Stephen and Alex Kendrick
LOVE LETS THE OTHER WIN
Day 109
Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. - Philippians 2:4
Day 110
The very moment one of you says, "I'm willing to go your way on this one," the argument is over.
Day 111
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5) - the attitude of willingness, flexibility, and humble submission. It means laying down for the good of others what you have the right to claim for yourself.
Day 112
The wise and loving thing to do is to start approaching your disagreements with a willingness to not always insist on your own way. That's not to say your mate is necessarily right or being wise about a matter, but you are choosing to give strong consideration to their preference as a way of valuing them.
Day 113
Love's best advice comes from the Bible, which says, "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield" (James 3:17 NKJV).
Day 114
Two people who always share the same opinions and perspectives won't have any balance or flavor to enhance the relationship. Rather, your differences are for listening to and learning from.
Day 115
Are you willing to bend to demonstrate love to your spouse? Or are you refusing to give in because of pride? If it doesn't matter in the long run - especially in eternity - then give up your rights and choose to honor the one you love. It will be both good for you and good for your marriage.
Day 116
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. - Romans 12:18
LOVE FIGHTS FAIR
Day 117
Love Fights Fair: "Me" boundaries are rules you personally practice on your own like: 1. I will listen first before speaking. (see James 1:19) 2. I will deal with my own issues up front. (see Matthew 7:3) 3. I will speak gently and keep my voice down. (see Proverbs 15:1)
Day 118
If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. - Mark 3:25
Day 119
Love reminds you that your marriage is too valuable to allow it to self-destruct, and that your love for your spouse is more important than whatever you're fighting about.
Day 120
Married couples who learn to work through conflict tend to be closer, more trusting, more intimate, and enjoy a much deeper connection afterwards.
Day 121
Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? - Matthew 7:3
Day 122
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. - Proverbs 15:1
Day 123
Fighting fair means changing your weapons. Disagreeing with dignity. It should result in building a bridge instead of burning one down. Remember, love is not a fight, but it is always worth fighting for.
Day 124
Be of the same mind toward one another. - Romans 12:16
LOVE TAKES DELIGHT
Day 125
Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life. - Ecclesiastes 9:9 HCSB
Day 126
One of the most important things you should learn on your Love Dare journey is that you should not just follow your heart. You should lead it. You don't let your feelings and emotions do the driving. You put them in the back seat and tell them where you're going.
Day 127
It's time to lead you heart to once again delight in your mate. Enjoy your spouse. Accept this person - quirks and all - and welcome him or her back into your heart. You get to choose what you delight in.
Day 128
Love that chooses to love is just as powerful as love that feels like loving.
Day 129
Lead your heart to once again delight in your mate. Enjoy your spouse. Take her hand and seek her companionship. Desire his conversation. Remember why you fell in love with her personality. Accept this person, quirks and all, and welcome him or her back into your heart.
Day 130
The responsibility is yours to relearn what you love about this one to whom you've promised yourself forever.
Day 131
Give me your heart . . . and let your eyes delight in my ways. - Proverbs 23:16
LOVE is HONORABLE
Day 132
Live with your [wife] in an understanding way . . . and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life. - 1 Peter 3:7
Day 133
To honor someone means to give them respect and high esteem, to treat them as being special and of great worth. When you speak to them, you keep your language clean and understandable. You are courteous and polite. When they speak to you, you take them seriously, giving their words weight and significance. When they ask you to do something, you accommodate them if at all possible, simply out of respect for who they are.
Day 134
When two people marry, each spouse becomes "holy" to each other by way of "holy matrimony." This means no other person in the whole world is supposed to enjoy this level of commitment and endearment from you. Your relationship is like no other. You share physical intimacy with only her, only him. You establish a home with this person. You bear your children with this person. Your heart, your possessions, your life itself is to be wrapped up in the uncommon bond you share with this one individual.
Day 135
Love honors even when it's rejected. Love treats its beloved as special and sacred even when an ungrateful attitude is all you get in return.
Day 136
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure. - Hebrews 13:4 NIV
Day 137
When your attempts at honor go unreciprocated, you are to give honor just the same. That's what love dares to do - to say, "Of all the relationships I have, I will value ours the most. Of all the things I'm willing to sacrifice, I will sacrifice the most for you. With all your failures, sins, mistakes, and faults - past and present - I still choose to love and honor you." That's how you create an atmosphere for love to be rekindled. That's how you lead your heart to truly love your mate again. And that's the beauty of honor.
LOVE INTERCEDES
Day 138
You cannot change your spouse. But here's what you can do. You can become a "wise farmer." A farmer cannot make a seed grow into a fruitful crop. He cannot argue, manipulate, or demand it to bear fruit. But he can plant the seed into fertile soil, give it water and nutrients, protect it from weeds, and then turn it over to God.
Day 139
Prayer really does work. It's a spiritual phenomenon created by an unlimited, powerful God. And it yields amazing results.
Day 140
Jesus said to pray instead of quitting (see Luke 18:1).
Day 141
God is sovereign. He does things His way. He's not a genie in a lamp that submits to your every wish. But He does love you and desires an intimate relationship with you. This doesn't happen apart from prayer.
Day 142
Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another. . . . The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. - James 5:16
Day 143
Love Intercedes: There are some key elements that must be in place for prayer to be effective. But suffice it to say that prayer works best when coming from a humble heart that is in a right relationship with God and with others.
Day 144
Love Intercedes: Has your scolding or nagging been working? The answer is no, because that's not what changes a heart. It is time to try talking to God in your prayer closet instead and intercede for your mate.
Day 145
Have you ever wondered why God gives you overwhelming insight into your spouse's hidden faults? Do you really think it's for endless nagging? No, it is for effective kneeling. No one knows better how to pray for your mate than you.
Day 146
Turn your complaints into prayers and watch the Master work while you keep your hands clean. If your spouse doesn't have any type of relationship with God, then it's clear what you need to start praying for.
Day 147
Love Intercedes: Begin to pray for exactly what your mate needs. Pray for his heart. Pray for her attitude. Pray for truth to replace lies. Pray that forgiveness would replace bitterness. Pray for a genuine breakthrough in your marriage.
Day 148
One of the most loving things you can ever do for your spouse is to pray for them. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).
Day 149
If anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to him. - John 9:31
LOVE PROMOTES INTIMACY
Day 150
He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. - Proverbs 17:9 NIV
Day 151
Nothing rivals the closeness that's experienced between a husband and wife. Marriage is the most intimate of all human relationships.
Day 152
Your mate should not feel pressured to be perfect in order to receive your approval. They should not walk on eggshells in the very place where they ought to feel the most comfortable in their bare feet. The Bible says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). The atmosphere in your marriage should be one of freedom.
Day 153
God, who knows secrets about us that we even hide from ourselves, loves us at a depth we cannot begin to fathom. How much more should we, as imperfect people, reach out to our spouse in grace and understanding, accepting them for who they are and assuring them that their secrets are safe with us?
Day 154
I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. - Song of Solomon 6:3
No comments:
Post a Comment