Being married does not stop you from dating each other!
Dating your spouse will help to enrich your marriage and make it stronger.
The end of the year and start of a new year, busyness is not far away, and for some it has already started! One of the most common words spoken out at Christmas are “peace on earth; goodwill toward men” from Luke 14. In some churches there is the greeting “peace of Christ to you” and the response given is usually “… and with you”. These are well meant sentiments but are they being lived out daily through our marriages, families and life. Regrettably the peace in marriage and families is broken at this time of year through the busyness we get ourselves into.
Some years ago author Max Lucado wrote in the US ‘The Word for You Today Devotional’ : “The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling…Mary looks into the face of her Son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point the human being who best understands who God is and what He’s doing, is a teenage girl…She remembers the angel’s words, ‘His kingdom will never end.’ Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Honor in the filth of manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable.
Over the years/decades there have been the individuals or groups who seek to write God out of various parts of our society or indeed out of our nation. Where this has happened, we have seen a subsequent erosion of values/morals/behaviour and in some cases, what was illegal now being legalised. Marriage and family values have not been exempted from this.
Unless we are careful, we and our families can be overwhelmed by the violence that seems to be occurring around the world and is reported within a very short time of its’ occurrence in our media and internationally. International ‘news items’ get pushed aside by our media to report violence in our own nation, as has been the case recently. Alongside the news that is reported, there is a continued flow of films and other media that are based on violence in many media outlets.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 [NLT]
“Tell Him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ. Keep your thoughts continually fixed
In his epistle to the Phillipians the apostle Paul “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4 NKJV).
Thursday the 11th September is “R U OK Day” which is a great “wake up call” across Australia to engage with neighbours and others in meaningful conversations that will encourage and support those that are struggling with varying pressures on their lives. For us who are disciples of Jesus this should be a daily activity as it shows love for our neighbour and Jesus said “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 NKJV)
We need to make connections and engage in those meaningful conversations with those who are married, recently divorced, single parents and others to see that they are OK to encourage them and support where there is a need. There are many occasions where there is just the need to sit down in a public area and
