{"id":301592,"date":"2008-05-22T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-22T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/living-and-loving-your-role-in-marriage-part-1\/"},"modified":"2008-05-22T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-05-22T15:00:00","slug":"living-and-loving-your-role-in-marriage-part-1","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/living-and-loving-your-role-in-marriage-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Living and Loving Your Role in Marriage, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a husband&#8217;s greatest priority?<\/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\/fl2008-05-22.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"11.08M","filesize_raw":"11623184","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2901],"tags":[4284,4868,4698],"podcast_series":[7584],"cwp_profile":[9127],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-301592","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-husbands","tag-father","tag-husband","tag-manhood","podcast_series-living-and-loving-your-role-in-marriage","cwp_profile-paul-sheppard","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\/301592\/living-and-loving-your-role-in-marriage-part-1","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/301592\/living-and-loving-your-role-in-marriage-part-1","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=\"R5vmFRHJ16\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/living-and-loving-your-role-in-marriage-part-1\/\">Living and Loving Your Role in Marriage, Part 1<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/living-and-loving-your-role-in-marriage-part-1\/embed\/#?secret=R5vmFRHJ16\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Living and Loving Your Role in Marriage, Part 1&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"R5vmFRHJ16\" 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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us, then, as a husband and as a wife, have distinctive roles and responsibilities we didn't assign ourselves.\u00a0 Because if you want to know the purpose of a husband or wife, don't ask the husband or wife.\u00a0 Ask the Creator.\u00a0 And the Creator told us, \"When you enter into the institution I created for you, for your enjoyment and fulfillment in life, I want you to do it in this particular way as laid out in the Owner's Manual, which is your Bible.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is FamilyLife Today for Thursday, May 22.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 If you're married, you're a husband or a wife, how well do you understand what the Owner's Manual has to say about your responsibilities?\u00a0 Stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to FamilyLife Today.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us on the Thursday edition.\u00a0 Don't you wish you had had a guy like Paul Shepherd to sit down with you when you got married and say, \"Now, listen carefully.\u00a0 I've got some things I need to tell you about where you're headed.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 No doubt about it.\u00a0 And when you talk to Paul Shepherd, you'd better get a seatbelt, because Paul shoots it straight, and it's right to the heart.\u00a0 He doesn't mince words, and I think that's what men appreciate most about him, Bob.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Our listeners are going to have a chance today to hear a great message from Paul about not only what a husband's responsibility in a marriage relationship looks like\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Maybe a bulletproof vest, now that I think about it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 All right.\u00a0 We're also going to hear what a wife's responsibility in a marriage relationship looks like, and we stress these themes with our listeners because these are very practical matters.\u00a0 If you don't know your job description, how do you do the job?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, a man gets married, and I think he assumes he's going to know what to do next.\u00a0 But most of us spend the next two or three decades figuring out what that is.\u00a0 Why not be told on the front end, and better understand what your job description is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd of course, that's what we do at our weekend Remember Marriage conferences.\u00a0 And every day here on FamilyLife today, we try to help build the Biblical blueprints into marriages and families so that folks know what their job description is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 In fact, if you miss any of our programs, let me encourage you to go to our website, which is FamilyLife.com.\u00a0 We've done a major overhaul of the website in the last several months, and it's fresh and new-looking, and it's a great site to visit.\u00a0 We've got past editions of FamilyLife Today.\u00a0 You can stream those or download those.\u00a0 You can read transcripts.\u00a0 One of the things I like is that listeners are now reading the transcripts, and then there's an opportunity to add your comments and share your insights on what's been talked about on FamilyLife Today.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And Bob, I'm glad you mentioned that, because the Web, like this broadcast, takes donors, people who stand alongside us financially, to make them happen.\u00a0 And this broadcast comes to you as a listener here every weekday because you make it possible for us to be able to do that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd this month, the month of May, there have been a number of donors who have come together to put together some matching money, so that when a listener wants to say yes to us staying on this station and continuing these broadcasts, or someone who uses the website and wants to say, \"Yes, I like this, how it supports me in my marriage and family.\u00a0 I want to stand with you financially,\" their dollar is matched by another dollar.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd this month, we have had $635,000 given to be able to be matched by our listeners.\u00a0 Now, you need to know, this is a stretch goal for us, and it comes at a very good time.\u00a0 We need to be able to use all of this matching money to make this broadcast and our website possible for our listeners and for those who use the Web.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 In fact, for us to take full advantage of this matching opportunity, we need to hear from as many listeners as possible, and you can donate online at FamilyLife.com, or you can call us at 1-800-FLTODAY and make a donation over the phone.\u00a0 And again, your donation's going to be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to a total of $635,000.\u00a0 We've already heard from many of our listeners, and we appreciate those of you who have contacted us.\u00a0 And we're hoping here in the next few weeks to hear from many more listeners.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, the website is FamilyLife.com, and you can call 1-800-FLTODAY to make a donation over the phone.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, we want to keep doing what we do best here on FamilyLife Today, and remember the seatbelt, or maybe it's the bulletproof vest.\u00a0 Not sure, but Paul Shepherd is a good friend.\u00a0 He is the Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in the Bay Area near San Francisco.\u00a0 And Bob, Paul's just a good guy.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 He has become a good friend, and he is passionate about marriages and families and, I think, most importantly, he's passionate about helping you apply the Scripture.\u00a0 And so fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen.\u00a0 You are about to be instructed by one of the best preachers in America.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Paul:<\/strong>\u00a0 God created marriage, and when He created it, He had something very good in mind.\u00a0 How is it, then, that so many of us find ourselves in relationships that are challenged, to say the least, and in very bad shape in many other cases?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHow is it that something designed to be so good has turned out, in so many cases, to \u2013 at least at this point \u2013 be not so good?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to submit to you, for your consideration, the premise that maybe it's that we have abused God's plan and purpose for marriage.\u00a0 Years ago, I learned some principles of purpose that have stuck with me. Let me share a few of them with you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe first would be that God \u2013 everything God creates has a distinctive purpose.\u00a0 God does nothing without having purpose behind it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe second principle would be when we don't know, or we ignore or reject God's purpose for a thing, there's nothing left to do but to abuse it.\u00a0 Where purpose is unknown or rejected, abuse is the inevitable result.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThird principle \u2013 if you want to know the purpose of a thing, don't ask the thing.\u00a0 Because the thing is the created.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLeading to the fourth principle \u2013 purpose is found in the mind of a Creator.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd the fifth principle would be, purpose is the key to fulfillment.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tPlug those principles into marriage for a moment, and I think you'll get my premise.\u00a0 God created marriage, and He had a very definite purpose when He did so.\u00a0 But where God's purpose and plan for marriage is unknown or ignored or rejected, then we have no alternative except to abuse our marriages.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you want to know the purpose of a husband, don't ask a husband.\u00a0 If you want to know the purpose of a wife, don't ask the wife.\u00a0 For the fourth principle says, \"Purpose is only found in the mind of the Creator.\"\u00a0 God, who made husbands, knows what He wanted when He did it.\u00a0 God, who made wives, knew what He was up to when He did it.\u00a0 And fifth, \"Purpose is the key to a happy marriage, to a fulfilled marriage.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFunctioning in the roles and responsibilities God has given us as husbands and as wives is the key to experiencing the joy that He intended when He made marriages.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd so I want to ask you to commit yourself over the next few minutes to examining with me the job description God has given each of us as married people.\u00a0 And I want you to focus in on your job description as a husband and your job description as a wife, and that's what will allow our marriages to be harmonious.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to talk to you for a moment, before I get into the job descriptions, about the necessity of harmony in life and harmony in marriage.\u00a0 You know, in case you didn't realize it, men and women are different.\u00a0 We all there?\u00a0 I don't need to spend time making the case.\u00a0 We're different.\u00a0 Guess what \u2013 it's by design.\u00a0 It is amazing to me that so many people fight, and when you find many people divorcing, what is one of the most common reasons given?\u00a0 Irreconcilable what?\u00a0 Differences.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDifferences don't have to be \u2013 and by God's design, they will never be \u2013 irreconcilable.\u00a0 Differences are good.\u00a0 If everybody was like you, Lord help us.\u00a0 You're great, but only one of you.\u00a0 We don't need any more.\u00a0 We need something to come along and complement.\u00a0 That's what harmony is all about.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSometimes we spend a lot of time trying to make someone like us.\u00a0 That's unison.\u00a0 I've asked Chris to help illustrate this on the keyboard, and so I've asked him to play a verse of something or half a verse of something.\u00a0 I don't even know what he's going to play, but hopefully, it will be something we know.\u00a0 And he's going to play a verse or half-verse in unison \u2013 the same note.\u00a0 This is what your life would be like if you got your wish of making your spouse like you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Piano plays unison version of the first few bars of \"Amazing Grace\"]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAll right.\u00a0 Now, that was \u2013 I recognized it, did you?\u00a0 First half of a verse of \"Amazing Grace.\"\u00a0 Wonderful hymn.\u00a0 But notice he played the same note, he played them one octave apart, but the exact same note.\u00a0 Now, we recognized it as \"Amazing Grace,\" but it did nothing for us.\u00a0 It got no rise.\u00a0 Now I'm going to ask him to play \"Amazing Grace\" and introduce harmony.\u00a0 And let's see how it's different.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Piano plays harmonious version of the first few bars of \"Amazing Grace\"]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat's good.\u00a0 Keep going.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Piano continues to play harmonious version of \"Amazing Grace\"]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAll the way through.\u00a0 That works.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Piano continues to play harmonious version of \"Amazing Grace\"]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGive Chris a hand, everybody.\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 Now, that was good.\u00a0 See, I'm a musician as well as a preacher, and that resonates with me.\u00a0 I want to stop preaching and go to heaven church right about now. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHarmony makes all the difference.\u00a0 When you take difference, and instead of treating it as hostile, you treat it as that which gives you a wonderful blend of differences, that's what marriage is supposed to be.\u00a0 Thank God your spouse is not like you.\u00a0 Thank God your spouse doesn't have your gifts, your calling, your temperament, your roles, your responsibility.\u00a0 Thank God they're different.\u00a0 Someone has to come along to complement who you are, and that is what God had in mind.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBecause the world would be boring, and there would be so little done unless we had people who were different and complementary.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd so we've got to learn, then, how to blend differences in such a way that we harmonize.\u00a0 Each of us, then, as a husband and as a wife, have distinctive roles and responsibilities we didn't assign ourselves, because if you want to know the purpose of a husband or wife, don't ask the husband or wife.\u00a0 Ask the Creator.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd the Creator told us, \"When you enter into the institution I created for you \u2013 for your enjoyment and fulfillment in life \u2013 I want you to do it in this particular way, as laid out in the Owner's Manual, which is your Bible.\"\u00a0 The Bible is the Owner's Manual for living.\u00a0 Most products you purchase come with an owner's manual so you can know how to operate it, and if something isn't working right, they have a section for troubleshooting.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to let you know this Book has the answers for making our marriages what God intends for them to be.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo let's get into job descriptions in the time that remains, because you've got some work to you.\u00a0 Being married is a job.\u00a0 Do you know why you get to have sex?\u00a0 You get to have sex because it is a benefits package that goes with the job of marriage.\u00a0 That's why we have to tell single people \u2013 I tell them in my church \u2013 tell all the single people in your sphere of influence, especially your children.\u00a0 \"You can't have a benefits package without a job.\"\u00a0 Got to have a job.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou don't walk up to Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, wherever you work, walk in there and say, \"I'd like to see your benefits package.\"\u00a0 They say, \"Well, which department do you work in?\"\u00a0 \"No, no, no, no.\u00a0 I don't want a job, but I heard your benefits package is really good.\"\u00a0 They would call Security.\u00a0 Get you out of there in a hurry.\u00a0 And it's amazing that our culture thinks it's okay to walk around hitting people up for a benefits package.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTell your single friends and your children, \"When somebody comes asking and inquiring about the benefits package, ask them, 'Would you like a job?\u00a0 Would you like a job?\u00a0 Are you interest in an application?'\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNo benefits package without a job\u00a0 You have a job to do.\u00a0 And God is interested in us pleasing Him by the way we will fulfill the roles and responsibilities He gives us in marriage.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLet me talk through some key points of the husband's job description according to the Owner's Manual which is the Word of God.\u00a0 Typically, most of the time, I start with the ladies first, but in this case, I want to start with men \u2013 men who sometimes are very proud about the fact that they heard somewhere or read somewhere that they were the head.\u00a0 So let me, permit me, ladies, to start with the guy who thinks he's in charge.\u00a0 And then we'll come back around to you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHusbands \u2013 some bullet points I find in Scripture that give you your responsibilities under God for making your marriage.\u00a0 It's the, these are the notes that you add to the harmony that is to be your marriage.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFirst responsibility under God is found in Ephesians 5:21, where we are told, \"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.\"\u00a0 In that verse there are two aspects of your job description.\u00a0 The first and most important is to submit your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 I'm talking about marriage now, as God created it.\u00a0 If you want to be the husband you're designed to be, job one is to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 That's job one.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLadies, when your single daughters or your single friends are looking for a man, tell them that you learned that the job, first job, was to check out how submitted he is to Christ.\u00a0 \"Don't tell me about his shoulders and his job and his this \u2013 no, no, no \u2013 is he under Christ?\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJob one.\u00a0 Job one.\u00a0 Submitted to the Lordship of Jesus.\u00a0 \"Lord, you're in charge of my life.\"\u00a0 That's when life begins, gentlemen.\u00a0 That's when life begins.\u00a0 \"Okay, God, you're in charge.\"\u00a0 See, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.\u00a0 You want to be a wise person, you start with two assumptions that are very, very true.\u00a0 Number one, \"There is a God who controls the universe and who is personal and interested in our lives.\"\u00a0 Number two, \"I'm not Him.\u00a0 Therefore, I need to submit to Him.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tPaul put it this way in First Corinthians Chapter 11 and Verse 3.\u00a0 He says, \"I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ.\"\u00a0 Head of every man is Christ.\u00a0 Gentlemen, let me let you know something in no uncertain terms.\u00a0 The day is coming when your knee will bow and your tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.\u00a0 That's going to happen, because the Bible said the head of every man, without exception, is Christ.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo you can either bow now and enjoy the benefits of living under his Lordship \u2013 and there are many, ending with eternal life.\u00a0 Or you can bow later in judgment.\u00a0 If I were you, I'd do it now.\u00a0 When you do, my friend, your life will change forever.\u00a0 For if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation.\u00a0 Old things are passed away, and behold, all things are, become new.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, that is Part One of a message from Pastor Paul Shepherd, and I love the illustration that he used there about somebody wanting to apply for a job, and he doesn't really want the job, he just wants the benefits.\u00a0 And that's how a lot of young people are today.\u00a0 They want the benefits of marriage without the responsibilities.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It's a picture of our culture, Bob. I mean, here in Little Rock, there's a yogurt company that has a byline that I think is kind of the picture of the society we live in.\u00a0 It reads, \"All of the pleasure.\u00a0 None of the guilt.\"\u00a0 We want the benefits, but we don't want the responsibility.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And yet, if you look at the Scriptures, the Scriptures always tie the benefits to the responsibility.\u00a0 And in Matthew, Chapter 7, when Jesus commanded us to build our house on the rock by listening to what he said and then obeying it, he was serious.\u00a0 And if we want the privileges of being able to stand in a storm and have our homes survive tough times, it means we first of all have to be committed to Him\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2026personally, but then we have to be in a covenant relationship with one another, where we say to our spouse, \"You know what?\u00a0 No matter what comes against us, I'm committed to the King of Kings, and I am committed to making you queen.\u00a0 I'm going to make you my bride for the rest of our days, the rest of our lives.\"\u00a0 And Bob, it's on that rock and upon that commitment that I believe a thriving, successful marriage can be built in this culture.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I know a lot of young couples who, as they have gotten engaged, I've encouraged them to read through Dr. Robert Lewis' book, \"Rocking the Roles,\" to help them understand their responsibilities as husbands and wives in a marriage relationship.\u00a0 Because I remember the first time I read through it, I'd been married for years, but I thought, \"Robert has done a great job of putting words to what I need to be doing as a husband, but also what I want my wife to understand about what I need from her in a marriage relationship.\"\u00a0 And he does a great job helping men understand what a wife needs from her husband.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd I would encourage our listeners, if you've not read Robert's book, \"Rocking the Roles,\" get it from us.\u00a0 We've got it in our FamilyLife Resource Center.\u00a0 Read through it together as a couple and spend time talking about it.\u00a0 I think you'll find that exercise to be very helpful.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou can go to our website, FamilyLife.com, and if you click on the right side of the screen where it says, \"Today's Broadcast,\" where the button says, \"Learn More,\" that will take you to an area of the site where you can get more information about Robert's book and about other books and resources we have at FamilyLife to help you understand your assignment as a husband or as a wife, to help you win in these areas and strengthen your marriage.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, our website is FamilyLife.com.\u00a0 Look on the right side of the screen on the home page, and where it says, \"Today's Broadcast,\" just click where it says, \"Learn More.\"\u00a0 You can order the resources you need from our website, or you can call us at 1-800-FLTODAY, 1-800-358-6329.\u00a0 That's 1-800, F as in Family, L as in Life, and then the word TODAY, and when you contact us, someone on our team will make the arrangements necessary to have the resources you need sent out to you.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWell, tomorrow, Pastor Paul Shepherd has some specific counsel for husbands and wives as we think about our responsibilities in the home, and I hope you can be here for that.\u00a0 I 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 next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 Help for today \u2013 hope for tomorrow.\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 to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would\u00a0\u00a0 you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/site\/c.dnJHKLNnFoG\/b.3782043\/k.384D\/Support_Us.htm\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.FamilyLife.com\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/301592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301592"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=301592"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=301592"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=301592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}