I always encourage folks to go through marital counseling. I have been asked to officiate at weddings, but the couples did want to go through marital counseling, thus I did not marry them. Alarms go off when that happens. I was taught by Pastor Barry Dickens about premarital counseling. Pastor Barry married me and Sharon. Barry went all the way back in the history of both our families, back to our grandparents to look deep into our family roots. Sometimes, more often than not, people carry garbage into their marriage. It is important to help people process that. A lovely lady called me years ago and asked if I would marry her and her boyfriend. I said I would be happy to, but we must go thorough marital counseling. The boyfriend said no, and took her to Vegas to get married, sadly they were divorced in 6 months. He was hiding his past. Drugs, booze, sex outside marriage, phonography, money and gambling are some of the top reasons for divorce. Some people have never experienced true love, the love of Jesus. I love this message by Joshua Pease as it speaks to TRUE LOVE.
FROM THRIVING MARRIGES:
If you were a male believer around the time of Moses and Joshua, your job was to fight. As the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they were sometimes chastised for their cowardice and lethargy and their refusal to go into battle: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?” (Joshua 18:3). For a long time, “go into battle” was the rallying cry from God.
Jesus came with a new challenge – a far more difficult one. Someone once asked him to name the single greatest commandment, and Jesus replied with two (Matthew 22:34-40). It isn’t enough to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If you really want to please God, Jesus said, you must also learn to love others.
