Hi, this is Pastor Ken, thanks for joining me once again for the Monday Marriage Message.

As those of you who have been joining me for this marriage podcast know, I always attach scripture to the marital concepts I share. The reason for this is obvious. As a pastoral counselor, I believe that there is undoubtedly a single source for all wisdom. Human beings can, and do, from time to time settle on a wise conclusion, but even blind squirrels find nuts once in a while. Any wisdom we quote-unquote “discover” is exactly that, a discovery. It is not our knowledge, it is God’s truth and we have simply had it revealed to us. Gravity is not Sir Isaac Newton’s concept; he simply recognized that it existed. Apples fell from trees long before one reportedly hit him on the head. God does allow for us to access some of His wisdom concerning marriage (among other things) through sources other than His written word. I have spoken before of the fact that Malachi 2:15 indicates that God endows every marriage (even ones that do not acknowledge Him) with a portion of His Holy Spirit. With this gift, there have been certain quote-unquote “rules” pertaining to marriage regardless of historical, societal, or religious context. This continuity is only possible with the presence of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom He attempts to unveil in every marital union. Additionally, In Romans 2:14-15 Paul writes that God has written His law upon the hearts of those who are His people and even those who are not. Paul says that without this knowledge of right and wrong given to us directly from God, we could not even possess a conscience. Again, these are examples of our limited ability to know truth aside from the Word, but they were never intended to be substitutions for the Word, nor should they ever be construed to be remotely equivalent. The Psalmist wrote, Your Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11) This verse indicates notable truths about the truth. First, it is all His truth, His word. Second, it is our responsibility to seek out and discover His truth so that we can possess it. Finally, once it is in our possession, it is our responsibility to employ His truth so that we are able to live as we ought to and in the way that will be most profitable for us.

It is for all of the reasons mentioned above that I am unwilling to offer any episode of this podcast without scriptural basis and reference. My hope is that as I offer these truths to you from God’s Word, and make you aware of where I obtained them, that you will go and search them out yourselves. I pray that you will be induced to spend time for yourselves in God’s word giving His Holy Spirit the opportunity to reveal some of these same…and additional truths to you, concerning your life and your marriage. There is an old saying that “Knowledge is power”, but that is a lie…Knowledge employed is power. It is only when we seek out, discover what God’s word has to say to us…and employ it…put it to use, that we begin to see real change and lasting improvement in our marriages and other facets of our walk with God.

Every week for the last 16 months I have offered biblical concepts that are intended to show you how to employ God’s wisdom and power to strengthen your marriage. Sometimes I have stayed with a concept for a number of weeks and developed a series surrounding that particular truth. Most of the time the concepts have varied from week to week. It has been comfortable and  rewarding to present this podcast that way, but now I want to try something new. Sometimes when a person speaks topically as I have been doing since I began this ministry, there is some question if the scriptures are always being used correctly. What I mean is that it is possible for someone to choose a topic and then find scripture that seemingly reinforces the speaker’s premise. I commit to you that I have done my very best to keep from doing just that. I spend hours researching and studying the scriptures I intend to use each week to make sure that the concept or idea I am purporting is in line with the original intent of the Word and not the other way around. Even though I work tirelessly to do that, I have decided for a season to bring this podcast to you in an expository manner. Beginning next week, I will take as many episodes as necessary to expose all of the truths that I am personally aware of concerning a particular scriptural reference. This may be a single verse, a portion of or an entire chapter, or may cover even more ground than that. I will not be moving away from a chosen text until it has been completely looked over. I do not pretend to have a totality of understanding of any of these passages but will offer to you all that I have come to know and understand as they pertain to marriage.

I am looking forward to this new endeavor. I will undoubtedly learn even more as I undertake it and I invite each and every one of you to join me on the journey. I am expecting what I have come to expect as I study any portion of God’s Word…continued revelation. I fully anticipate there will be times where the scriptural context surrounding the quote-unquote “Marriage scriptures” I’ve chosen will only serve to deepen our understanding of those passages and guide husbands and wives into greater relationship with each other and with their Lord.

Thank you for walking along with me over these past 16 months. I have enjoyed our time together, and I look forward to what God is going to do in all of our lives and marriages as we continue to follow Him.

So now, continuing to search out the scriptures so that you can develop your marital oneness into all that God wants it to be…Go Be Awesome!