{"id":301047,"date":"2006-01-18T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-01-18T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/do-you-believe-theres-a-god\/"},"modified":"2024-10-07T22:42:14","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T02:42:14","slug":"do-you-believe-theres-a-god","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/do-you-believe-theres-a-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Believe There&#8217;s a God?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. George Kenworthy talks about calling on God to strengthen and renew your marriage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2006-01-18.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"11.4M","filesize_raw":"11957919","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2810],"tags":[2877,4691],"podcast_series":[7428],"cwp_profile":[8985],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-301047","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-spiritually","tag-marriage","tag-saving-a-marriage","podcast_series-marriage-makeover","cwp_profile-dr-george-kenworthy","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/301047\/do-you-believe-theres-a-god","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/301047\/do-you-believe-theres-a-god","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"SNhORzr0fa\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/do-you-believe-theres-a-god\/\">Do You Believe There&#8217;s a God?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/do-you-believe-theres-a-god\/embed\/#?secret=SNhORzr0fa\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Do You Believe There&#8217;s a God?&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"SNhORzr0fa\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var 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marriage.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2006-01-18.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Most of the people that I see have a belief in Jesus, they would consider themselves Christians, they know that the Bible says God hates divorce, but they get to the point where there is so much hopelessness and despair that they just don't know what else to do.\u00a0 So for me to start quoting Scripture and just saying, \"Well, here is what the Bible says,\" by itself, that isn't harmful.\u00a0 But to show them a great, big God who can work amazing miracles in people's lives, that seems to help people get over the hump.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0This is FamilyLife Today for Wednesday, January 18th.\u00a0 Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 The first step in repairing a troubled marriage is sometimes a beginning lesson in theology.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us.\u00a0 Do you have a contract for your central heat and air at your house?\u00a0 Do they send somebody out in the spring and in the fall to do maintenance?\u00a0 Have you got one of those maintenance agreements for that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0No, I'm a gambler.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0You just let it slide and hope for the best?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Well, you know, I've taken some of those contracts out in the past, on a used car that I bought, and never ended up using the contract, so you kind of figure, you know, I think I'm just going to \u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0You roll the dice on one of those.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0I guess.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Because I've been like you, and I just recently replaced a central air unit that I think to myself, \"Boy, I wonder if I'd had it maintained better, if it would still be functioning better instead of having to replace it.\" \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0I understand, yeah.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0And the reason I thought of that, is because I was thinking about it relation to marriage.\u00a0 There are a lot of marriages that you look at today, and you go, \"You know, if these marriages had been a little better maintained\"\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Now, I'm not a gambler.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0When it comes to marriage?\u00a0 Do you have a service contract here?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0All the service contracts and training and equipping you can give me.\u00a0 In fact, we've pretty much given our lives to that here at FamilyLife.\u00a0 Barbara and I starting in 1976, helped start this ministry, and, Bob, I think every marriage from time to time needs a checkup and occasionally, we need a marriage makeover.\u00a0 In fact, we've just recently produced a new book here at FamilyLife, FamilyLife Publishing, in fact, that is a book by that same title \u2013 \"The Marriage Makeover,\" by Dr. George Kenworthy, and he joins us on FamilyLife Today.\u00a0 George, this is a great job, and it's a nice piece of work \u2013 how we can all have a marriage makeover and strengthen our marriage for the long haul.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Well, thank you, Dennis, it's great to be here with you today.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0And, you know, the thing I like about what George has done, he's taken his practical experience, Bob, as a pastor and as a Bible scholar, plus all of his experience going back to 1969 when he and his wife, Joan, were first married, along with his three children that they had, and he's compacted it into a short book that, well, frankly, is just chockfull of great advice on how couples can have a marriage makeover.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0And in your pastoral work, you've seen lots of couples come who hadn't taken care of their marriage along the way, and now there were some major malfunctions, and they've come to the pastor's office and said, \"Can you fix this,\" right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0One of the challenges, I think, for every pastor, we come across these couples with regularity.\u00a0 At least, for me, as a young pastor in Iowa City, Iowa, I didn't know what to do.\u00a0 All I felt I could do is say, \"I'll pray for you,\" because I didn't feel I had the experience or the knowledge, even though I had an undergraduate degree that emphasized psychology, I didn't know what to do.\u00a0 So, okay, I'll pray.\u00a0 It just came to a point for me, as a pastor, where that wasn't good enough anymore.\u00a0 I needed to do something more.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0And what happened?\u00a0 What caused you to move from, \"Okay, I'll pray for you,\" to some sense of \"I think I can help?\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Well, Bob, during that time, I was doing my doctoral work at the University of Iowa, and part of what I did was spend time with the Ph.D.s in counseling, and I began to become aware of the kind of training that, at least, we got, and suddenly realized, for the marriages that are really in trouble, having somebody come in and just simply say, \"Here are all the problems in my marriage.\"\u00a0 You do that week 1, and then you talk about the problems week 2, and you talk about the problems week 3.\u00a0 It's great to have somebody empathetic who will listen to you, but there comes a point where you get tired of sticking your nose in the junk of your marriage week after week.\u00a0 And, for the difficult marriages, that wasn't working.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So as one who proclaimed God's truth, I came to the realization that if I say, and I say this from the pulpit \u2013 \"God can do what's impossible,\" it was time for me to ask myself do I believe that as I'm helping in the church?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0You know, George, just in my own experience, I've counseled a lot of couples who have come for help \u2013 some knowing that they were in a desperate situation, others just coming just knowing something was wrong and needing this marriage makeover that you write about in your book.\u00a0 You counseled a couple one time who came to you who were in serious trouble \u2013 John and Amy \u2013 and they really ended up becoming kind of a picture of what you're really hoping to do in all marriages.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Yes, that's absolutely right.\u00a0 Well, John and Amy attended the church that I pastored at the time, and when they came to me, I think Amy, at least, was coming for absolution.\u00a0 She had already given up on her marriage.\u00a0 She wanted me to say, as she expressed the fact, that she was in love with the next-door neighbor and didn't love John anymore, and that she had gone to a couple of counselors who couldn't help; that probably it was okay for her to just go ahead and pursue getting a divorce, because if you don't love your husband anymore, what's the point?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And with John and Amy, I said to them what I say to each couple now that comes to see me \u2013 you know, John and Amy, do you believe that there's a God?\u00a0 In the course of my ministry, no one has ever said no to that question.\u00a0 Of course, if their coming to my church, you would hope they believe there's a God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0The second question is, are you willing to apply the principles of God's Word to your life and to your marriage?\u00a0 What Amy wanted to say is, \"Well, George, that's not the point.\u00a0 The point is I don't love John anymore.\"\u00a0 But I pressed her \u2013 \"Amy, will you be willing to apply the principles of God's Word to your life and to your marriage?\"\u00a0 And she said, \"Yes.\"\u00a0 And then, invariably, especially over the last several years, where I find the real problem is people are so hopeless.\u00a0 They really want to do what God wants them to do, but they don't have the hope and the strength and the energy to do it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So the third question is, are you willing to pray that God the Holy Spirit give you power and strength that you don't have?\u00a0 Well, they weren't sure if they wanted to say yes to all those questions, but they did.\u00a0 And so we started our \u2013 about six-month work together, and I gave them the best counsel I could from God's Word; tried to help them in their relationship; and as time went on, we were making some progress, but it was the proverbial three steps forward and four back, on occasion, at least.\u00a0 All the while, she is still having a relationship with the next-door neighbor, because I don't insist that people break off their relationships.\u00a0 I know it's wrong, they know I know it's wrong, but I think that's God's work not my work.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Well, eventually, it came to the point where we were frustrated in what was happening, and I said, \"I think you need to take a trip.\u00a0 Do you have someplace you can go?\u00a0 Maybe Florida.\"\u00a0 And they said, \"Okay, we'll try that.\"\u00a0 So they made a trip to Florida as a couple, and I was hoping a new environment, new setting, kind of like a Weekend to Remember place where they can learn some things and grow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0But when they came back, they were scheduled to meet me the week that they came back.\u00a0 And Amy called first and said, \"George, Florida was awful.\u00a0 I filed for divorce today.\u00a0 We're done.\u00a0 I'm not going to make the appointment later in the week.\"\u00a0 And then the same day, it was only probably 20 minutes later, John called.\u00a0 He didn't know that Amy had previously called.\u00a0 And he said, \"George, we're done.\u00a0 I'm not going to make the appointment this week.\u00a0 I filed for divorce.\u00a0 I don't think Amy is ever going to give up the other guy.\u00a0 I've had it.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And I was forlorn at that point.\u00a0 You know, you do what you can do as a pastor and as a Christian friend \u2013 you pray again and say, \"God, I gave it my best shot.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0You know, I want to stop you there, because it's at this juncture that a lot of pastors and a lot of friends of family members or friends who are in deep trouble and in desperation in their marriages give up.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Yeah, throw in the towel.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0They come to this point, it looks so hopeless, there's no way you can see your way out of this.\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 I join you in your unbelief and your despair.\u00a0 Yeah, go ahead, terminate the marriage, go ahead and kill it, and let's move on.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0And you were feeling some of that when you got these calls, weren't you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Oh, I definitely was feeling that.\u00a0 It seems like every time I counseled someone, I'd get to a point where I may feel some of that hopelessness.\u00a0 Oftentimes, even when I'm \u2013 I'm always training somebody when I do counseling \u2013 and there are times where, when that person I'm training \u2013 afterwards, I'll just say, \"From my perspective, I don't know if this couple is going to make it.\u00a0 But I know God is a great big God, and He can do what I can't.\"\u00a0 And that's always the secret for us.\u00a0 With every couple, we went every session praying that God the Holy Spirit will have a God moment for them the next week.\u00a0 And we pray expectantly \u2013 I trust that God wants to do that in our lives, and I've been praying this way for John and Amy and not much had happened for these initial six months.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And then, in God's sovereignty, what happened is that very day when Amy called me\u2013 she called back an hour or so later, and she said, \"George, I was driving around our hometown, and I saw a billboard that had 473-PRAY on it, and it kind of struck me funny.\"\u00a0 She called the number, talked to a prayer counselor for about 10 minutes, and now she's ready to really do what God wants her to do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Yeah, yeah.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0So what was the upshot of what the prayer counselor said and her willingness now to do what?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Well, she was still having a relationship with the next-door neighbor, and so she asked me, \"You know, George, what do you think I should do?\"\u00a0 I said, \"What do you think you should do?\"\u00a0 And she said, \"Well, I think I need to break off the relationship with this guy.\"\u00a0 I said, \"Great, I think that's right.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0You know, there's a passage in the Bible, as you were talking, that this just reminds me of because, George, for a lot of people, it sounds like God talk to say that you're going to pray that God shows up sometime in the next week in their lives.\u00a0 Some people kind of, \"Ah, that's interesting God talk.\"\u00a0 But you know what?\u00a0 It's not God talk if God can show up, and if he's able to show up.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Absolutely.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Now let me read to you what the prophet Jeremiah said in describing this God, because a lot of people don't believe the right thing about God, so they think He's kind of weak; that He's not really got it all together; not capable of showing up here in the 21st century in the midst of all of our high-tech world.\u00a0 He is capable of breaking through even through a billboard, okay?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Jeremiah 32:17 \u2013 \"Ah, Lord God, behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thy outstretched arm.\u00a0 Nothing is too difficult for You who shows lovingkindness to thousands but repayest the iniquity of the fathers unto the bosom of their children after them.\u00a0 O Great and Mighty God, the Lord of Host is His Name.\"\u00a0 He is a great God.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Absolutely.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0He can break through in the most desperate situations and, you know, the interesting thing is, it took six months of you praying for that couple when they weren't willing to pray, necessarily, before God broke through.\u00a0 I think some of us quit after six months and one day.\u00a0 I know Barbara and I have prayed for couples, and we've grown weary of praying, but we have to continue to go to God and say, \"God, would you show up in our friend's life?\u00a0 In our family member's life?\u00a0 Will You show Yourself strong and would they respond?\"\u00a0 That's really what you're praying for, isn't it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Absolutely.\u00a0 And, to me, that's the one thing, as a pastor, I try to teach couples that come in, because, naturally, in a church, most of the people that I see have a belief in Jesus.\u00a0 They would consider themselves Christians, they know that the Bible says God hates divorce, but they get to the point where there is so much hopelessness and despair that they just don't know what else to do \u2013 \"I've got to be happy somehow, and I don't think I can continue to be happy married to this person who is making me miserable.\"\u00a0 I mean, that's what I hear.\u00a0 For so me to start quoting Scripture and just saying, \"Well, here is what the Bible says\" by itself, or at least, particularly, the portions of the Scripture that says God hates divorce, that isn't helpful.\u00a0 But to show them a great big God who can work amazing miracles in people's lives, that seems to help people get over the hump.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And what we try to do with that is we'll tell stories to couples that come in, stories like John and Amy.\u00a0 In fact, Amy has contacted couples in my church now in Minneapolis and shared her story.\u00a0 She's been up to visit us in Minneapolis, came over and greeted the staff and, in fact, when she came that day, she was carrying her new baby, beaming, you know, from ear to ear.\u00a0 And I said when I saw her, \"You know, Amy, I've been telling everybody here that you're the billboard lady of her town,\" and I then reminded her of the story, and I said, \"You know, when you think of that story, what God did for you,\" at this point it was about seven, eight years earlier that God had done the miracle for her, you know, what do you tell people?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Now tears came to her eyes, and she said, \"George, it is the most amazing miracle I have ever experienced, and if I can talk to people in your church or talk to people anywhere, it's a privilege for me to share what God has done for me.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0How did she get from telling her lover, \"I heard the voice of God, and I must obey,\" to the point where she's showing up and saying, \"It's the most amazing miracle.\"\u00a0 What happened?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Well, it seems like, invariably, what happens, and I'll tell people in the early sessions, \"I'm going to be praying that the spirit of God really touch you powerfully.\"\u00a0 I will tell them at that point, \"We're going to begin praying.\u00a0 We're going to see God intervene a little along the way, but there will be a week, and there will be a day in that week, where we're going to see something huge to happen, and at that point instead of climbing up Mount Everest face down in the mud, you're going to get the sense there's still work to do, but we're coming down the other side of the mountain.\"\u00a0 And that's exactly what was the case with John and Amy.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0After that experience, it was a very short period of time, and God restored their marriage, and they were doing great.\u00a0 So I'd like to think that the previous six months, when I was giving them a bunch of tools that that was helpful.\u00a0 Now they knew what to do with the tools, and they could begin applying them.\u00a0 But it wasn't long after that that they had their marriage makeover.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Go over those three questions again, and explain for our listeners why you think those three are so crucial.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Well, the first question is do they believe that there is a God?\u00a0 And since so much of what we do is dependent upon a conviction that there is a God in heaven who is a great big God who still can do miracles, do the impossible, as that Jeremiah passage says.\u00a0 Well, it's important for me to know that both the husband and wife believe that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Question number one \u2013 do you believe there is a God.\u00a0 Question number two \u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0Question number two is related to that song we sing, at least, in my tradition \u2013 \"Trust and obey, trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.\"\u00a0 And so the second question is getting at that.\u00a0 Are you willing to trust and obey?\u00a0 Will you do what God's Word tells you you're supposed to do?\u00a0 So that's the second question, and that's \u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0And that's important because if they're not willing to trust and obey, then all the talking in the world is just flapping your jaw, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Yeah, yeah.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGeorge:\u00a0The third question relates to those folks who will say, \"I know what I'm supposed to do.\u00a0 I don't feel like doing it.\"\u00a0 Or, in the book I tell a story about a friend of mine, Mike, who was an accountability partner of mine.\u00a0 He had formerly been a pastor himself, so he could identify with my world, and as my accountability partner, we got together every single Saturday morning, and I'm seeing all these miracles for these people I don't know all that well, and now my accountability partner tells me, \"I don't love my wife anymore,\" and I know what I'm supposed to do.\u00a0 I don't feel like doing it.\u00a0 He furthermore said, \"George, I am sick and tired of doing the right thing.\u00a0 I always have to do the right thing, and it's wearing me out.\"\u00a0 And then he would look at me with these pleading eyes and say, \"George, what's wrong with me?\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0He knew the theology.\u00a0 He didn't have the power and the strength to do it.\u00a0 So what I kept telling Mike, \"Mike, what I'm going to pray for you, I'm going to pray that the spirit of God gives you the power and the strength that you don't have in and of yourself, to do what God wants you to do.\"\u00a0 One of the things about Mike, because he was a pastor in a tradition like mine, he was fearful of God's wrath, and he even told me, \"George, I'm afraid.\u00a0 God may judge me for my disobedience,\" but that didn't get him over the hump.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0And, I'm happy to say, that as we prayed for Mike, it took a while, but God hold of his heart, too, and he and his wife have a wonderful marriage today.\u00a0 He's able to talk about his marriage makeover, but, for him, it was that last question \u2013 you know, will you be willing to pray that the spirit of God give you the power and the strength that you don't have, because he didn't have it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0You know, I'm thinking of a television show \u2013 Bob, what's the name of it, where there is a makeover of a home?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Extreme makeover, isn't it, yeah?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0Where a number of things happen every week.\u00a0 A number of people show up in a house, they do an assessment of the condition, they get a plan, they go get resources, and then they come back, and they do all this work.\u00a0 Well, wouldn't it be great if that could occur in a marriage?\u00a0 Where someone showed up who had a plan, who was good at assessing where the needs were and who went to work and was able to refurbish and renovate and do something spectacular where the residents in the home said, \"Wow, look at this room.\u00a0 Look at our bedroom.\u00a0 Look at this kitchen.\"\u00a0 Well, you know what?\u00a0 There is.\u00a0 He is the Lord God Almighty, and it's we, ourselves, who have not given Him the access to our lives and our relationships to allow Him to do that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I'm thinking, Bob, of two things right now.\u00a0 I'm thinking of not only George's book and how having a makeover in your marriage is important, but I'm also thinking about the Weekend to Remember, where the Lord God takes the plan, the blueprints, that George writes about from the Scripture, and during the Weekend to Remember couples come and experience that, and the Lord God shows up.\u00a0 And when He shows up, He does renovate, He does refurbish, He does create hope, and that's what we need in this country.\u00a0 There are just a ton of people today who are going to bed every night hopeless.\u00a0 They think they are destined to misery in their marriage and family for their lifetimes, and that does not need to happen.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0I think about what goes on at the Weekend to Remember, and, of course, those weekends, there's been a lot of prayer take place before we ever show up for the hotel.\u00a0 Volunteers in those cities have been praying \u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0\u2026 for every couple \u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Our staff has been involved in prayer, the speakers pray.\u00a0 So we really have set that hotel apart for the weekend and asked God to show up by His Holy Spirit and do a work, and it is amazing to see how God honors that and how He does show up, and you've seen it over and over again \u2013 as couples come on a Friday night, and they're in isolation, and they're not happy with one another, and they are hopeless.\u00a0 And on Sunday, they leave with hope, and they leave with a plan for how they can begin to rebuild the damage that's been done.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0And not just a warm feeling that you get at the end of a television show that shows a house that has been refurbished.\u00a0 I mean, those shows are very entertaining.\u00a0 I mean, you feel for some of those families because of what's been done materially for their family.\u00a0 You know, little boys and little girls now have these magical bedrooms that are everything they ever dreamed about, and you're looking at the expression on those children and the husband and wife's faces as they experience their new home.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Well, you know what?\u00a0 As nice as that is, that's nothing, that's nothing compared to when God shows up and truly does a renovation and a marriage makeover, because that makeover will impact not only that marriage, but the children and the generations to come.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0A lot of our listeners have never been to one of the Weekend to Remember conferences that we have and, of course, we're about to start a new season of them here in another month.\u00a0 If a listener is interested in attending, they can go to the website, FamilyLife.com, get more information about where the conference is coming to a city near where you live and how you can sign up for that.\u00a0 Again, our website is FamilyLife.com, and I want to encourage listeners to consider getting a copy of Dr. Kenworthy's book as well.\u00a0 It's called \"Marriage Makeover,\" and it outlines just exactly what you take couples through when they come to see you in the midst of a difficult situation in their marriage.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Again, we have copies of the book in our FamilyLife Resource Center.\u00a0 You can go online to request a copy or call 1-800-F-as-in-family, L-as-in-life, and then the word TODAY and request a copy of Dr. Kenworthy's book, and we'll make arrangements to get that sent out to you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Now, I was talking not long ago to a couple who had been going through some tough times in their marriage.\u00a0 They heard the interviews that we did back last year with Dr. Emerson Eggerich, who wrote the book, \"Love and Respect.\"\u00a0 And that was what they needed.\u00a0 She had not understood her husband's need for her unconditional respect, and he had not understood and appreciated how to love her well.\u00a0 And as they listened to those interviews, it was like someone turned the light on, and it brought about a dramatic shift in their marriage.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0That two-CD set of those interviews with Emerson Eggerich, we are making those available to listeners this month who can help FamilyLife with a donation of any amount for the ongoing work of this ministry.\u00a0 We are listener-supported, and folks like you who help provide the financial resources for this ministry, who help keep us on the air in this city and in cities all across the country, we appreciate you, and we want to say thank you by sending you this two-CD set when you contact us.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0If you're making a donation online at FamilyLife.com, when you get to the keycode box, just type in either the word \"love\" or \"respect,\" and that will let us know that you want to get this two-CD set sent out to you.\u00a0 Or when you call to make a donation at 1-800-FLTODAY.\u00a0 Just let someone on the team know that you'd like that CD series, and we'll get that sent out to you.\u00a0 Thanks for your financial participation and your support of this ministry.\u00a0 We really appreciate you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Well, tomorrow we're going to continue to look at some of the very practical things that you have recommended, Dr. Kenworthy, to folks who have come to you seeking help for their marriage.\u00a0 I hope our listeners can be back with us for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We'll see you back tomorrow for another edition of FamilyLife Today. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0FamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t______________________________________________________________\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts for you. However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife. 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