11 – What God Has Joined Together…

When Jesus talked about marriage, He said, “What God has joined together…” showing us that God expects to be part of our marriages.
What does it mean to have God in your marriage? What can you do to have more of God in your marriage?
God never intended for anyone to try something as complex as marriage without His help. In this book we have referred to the Bible and talked about trust in God. But you can’t have a relationship with God without beginning one. Here is a basic explanation of how you begin a relationship with Jesus.
· We were created to have a close relationship with God. He wants us to hear Him, love Him, and obey Him.
Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. (Jeremiah 11:4)
· We have all turned away from God to do our own will. Many people weren’t very aware they did this, because they were just following the example of others. Some people think they are pretty good people, because they are not as bad as their neighbor. The truth, though, is that we all fall short of what God meant us to be. We even fall short of what we know is right.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
· Our sin separates us from God. He doesn’t quit loving us, but our rebellion creates a barrier between us.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)
· Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sin. Jesus paid our debt and cleared the way for us to be forgiven and reconciled to God.
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18)
· We need to choose to believe in Jesus and invite Him into our lives. He will forgive us. We need to turn away from our sins and obey Him.
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Jesus speaking in Revelation 3:20)
Millions of Christians have begun a new life with a simple prayer something like this: “Jesus, I know you love me and died for my sins. Come into my life. Forgive my sins and take over my life. I want to learn how to live for you.”
Once you make that commitment, you can grow strong as a Christian by doing these things;
· Learn what He wants you to do by studying the Bible.
· Get in the habit of obeying God when you learn what He wants.
· Get involved in a church with believers who will encourage you to grow strong.
· Pray each day. God says you can pray about anything, and you can pray anywhere.
· Use some of your time and ability to serve others. You can get help learning to do this in most local churches.
While you may think your faith is just a personal matter, your faith or lack of it will affect every person in your household. On the night of the Passover, every household among the people of Israel had a choice.
Exodus 12:3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household…. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs…. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
By a simple act of obedience, a man put his faith in action and protected his entire household from the grief they all would have gone through if they had lost their firstborn child. Even though God’s favor was on the entire nation of Israel, it was the faith, or lack thereof, in each home that determined whether they were spared from the last and worst plague that God brought on the nation of Egypt.
The primary place that God intended for your children to learn about Him is from you in the daily activities of life.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)
A long time ago, Joshua was speaking to the people of Israel about the importance of trusting and obeying God. Even though he was their leader, he knew that the most important decisions that would determine the destiny of the nation would be made household by household. He said,
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)
Talk About It – To what extent is the Lord in the center of your marriage? What can you do to give Him more of His rightful place in your lives?