Category Archives: Relationship
Love Works I
“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Cor. 13:7 [emphasis added]
God wants us to understand that relationships, particularly covenant relationships, can be very tough. But at the end of the day, love overcomes all things. I once saw a video of a couple that grew old together in marriage. Along the line, the woman became ill even to the point of not recognizing the husband. But that man stayed fully committed to loving his wife. Only love can take you through such situations and keep you there everyday. “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” I Cor. 13:7 [emphasis]. In real life you will face real disappointments but love endures through every circumstance. So what is that huge disappointment that you feel? Go to God with your disappointment and watch God do a miracle. Read the rest of this entry
Love Endures
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1Cor.13:13 [NIV, emphasis added].
Go to God with the disappointments you feel in your relationships. However, in cases of character flaws, God says make allowances. For some people, the allowance might require you standing up to fill a gap in your relationship for a season. And in some other cases, it may mean a temporary separation until the other person is able to take responsibility for those errors and correct them. However, it does not mean you should give up on the relationship altogether because you never know what God can do. Sometimes the Read the rest of this entry
Allowance Not Excuses
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” Rom. 15:7 [NIV, emphasis added].
If two people agree on everything, one person in the relationship is not necessary. For example, my wife fills some kegs with water. Years before, it would have been a major issue for me because I cannot understand why. She would say it is a standby for when there is no water. My thoughts were, women just want some form of security, so I dismiss it. Then one day, the water supply was actually cut off and I would have gone around smelling the whole day if she had not kept that water. Then I finally understood. The truth is that Read the rest of this entry
Simply Different
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Gen. 1:27 [NIV]
Yesterday, we established that some of the greatest frustrations we face in relationships are because we are different. We easily conclude, because the other person is different, that the other person’s actions are wrong. But difference is not error; difference is just difference. Many parents think that their teenage children are unwise. Many teenagers think their parents are old school. Many mothers in-law think their son’s wives are wasteful. Many wives think their husband’s mother is a witch. Many husbands think their Read the rest of this entry
Relational Clarity
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1Cor.13:13[NIV].
The quality of your life is directly proportional to the quality of your relationships. The quality of your life is not directly proportional to the quality of things that you own. The quality of your life is directly proportional to the quality of your relationships. If your relationships are sour, your life will be sour. Unfortunately, because we struggle in our relationships, we try to fill our lives with things. So we end up loving things and using people. It is a trap you should not fall into. God wants us to love people and use things.
Love’s Sake II
“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God” 2 Cor.7:1.
Yesterday, we established that as far as sexual purity is concerned, you are going to have options but by the grace of God, by your determination and by your willingness to be accountable to other Christians, you will prevail. I have been married now for almost fifteen years and I can tell you that by my determination and by my accountability to other Christian Read the rest of this entry
Off Limits!
“Bad companions ruin good character.” 1 Cor. 15:33 [GN]
When affairs and illicit sex happen, they happen with three main categories of people. The first category is friends [family friends]. It is well documented that most affairs occur between couples that are friends. Why am I exposing this? It is so that you know what to watch out for and what to guard against. Does it mean you would not have friends? Of course you should have friends. Your friend came to visit with your family, then you leave her at midnight to watch a Read the rest of this entry
Time & Trouble
“Take the time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit” 1 Tim.4:7 [Ph, emphasis added].
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” Rom.1:20. You and I are without excuse, because spiritual things are clearly revealed even in our daily living. Take physical fitness for instance, if you want to be physically fit it is going to take time and trouble. You have to take the trouble to wake up early to jog, to go to Read the rest of this entry
Yours vs. His
“Don’t be selfish… Be humble…. Don’t think only about your own affairs, be interested in others too, and what they are doing. Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights.” Phil. 2:3-6[ emphasis added]
When you are really in Christ Jesus, you have given your rights to God. That is what being a Christian is. If people really understand this, all the stress in marriages will go. The problem with us is that we confuse our wants with our rights. Read the rest of this entry
Dealing With Conflict
Don’t be selfish… Be humble…. Don’t think only about your own affairs, be interested in others too, and what they are doing. Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights.” Phil. 2:3-6
Three things jump out at us from this passage of Scripture. The first of which is Selfishness. It is my way or the high way. Folks that do not get their way by bullying, try to get their way by manipulations. It is still selfishness. The second thing we see there is Pride. God says be humble because when we act in pride, we tend to be demanding and unsympathetic.
