Man/Woman Relationships

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***THIS DEVOTIONAL TODAY IS DEDICATED TO MY WIFE NAN. 19 YEARS AGO GOD GAVE ME THE GREATEST BLESSING HE POSSIBLY COULD WHEN HE GAVE ME NAN AS A WIFE AND PARTNER IN THIS JOURNEY. HER UNCONDITIONAL LOVE SUSTAINED ME IN MY DARKEST TIMES. THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES IN MY LIFE THAT I CAN'T COME UP WITH THE WORDS TO EXPRESS WHAT I WANT TO SAY. SO LET ME JUST SAY THIS. I AM MOST BLESSED AMONG MEN. NAN, I LOVE YOU! GOD, THANK YOU!

DAILY DEVOTIONAL WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 23, 2002
(Genesis 2:18-24)

And the Lord God said, "It isn't good for man to be alone; I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs." So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever he called them, that was their name. But still there was no proper helper for the man. Then the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he had removed it, and made the rib into a woman, and brought her to the man.

"This is it!" Adam exclaimed. "She is part of my own bone and flesh! Her name is 'woman' because she was taken out of a man." This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife in such a way that the two become one person.

Man/woman relationships. With yesterday being my 19th wedding anniversary, I felt led to deal with one of the greatest prayer requests I get daily on our Liveprayer.com website and in my personal email. Libraries full of books have been written on the subject of man/woman relationships. It is the source of some of our greatest joy in this lifetime as well as our deepest pain. There are NEVER easy answers, due to the complicated nature of each one of us individually, in trying to blend two unique people into one relationship.

Rather than try to deal with this very sensitive subject from a broad perspective, let me try to narrow the focus and deal with many key issues based on our final authority for all matters of life, God's Word. Let me say right up front, every situation is different, every situation has its own unique circumstances. All I am going to do is to try to open up a little bit of what the scriptures have to say, so don't get mad at me if you don't like what God has to say. :) Also, I can tell you from years of counseling, that most people are in difficult situations because they have ignored God's Word. Making a decision to follow God's plan is going to be the first step for many of you to get out of some very difficult relationship situations.

In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 2, we see the man/woman relationship introduced. You will notice this was God's idea. God had very clear defined roles for the man and for the woman. God's plan was for one man, one woman, one lifetime. This is serious. I am very much against young adults under 18 involved in dating. 95% of the emails that I get from young adults involved in dating under 18, are NOT positive. There are raw, new emotions that can lead young people into life destructive situations. Young people dating is like letting a 12 year old drive on a crowded freeway. They can probably do it for a while, but a crash is inevitable. The choice of a mate for life is very serious, and there is no such thing as "casual dating" because your feelings aren't casual. There needs to be much prayer, much pastoral counseling, and clear signs from God on both sides that this is what God wants for both the man and woman. THIS IS A LESSON ALL ADULTS SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO!!!

Once you are married, there are a whole set of new hurdles. People changing and not being the "same person I married." Infidelity, which for the record is not only sin, but just a totally selfish act that never has a happy ending. Conflict over raising children, money, where to live, activities, etc., etc. Divorce, which by the way the Bible declares "God hates." This is why, just like you must work daily at your relationship with God... which if you noticed from past devotionals includes actually spending time with God daily.... you MUST work daily on your relationship with your spouse. It doesn't happen by osmosis.

The two keys have to be spending time together and communication. A relationship where either of these elements is missing is doomed. You cannot make two unique people into one without spending time together and communicating. I am not even going to discuss a man and woman living together out of the covenant of marriage. That is pure unadulterated sin and there is no condition when it is acceptable. Again, don't get mad at me, God wrote it not me.

I pray daily for so many requests that deal with this issue. Young people caught up in romances at an age when they have no business being intimate or emotionally involved. Married couples going through separation or divorce over a myriad of issues. People who are single fighting through difficult issues, usually from disobeying God's plan. I want you to understand because this is such a common issue. You can do it your way, or you can do it God's way.

God's way works, your way doesn't. And you can't try to combine the two either. There is an incredible amount of peace and joy and intense gratification from a proper, Godly relationship between a man and woman. There is an incredible amount of pain and heartache and intense grief that can affect you for the rest of your life from an improper ungodly relationship.

I love you and care about you so much. I will be praying for you today to let God speak to you today. You know where you are at in regard to this issue. God can heal wounds, help you to overcome if you are serious about doing it His way. I am believing today for the marriages of those in trouble. God is a God of restoration. Don't give up. I love each one of you and care about you. Be encouraged today. God has a plan. He didn't leave it up to us to figure these things out. Follow His plan and I promise you that you will experience the best this life has to offer, because that is all God ever wanted for His children.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer Daily Devotional is now available via audio each day. Simply go to http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html. Click on "Search by Category", then locate DAILY DEVOTIONAL. I want to thank Ed Morando for making this service available for FREE to Liveprayer.com.

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