Jerry B. Jenkins - Hedges: Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It

Every couple who values lifelong love must read Hedges. In no-nonsense language, Jerry Jenkins provides a clear-cut plan for all of us who want to guard our marriage against sexual saboteurs. This plan is biblical, grounded, realistic, and practical. Dont leave your relationship vulnerable to unnecessary temptation. Plant a protective hedge. Do it today. This book will show you how.

DR. LES and LESLIE PARROTT, Seattle Pacific University, authors of Love Talk

Hedges is a unique book because it doesnt just tell men how to solve their marital problems. Instead it empowers them to build a defensive wall around their marriages, preventing serious problems before they begin.

JOSH MCDOWELL, author of More Than a Carpenter

When Jerry Jenkins puts words on paper, be certain of thishe has important words to share and he will share them well. Thats why we treasure him and his books.

MAX LUCADO, best-selling author

Jesus said it Himself, There will always be temptation. Gifted writer Jerry Jenkins gives us all the encouragement to build healthy hedges that protect our marriage and family. Hard-hitting, realistic, and passionate, Jerry provides motivation for married couples to stay intimately close!

DR. KEVIN LEMAN, author of Sheet Music

An easy read, practical and captivating. Every couple should read this book. If Christian couples applied the principles of hedges, the divorce rate would be zero. With all my heart, I wish my own father had applied these guidelines. It would have prevented untold misery from the divorce I and my brothers and sisters had to endure from our fractured family, broken because of the lack of hedges.

ROBERT DANIELS, author of The War Within: Gaining Victory in the Battle for Sexual Purity

Hedges is the perfect prescription for our time. With remarkable candor, Jerry Jenkins has penned a blueprint for protecting our marriages. Read it and pass it on to those you care about!

DR. GARY and BARBARA ROSBERG, Americas Family Coaches, authors of Divorce-Proof Your Marriage and co-hosts of Americas Family Coaches

Hedges, Revised Edition

Copyright 2005 by Jerry B. Jenkins

First published as Hedges, 1989; reprinted as Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It, 2000

Published by Crossway Books
A publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Josh Dennis

Cover photo: Getty Images

Revised edition, first printing, 2005

Printed in the United States of America

All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from Holy Bible, New King James Version 1982, 1984; New King James Version, New Testament and New Testament with Psalms 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

The use of selected references from various versions of the Bible in this publication does not necessarily imply publisher endorsement of the versions in their entirety.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataJenkins, Jerry B.
Hedges : loving your marriage enough to protect it /
Jerry B. Jenkins.Rev. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-58134-664-6 (hc : alk. paper)
1.MarriageReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.
BV835.J46 2005
248.8'44dc22

2005001131

RRD 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To DIANNA, of course

Thanks to John Perrodin
for research assistance
and for writing the study guide

CONTENTS

PART ONE THE
NEED FOR HEDGES

PART TWO
HOW TO START PLANTING

PART THREE
WHAT HEDGES CAN DO FOR YOUR FAMILY

By Tim LaHaye

Ever since Jerry Jenkins and I met and began our collaboration on the Left Behind series, I have been hearing about hedges. Jerry would frequently talk about the fact that all married couples have a need for hedges. Puzzled at first, I soon realized he wasnt referring to some type of landscaping accessory. No, he was talking about an essential element required to maintain a lifelong marriage relationship. The key was to build hedges around your marriage in order to protect it.

With half of all marriages ending in divorce, there has never been a more critical time than right now for a book such as this. Hedges: Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It will specifically tell you how to plant hedges against temptationstemptations that can ruin a marriage and bring devastation to a family in the blink of an eye.

The enemies of marriage are all around and are increasing in number every day. Internet porn, chat rooms, and the constant barrage of immoral messages from movies and television are but a few. We are seeing the results of the sexual revolution and moral relativism play out in front of our eyes. Spiritual leaders fall. Our friends, neighbors, and families split up. Pain, suffering, and emotional devastation spiral out of control. Children of divorce not only suffer during childhood but often continue the pattern into their own adult lives.

As Im sure you know, being a Christian does not eliminate temptation from your life. Quite the contrary. If we look at statistics, Christian marriages are dissolving due to infidelity at a frightening rate. The apostle Paul advises us to flee temptation, which is good advice. Jerry Jenkins takes that admonition from the Bible one step further and gives us practical suggestions on how to plan for and deal with such situations.

Recently my wife, Beverly, and I celebrated our fifty-seventh wedding anniversary. After reading this book, I realized that we had already been practicing many of the recommendations Jerry outlines here. For us, they were something that came from our study of Gods Word, and I must say, they have greatly contributed to the continued success and enjoyment of our marriage. But we live in a different culture now. The pressures and temptations coming against marriages today are far worse than when Bev and I first fell in love and promised to stay together for the rest of our lives (or at least until the Lord came!). What was obvious to us fifty-seven years ago has been completely lost on todays generation of married couples.

To some, many of Jerrys suggestions will seem archaic, prudish, and even downright silly. Some may even be tempted to say, Youve got to be kidding! But that only demonstrates just how far the moral fabric of our society has been torn apart in recent years. Even Jerry himself will admit to feeling somewhat embarrassed when discussing these ideas with others. But the thing is, they work. And with the stakes as high as they are, they are necessary.