Uncommon Commitment

We can't change the past, but we can make a decision in the present to change our future.  

Let's make a decision today to cultivate committed relationships with our spouses.  

  

(Malachi 2:13-16) You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?”

It is because the LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. 

Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. 

“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.

God is totally committed to us.  

Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)

 For He (God) Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Commitment means staying loyal to what you said that you were going to do long after the mood that you said it in has left you.

From this day forward... 

1.  I commit to prioritize my spouse above everyone else except God. 

(1 John 3:16) This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

2.  I commit to pursue my spouse above any other interest except God. 

(Revelation 3:20 NLT) “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

3.  I commit to loving my spouse while providing a sense of belonging. 

(1 Peter 2:9 NLT) You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.

4.  I commit to protecting my spouse from all others like God protects me.

(Psalm 121:7 NCV) The LORD will protect you from all dangers; he will guard your life.

5.  I commit to showing mercy to my spouse like God shows mercy to me. 

(Ephesians 5:25-27) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

(Ephesians 5:32) This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands 

https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/uncommon-commitment