GET LOST IN GOD’S LOVE - How To Get Lost In God’s Love And Save Your Marriage - This world’s paradigm of love can often put a lot of emphasis on sex, romance and passion in marriage. God’s Word defines marital love more in terms of friendship and commitment than sex and romance. I’ve long embraced the biblical story of the woman at the well (John 4). She tried man after man but never felt that her thirst for love had been quenched. She was desperate and love-sick. It doesn’t matter how deep the problem; the solution is still God’s love. And He has buckets and buckets of love to fix your marriage. And to fix your heart. - Every person on earth has a deep desire to be loved. And as wonderful as love in marriage is, it will never be a fulfilling love unless we first saturate ourselves in the unfailing love of God. As wonderful as love in marriage is, it will never be a fulfilling love unless we first saturate ourselves in the unfailing love of God. Before you accuse me of sounding cliché, I’ve learned this on the hot pavement of life, and I’d like to offer four practical tips that have helped me to live it out. Admit that what you need more than anything else in this world is to be well loved. Because love is a basic need of humanity, every person has a deep desire to be loved. During a difficult season of feeling unloved in my marriage, God led me to Proverbs 19:22 (NIV): “What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.” God alone holds the answer to our deep craving for love.

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Get Lost In God’s Love

How To Get Lost In God’s Love And Save Your Marriage

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This world’s paradigm of love can often put a lot of emphasis on sex, romance and passion in marriage. God’s Word defines marital love more in terms of friendship and commitment than sex and romance. 

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I’ve long embraced the biblical story of the woman at the well (John 4). She tried man after man but never felt that her thirst for love had been quenched. She was desperate and love-sick. It doesn’t matter how deep the problem; the solution is still God’s love. And He has buckets and buckets of love to fix your marriage. And to fix your heart.

BY DANNAH GRESH

 

 

Every person on earth has a deep desire to be loved.

And as wonderful as love in marriage is, it will never be a fulfilling love unless we first saturate ourselves in the unfailing love of God.

“Lord, fix my husband. Fix us!”

As quickly as the prayer was on my lips, I felt God ask, Do you believe I can do what you are asking Me to do?

I did not.

My husband, Bob, and I had reached a place of deep pain.

Busyness. Sinfulness. Selfishness.

I was angry with Bob.

The circumstances don’t really matter. They’re probably a lot like the circumstances in your marriage from time to time.

But convinced I could not love him well until he loved me better, I dug myself into a prayer routine that proved futile.

I was, in fact, looking for love in the wrong place.

As wonderful as love in marriage is, it will never be a fulfilling love unless we first saturate ourselves in the unfailing love of God.

Before you accuse me of sounding cliché, I’ve learned this on the hot pavement of life, and I’d like to offer four practical tips that have helped me to live it out.

Admit that what you need more than anything else in this world is to be well loved.

Because love is a basic need of humanity, every person has a deep desire to be loved.

During a difficult season of feeling unloved in my marriage, God led me to Proverbs 19:22 (NIV):

“What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.”

The Bible uses the phrase “unfailing love” more than 30 times, and not one of them refers to any source other than God himself.

He alone holds the answer to our deep craving for love.

This means that your husband or wife will never be able to fulfill this need unless you first find satisfaction in God’s love.

Let your spouse off the hook.

The greatest symptom that my need for love was misdirected was that I was praying for God to change my husband — without having the humility to ask God how He wanted to change me.

It is never wrong to pray for God to make your husband or wife more like Him.

However, when your prayers are void of your own need, that might indicate you’re trying to have your needs met through a person’s love rather than through God’s.

When I realized this in my own life, I simply asked God to make me hungry for His love.

It takes a lot of courage to admit that your marriage might not be exactly what you want because you are not exactly what you need to be.

Be brave. Put yourself under God’s care to be changed.

Write a list of things your spouse does to express his or her love for you.

Do this as an act of thanksgiving to God. My counselor assigned this task to me and, although I took it on reluctantly, it had a dramatic impact on my heart.

I am, in fact, a very loved woman.

I have a husband who never fails to ask for forgiveness, prays with me each night at bedtime, willingly enters into counseling when we need it, manages our money well, begs me to sneak away with him from time to time, and tolerates my weaknesses as much as I tolerate his.

It’s easy to lose sight of all this when we’re hurting each other, and it is so important to refocus our thinking to be grateful.

As I did this, it became an act of loving my husband through God’s love in me.

Invest in the friendship of your spouse.

This world’s paradigm of love can often put a lot of emphasis on sex, romance and passion in marriage.

If those things aren’t on full boil, we tend to think our relationship lacks love.

But God’s Word defines marital love more in terms of friendship and commitment than sex and romance.

Take a night to play a board game or enjoy a hike together on a Sunday afternoon.

If you can meet your spouse for lunch, consider canceling an appointment with a personal trainer or even a friend.

I’ve long embracedthe biblical story of the woman at the well (John 4).

She tried man after man but never felt that her thirst for love had been quenched. She was desperate and love-sick.

Then, when Jesus showed up, He offered her the love she really needed.

But she said, “You have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep”

How like us! How like me.

You don’t have to be a woman who has had many husbands to be parched with a thirst for love.

You just have to be a woman who is trying to get something from her husband that only God can give. I know.

I have been there many times, just waiting for God to show up. And when He does, I’m prone to tell him, “But God, I’m in so deep, and you don’t have a bucket!”

It doesn’t matter how deep the problem; the solution is still God’s love.

And He has buckets and buckets of love to fix your marriage.

And to fix your heart.

Dannah Gresh is a best-selling author of numerous books and a popular public speaker who is especially passionate about helping parents build strong relationships with their children and encouraging tweens and teens to pursue sexual purity. Dannah’s recent books include It’s Great to Be a Girl, Raising Body-Confident Daughters and A Girl’s Guide to Understanding Boys. Dannah and her husband, Bob, reside in State College, Pa., and have three grown children. Learn more about Dannah and her work by visiting the website for her organization, Pure Freedom.

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/how-to-get-lost-in-gods-love-and-save-your-marriage/

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Fill My Cup, Lord

Richard Blanchard

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https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2018/08/fill-my-cup-lord-richard-blanchard.html

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Unfailing Love

Evie Karlsson

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https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2018/08/unfailing-love-evie-karlsson-if-highest.html

WOMAN AT THE WELL - A Story of a Loving God - How Jesus Shocked the Woman at the Well With His Love and Acceptance. The Samaritan faced prejudice from her own community. She came to draw water at the hottest part of the day, instead of the usual morning or evening times, because she was shunned and rejected by the other women of the area for her immortality. Jesus still accepted her and ministered to her. By reaching out to the Samaritans, Jesus showed that his mission was to all people, not just the Jews. The outcast Samaritans recognized him and accepted him for who he truly was, the Lord and savior. Our human tendency is to judge others because of stereotypes, customs, or prejudices. Jesus treats people as individuals, accepting them with love and compassion.

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Woman at the Well

A Story of a Loving God

How Jesus Shocked the Woman at the Well With His Love and Acceptance

by Jack Zavada

The story of the woman at the well is one of the most well known in the Bible; many Christians can easily tell a summary of it.

On its surface, the story chronicles ethnic prejudice and a woman shunned by her community. But take look deeper, and you'll realize it reveals a great deal about Jesus' character.

Above all, the story, which unfolds in John 4:1-40, suggests that Jesus is a loving and accepting God, and we should follow his example.

The story begins as Jesus and his disciples travel from Jerusalem in the south to Galilee in the north. To make their journey shorter, they take the quickest route, through Samaria.

Tired and thirsty, Jesus sat by Jacob's well while his disciples went to the village of Sychar, roughly a half-mile away, to buy food.

It was about noon, the hottest part of the day, and a Samaritan woman came to the well at this inconvenient time to draw water.

Jesus Meets the Woman at the Well

During his encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus broke three Jewish customs.

Firstly, he spoke to her despite the fact that she was a woman.

Second, she was a Sanaritan woman, and the Jews traditionally despised Samaritans.

And, third, he asked her to get him a drink of water, although using her cup or jar would have made him ceremonially unclean.

Jesus' behavior shocked the woman at the well. But as if that weren't enough, he told the woman he could give her "living water" so that she would never thirst again.

Jesus used the words “living water” to refer to eternal life, the gift that would satisfy her soul's desire only available through him.

At first, the Samaritan woman did not fully understand Jesus' meaning.

Although they had never met before, Jesus revealed that he knew she'd had five husbands and was now living with a man who was not her husband. He had her full attention!

Jesus Reveals Himself to the Woman

As Jesus and the woman discussed their views on worship, the woman voiced her belief that the Messiah was coming. Jesus answered, "I who speak to you am he." (John 4:26, ESV)

As the woman began to grasp the reality of her encounter with Jesus, the disciples returned. They too were shocked to find him speaking to a woman.

Leaving behind her water jar, the woman returned to town, inviting the people to "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did." (John 4:29, ESV)

Meanwhile, Jesus told his disciples the harvest of souls was ready, sown by the prophets, writers of the Old Testament and John the Baptist.

Excited by what the woman told them, the Samaritans came from Sychar and begged Jesus to stay with them.

Jesus stayed two days, teaching the Samaritan people about the Kingdom of God. When he left, the people told the woman, "... we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the savior of the world." (John 4:42, ESV)

Points of Interest From the Woman at the Well Story

To fully grasp the story of the woman at the well, it's important to understand who the Samaritans were.

They were a mixed race people, who had intermarried with the Assyrians centuries before.

They were hated by the Jews because of this cultural mixing and because they had their own version of the Bible and their own temple on Mount Gerizim.

The Samaritan woman Jesus met faced prejudice from her own community.

She came to draw water at the hottest part of the day, instead of the usual morning or evening times, because she was shunned and rejected by the other women of the area for her immortality.

Jesus knew her history but still accepted her and ministered to her.

By reaching out to the Samaritans, Jesus showed that his mission was to all people, not just the Jews.

In the book of Acts, after Jesus' ascension into heaven, his apostles carried on his work in Samaria and to the Gentile world.

Ironically, while the High Priest and Sanhedrin rejected Jesus as the Messiah, the outcast Samaritans recognized him and accepted him for who he truly was, the Lord and savior.

Question for Reflection

Our human tendency is to judge others because of stereotypes, customs, or prejudices.

Jesus treats people as individuals, accepting them with love and compassion.

Do you dismiss certain people as lost causes, or do you see them as valuable in their own right, worthy of knowing about the gospel?

Jack Zavada

·   Created and manages and blogs at Inspiration-For-Singles.com

·   Published several books about Christian lifestyle topics

·   Contributes to numerous self-growth and Christian-based websites

·   Former newspaper reporter, technical editor, and public relations director

Experience

Jack Zavada is a former writer for ThoughtCo who concentrates his contribution on Christian topics and lifestyle. Jack began his 45-year career as a police and government newspaper reporter and Associated Press wire editor. He later served as a technical editor at the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL). Other positions held include being a publications editor and a communications director.

As a writer, Jack focuses his work into three genres, Christian lifestyles, self-help, and western fiction. Other than his work for ThoughtCo, Jack also contributes to several Christian-focused websites including Bible-Reflections.net, SelfGrowth.com, LivingWordBaptist.net, JustMeCatholicFaith.com, and WZAKClevland.com. Jack created, manages and blogs at his website Inspiration-For-Singles.com. The site also serves as a platform for marketing his self-help eBooks. He also writes and publishes western fiction under the pen name of Calder Boone.

Education

Jack Zavada earned a Master Arts (M.A.) in English Composition and a Bachelor Science (B.S.) in English literature, both from Illinois State University.

Awards and Publications

·   Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges(Pine Cone Press, 1st edition, 2017)

·   Outsmarting Loneliness (Pine Cone Press, 2012)

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/woman-at-the-well-70020

DIVINE APPOINTMENTS - Is there such a thing as coincidence? Was it a coincidence that Jesus came upon the woman at the well? The Bible says God actively works within our circumstances. Why would God not be involved in your circumstances?

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Divine 

Appointments

Is There Such a Thing As Coincidence?

Jon Walker

“Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon. A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, ‘Would you give me a drink of water?’” (John 4:6-7 MSG)

Is there such a thing as coincidence?

In Kingdom reality, there simply cannot be. Random does not happen in God’s Kingdom.

Oswald Chambers says God is the Great Engineer, creating circumstances to bring about moments in our lives of divine importance, leading us to divine appointments.

Was it a coincidence that Jesus came upon the woman at the well? Was she just a random woman who walked into a discussion of God’s grace and omnipotence and then told a whole village about God’s forgiveness?

Would God have left that all to chance?

Would he do any less in the details of your life?

The Bible says God actively works within our circumstances. And so we cannot judge our situation apart from God’s wisdom.

In other words, we must leave it up to God to interpret our circumstances. Only he is capable of understanding all the facts, and only he sees the significance of every detail.

This is a critical question to answer in your life: Is God active in your current circumstances or not?

Talk About It

Why would God not be involved in your circumstances?

If you believed God had your best interest at heart, how would you view your current circumstances differently?

Would you want to have a deeper relationship with God?

God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life by receiving His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.

Say the following prayer:

“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.

I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.

Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.

I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.

I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that according to your Word, I am now born again.

Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.

Please use me for Your glory.

In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”

Jon Walker writes about how God can work through the worst of circumstances in his breakout book, “Breakfast with Bonhoeffer.” “Gut-wrenching honesty, real world faith, not just another 'feel good' Christian story.”

http://purposedriven.com/blogs/dailyhope/is-there-such-a-thing-as-coinciden 

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