1
00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:06,720
Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

2
00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:10,720
Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

3
00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,720
Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to daily Devotions with Pastor John.

4
00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:20,759
Speaker 1: I'm John Stogey, and today's devotion is inspired by Ephesians

5
00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:26,480
Speaker 1: chapter five, verses twenty five and twenty six, which says, husbands,

6
00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,000
Speaker 1: love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave

7
00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,960
Speaker 1: himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having

8
00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,680
Speaker 1: cleansed her by the washing of water with the word

9
00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,400
Speaker 1: love is a misunderstood word by many people. To some,

10
00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,520
Speaker 1: it's thought of merely from an emotional perspective. In that case,

11
00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,160
Speaker 1: what is thought of as love can begin to take

12
00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:55,520
Speaker 1: on a selfish tone as relationships gradually become more focused

13
00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:01,600
Speaker 1: on what's received than what's given. In the context of marriage,

14
00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:06,160
Speaker 1: love should take on a deeper expression than mere emotional attachment.

15
00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,679
Speaker 1: True love is sacrificial. It's the kind of love Jesus

16
00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:14,560
Speaker 1: demonstrated to the church. Jesus gave his life on the

17
00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,960
Speaker 1: cross for the eternal well being of his bride. Through

18
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,399
Speaker 1: faith in Jesus, we are made holy, and we are

19
00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:27,279
Speaker 1: cleansed from all unrighteousness. And this is all possible because

20
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,880
Speaker 1: of his act of sacrificial love. If the Lord blesses

21
00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:36,039
Speaker 1: you with the privilege to marry, demonstrate christ like love

22
00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,920
Speaker 1: to your spouse, focus more on their needs than your own.

23
00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:46,360
Speaker 1: Serve your spouse, Make sacrifices of time, energy, and resources

24
00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,320
Speaker 1: for your spouse. Consider yourself privilege to be able to

25
00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:54,240
Speaker 1: do so, recognizing that even greater things were done on

26
00:01:54,280 --> 00:02:02,640
Speaker 1: your behalf by Jesus Christ, who loved you first. Let's pray. Lord,

27
00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:04,920
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you

28
00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:06,520
Speaker 1: for the privilege that it is to be able to

29
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,840
Speaker 1: look at this portion of scripture from the Book of

30
00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,520
Speaker 1: Ephesians today. Lord, we're grateful for the ways in which

31
00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,360
Speaker 1: you've shown us your sacrificial love. Lord, we know that

32
00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,640
Speaker 1: we deserve the exact opposite. We deserve to be banished

33
00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,239
Speaker 1: from your presence for all eternity. But by your grace,

34
00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,200
Speaker 1: you came to this earth and you rescued us. And

35
00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,880
Speaker 1: scripture tells us that now the Church is your bride.

36
00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,120
Speaker 1: And Lord, we're grateful for the sacrificial love that you

37
00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,480
Speaker 1: demonstrated for us at the cross. And Lord, we know

38
00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,440
Speaker 1: that it's your desire that we follow your example. Lord,

39
00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,880
Speaker 1: we know that if you give us the privilege to marry,

40
00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,080
Speaker 1: we're to show sacrificial love in the context of our marriages.

41
00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,040
Speaker 1: We're to remember what you've done on our behalf and

42
00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:59,280
Speaker 1: then live those same things out toward our spouse. But Lord,

43
00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,720
Speaker 1: we also reckons that that can be challenging, because at

44
00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,400
Speaker 1: heart we tend to be selfish people. But we're grateful

45
00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,799
Speaker 1: for the work of your Holy Spirit, who transforms our

46
00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,639
Speaker 1: selfish hearts and helps us to have giving hearts as

47
00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:18,000
Speaker 1: we learn to reflect your image. So Lord, we're grateful

48
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,240
Speaker 1: for these reminders from your word. Today. We pray that

49
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,440
Speaker 1: we would learn to love the way that you have

50
00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,160
Speaker 1: loved us, and we pray that as we apply these

51
00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,480
Speaker 1: truths to our day to day lives, that your name

52
00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,840
Speaker 1: would be glorified in our households, in our communities, and

53
00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,240
Speaker 1: in our world. We're grateful for these reminders today, and

54
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,880
Speaker 1: we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.