God's design for man and woman, and how they are meant to be together

Genesis 1:26-27
26. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

To be made in his image means to be made in the reflection of God’s glory. God is sinless, eternal and unlimited. We are given the potential to be sinless, eternal and unlimited. But we also were given the choice to fall short. We will never be like God because He is our supreme creator. Our best hope is to reflect his character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness. This alone should give you self worth and to know that we are not defined by our possessions, achievements, physical attractiveness or by public acclaim. God made man and woman in his own image. Neither one is more dominant than the other.

Genesis 2:15-17
15. The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
16. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17. but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

God has given us responsibility to take care of his creation. He has also given us freedom. Freedom to choose how we may live. These choices come with the result of consequences if chosen wrongly. Choosing wrongly causes us pain and suffering. But these choices help us to realize what is wrong and cause us to make better choices for the future.

Genesis 2:18, 21-24
18. The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
21. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.
22. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, for she was taken out of man.“
24. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Here we see 3 basic aspects in verse 24:
1. The man leaves his parents and, In a public act, promises himself to his wife.
2. The man and woman are joined together by taking responsibility for each other’s welfare and by loving the mate above all others.
3. The two become one flesh in intimacy and commitment of sexual union, which is reserved for marriage.

Ephesians 5:21-22, 28-29
21. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
28. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church

We as individuals still have to make our choice to follow God. As long as we do this we will have a very strong marriage.

Look at the diagram of God’s Design of marriage:
1. We are to be spiritual individuals with one another and God
2. We are to be social with one another and with God (Communication and Prayer)
3. We are to be emotional with one another and with God (Humble, Love)
4. We are to be physical with one another (intimacy) and with God (Spirit)

The more we implement these things own lives along with our marriage, the closer we get to God.

How would you rate your marriage from 1 to 10?

1. What are your strengths?
2. Which areas could use some attention?

4 keys to an intimate marriage:

1. Having a lifelong choice of unconditional love.
2. Having a lifelong skill of learning to understand each other.
3. Having an adventure of lifelong friendship, fun and mutual fulfillment.
4. Having a vision to impact the lives of others with your experience of having a life of unconditional love with your spouse and God.

For those of you who are not married:
1. How would you rate your dating relationship and your approach to building relationships using God’s Design?

My wife and I have chosen not to allow our daughter to date until she moves away to college or until she reaches the age of 18. We will however allow her to go out with friends but will not be alone with a boy. Satan will use any vulnerable child he can to get them to do wickedness and corrupt there minds with filth.

Parents, final question for thought:
1. Are you talking to your pre-teens and teens about God’s Design for a marriage.

I hope this has been a good kick start for a WONDERFUL marriage for you and for God.

I love you and God Bless.

Ephesians 6: Putting on the Armor of God.

The Bible warns us that we are in a battle:

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV)."

Any good thing we have the devil wants to destroy. And this includes our mental health.
To be successful in Spiritual Warfare, we must keep both our thinking and our behavior under control and in conformity with scripture.
Controlling our thinking is of fundamental importance. It makes peace and self-control possible. Controlling our thinking will prevent spiritual footholds from developing. And it will weaken and make possible the destruction of those that already exist.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV)."

Thoughts contrary to the expressed will of God are inevitable. The objective is not to entertain them; not to dwell on them.Every time you entertain a thought contrary to the will of God, you are giving an advantage to the devil in some way--even if you don't experience any immediate negative consequences. Dwelling on such thoughts results in "strongholds" or footholds. Anytime Satan gets a Spiritual Foothold, he gains the power to harm you in some way. And he can, within the permissive will of God, use that power to harm you whenever he wants.

The Bible tells us how to be successful in our battle with Satan: The basic biblical instructions are found in Ephesians 6:

"Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10-12 New Living Translation)."

Without God's armor believers will be defeated by the schemes of the devil which have been effective for thousands of years1. The Bible provides detailed instructions on how to use God's armor. These instructions use the then familiar analogy of a Roman soldier getting ready to go into battle:

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Ephesians 6:13-18 NIV)."

Christians have different views in terms on how to apply this passage. I'll tell you what I think.
I believe the passage means to be sure to use all your spiritual weapons. Imagining yourself putting on the armor is a great way of reminding yourself of what you need to do each day to avoid being defeated by the devil.
Putting on the armor doesn't magically protect you. I know this from experience! Armor has to be both put on and used.
Here's what I suggest: Every morning, imagine yourself putting on each piece of the armor. You don't have to move your body. Then recite at least one scripture or one biblical principle--relevant to what you're struggling with--that goes with that piece of armor. Don't say the same thing every day. I'll provide an example.

First, I put on the belt of truth.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)."

Second, I put on the breastplate of righteousness:

"It is written 'love your enemies' (Matthew 5:44)." "By faith and love I can protect my heart (1 Thessalonians 5:8)." Today, I'm choosing forgiveness as an attitude.

Third, my feet are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. This scripture refers to a believer's stability or sure footedness from the gospel which gives him peace so he can stand in the battle.

"I will fear no evil for you (God) are with me (Psalm 23:4 NIV)."

Fourth, I take up the shield of faith. with which I can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

"It is written: 'Therefore I (God) tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours' (Mark 11:24 NIV)."

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped (Psalm 28:7 NIV)."

Fifth, I put on the helmet of salvation.

"My hope is in Jesus Christ; that hope cannot be taken away (1 Thessalonians 5:8)."

Sixth, I take up the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

"It is written: 'Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus' (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)."

Finally, prayer. You don't put on prayer. But prayer is essential. You can't defeat the devil without it. You can remind yourself of its importance by reciting a scripture dealing with prayer as in the foregoing example.
So that's it. The battleground is primarily in our minds. The idea is to base our thoughts and behaviors on scripture--not on how we're feeling. If we go by our feelings, we will be defeated.
Ephesians 6 makes it possible for us to understand the spiritual battle we are in--and win. It makes it possible for us to experience the blessings of God--rather than the torment of the devil.