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Speaker 1: Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the

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Speaker 1: church and gave himself for it Ephesians five twenty five.

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Speaker 1: Dear Lord Jesus, you modeled perfect sacrifice on the cross.

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Speaker 1: You displayed the greatest act of love by laying down

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Speaker 1: your life and humbling yourself toward the point of death.

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Speaker 1: We pray for this same posture in all husbands out there.

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Speaker 1: We pray that they would have the same humble heart

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Speaker 1: as you. Lord. May every husband lay down their ego, time, energy,

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Speaker 1: and life for the sake of their bride, just as

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Speaker 1: you did. Give them the fortitude in strength to humbly

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Speaker 1: serve their wives as you served us. Give them the

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Speaker 1: wisdom to cultivate their wives' hearts like gardens, with the

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Speaker 1: same tender love and care that you show us. In Jesus' name, Amen,

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Speaker 1: thank you for joining me in prayer. Stay tuned for

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Speaker 1: today's free podcast, Meditative Prayers with Zach Clinton, where you

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Speaker 1: can draw close to God and find strength in him.

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Speaker 2: My friends, welcome to your meditative prayer on creating a

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Speaker 2: better marriage. To get the most out of your spiritual journey,

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Speaker 2: uspray dot Com every day and make prayer a priority

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Speaker 2: in your life again. Our goal for today's meditative prayer

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Speaker 2: is all about creating a better marriage. So right now,

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Speaker 2: go to a place where you can just relax and

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Speaker 2: let your guard down. Maybe take a few minutes to

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Speaker 2: disengage from all distractions, disentangle yourself from everything else. And

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Speaker 2: now take a deep breath, exhale and repeat, and ready

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Speaker 2: your heart and open your mind to receive what God's

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Speaker 2: Holy Spirit has for you. Today will be meditating on

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Speaker 2: Ephesians chapter five, verses twenty five to twenty nine. From

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Speaker 2: the King James version, it says, husbands, love your wives,

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Speaker 2: even as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself

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Speaker 2: for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with

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Speaker 2: the washing of water by the word, that he might

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Speaker 2: present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot

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Speaker 2: or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should

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Speaker 2: be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love

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Speaker 2: their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his

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Speaker 2: wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his

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Speaker 2: own flesh. But nourisheth, and cherish at it, even as

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Speaker 2: the Lord the Church. My friends, take a moment just

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Speaker 2: to pour out your adoration to God for his great love. God,

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Speaker 2: I praise you for your love is unquenchable and unending. Jesus,

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Speaker 2: you loved me while I was yet a sinner and

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Speaker 2: gave your life for mine. So I worship you for

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Speaker 2: you washed me clean selfless servitude. As marriages are created

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Speaker 2: in the image of God, husbands are to love their

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Speaker 2: wives as Christ loved the Church. Jesus says that the

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Speaker 2: greatest love one can have is to lay down his

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Speaker 2: life for another. He modeled this when he died for

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Speaker 2: our sins on the cross. When husbands love their wives selflessly,

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Speaker 2: they follow in the path Christ laid out for them,

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Speaker 2: putting their wife's well being above their own. Christ loved

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Speaker 2: the Church unconditionally, laying aside her failings and weaknesses. The

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Speaker 2: Bible says that Jesus loved us while we were still sinners.

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Speaker 2: As a result of God's attitude toward us, we are

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Speaker 2: continuously drawn to Him by his faithful and steadfast love.

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Speaker 2: And marriages are built on the firm foundation of God's word.

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Speaker 2: As the wife is to submit to her husband's authority.

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Speaker 2: The husband is to love his wife unconditionally and more

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Speaker 2: than he loves himself, and in serving God, and following

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Speaker 2: his commandments, you fortify your relationship with your spouse and

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Speaker 2: build a better future. The husband's love will nourish his wife,

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Speaker 2: and the wife will flourish when she is cherished. A

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Speaker 2: wife who was loved and cared for is Christ loved

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Speaker 2: and cared for. The Church is a blessing and an

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Speaker 2: honor unto the man that she serves for. A wife

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Speaker 2: who is treasured becomes a crown for her husband. As

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Speaker 2: husband and wife serve each other not out of rivalry,

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Speaker 2: but out of love, they will strengthen their bond and

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Speaker 2: walk in unity with each other and with the Holy Spirit.

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Speaker 2: Perhaps your love for your spouse has been restricted. Perhaps

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Speaker 2: you have failed and have not loved your wife as

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Speaker 2: you have been loved by God. Right now, my friend,

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Speaker 2: this is your opportunity to present yourself before the Lord.

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Speaker 2: So confess to him your sins and commit to walking

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Speaker 2: in his ways. Now, as we make the transition, let's

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Speaker 2: consider for a moment God's sacrificial love for you. Thank

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Speaker 2: Jesus for loving you and dying in your place, for

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Speaker 2: loving you while you are still a sinner. Thank God

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Speaker 2: for his unconditional love independent of your actions or beliefs.

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Speaker 2: Think for a minute on past experiences where you were

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Speaker 2: drawn in by God's love and thank Him for his

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Speaker 2: care for you and his selfless offering on.

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Speaker 1: The Cross.

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Speaker 2: Is present and he is listening to you. Loving your

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Speaker 2: spouse as you love yourself is difficult, but it can

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Speaker 2: be done. The Holy Spirit is on your side wanting

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Speaker 2: to help you, so be bold and ask him for

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Speaker 2: his help. Ask for grace, patience, and humility. Ask to

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Speaker 2: help you love God and your spouse well. Ask the

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Speaker 2: Holy Spirit to help you overlook your spouse's flaws, to

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Speaker 2: see them as God sees them, and to honor them. Remember,

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Speaker 2: husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church,

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Speaker 2: love them as they love themselves, and to treasure them.

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Speaker 2: Doing this goes against our selfish nature, but be encouraged.

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Speaker 2: The Holy Spirit is your heavenly helper who will sustain

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Speaker 2: and strengthen you every step of the way. My friends,

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Speaker 2: thank you for completing today's meditative prayer on pray dot com.

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Speaker 2: By incorporating this healthy habit as a daily practice, I

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Speaker 2: believe you're not only making prayer priority, but your strengthening your.

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Speaker 1: Walk with God.

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Speaker 2: My name is Zach Clinton, Vice President of the American

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Speaker 2: Association of Christian Counselors and we love being a part

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Speaker 2: of your life. Hey for more help, hope, information and inspiration.

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Speaker 2: I would encourage you in this moment to go visit

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Speaker 2: our website at AACC dot net. Again, that's AACC dot net.