A Happy Marriage - Simplifying Life

 

Happily ever after is a misnomer. Marriage is tough by any standards. Some marriages are better than others, but we all struggle with disagreements from time to time. Let's face it, we even frequently argue with our self.

Arguing is not really a negative issue. It is how we argue that makes it a problem. We can mildly disagree, vehemently disagree or destructively disagree. These destructive fights tear the fabric of our marriage, which affects our society as a whole.

Family life is stressful at best and almost impossible at its worst. We allow our children to be involved in more activities than they can bear, which puts a strain on the whole family.

Attempting to watch 4 different ball games played by 4 different children at 4 different gyms or parks all played at the same time is an example of the crazy conflicts that can stress us out.

The best rule of thumb is to sign up our children for one extra-curricular activity at a time, and to make sure that their schedules do not conflict. If they are interested in various hobbies and venues, this will be so much easier.

The financial strain on marriages today is enough to break the back of the strongest couple. With both partners working fulltime, the stress of homemaking and child rearing is also daunting, especially if everyone needs their own room, TV and smart phone.

Simplifying life can be overwhelming, but will drastically reduce the amount of stress on the family. With a more fluid schedule, we have more time to enjoy each other's company.

Spending time together allows relationships to evolve on the same level and in more mutually satisfying ways. We weather the shifting winds of life as a family rather than alone.

Staying healthy emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually demands that we follow God's will for our individual and corporate life. He has a perfect plan that sustains us through troubled waters and allows these trials to strengthen rather than to dissolve our relationships.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that the only way to achieve lasting peace and joy in our life is to follow Your Spirit's direction each moment of the day. As we increase our intimacy with You, our intimacy with others improves as well. Teach us to keep our focus on our own fallacies and idiosyncrasies rather than allowing our spouse's issues to take precedence in our mind.

Remind us that we tend to blow their faults out of proportion unless we humbly compare them with our own flaws. Please change us from the inside out; keep us healthy in body, soul and spirit; strengthen us as individuals, a family and a society. Allow us to be that shining beacon of light to help others avoid the jagged rocks on the coastline of life. Help us to continually work on changing one aspect of our life at a time that will improve our relationships.

Thought for the Day:

As we take a searching moral inventory and decide what will make us more fulfilled as a Christian and as an individual, we will strengthen our personal life, our marriage and our family unit, and insure that we can better respond to the grace of God in the midst of every conflict.

The Mind of Christ

Paul encourages us to adopt the same mindset about life that Jesus had. He goes on to explain that Jesus proclaimed that He was equal with God. With Christ in us, we too have His Godly nature (Philippians 2:5-6).

Even with His divine nature and character, however, Jesus did not use this fact to build His reputation. He did proclaim His deity (John 10:30, 17:21), but He did not use this fact to promote Himself.

We learn this same humility in our daily walk (Philippians 2:7), which allows us to also serve one another (Mark 9:35). Jesus obediently paid the ultimate sacrifice on Calvary's cross and taught us to lay down our life for one another (Philippians 2:8; 1 John 3:16).

When we realize that our sin crucifies again the Lord Jesus Christ, we run from sin and live in the will of God instead (Hebrews 6:6; 1 Peter 4:2). We want to honor God with our thoughts, words and deeds.

Jesus fulfilled the law through His birth, death and resurrection (Matthew 5:17). He kept God's commandments and He helps us to keep them too. We abide in His love (John 15:10), and He gives us His wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Through His death, God exalted the name and person of Jesus above every name, and every tongue will eventually proclaim His Lordship over all the nations of the earth (Philippians 2:9-11).

Jesus did not abandon us, but He sent us the Holy Spirit of God to teach us all things and to bring them to our remembrance. God's Spirit teaches us to change our focus from one of carnality to one of spirituality (1 Corinthians 2:14).

The Spirit serves as our comforter and guide (John 14:26, 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:11-13; Acts 8:29, 11:12), and helps us to be like-minded, loving and living in one accord with the rest of the Body of Christ (Philippians 2:1-11). 

Jesus' life and crucifixion exemplified perfect patience (1 Timothy 1:15-16). With the mind of Christ in us, we find spiritual support, comfort of love, fellowship with His Spirit, affection, mercy and joy in our relationship with Christ.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving us the mind of Christ, which helps us to make sense of this world of strife and confusion (Philippians 2:5). You inspire us to live in humility and to serve one another as Christ serves us. We look out for one another and protect each others interests (Philippians 2:3-4).

Although Jesus is equal with You, He still took the form of a man in order to redeem us from our wickedness and sin (Philippians 2:7-8; Matthew 20:28). We exalt His name in our hearts and with our lives and look forward to His rule and reign on this earth for eternity (Philippians 2:9-11).

Thought for the Day:

Once we learn to think as Jesus thought, then we can live, move and find fulfillment on this earth just as Jesus did in all of His humility, love and power. - Acts 17:28

In His Presence

All power belongs to God. Evil men try to usurp His authority and oppress His people, but they will come to their end (Psalm 62:9-10). His loving kindness is readily available to us. His joy, peace and love envelop us every moment of our life. He relates to us in proportion to our belief in Him and our faithfulness to Him (Psalm 62:11-12).

Our Heavenly Father reaches down and touches our soul, forever changing how we view life and respond to circumstances; yet, we ignore Him unless we have a problem, which we cannot handle. God is the rock of our salvation. He wants us to patiently linger only with Him. He calls us to wait on Him in silence (Psalm 62:1-2). However, we are often too busy to spend time with Him.

If we do enter His presence, our life would improve dramatically. In His presence, we are never seriously shaken. He is our hope and our stronghold (Psalm 62:5-6). Our deliverance and future rests on Him. He is the rock of our strength and our refuge in any trouble. We can trust in Him at all times. He listens when we pour out our heart to Him. He is our almighty sanctuary (Psalm 62:7-8).

Our soul cries out, even craves for the presence of our Living God. More than anything else, we desire to dwell in His courts. Even our body longs to be in His presence (Psalm 84:2). We groan along with all of creation for the revealing of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the ruler of the universe (Romans 8:19-22). We long for His imminent return to rule and reign over the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:1).

Prayer:
Father God, every pursuit in this life pales in comparison to spending time with You. Our fulfillment is found only in Your presence. You are the very air we breathe (Psalm 136:25). You gratify our cravings and You fill our famished soul (Psalm 107:9; 103:5). Remind us of the joy of a life in service to You. Teach us that amassing this world's goods will only take away from time better spent with You.

Thought for the Day:

The more we wait on the Lord, the more deeply we come to feel His presence in our life.