change

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Change in the Ordinary

a. Ordinary happens over and over again.

a. Ordinary happens over and over again. b. In the ordinary moments God seems uninvolved.

a. Ordinary happens over and over again. b. In the ordinary moments God seems uninvolved. c. We don’t expect ordinary to change

The danger isn’t simply that you’re unhappy or that your marriage is less than it should be; it’s that God becomes increasingly irrelevant to your marriage, the relationship that defines your life more than any other.

The path to change is built on this truth: God is involved in every moment of your marriage (life). In that sense, there are no ordinary moments, only moments filled with God’s activity, of which you may or may not be aware and in which you may or may not choose to participate.

1 John 4:7-12 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him

1 John 4:7-12 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

Marriages change… 1. When we recognize God’s agenda for “ordinary moments”.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Love problems are God problems… having more love in your marriage means having more God in your marriage!

Marriages change… 2. When we’re willing to love in practical Christ-like ways, especially in the difficult moments.

“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

“sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” means, Jesus is able to remove from your heart all obstacles to loving others.

The biggest giants in our marriages reside in our hearts

Marriages change… 3. When we’re willing to love consistently, over time, not because our spouses change but because we’re in a growing relationship with God

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

Learning to love involves two miracles… a. God lives in us b. God becomes visible

At some point in your marriage you'll have to understand that you cannot change your spouse. If your individual happiness (or well being) depends on your ability to control them or change them, you are dooming yourself to frustration and hopelessness because you are trying to do the impossible.