New' Husband

By Anugrah Kumar , Christian Post Contributor

Greg Laurie and his wife, Cathe, speak
during a sermon at Harvest Church in
Riverside, Calif., about how to get a
"new" husband on Sunday, June 2, 2013.

After messages directed towards men in the previous weeks, Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Church in Riverside, Calif., turned to women on Sunday, speaking to them about how they can get a "new" husband if they heed advice by Apostle Peter. Laurie's wife joined him on stage.

As most Americans like "new and improved" version of everything, Laurie said the women of his church could get a new husband. But it's also about how to be a new wife, he added.

"Let's talk about women, what qualities they should have, and the biblical secret to reaching the non-believing or nominally believing husband," the pastor said, and quoted 1 Peter 3:1-4 (New Living Translation).

Has the world gone mad?

By Nathan Jones
Evangelist & Web Minister

If you are asking this question, then you are most likely a devout follower of Jesus Christ who is alarmed at the state the world now seems to be in.

This question may have been invoked by an election season that has left you flabbergasted over so many people turning a blind eye to the lack of the candidates' biblical values. Or, maybe your church has dived off the deep end doctrinally and you're wondering when a sermon will finally quote a Bible verse. You see societies openly welcome Islamic subjugation of their nations. Maybe you're tired of hearing about people being thrown into jail overseas or sued in the U.S. for simply praying in the name of Jesus in public. The Christian evangelical movement seems to you fractured and in disarray for want of central leadership with a strong biblical worldview. And finally, you ponder if you are a dying breed in a world that has become increasingly cold and more hostile towards one's fellow man.

It is indeed a world gone mad. You know it. And, you wonder...

Names Of Jesus : Bridegroom, Husband

The Name

God is not content to be known merely as Creator, Lord, or even Father. Incredibly he reveals himself also as Bridegroom or Husband. The Hebrew Scriptures contain numerous allusions to Yahweh as Israel's divine Husband, and the New Testament presents Christ as the church's Bridegroom. He is the Holy One who did not cling to his divinity but left his Father's house to dwell among us, calling us to become one with him in the most intimate way possible. To all of us, male and female, Christ offers himself as our provider and protector, the one who has forever pledged himself in faithfulness and love.

Key Scripture
Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! Revelation 19:9

***

Promises Associated with His Name

Why God Might Not Be Answering Your Prayers

Written by Jonathan Kroeker

Take today’s next step: Do you write? Send in your devos for consideration.

“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.” (1 Peter 3:7)

The easiest way for a married man to make his prayers ineffective is to be inconsiderate or disrespectful to his wife. How many of my own prayers have been scuttled simply because I haven’t been nice to my wife? Just to think about it makes me shudder.

God cares deeply about the state of your marriage because it is meant to be a reflection of Christ’s relationship with His church (Ephesians 5:32). God intends for your neighbor, co-worker, family member, and friend to get a glimpse of the gospel through the way you treat your wife. 

Silver and Gold

A few months ago a reader wrote to tell me how devastated she’d been by the breakup of her marriage. One day her husband simply told her he no longer loved her and wasn’t interested in working things out. The marriage was ended.

At times her pain was physical. She felt as though she were having a heart attack. But through the pain and chaos, she refused to doubt God, telling him she knew he was faithful and good. During the months that followed, this heartbroken woman kept seeking him, yielding her life again and again.
Now a year later, after living through what she describes as the darkest time of her life, she speaks about healing and a new freedom to love God that she never imagined possible. Her hope is palpable as she tells of her confidence that the best is yet to come.

How Normal is Your Marriage Really?

Can't help but wonder if your union is keeping up with the Joneses'? Check out these marriage stats from The Normal Bar: The Surprising Secrets of Happy Couples and What They Reveal About Creating a New Normal in Your Relationship.

By Gena Kaufman

Next

Getty Images

Is it normal that…I'm not completely honest with him?
Within limits, a few secrets — and even lies — between couples are generally harmless. If you've ever fibbed about those shoes being new ("I've had these forever, I just don't wear them often!") or neglected to tell him that your mom thinks he's a total slob, you're not alone. In America, 43 percent of men and one-third of women have kept major secrets from their partners and approximately three-quarters of people have lied — including those who consider themselves part of a happy couple. As long as you don't take it to extremes — like failing to reveal credit card debt or the fact that you have a monthly lunch-date with your ex — lies that keep the peace and protect feelings are normal.

The Five Levels of Intimacy

Written by Barbara Wilson

Does God care about your love life?

First comes love…or sex?

“First comes love, then comes marriage, then here they come with a baby carriage.” You may recognize this little rhythm my generation used to sing to embarrass each other.  Based on today’s culture the rhythm could go: “First comes sex, then comes living together, and the baby carriage could happen anytime or with anybody, as does the sex.”

Casual sex has changed the landscape of relationships and marriage.  Before 1960 most people saved sex for marriage, but now according to a recent survey, most people have sex before marriage. So how has this new trend impacted today’s marriages? First, the divorce rate: prior to 1960 the divorce rate was less than 25%, today it’s closer to 50%. As the rate of promiscuity has risen, so has the divorce rate. But secondly, and what this article will discuss is how casual sex has inhibited our ability to build emotional intimacy into our relationships, and how this emotional deficit is impacting marriages today.

Unmet Expectations: Sex three times a week?

Written by Beth Scholes

If you are married, you have experienced unmet expectations in your marriage. We all have, myself included.  Expectations begin long before your wedding day.

When my husband and I were engaged I met up with a friend my parents’ age who had been married for 25 years.  She was very enthusiastic.  She told me they had a great marriage and that sex is really important. “We have been married 25 years and we still have sex three times a week” she glowingly told me.

She went on to tell me some significant piece of marital advice, but I missed it.  I got stuck on her comment.  My fiancé and I waited until we married to enjoy a sexual relationship.  As I sat there listening my mind was screaming,  “You ONLY have sex three time a week and you think that is GOOD?!”

Emotional Affairs in Midlife What is emotional infidelity and how you can stop it.

BY: CHERIE BURBACH

SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES

You can recover from emotional cheating, but you need to take steps to change your behavior.

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Has your marriage been affected by an emotional affair? Emotional affairs have become a more common issue in midlife marriage, especially as couples redefine what infidelity is in their relationship.

Definition of an Emotional Affair in Midlife

Emotional affairs, also called emotional infidelity or cheating, occur when one spouse has a deep attachment to someone else. Physical intimacy does not need to be present in order for an emotional affair to happen, but often this type of cheating does lead to a physical affair.

How can we as a couple handle the sexual cravings before we get married?

By Gary Chapman
Q: “We are a Christian engaged couple growing in our walk with God. However, we are not virgins and this is the first time both us are actively pursuing abstinence under Gods leadership. We have confessed all of our past histories to each other and are pursuing individual accountability partners. Since we’re engaged is it wrong to look forward to the physical stuff? We are both very much attracted to each other and enjoy looking at each other. Our combined love language is physical touch. We know this will be brilliant when we’re married. But right now, it’s pure torture. We both are aware that we’re living the consequences of our previous sin because we know what sex is like. The pure torture bit is this: Lusting over a man/woman equals bad. Lusting over spouse equals excellent. We very much feel stuck in the no man’s land here. Our wedding is 7 months away and the last thing we want to do is elope because we cracked. We want our testimony to mean something for other people struggling with the no sex thing and most of all we want to honor God. Is there anything else we can do to help us remain pure and keep our testimony?

Observe: You are Better Than Your Wife

Written by Neal Black

 “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” (Romans 12:9, NLT)

It’s true, you are better than your wife… in one particular area. Overall, as a man, are better at observation than she is. (For more information see Secrets of Happily Married Men by Scott Haltzman) Now before you go trotting off to locate her in the house and read that line to her, let’s talk about using this special talent to blow her mind!

You’re better at observation; your wife likes to be observed by you. This is good but it’s not just a matter of watching her wiggle (although perfectly good use of your amazing observation abilities!) There is more. By observation you can learn some great intel that will change your relationship.

Romans 12:9 says, “Don’t pretend to love others. Really love them.” So, this week watch your wife till you see her respond to something in a very positive way. Maybe someone complimented her cooking, her hair or maybe it was someone emptying the dishwasher, or buying her a small gift or giving her a hug. You may observe one of your kids playing a game with her that brought lots of smiles and fun interaction.

The Wise Know God is Constantly With Them

by Rick Warren

“God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9 MSG)

When God gives you a mission, you can be sure you’ll run into delays, difficulties, detours, and dead ends along the way. They are a natural part of life. But you can be ready for them.

For example, if anybody had a right to be discouraged, it was Noah. Do you know how long it took Noah to build the ark? 120 years. Could you go 120 years on a project without one word of encouragement from anybody else in society?

Noah trusted God. And when he heard God's warning about the future, Noah believed him, even though there was no sign of a flood. I bet there were many days that Noah didn't feel like going to work, but for 43,800 days, he went to the same place, and he worked. He never gave up.

Don't give up on your dream, either. Don't give up on your marriage. Don't give up on your health. Don't, don't, don't give up. God is in control. You haven’t read the final chapter of your life. God's already written it, but you haven't read it yet.

The Bible says, “God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9 MSG). God is looking for people that he can bless.

Talk About It -

• What is the God-size dream you’ve been ready to give up on because of difficulties and delays?

• How do you want God to bless you as you commit your life fully to him?

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His book, "The Purpose Driven Church," was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors.

How Do I Escape the Trap of Pornography in My Life?

These five steps will help you break free.
by Dave Boehi and Mike Pickle

Pornography has become one of the most destructive forces in our culture today. Never has it been so widespread … and never has it been so easy to find.

What we would call "hard-core pornography"—the more explicit images, videos, or descriptions of erotic behavior—has grown rapidly during the last two decades. In the past, pornography was available only at stores or through the mail. But the pornography industry is often the first to take advantage of new media technology—and now with cable television, DVDs, cell phones, iPods, and especially the Internet, it is easier than ever to find, and harder than ever to resist.

Internet pornography has earned itself a reputation for being the crack cocaine of sexual addiction. "It works so quickly and it's so instantly intense," says Dr. Robert Weiss of the Sexual Recovery Institute in Los Angeles. "We're seeing a whole population of clients who have never had a history with the problem, but for the first time, they're beginning one particular activity and getting hooked."1

America's Number One Problem

Our nation suffers from a sickness in its soul.

by Dennis Rainey
As a people, we are healthier, but not happier. We are drenched in knowledge, but parched for wisdom. The most prosperous nation the world has ever known suffers from a sickness in its soul.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the state of the family. The biblical values that built our great nation-once passed on from each generation to the next as a national treasure-are now dismissed. As a result, never before have we seen such deterioration in our homes:

Never before have so many children grown up in broken homes.

Never before have so many new married couples come from homes split by divorce.

Never before have so many new parents begun the journey of being called "Mommy" or "Daddy" with such a fractured picture of family.

Those Exceptions of Life

2 Kings 5:1–14

Is your life happy . . . except for one thing? Perhaps you enjoy a loving marriage, a beautiful home and financial ease . . . except you suffer from infertility. Maybe you have graduated with a master’s degree, founded a business and are in top physical condition . . . except your parents are getting divorced. If you compiled a list of all the positives in your life, what would you include? I have great friends; I’m an accomplished pianist; I’ve inherited a green thumb. But what disrupts your sense of well-being? All of us possess at least one “except” that gets in the way of our happiness.
An unnamed slave girl experienced some poignant “excepts” in her young life. She was one of God’s chosen people. She had faith in God . . . except she was a captive of war in a foreign land. The good news: She found herself in the household of a commander of the army.

Finding the Proper Place for Sexual Fire

Aaron McCarter
aaronmccarter.com

This verse applies in so many 

ways: "Can a man carry fire 

next to his chest and his 

clothes not be burned?"

Proverbs holds a view of romance, marriage, and sex that was counter-cultural back then, and it’s counter-cultural now. In Proverbs, the highest possible value is placed on faithfulness and friendship in marriage. I’m not entirely sure those are the leading ideas in culture at large today.

The Danger Of Sexual Temptation
Keep in mind that Proverbs was written as a manual for boys, so most of the advice is directed toward men. Don’t let that throw you off though, because even though men were the audience, this stuff is universally applicable.

Myth: “If I’m a good Christian, then nothing bad will happen to me.”

Genesis 50:20

This isn’t what I asked for, thank you. I want my old life back.

The one where my parents were the perfect couple. Where I was the only one among my friends whose parents were still together. And seemingly still in love.

The one where I was voted most likely to succeed and everyone, right or wrong, envied my life because it seemed so perfect. And I believed it was.

I want to go back to the times when I knew You were involved in my life. The ones where I prayed and You answered. I talked to You, and You listened. The times when I knew You were alive. Loving. And on my side.

I want the life where all I had to do was show up for class, and I got good grades. Name a job opening, and I landed it squarely. Speak my needs, and my husband moved heaven and earth to meet them.

6 Problems with Porn

Ed Stetzer

Ed Stetzer shares insights on a recent study about the impact of pornography on families and communities.

A new study done by Patrick F. Fagan examines the effects of pornography on individuals, marriage, family and community.

Fagan is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Research on Marriage and Religion at the Family Research Council. He specializes in examining the relationships among family, marriage, religion, community and America's social problems.

This study is important for everyone to read as it demonstrates it has damaging effects on individuals and families.

Men Need To Understand the Other Side

Written by Creflo A. Dollar

Now here is another myth, especially in the mind of a man: that it all comes naturally. But that just isn't true. There are some natural things that happen, but if you want to be a good lover to your wife, there are other things you can do besides the natural things. It is a learning, discovering process.

What a lot of men have done is to lean more towards the discovering process. In other words, they say, "I'm too embarrassed to discuss it." Or "I'm too ashamed to admit I don't know it all." Or "I don't have anybody I can talk to about it. And even if I did, I don't think I would feel comfortable with someone explaining to me about having sex and experiencing love with my wife."

Not too many men are really comfortable in this particular setting, because their egos are under attack, as if they were automatically supposed to know all about it.