Love Dare Day 8 2024
Love Dare Day 8
Good morning and may Gods Grace flow in, though and around you, Oh you redeemed beloved children of the Lord most high!
Today we are tackling Day 8 of the Love dare together- We will be looking at applying a practical application to the Song of Solomons poetic language describing the strength and power of the Love of God, and His love reflected through us towards Him and Each other ( specifically our spouses for our purposes).
Remember - We are at war with our sinful flesh and the enemy of our souls and our Lord. This war destroys marriages, children and future generations. Our enemy ( the Lord rebuke and cast him down) is a master at stoking the fires of jealousy and hatred within our homes, and then we run with it and destroy our own marriages.
At one point in time, I asked someone in a very difficult marriage situation to tell me one thing they love about their spouse or that their spouse did well that was appreciated. After all, they were married and had children.
I was immediately accused (quite heatedly) of taking sides and disregarding the situation (not true), and the person continued to pile on what they felt their spouse was doing incorrectly. After several attempts to bring the person back to something productive, I was informed that their spouse was looked upon with favor by everyone else around because of things they did, but that none of it was true. It was just an act. There was nothing good about their spouse, they were in fact, nothing but a deceiver and hid all of their issues from everyone around, and people all favored the deceiving spouse. There was a distinct accusatory jealous rage and anger in the comments.
While terribly sad and destructive, this isn't uncommon. As a matter of fact, its one of the most common things I've heard in counseling.
One of the tactics the enemy uses is to dishonestly discourage us that all is lost, and in the face of hardship- only the hardship, difficulty and the faults of our spouses should be taken into consideration. Here's what that looks like in a marriage.
Your spouse does 100 good things a day, and has 200 good habits and traits, and the enemy ( and our flesh) consistently points the handful of things about them that we don't like or that they DIDN'T do. To make matters worse, once our hearts and minds are laser focused on the negative aspects of our spouse / relationship, the enemy ( and our flesh) conspire to keep us from noticing the good things that they do completely, even to the point of being jealous of them succeeding anywhere.
We then diminish anything good they do, and have a critical spirit towards them even when they do something worthy of praise - achievements at work, achievements at things around the house, in their hobbies, Church related serving and ministry, etc..... Often, we keep this critical spirit hidden, but it begins to spill over from our thought life to sarcasm, sighing, rolling of eyes and a growing bitterness, disregard and disdain. This eventually kills any relationship with God, the relationship, marriage and any chance of future reconciliation. The one you looked at the beginning is now considered the enemy.
Here is Gods truth though.
Love (Gods way and definition) is as strong as death. We are to stoke the fires of our hearts to bend towards our spouse, and not away from them - AND to Love our spouses beyond any scheme of the enemy to kill our marriage - the way to do this is to deal in truth, love and grace.
Todays Love dare does exactly that. Clear the shelf of negative thoughts about your spouse, intentionally give them Grace ( Jesus died so that we can do this as He did it for us), and start fresh with love, new eyes and a new heart towards them.
Go intentionally love your spouse well today - There's a war on ( but be of good cheer- Jesus has overcome the world!)
**As always, this is not aimed at addressing abuse within a marriage. That's a separate topic not addressed here. If you are in an abusive relationship, get help from your pastor, or if its physical, contact the police to protect yourself, and get some solid Christian counseling**
Remember- Faith without works is dead. Don't just read todays dare. GO DO IT!
Love is a commitment and requires work, but it is worth it and brings ETERNAL gain.
Today we are tackling Day 8 of the Love dare together- We will be looking at applying a practical application to the Song of Solomons poetic language describing the strength and power of the Love of God, and His love reflected through us towards Him and Each other ( specifically our spouses for our purposes).
Remember - We are at war with our sinful flesh and the enemy of our souls and our Lord. This war destroys marriages, children and future generations. Our enemy ( the Lord rebuke and cast him down) is a master at stoking the fires of jealousy and hatred within our homes, and then we run with it and destroy our own marriages.
At one point in time, I asked someone in a very difficult marriage situation to tell me one thing they love about their spouse or that their spouse did well that was appreciated. After all, they were married and had children.
I was immediately accused (quite heatedly) of taking sides and disregarding the situation (not true), and the person continued to pile on what they felt their spouse was doing incorrectly. After several attempts to bring the person back to something productive, I was informed that their spouse was looked upon with favor by everyone else around because of things they did, but that none of it was true. It was just an act. There was nothing good about their spouse, they were in fact, nothing but a deceiver and hid all of their issues from everyone around, and people all favored the deceiving spouse. There was a distinct accusatory jealous rage and anger in the comments.
While terribly sad and destructive, this isn't uncommon. As a matter of fact, its one of the most common things I've heard in counseling.
One of the tactics the enemy uses is to dishonestly discourage us that all is lost, and in the face of hardship- only the hardship, difficulty and the faults of our spouses should be taken into consideration. Here's what that looks like in a marriage.
Your spouse does 100 good things a day, and has 200 good habits and traits, and the enemy ( and our flesh) consistently points the handful of things about them that we don't like or that they DIDN'T do. To make matters worse, once our hearts and minds are laser focused on the negative aspects of our spouse / relationship, the enemy ( and our flesh) conspire to keep us from noticing the good things that they do completely, even to the point of being jealous of them succeeding anywhere.
We then diminish anything good they do, and have a critical spirit towards them even when they do something worthy of praise - achievements at work, achievements at things around the house, in their hobbies, Church related serving and ministry, etc..... Often, we keep this critical spirit hidden, but it begins to spill over from our thought life to sarcasm, sighing, rolling of eyes and a growing bitterness, disregard and disdain. This eventually kills any relationship with God, the relationship, marriage and any chance of future reconciliation. The one you looked at the beginning is now considered the enemy.
Here is Gods truth though.
Love (Gods way and definition) is as strong as death. We are to stoke the fires of our hearts to bend towards our spouse, and not away from them - AND to Love our spouses beyond any scheme of the enemy to kill our marriage - the way to do this is to deal in truth, love and grace.
Todays Love dare does exactly that. Clear the shelf of negative thoughts about your spouse, intentionally give them Grace ( Jesus died so that we can do this as He did it for us), and start fresh with love, new eyes and a new heart towards them.
Go intentionally love your spouse well today - There's a war on ( but be of good cheer- Jesus has overcome the world!)
**As always, this is not aimed at addressing abuse within a marriage. That's a separate topic not addressed here. If you are in an abusive relationship, get help from your pastor, or if its physical, contact the police to protect yourself, and get some solid Christian counseling**
Remember- Faith without works is dead. Don't just read todays dare. GO DO IT!
Love is a commitment and requires work, but it is worth it and brings ETERNAL gain.
Day 8: Love is not jealous
Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire.
—Song of Solomon 8:6 NIV
TODAY’S DARE
Determine to become your spouse’s biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your spouse and focus on their achievements, take yesterday’s list of negative attributes and discreetly burn it. Then share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed.
Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire.
—Song of Solomon 8:6 NIV
TODAY’S DARE
Determine to become your spouse’s biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your spouse and focus on their achievements, take yesterday’s list of negative attributes and discreetly burn it. Then share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed.
Posted in Godly Marriages
Recent
Archive
2024
February
November
December