Marriage | AGW MINISTRIES

What Does the Bible Say About Unmet Expectations?

April 18, 2018June 23, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

Expectations and desires are such a beautiful and yet dangerous part of life. To have a dream, let alone seeing it fulfilled, creates a feeling in your heart that is essential for a meaningful life. To have desires is to have a heart that is alive. If you feel nothing, hope for nothing, never have a dream, it probably means you have lost your heart and passion for life. But how do we maintain joy when we have unmet expectations, for as the Bible says in Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

The Difference Between Asking and Accusing

June 14, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

Early on in my marriage, I learned it is all too easy to masquerade an accusation as a question. With a harsh tone and a rushed demeanor, the question “Where are my keys?” was really the accusation, “You put my keys somewhere they don’t belong!” With a harsh tone and furrowed brow, the question “Are you mad at me?” was really the accusation, “You have no right to be mad at me!”

Obviously this was not helpful to our marriage. Things only got better when I realized “asking” a question with a negative spirit is the same thing as accusing. I knew better than to just accuse my wife of doing something wrong, but subconsciously it felt more acceptable to phrase my accusation as a question.

In reality, though, the difference between asking and accusing lies not in the phrasing but in the motivation.

Why Pray If God Is Sovereign?

August 26, 2018June 4, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

When we begin to learn about God’s sovereignty, the temptation is to turn into the “frozen chosen” who use God’s power as an excuse to be lazy. If God is in total control of everything, why pray at all?

Certainly this is a multi layered question that could be talked about endlessly in the theological classroom. The more pressing concern is when the idea of God’s sovereignty hinders your prayer life in a very negatively practical way. This is not what God wants.

So to answer the question, “Why pray if God is Sovereign?”, perhaps a counter question will help us see the Bible’s answer: “Why would you pray if God wasn’t sovereign?”

Should Your Wife Be Your Accountability Partner?

February 17, 2016February 17, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

There has been a lot said over the years about “accountability partners.” Perhaps one of the most common questions asked by married men about this relationship is, “Should my wife be my accountability partner?” To answer the question regarding who should be your accountability partner, let’s start by going over a few general words of caution and direction.

Love Anyway

August 2, 2018February 12, 2016 by Mark Ballenger

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”-Genesis 2:15-17

Loving is dangerous. It comes with so much potential for pain because true love must involve real choice. The definition of risk is to “expose (someone or something valued) to danger, harm, or loss.” This sounds a lot like real love.

How to Get Someone to Forgive You

May 19, 2018December 8, 2015 by Mark Ballenger

how to get someone to fogive you — Luke 17:3-4, Colossians 3:12-17

How do you get someone to forgive you? As hard as we try not to, we all sin against those we love. Sometimes it is difficult for them to forgive us.

Whether it’s because we keep sinning against them the same way or because the sin we confessed was so hurtful (like cheating/adultery), there are times in life when we will confess our sins to those we have hurt, but they will struggle to forgive us.

Thankfully the Bible talks a lot about forgiveness. Here are five truths found in Scripture that will help answer the questions, “How do I get someone to forgive me?”

How to Have More Sex in Your Christian Marriage

February 23, 2016November 22, 2015 by Mark Ballenger

God made sex for married Christians to fully enjoy. So how can you have more sex in your Christian marriage? Believe it or not, the Bible does directly give instructions for the marriage bed. And the main message regarding sex in marriage is the main message regarding marriage in general: focus on giving more than on taking. Here are 5 truths the Bible gives about marriage and sex that will help your intimacy flourish.

Is Masturbation Sin?

May 28, 2018November 10, 2015 by Mark Ballenger

Key Bible Verses Proving Masturbation Is a Sin According to Scripture:

5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. . . 8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. – 1 Corinthians 7:5, 8-9

Well this is awkward . . . but thousands of Christians are asking questions about masturbation. So here is a blunt, specific, and direct article about how the Bible addresses issues like masturbation. Here we go!