A Passionate Marriage Part 1

Regarding a Christian marriage, most of us are familiar with the verses in Ephesians 5:21-33 which state:

"And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.

As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

Select 'Successful' when you are finished.

Have you ever noticed that these verses begin with the words "And further..."?

If these verses are the "And further" what are Paul's previous instructions from the Lord?

Would you like to know?

Ephesians 5:18-21 states:

"Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Stay with this verse for a minute or two.

Select 'Successful' when you are finished.

The Lord is informing us that for a husband and wife to fulfill the instructions in Ephesians 5:21-33, they must first:

-Be filled with the Holy Spirit.

-Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

-Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That said, are you interested in applying these verses to your marriage?

"Be filled with the Holy Spirit": take a moment right now to meditate on one of your favorite Biblical verses. Stay with it until you experience yourself being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Write down the verse in the space provided.

"Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and making music to the Lord in your hearts": take a moment to worship the Lord.

If you wish, you can write out your worship in the space provided.

"Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ": can you take the time to do that right now?

If you like, you can write your thanks in the space provided.

Your next step is to think back on a time when you felt most in love with your spouse. Where were you? What were the circumstances?

When you have recaptured that feeling, describe it as best you can in the space provided.

Now, here is your action step for the day: are you willing to do everything within your power to maintain that feeling towards your spouse for the remainder of this day? Will you maintain that feeling despite what your "natural" feelings towards them at any one moment may be?

(Note: chances are, you are going to need to take Steps 5, 6, 7 and 8 very seriously in order to maintain that feeling throughout the day.)

Part 2 of this Course is scheduled to appear on your Day Plan tomorrow morning. Don’t miss it, it will give you exactly what you are looking for in your marriage.

Are you willing to follow through?