Marriage Anchors

Maintain your First Love
Be Devoted to your Mate
Find a Foxhole Buddy

While I was a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York going on 50 years ago, our trainers decided they wanted us to excel in character development and combat readiness. What fun they had planned for us! On a hot, sunny August morning, they trucked us out in the middle of nowhere to a mountainous area with very high cliffs.

They made us walk up this one mountain side and peer over the cliff. The ground was over 130 feet straight down! The plan that morning was for us to learn and practice the art of repelling down the side of that cliff. Now for someone from Wisconsin who did not even like rock climbing, I knew this activity would be a challenge. I was genuinely scared!

Parachuting out of a plane would not be my idea of a Sunday picnic either but at least you have a main chute and a back up chute. With repelling, you live or die based on
the ROPE. There are no back up ropes. If it fails, then d-o-w-n you go.

A key Scriptural verse is found in Ecclesiastes 4:12.

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

I have worked with marriages, families, mentoring, discipleship, and evangelism for going on 40 years now. I find I do best to survive and thrive on the face of the steep cliff of life by applying a relationship equation from the above mentioned verse.

Relationship Equation:
First Love + Devotion to Mate + Foxhole Buddy = A Gospel Light Marriage for Christ

I want to challenge you today. Think for a minute. Why are you on this earth? There is a reason. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, wants to save you and commission you to be His Ambassador. He wants to reach, save, strengthen, and equip other people in this world through you!

Your marriage is to be a cinematic representation of the love and forgiveness of Christ to others. He wants to increase Heaven through your marriage. Now you know why the devil is bent on crippling and destroying traditional marriage. He has a plan to ruin yours.

Enjoy our book (free) by going to: Remember The Rowboats: Anchor Your Marriage to Christ

The Lord Jesus of Nazareth wants to give you His heart passion for the lost, the lonely, and the hurting. He wants Heaven filled. In straightforward terms, Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, desires passionately that your marriage becomes:

A Gospel Light Marriage!

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Please observe the lighthouse in the storm.

What do you think is its purpose?

In a similar way, The Lord’s marriage is to shine for Him. The people in this marriage are to be yielded to the power, presence, and leading of the Holy Spirit. They are to be in the Word of God, the Bible, individually and together. As a result of others observing this marriage, the lost and lonely would want to seek Jesus and find Him too.

God’s love is to be contagious! Gospel Light Marriages open their homes often to show hospitality. They see it as their mission to serve those with legitimate needs. They possess the desire to be involved in a Christ-honoring, Bible believing church. They find it essential and natural to be mentored by or to mentor other couples who love God’s Word and want to follow the Lord Jesus no matter what.

Just prior to Jesus ascending into heaven after His resurrection, He charges us with His Great Commission: With absolute authority, He commands all true followers of His. In Matthew 28:18-20 He says,

“18 …All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” {Bold added}

What Jesus is saying here is while we are going about our life and going to locations and people He leads us to, we are to constantly share the name and love of the Lord Jesus Christ, His message of redemption, His desire for a personal one on one relationship, and His forgiveness of our sins.

With tender humility, we are to model the Christian faith and teach God’s commands from Scripture to others.

We are to witness to people and share our spiritual journey. We are to talk of Jesus, our True Friend. We are not to be ashamed of this. It is not our job to convince anyone.

Rather we are to share His love. We are to share what we believe and why. We are to stand for truth and honor. We must then leave the timing, the quality, and the quantity of all results up to God.

We are to be patient and kind in the grocery line or at the airport when delays and difficulties occur. We are to be controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit at all times. We need to be the same person outside of our homes as we are inside our homes. It is called being a Congruent Person.

Your marriage is to be a Gospel Light and His Ambassador to win, build, and send out as many souls and marriages as we can to, likewise, be Gospel Lights to others.

Click on this link if you want to know with 100% confidence that you belong to God and, thus, are His follower: Your Anchor and please listen to this short audio message by Senior Pastor Andy Woods of Sugar Land Bible Church, Sugar Land, TX: The Gospel Explained in 5 Fingers

A great website to help you grow in faith and to help you mentor others is:

Growing in Christ

Passion!

Do you, as a married couple, want to follow the Lord Jesus? Then ask Him to give you His passion for people. If you are going to be serious about following and abiding in Christ, Barbara and I want to challenge you to adopt three closely linked priorities as you are led by the Holy Spirit.

1. Maintain your First Love with the Lord Jesus.
   a) Seek Him daily. Yield to Him fully and unconditionally.
   b) Confess and repent of any sins He brings to light.
   c) Spend quality, uninterrupted time with Him.
   d) Read, study, and meditate on His Word, the Bible. The book of John in the New Testament and Psalms in the Old Testament are great places to start.
   e) As your first priority, by faith, choose to yield to the Holy Spirit each hour of the day. Think of yourself as a baseball glove and the Holy Spirit is the hand that wears it. You belong to the hand. The hand has the right to wear you. You have no will of your own; only that of the hand’s choosing. He lives within every follower of Christ. When you yield to Him by faith (a choice of the will) and obedience, He, then, allegorically speaking, can fill you, wear you, and use you in Center Field, Third Base, behind Home Plate, etc. If He so chooses, He could toss you into the dug out for awhile. He does not have to explain “Why?”
   

• As Major Ian Thomas, author of The Saving Life of Christ, once told me over lunch: “It is our job to avail ourselves fully to God each morning. It is then God’s job to place us in whatever field of endeavor He so chooses.” (Paraphrased + It sounded a lot better with his British accent.)

Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” NIV

John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

NASB Matthew 5:18 says, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,” NLT

If you would like to know how to be filled with the Holy Spirit go to:

How To Be Filled With The Holy Spirit

These links are also helpful:

www.startingwithgod.com, www.everystudent.com, http://www.everyperson.com, http://excellentorpraiseworthy.org/ http://militaryreadyfamily.org/ http://www.familylife.com/, http://www.focusonthefamily.com/ http://www.calvarycommunity.net/

2. Be wholeheartedly devoted to your mate.

a. Be honorable in all relations with the opposite gender.
b. Never be alone with the opposite gender, not for coffee, not for lunch.
c. You must be accountable on the use of all computers, PlayStation Devices, TVs, and cell phones; wherever you have internet access. The fool will refuse to do this.
d. We strongly recommend www.covenanteyes.com . The website states: More than 1 in 8 web searches are for erotic content.

67% of children admit to clearing their internet history to hide their online activity.

79% of accidental exposures to internet porn among kids take place in the home.

56% of divorce cases involve one party having an obsessive interest in online porn.

29% of working adults accessed explicit websites on work computers.

Psalm 86:11 states, “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” NIV

If your heart is divided toward the Lord and toward some other idol or Giant in your life, then you will most assuredly share the devotion pledged to your mate at the marriage altar with others: Co- workers, friends, porn, sexting, sexually stirring movies and books, chat rooms, dating sites, strip clubs, prostitutes, etc.

Pastor Chuck Cervenka, from Calvary Community Church in Williams Bay, WI. shared in a recent sermon that he and his wife were at the mall. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out the 14 foot tall poster of a Victoria’s Secret model. Chuck said he chose to look straight ahead. He shared, “If it is supposed to be Victoria’s secret then why is the photo 14 feet tall?” He then humbly shared with us, “My wife’s secret is enough for me.”

The Golden Rule of Christian Marriage: “What is best for your marriage, will be best for your family, in-laws, church, work, and community.” Go to: What Is Best For Your Marriage, and Matthew 19:6 Also check out our website: www.marriageanchors.com. -ALL FREE!

To learn how to love your mate, click here:

Hesed Your Mate No Matter What

3. Find a Foxhole Buddy!

Have you ever been alone or lost in a woods at night? It is better if you have a trusted friend with you. If you are in a foxhole with another soldier, you become very thankful you are not alone. The trust and bond that forms cannot be described well other than: You’ve got each other’s back.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 is clear:
“9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Who do you think the third strand is here? -

The Holy Spirit.

Go to: By the way, who is the Holy Spirit and why did He come?

I meet almost every week at a small restaurant in my home town, Elkhorn, Wisconsin, with a trusted confidant, my Foxhole Buddy. Bottom line? We have each other’s backs. In the military, they say, “six’s” like the bottom number of a face clock.
There are three verses FoxHole Buddies live by:

James 5:16
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” NLT

Galatians 6:2
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” NIV

Hebrews 3:13
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” NIV

Read Battle Casualty and maintaining strong moral fences:

Please know that Barbara and I are here to help you, coach you, and pray for you! We care for you, your marriage, (or upcoming marriage) and your family. Please let us know if you will join us and become:

A Gospel Light Marriage.

May God bless you as you learn to love, follow, and obey the Lord Jesus!

Sincerely,

Jim & Barbara Grunseth, Cru

Jim’s iphone & Text: 262-745-4160

Jim’s Email: [email protected]

Jim and Barbara’s Ministry Website. Everything is free:

marriageanchors.com .We have sent our free materials to 865 churches and missions in 69 countries. Online giving to our ministry: https://give.cru.org/0139150
Our Cru donor account number is #0139150

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Our Passion:
To help marriages, families, individuals, and local churches find lasting hope and a future in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 29:11-14, Deuteronomy 31:8

Our Prayer:
For God to raise up Hearts and Homes to be Gospel Lights to the Nations! Matthew 5:14