The Next Step: Following Wherever God Leads You

I was camping once as a boy and—all by myself—had to get from a lodge to the cabin where my family was staying.

It was a foggy night and pitch dark in the woods far from civilization. My only light came from my flashlight.

I vividly recall picking my way down the path. In the falling mist, my flashlight illuminated only a few feet ahead of me at a time. I would watch my feet and try to keep from moving off the narrow dirt trail into the brush on either side. [Read more…]

The Spirit’s Protection

Is the fear of loss or potential pain keeping you from a successful relationship? What about the fear of failure? Or the fear of repeating prior mistakes?

If that’s you, you’re not alone. Most of us experience those fears in the beginning of a relationship. Sometimes they are so consuming that we won’t even allow ourselves to get into a new relationship. Hey, if there’s no relationship, we can’t mess it up, right?

What if we told you that you don’t need to be ruled by fear? It’s true. As the apostle Paul said, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, NLT). [Read more…]

Help Is on the Way

We’ve got some bad news for you. After encouraging you to be ready for God’s best, it is our sad duty to inform you that you are incapable of getting yourself ready for God’s best in marriage—or in any other area of your life, for that matter. You just can’t do it. You don’t have it in you. Sorry.

We really mean it; you’re incapable of this. And so are we. And so is everybody else you’re going to meet today. But there is Someone who is capable of making you ready for God’s best, as you cooperate with this particular Someone. We’re talking about the Holy Spirit. [Read more…]

Are You on the Right Path to Receive God’s Best?

Did you ever do a pencil maze as a child? If so, you remember using your pencil to trace a line from an entry point to (you hoped!) the goal at the center of the maze. But if you traced your line down the wrong part of the maze, you wound up at a dead end and had to go back and start over again, maybe only to come up against yet another dead end. Frustrating, wasn’t it?

We want to help you avoid the same kind of wasted effort in your pursuit of a godly marriage. We want to make sure you’re on the right path to start with. You see, before you can meaningfully ask the question of whether you’re ready to receive God’s best in marriage, you have to determine if you are even a candidate for God’s best in the first place. Let us suggest five tests you can give yourself to find out.

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Resolutions for a New Year

God has a wonderful future for you! Are you willing to cooperate with Him?What changes do you desire?

What does this next year have in store for you? What changes does God have planned? Perhaps this is the year He will lead you to your ideal soul mate?

Have you considered what crucial things God may still want to accomplish in your life so you are ready for that special relationship? Are you willing to cooperate with Him?

[Read more…]