Love your Husband Challenge week 4

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails

The love verse..... Most of us are familiar with this verse. We have heard it at Church, we have read it in our Bibles or on Hallmark cards. This verse might have been read at our wedding ceremony. It is a verse that makes us feel good and all gooey inside. Is this a verse that calls you to action? Well it should. This month we are challenging you to love your husband, the way God wants you to love your husband. For the next four weeks we will take one verse and challenge ourselves to do what it says.
click here if you missed week 1
click here if you missed week 2

click here if you missed week 3

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails

Has someone you cared about ever let you down?  Maybe you were lied to, cheated on, abandoned by, deeply hurt, or abused?  Possibly even betrayed by the very person who was suppose to love you?  

If so, it may be especially difficult to imagine a love that never fails.

Oh, Taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8

This never-failing Love is God Himself (1 John 4:8) . He created you in your mother’s womb and knows you by name (Psalm 139). He longs for you to surrender to His plans for He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). 

 It is heartbreaking the terrible things that happen every day in this broken and cursed world. 

Those things will either break us making us hard, angry, and bitter people 

or 

they may catapult us into the arms of Love. His heart breaks too with the sadness and pain in this world. But praise God! For He is able to bind up the broken hearted, proclaim good news to the poor in spirit, and He sets the captives free. (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18)

 We as Christians must abide daily in Christ so that though us these things would take place! 

 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

But the fruit of the Spirit is love... Galatians 5:22

He is the author and source of love. True followers of Christ will be known by their love.  May we, the church, rise up in His Love to finish the work He has for us! Prepare the way of the LORD!  He is coming. 

 Love never fails. 

Challenge:

How can I be all that God created me to be?

1. Pray & plan a time/date for a personal spiritual “retreat”.

 It could be for as short or as long as you can pull off. The purpose is to “get away”  and be still to examine your life making sure your goals & focus are aligned with God’s word & match your actions. Come back refreshed and be intentional in doing something extra special for your spouse!

Love is the most important spiritual act!  It’s worth taking the time with God and yourself to re-energize and re-focus your life. We all need to do this from time to time.

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and posses all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26

2) Grow in love.  Put your name where “love” goes to examine areas in which you can grow.

______ is patient and kind. ______ is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. ______ does not demand their own way. ______ is not irritable, and keeps no records of wrong. ______ does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices in the truth. ______ never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. ______ never fails...

Pray that your love for your husband would be pure & deepen. 

Over all, let the Truth of God’s love - He has rescued you from death & redeemed your soul! - fuel the love you have for others, particularly those difficult to love/forgive. Listen and obey. With HIM all things are possible...

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:1-2,38-39

Love your Husband challenge week 3

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails

The love verse..... Most of us are familiar with this verse. We have heard it at Church, we have read it in our Bibles or on Hallmark cards. This verse might have been read at our wedding ceremony. It is a verse that makes us feel good and all gooey inside. Is this a verse that calls you to action? Well it should. This month we are challenging you to love your husband, the way God wants you to love your husband. For the next four weeks we will take one verse and challenge ourselves to do what it says.
click here if you missed week 1
click here if you missed week 2

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

The mind can be a very deceiving tool. We spend a lot of time there and thoughts can go round and round and drives us crazy. At the end the original thought has nothing to do with the ending thought. Why? The devil loves to play with you mind. That is how he deceived Eve “do you really think....”. 

Do you really think....... Those are dangerous words because they can easily take us down an evil path.

Love does not delight in evil my child,

I know God but do I really think.....

There are six things I hate,

    seven that are detestable to me:

        haughty eyes,

        a lying tongue,

        hands that shed innocent blood,

        a heart that devises wicked schemes,

        feet that are quick to rush into evil,

        a false witness who pours out lies

        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

oh how quickly my train of thought can lead my heart to devise wicked schemes or pour out lies. Lies to myself....

I am sorry Lord......

Love rejoices with the truth.....

What is truth?

Jesus in the book of Matthew repeats more than 10 times “I tell you the truth”. The truth is whatever the Bible says, the truth is the Word of God and I will rejoice in the truth!

 Finally, my child, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Yes father I will.......

Here is the challenge for this week ladies. How to love your husband by taking every thoughts captive (2 Cor. 10:5) and replacing evil thoughts with the truth.

Make a list of attributes concerning your husband in those areas:
What is true about your husband (be positive)
What is noble about him
What is right 
What is pure
What is lovely
What is admirable

Praise your husband in your mind, with your words, when you talk to him, when you talk about him.

Join us next week for our last Love your Husband challenge.

How has this journey been for you so far? Share your thoughts with us! We would love to hear from you.

Love your husband challenge

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails

The love verse..... Most of us are familiar with this verse. We have heard it at Church, we have read it in our Bibles or on Hallmark cards. This verse might have been read at our wedding ceremony. It is a verse that makes us feel good and all gooey inside. Is this a verse that calls you to action? Well it should. This month we are challenging you to love your husband, the way God wants you to love your husband. For the next four weeks we will take one verse and challenge ourselves to do what it says.

Click here if you missed week 1

Week 2:  Love It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

• Love does not dishonor others -  Other translations say, “it is not rude” and “it does not act unbecomingly ”.  Opposite of dishonor - honor, respect, esteem.  

Love esteems and honors others. It is empowered to do so even when the other person does not “deserve” it. Love never fails.    

How can we esteem and admire our husbands this week?  

• not self-seeking  Love does not seek out and insist its own way. 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4

• not easily angered   Love does not irritate or provoke others to anger. 

Rom 10:19 NIV - Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding."

Eph 6:4 NIV - Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1           

• it keeps no record of wrongs  Love does not calculate and tally up all the times it has been wronged and suffered. Love looks up while laying down and releasing all the pain, injustices, and brokenness at the feet of a faithful Savior. Therefore....

 ... fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

 How can you love your husband by honoring him & putting his needs before yours this week? 

Here are a few ideas:

1. Hold your tongue!  (James 4&5)  Do not complain or say negative comments this week. 
2. Build up and strengthen your man.  Be intentional to verbally appreciate, honor, and admire him daily. Write him a note sharing you are thankful for him.
3. Examine your ways and apologize if needed. Do you seek your own way? Do you speak to your spouse with harshness provoking anger? 
4. Forgive and move on. Is the slate clean or are there past injuries that keep getting brought up?  You can’t completely move on if the past injuries are still in the present; however; you can commit to forgive and put an “action plan” in place that can help you move forward. Pain takes time to heal. By God’s grace we can forgive forgive the deepest hurts. Depending on the relationship, reconciliation is not always healthy. But when it is important remember reconciliation takes two people and time.  

If you have any other ideas and/or examples please share them with us!

Make sure to join us next week for our week 3 challenge!

Love your husband challenge

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails

The love verse..... Most of us are familiar with this verse. We have heard it at Church, we have read it in our Bibles or on Hallmark cards. This verse might have been read at our wedding ceremony. It is a verse that makes us feel good and all gooey inside. Is this a verse that calls you to action? Well it should. This month we are challenging you to love your husband, the way God wants you to love your husband. For the next four weeks we will take one verse and challenge ourselves to do what it says.

Week 1: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Patience: the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient

Synonyms: forbearance, long-suffering, sufferance,tolerance

Kind: arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance

Envy: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage

Boast: a cause for pride

Proud: having or displaying excessive self-esteem

           much pleased

 How can you love your husband by being patient, kind without showing envy or being boastful or prideful? Here are a few ideas:

1. Do not nag him about those things that irritate you (dirty socks, trash, not helping with the kids or supper)
2. Do not remind him about the times you were right.
3. Do not compare him to someone else.
4. Be sympathetic to his needs and meet them whenever you can.

If you have any other ideas and/or examples please share them with us!

Make sure to join us next week for our week 2 challenge!

Going deeper. Here are some verses on patience (Psalms 37:7-9; Proverbs 15:18; Ecclesiastes 7:8,9; Lamentations 3:26,27; Luke 8:1), on pride (Obadiah 1:3; Revelation 18:7), examples of kindness (Ruth 2:4; Luke 15:17,19)