LOVE DARe: Day 23

Love always protects.

There are many enemies conspiring to destroy marriages:

Harmful influence;

Unhealthy relationships;

Shame;

Parasites.

I choose to guard the gate and stand my ground against anything that could threaten my wife or marriage.

I will guard my heart from things that may blur my perception of reality and put unfair expectation on my wife.

Indeed, love always protects.

LOVE DARe: Day 22

Love is faithful.

Christian love is the basis of our entire identity (John 3:16 & Luke 10:27).

Our love for each other is the root and ground of our existence (Ephesians 3:17). 

The account of prophet Hosea's union to Gomer serves as a metaphor of God's love and God's faithfulness.

In God we have the model of what rejected love does. It stays faithful.

I can and will give undeserved love to my wife because God gave undeserved love to me.

Love is expressed the most to those who deserve it least.

I pray to God that He fills me with the kind of love only God can provide.

I purpose to give that love to my wife in a way that reflects my gratefulness to God for loving me. Amen .

LOVE DARe: Day 21

Love is satisfied in God.

The last two dares leave no doubt that I need God every single day.

God alone can satisfy, even when all else fails me.

God can always be trusted to deliver on God's promises.

I am becoming increasingly aware my wife will never be able to satisfy all the demands I ask of her - partly because some of my demands are unreasonable, partly because she is human.

I dare to approach God in utter dependence each day for the real needs in my life (Philippians 4:6-13).

I dare plug into God for my need to be loved; my need for acceptance; and my need for joy.

This I believe - God's faithfulness, God's truth, and God's promises to God's children will always remain the same.

God changes not!

God is my everyday supply. 

Of everything I need (Psalm 37:4; Philippians 4:19).

Amen and amen!

LOVE DARe: Day 20

Love is Jesus Christ.

"While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6).

By His death, Jesus made invalid the idea that I am unloved and devalued.

His love cannot be fully comprehended. 

Such love cannot be earned. It is to be received!

When I have received this love as my own, I am free to love in ways I have never been capable before.

Because of His great love displayed on the Cross, I am able through Grace to walk in the fullness and blessing of His love.

True Love is found in Christ Alone. Oh Jesus, help my unbelief!

I dare to take God at His Word.

LOVE DARe: Day 19

Love is impossible.

I cannot manufacture unconditional love out of my own heart.

It is impossible.

It is beyond all of my capabilities.

No amount of hard work and commitment can muster up unconditional, long term, sacrificial love from my heart.

Love (agape) is of God and from God (1 John 4:7).

Only God who can love unconditionally.

It is only God who chooses to express His love for my wife through me!

I choose to follow God's leading on how to love my wife.

LOVE DARe: Day 18

Love seeks understanding.

When a man falls in love, he studies the love of his life. He learns her likes, dislikes, and habits.

But after he wins her heart and marries her, the desire and motivation to learn about her fade away.

The mystery and challenge of knowing my wife is a lifelong journey that ought to draw my heart ever closer to her.

Imperfections and flaws ought not rob me off the admiration and respect for the love of my life.

Each nuance in my wife's character has a back story.

I dare to discover the hidden gems about my wife. 

I dare to know my wife's greatest hopes and dreams.

I dare to understand how my wife prefers to give and receive love.

I dare to know what my wife's greatest fears are and why she struggles with them.

I dare to make a commitment to know my wife more than I do now.

LOVE DARe: Day 17

Love promotes intimacy.

Marriage is the most intimate of all human relationships.

Living and sharing a home with another person who knows me down to the most intimate detail is part of the deep pleasure of marriage.

One who knows another person so intimately can either love deeply or wound in ways that can never be fully recovered.

I pledge to make my wife safe not scared. Our home shall always be a place of safety.

My wife should never feel pressured to be perfect in order to receive my approval.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:28).