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Lie #1:  “I married the wrong person.”

Lie #2:  “He/she should make me feel loved.”

Lie #3:  “There is someone else better out there.”

Three marriage truths we should live by:

• Having a good marriage is more about BEING the right partner than having the right partner.
• Love is a decision.
• The grass isn’t greener on the other side.  It’s greener where you water and fertilize it.

Guest writer – Lisa Terkurst, shared on Facebook by Kathy Pollard

^“Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”  Eph. 5:33

“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike

 

 

MICHAEL SHEKLETON WAS driving through Charles City, Iowa.

Perhaps “driving” is not the appropriate word. “Flying” might better describe his two-wheeled endeavor. The local speed-limit signs displayed “30 MPH,” but Shekleton’s motorcycle was traveling as much as 123 miles-per-hour!  And no, that’s not a misprint.

A Floyd County sheriff’s deputy tried to stop Shekleton on Saturday night, July 18, 2009, for a local traffic violation. Shekleton didn’t yield to the officer’s request and a 20-minute, high-speed pursuit ensued.

The authorities eventually caught up with the offending motorcyclist as he attempted to hide behind a downtown building. Shekleton was charged with excessive speeding, 14 counts of failure to obey a stop sign or signal, unsafe passing and driving on the wrong side of a divided highway.

Let’s imagine that we were witnesses to Shekleton’s capture in Charles City. Officers cornered him and demanded he give himself up. And just as they were about to handcuff him and place him under arrest, Shekleton sincerely asked, “Is there some sort of problem, officers?”

“Problem?! Problem?!,” one of the deputies exclaimed. “Mister, you were driving 93 miles over the speed limit! You could have killed somebody! We’re taking you to jail!”

But then Shekleton objected in an agitated voice, “What?! You guys can’t take me to jail! I interpret the speed-limit sign one way, and you interpret it another. All of us could be right. How fast I drive my motorcycle is a matter of personal choice and preference! Thirty miles an hour to you is 123 miles an hour to me. It’s a purely subjective choice.”

I know what some of you are thinking, “Mike, you are being ridiculous,” and you would be correct.  Anybody knows that when the local authorities post a speed-limit sign, they expect that those citizens who drive can not only read it, but can understand it alike.

Different people can’t read the same speed limit sign and travel totally different speeds and all be right. A 30 MPH speed-limit sign communicates an objective truth which is not open to personal taste, fuzzy feelings, hairs standing up on the back of our neck or individual interpretation.

Intelligent people recognize that we can (and must) all read the same sign and know for certain that there is a correct speed and an incorrect speed. And any acceleration in a 30-mile zone that exceeds 30 miles per hour is unlawful.

Oddly enough, we often hear this kind of unbalanced thinking in a different context today. People say, “You have your interpretation of the Bible, and I have mine. What I believe, and how I live, is a matter of personal choice; you can’t condemn my beliefs or behavior! Both of us could be right.”

It doesn’t make much sense, does it? The Bible is not some sort of work of art to be evaluated on some personal level. It is objective truth.

The Bereans in Acts 17 understood this principle. The record says, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica in that they searched the Scriptures daily — WATCH IT (mb) — to find out whether these things were so” (v. 11).

If the Bible was meant to be understood on a purely individual level and not interpreted in a uniform fashion, then how could the Berean brethren have been able to determine if any teaching was wrong or not? (cf. Matthew 22:29; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Philippians 2:2; 2 Peter 2:1ff).

Let’s think about this in a practical way: When someone says, “You believe baptism is essential, but I believe it is not essential,” can both of them be right? (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21),

When someone says, “You believe homosexual behavior is wrong, but I believe it is right,” can both of us be correct? (Romans 1:26ff; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19ff).

When someone says, “You believe mechanical instruments in worship are not permitted, but I believe they are permitted,” can both of be in harmony with God’s revealed will? (Leviticus 10:1-2; 1 Kings 12:25ff; Colossians 3:16; John 4:24).

When someone says, “You believe a few alcoholic drinks over a lunch meeting is condemned, but I believe that they are not condemned,” can both of us stand blameless before the Lord? (Isaiah 28:7; Proverbs 20:1; 23:29-30, 33; Leviticus 10:9-11; Habakkuk 2:5, 15, 1 Timothy 3:2,3).

When someone says “You believe a person who commits adultery is not free to remarry, but I believe someone who commits adultery is free to remarry,” can both interpretations be right? (Matthew 19:9; Romans 7:2-3).

When someone says, “You believe that abortion is murder, but I believe it is a choice,” can both of us stand justified before the Savior? (Proverbs 6:16ff).

When someone says, “You don’t believe in the millennial reign of Jesus, but I think he will rule in his kingdom on earth for 1,000 years,” can we hold two totally different doctrinal viewpoints and be right in the eyes of the One who authored the Bible? (Mark 9:1).

When someone says, “You believe that 123 miles per hour in a 30 mile speed zone is wrong, but I believe it is perfectly acceptable” can both ideas be right? (Romans 13:1ff).

The issue is not, “Who is right?” The issue is, “GOD IS RIGHT!” and he expects us to understand (Ephesians 3:4; 5:17) and obey (Hebrews 5:8-9) the objective truth (John 16:13) he has revealed (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21) in his Word.

“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike

JUST SUPPOSE THAT when you were growing up you were hated by your brothers, sold into slavery, lied about and cast into prison.  And suppose you had to languish in that cell for months on end.  Would you still have faith in God?  Joseph did!

Just suppose that you were called by God to preach a very unpopular message – God’s wrath.  Suppose the people got up in arms and vented their anger at you.  What if they lied about you and tried to take away you life?  Would you still have faith in God?  Jeremiah did!

Just suppose you were called upon to stand before a king and rebuke him for his sin.  And suppose that in obedience to the will of God you performed your task only to learn that your head would be chopped off.  Would you still have faith in God!  John did!

Just suppose that you lived a perfect life, loved all men, always did God’s will, sought to serve instead of being served, and then you were nailed to a cross to die.  Would you still have faith in God?  Jesus did!

Just suppose the church isn’t friendly, the people don’t appreciate you, that nobody comes to visit you, that you lose your health, and you go bankrupt.  Would you still have faith in God…?  John Gipson

“And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”  1 John 5:4

“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike

TODAY’S MAN IS in danger of becoming enslaved by the very things that were supposed to make his or her life more convenient.

Notebook computers, fax machines, and cell phones threaten to take us hostage.  No matter where we go, our work goes with us.

In truth, our time (i.e., life) is not our own.  Even if we could break free of the ever-encroaching demands of our career, our own responsibilities are enough to occupy our ever–waking moment.  We need to take care of our yard, service the car, and balance the checkbook, etc.  The “we need” list is endless.

Somewhere in our hectic schedules we must find time to build strong, lasting relationships with our families and friends.  Somewhere is our rush days we must maintain a quality devotional life.

Busyness is addictive and it is hard to regain control of our life once we’ve yielded it to the expectations of others.  The key is control.

Are we going to be governed by external pressures, the desires of mothers – or are we going to govern ourselves.  Guest writer – Richard Exley

“Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; be wise enough to control yourself.”  Pro. 23:4 NCV; cf. Gal. 5:23; 2 Pet. 1:6

“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike