Building A Sure Foundation

God’s word, the Bible, is the sure foundation on which we are to build our marriages and lives. In it we have the answers to our disagreements, problems and perplexities. This is what solved the marriage difficulties of Tom and Alane, and what can solve yours too.

SUMMARY

Christ is our Creator, and the Author of marriage and the Scriptures. He came on earth to demonstrate the life He wants us to live, and be our Redeemer. So we need Him as our personal guide. God’s word should become part of our lives; we should live what it teaches – that is where we find our sure foundation. Marriages need a sure foundation to keep them from crumbling.

Many believe that to be equally yoked means to be of the same religion, to have the same beliefs. Even if one is not a Christian, the other should still build from the Bible and so strengthen their marriage. And even if both are non Christian, they will benefit from the sure foundation – the Bible, as it comes from God.

It is not enough to know or believe in the Word of God. It should guide our practical lives. Knowing the Scriptures and surrendering to Jesus, thus making God’s word our foundation, will, among other things, strengthen our marriage. When trials and conflict comes, we go to God’s word – even how to raise children is there.

It is not sufficient to say “I’m a Christian”. Because the name implies to be Christ-like. We need to ask God to help us move from the theoretical to the practical. We need to surrender our will to God and His Word, to do His will as revealed in the Bible. Tom and Alane did this, and it began to revolutionize their marriage. Each of them started listening more to each other. It changed how to raise their children.

Jesus said: “If you know these things, happy are ye if you do them.” Our will power is not sufficient to overcome sin. Our will power is the power God gives us that we can make a choice to connect our weakness with His strength. And this is what started to change Tom and Alane. Not by trying harder, but by finding and allowing the power of God to live those principles. And they have experienced the happiest days of their lives. When they do not understand something, or agree upon, they search the Scriptures to find the answer. It is in God’s word that you will find the solutions for your problems.

One of the reasons why we find the immorality, crime, etc that exist in our society today, is because we left the sure foundation. So the foundation of many homes and our society is crumbling. Having made the commitment to build on God’s word, Tom and Alane addressed every area of their life: as husband and wife, as parents, in friendships, in work ethics, etc. They have made the Scriptures the test for their conduct.

If we do not take time to study God’s word, and do not make a practical application of it in our lives, we cannot build on the sure foundation. We need to find the principles in the Bible, and surrender to Christ and His principles, thus bringing them in our experiences.

Psalm 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Tom and Alane used the word of God as a foundation for all the presentations that they had thus far in this series: the two should become one, defining true love, developing respect, cultivating restraint, understanding our rolls as husband and wife, and finding forgiveness. It is this Word that helped them identify where their weaknesses and problems were, and how to solve them. The Bible has principles for all aspects of our lives, which will help us to have marriages that are heart to heart.

They made an agreement that if they cannot agree in an area they will not argue over it, but rather go to the sure foundation and prayfully consider what it has to say; not trying to use it to prove each one’s point, but learn and do what God had to say. Soon after they made this agreement, they had a disagreement. Tom was sure he was right, and Alane was certain that she was right. However when they searched the Bible, they discovered that both of them were wrong.
Their children have been blessed also as they saw that their parents solved conflicts using the Bible as the sure foundation. Also the same method was used when there was disagreement between parent and child – the word of God was checked, not just what father and mother says. And thus the young people go in life knowing how to find the answers.

A personal challenge: agree that you will establish your home on the foundation of God’s Word. Not debate or have to have your way when there is a disagreement, but agree that if you disagree, you will go to the Word of God and see what it says, and resolve the challenges that way. And this is only going to happen as you are willing to surrender to Christ because His Word cannot be lived out in our own strength. We need to be willing to go to Him for all our problems and perplexities, as He is the solution.