MARRIAGE IN THE SPOT LIGHT...Ashley Madison
Perhaps you have heard of this recent event but if not this short excerpt from a news story about the hacking of the Adultery Website will give you the basic information:
“It's a bad day for millions of cheaters.
Personal data believed to have been stolen from the adultery website Ashley Madison has been posted on the dark Web, apparently exposing names, email addresses and phone numbers for some of the website's 37 million members, among other information.”
Aug 19, 2015, 12:27 PM ET
I really felt led of the Spirit today to write this post. I have no idea who reads these posts at times I wonder if anyone does but I do want to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and share from my heart what God is directing.
It really breaks my heart to see the numbers here and to know that over the next few months so many marriages will be breaking up or at a minimum going through extreme difficulty. At risk are the lives of real people we know and love: Children, moms, dads, co-workers, brothers and sisters. In some cases it may be people we looked up too and respected. Hurting people is what Satan loves to do.
Michele and I celebrated 32 years of marriage this past August 5th. It has been such a great journey and I can honestly say I love her more today than ever. One of the greatest gifts God ever gave me is my wife and family. Over our 32 years the enemy has attacked our marriage in a variety of ways. Only by putting God first in our lives and forgiving each other have we been able to keep our Marriage growing and fulfilling.
The great success of the enemy is to keep us dissatisfied. If he can keep our attention not on what we have been blessed with but on what we do not have it opens us to temptation. People get into trouble when they are dissatisfied with their lives.
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH DISSATISFATION?
As human beings we spend a great deal of time seeking our own happiness. Most of our efforts do not produce it. Why? Because we think happiness is a destination when in reality it is a choice. In over 35 years of ministry I have had many couples with troubled marriages inform me “We are not happy”. In their minds this justifies next steps. The next steps may be separation or divorce.
If they follow through they discover what those who have gone before them discovered…second marriages have a shorter life span than first marriages. A new person cannot make you happy. Happiness is a choice that you must make even when you do not feel it inside.
If your marriage is troubled or you know of someone who’s marriage is struggling would you consider doing these three things:
1. Reach out for help. At the close of this post I am putting my direct contact information and would love the opportunity to pray with you and encourage you.
2. Get back into Church. The Church is the family of God. We need each other. In God’s family you will find: accountability, correction, encouragement, instruction and friendship!
3. Get honest with each other. We have to admit we need help. We must demonstrate our need for each other. We need to go to work repairing broken trust and the best way tobegin is with honesty.
Pastor: Alan Kirkpatrick
Email: alan@graceplaceaustin.com
Phone: 512-709-3336