Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Daily DevotionalSample

Déjà vu all over again Over the course of this month, we've camped on three key areas in God's Word that address marriage: Jesus' treatise on marriage in Matthew Chapter 19, Moses' record of the creation of the first couple in Genesis Chapters 1 and 2, and Paul's teaching here in Ephesians Chapter 5. To be sure, there are a lot of other places in Scripture that speak to marriage, but these three are particularly important since they compliment each other so comprehensively. In other words, if you could only choose three sources for understanding God's take on marriage, you'd want to pick these three. They're that important. Everything they tell us is valuable. But what does it mean when all three repeat the same thing basically verbatim? Shouldn't that stand out to us in a special way? Isn't it God's way of saying, "Listen...whatever you do, don't miss this! I'm even going to tell it to you again and again just in case!" That's what we have here as Paul brings his teaching on marriage in Ephesians to a final point. Notice how he repeats what we saw Jesus say in Matthew and what we read in Genesis: The two shall become on flesh. It's déjà vu all over again, isn't it? Why bother including something the Word already tells us twice? Here's why. The biggest threat to marriage isn't pornography, isn't lack of finances, isn't in-laws, or alcohol, or anything like that. It's independence. It's that deep-down belief that says it's free to just do what it wants at the end of the day. That's what really destroys marriages. Fully and unreservedly embracing the equation that two have now become one...it's absolutely essential for any marriage to function the way God wants it to. The biggest threat to marriage is independence. That's what really destroys marriages. Think about it... What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?