Think About These Things

Last Saturday night, our church had a Married Life Night Out event. It’s a time when married couples gather to enjoy a time of fellowship (dinner), prayer, enjoyment (playing games), and learning from God’s Word. My vision for this event is to help introduce these core four habits to help build a healthy marriage – Love God First (Matthew 22:37-40), Practice Your Promise (Malachi 2:15), Have Serious Fun (Proverbs 5:18), and Respect and Love (Ephesians 5:21-33). However, I understand these standards can sometimes be challenging to achieve, especially in a marriage that is in crisis– trying to uphold those core four habits. Where do you start? How do you go from disconnected to connected with your spouse?

It begins with how you think about your spouse. Our speaker Ted Lowe maintains, “What you think about your spouse will determine how you treat your spouse [Here is a link to the message].” This approach, I believe, applies to all relationships in our lives. You read about the early church, their treatment of each other, and their community, all due to having God’s perspective (Acts 2:42). How you think can determine how you act (Prov. 4:23, 1 Peter 1:13). So how do you filter out the negative, sinful thoughts? Begin with these words from the apostle Paul, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).