Because of HIS Amazing Grace,
Pastor Myron

Matthew 19:5-6 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

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Sacrifice for the other - Without martyr complex, without expecting anything in return, without quitting.

Philippians 2:4-5 "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."

Engage in communication - Without condemnation, without accusation, without name-calling, with compassion, with patience, with respect. Attack issues not each other.

Colossians 4:6 "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

eXonerate past hurts - discharge, forgive, leave them in the past – you may remember and you may have to forgive frequently but make sure you do forgive Colossians 3:13 "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

Enlist help of capable people - Counselors, Pastors, and Couples in strong long-term marriages! To often we run to everyone and some of these people are not the ones we should be running to. When our marriage is in crisis we should not be talking with those who also have a marriage in crisis. We should be talking to those who have a strong Christ-centered marriage. We also need accountability partners (These individuals should be of the same gender as you.) that will remind us when we are being self-centered.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Saturate your marriage in prayer - Pray together, Pray by yourself, Pray for your spouse, Pray often, Pray continually. They say that the family that prays together stays together.

Ephesians 6:18 (The Message) "In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long"

There have been some claims that the divorce rate for Christians, who attended church regularly, pray together, and who meet other conditions is only 1 or 2 percent. I’m not sure about the statistics but I do know that when you are keeping Christ in the center of your heart and at the center of your marriage you will have a stronger marriage.

Marriage Prayer - Thank you Lord for the love you have given us. We thank you for giving us the power to make the choice to love. Help us dear Lord to see every day as a new beginning. We ask for your guidance in all the choices we make today. Let us treat each other as you would treat us. We thank you for this marriage you have given to us, let us be ever mindful of the gift our marriage is from above.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen

February 12, 2009
I came home last week after a long day, sat down on my couch and prepared to unwind. After relaxing a while, I decided it was time to head to bed. I opened the bathroom door as I went to brush my teeth and immediately noticed my bathroom was in disarray. As I scanned the room, I noticed a squirrel hiding behind my pedestal sink. I yelled, closed the door, and proceeded to grab a golf club and a bucket. I then opened the door and attempted to capture that squirrel. The squirrel escaped not only from me but from the bathroom as well. The next 45 minutes were a hilarious adventure of trying to rid my apartment of this unwelcome visitor.

While squirrels are cute and many enjoy feeding them outside, squirrels can be very destructive. When all was said and done my apartment was a disaster area with one busted out window, a broken broom, a broken stereo speaker and several other issues! The Bible says that Satan appears as an Angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14) yet he is very destructive.

I was unable to get rid of the squirrel by myself. After running around for about 15 minutes I called a friend of mine to come help. Together we chased him, swatted at him, and finally trapped him. When we face attacks of our enemy, Satan, too often we think we can take care of it by ourselves. Some issues are bigger than we can handle. The Bible speaks about the amassed power we have when we partner with the other Christians. It says in, Matthew 18:19-20 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." This is a great promise but sometimes we are too embarrassed to ask someone to partner with us. This is an issue of pride and the Bible says (Proverbs 16:18) that pride comes before the fall.

After we trapped the squirrel, we released it outside, and then the clean up began. I could have simply cleaned up and then head to bed, but the risk of the squirrel re-entering my apartment would have remained. I had to take action to ensure he couldn’t get in the same way again. In our lives we must do the same. We must examine the areas that we are strong and the areas that we are weak and ensure that the enemy is not welcome. If we fail to do this we will be open to recurrent attacks of the enemy. Our enemy, no matter how innocent he may appear, carries many destructive diseases. The Bible says that Satan is like a lion seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8).

In this life, realize that we have an arsenal, which is greater than anything the enemy can throw our direction! First we have the Holy Sprit (John 14:16); second we have the Spiritual Armor that God gives us (Ephesians 6); third we have our Christian brothers and sisters. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching" Stand firm this week and take advantage of all that God has provided to you.