George Jim - A Couple After Gods Own Heart

Every book in print is evidence of a multitude of miracles. For us, a few of our miracles during the writing and editing of A Couple After Gods Own Heart came in the form of editors par excellence. From our hearts we wish to thank God for Steve Miller, senior editor, and Kathleen Kerr, associate senior editor, for invaluable help and guidance coupled with their energetic encouragement throughout the writing of this book. These two seasoned editors and friends, along with LaRae Weikert, Barb Sherrill, and Betty Fletcher, cheered us every step of the way to getting this book into your hands. Thank you, one and all. And thank you, Bob Hawkins, and all your capable staff at Harvest House Publishers, for your unwavering support of us and our books.

With thanksgiving to our Lord,

Jim and Elizabeth George

30 Days of Growing Together material taken from Powerful Promises for Every Couple. Copyright 2004 by Jim and Elizabeth George.

A COUPLE AFTER GODS OWN HEART

Copyright 2012 by Jim and Elizabeth George

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

George, Jim, 1943-

A couple after Gods own heart / Jim and Elizabeth George.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7369-5120-3 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5121-0 (eBook)

1. Marriage--Biblical teaching. 2. Bible--Biography. I. George, Elizabeth, 1944- II. Title.
BS680.M35G46 2012

248.844--dc23

2012034069

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The Original Couple After Gods Own Heart

Partners in Faith

A Marriage Made in Heaven

Love that Lasts a Lifetime

Best Friends Forever

A Couple with Character

Second-chance Marriage

Partners with Pure Hearts

A Couple in Crisis

A Remarkable Husband-wife Team

Asked to define the game of golf, one man said cynically, Golf is a good walk spoiled. Maybe the person who made this statement had just finished a bad round. Or maybe he hadnt been trying very hard, or he didnt feel golf was important enough to make it worthwhile to try to improve his game.

Whatever the case, this persons statement is clearly a negative assessment of the sport. And unfortunately, there are a growing number of people today who spout this same kind of attitude toward marriage. Whats sad is that God intended that the joining together of a man and woman would bring the greatest human happiness known to mankind.

To any thinking person, its obvious that it is the bad golfernot the game of golf itselfthat is at fault. In the same way, it isnt the divine institution of marriage thats at fault, but the husband and wife who are the bad golfersthe bad partnerswhen it comes to their marital issues.

Now, getting back to our golferif he was wholly committed to the game, he would gladly make every effort to become the best golfer he could be. Then he would enjoy the game a lot more. In the same way, if a husband and wife are both wholeheartedly committed to their marriage, they will make every sacrifice and do whatever is necessary to keep their relationship healthy, growing, and fulfilling.

Many people want a good marriage, but oftentimes they dont want to do what it takes to become the best spouse possible and work through life issues as they pop up along the way. Its easier (or so they think) to get a new partner! Or to simply go through the motions, doing only the absolute minimum that might be expected in maintaining a marriage relationship.

This book is written to and for couples who want to work at improving their marriagescouples who desire to follow God (together!) and reap the lifetime of blessings that are sure to be theirs. WeJim and Elizabethas a couple are hoping and praying that, as you begin to make your way through the pages of this book (and hopefully also the Couple After Gods Own Heart Interactive Workbook ) you will commit to building a marriage that lasts. We dont have to tell you that no marriage is perfect, but we pray that you, along with us, are progressing toward being a couple after Gods own heart.

Oh, and one final note: This book has been a challenge to writea refreshing challenge! Its true that we have a lot we can share with you to help your marriage mend, grow, and improvewhichever is needed. But we too are still on the marriage journey ourselves. We still have to apologize and say, Im sorry, babe. We can still get upset with each other. And, believe us, we still have times when complete stupidity marks our actions toward each other.

And heres a challenge for you: As you read along, whose voice will you hear throughout this book? Will it be Jims voice or Elizabeths? Will we qualify our words by prompting, Jim speaking, or Hi, its me, Elizabeth, whos now writing? We decided (an example of teamwork!) to write as one voice because we want you, as husband and wife, to read this book togetheras a couple.

As you make your way through this book, you may not even notice when one of us leaves off and the other begins. (And isnt that the way it should be in a good marriage?) Oh, therell be some places where its obvious Jim is talking to husbands and Elizabeth chimes in for wives, and vice versa. But on the whole, our desire is for this to serve as a seamless treatment of that wonderfuland demandinginstitution called marriage. The two of you will enjoy journeying together through the lives of key couples in the Bible. You will also benefit from the lessons in Gods Word that can help you to grow toward a richer, more intimate love for one another. And blessing upon blessings, you will grow closer together as you share the devotional in the second half of this book, which was created just for you as a couple after Gods own heart.

Before you begin chapter 1, here are a couple of sobering thoughts for you to ponder:

In 1788, Edward Gibbon, the English historian and author, finished the sixth and final volume of the now-classic History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He offered several basic reasons for the collapse of the Roman Empire, and one of them was the decrease in the dignity and sanctity of home and marriage, which included the problem of a rapidly growing divorce rate. That reason is strikingly applicable to our society today.