The Second Purpose of Marriage

In a word, the second purpose of marriage is oneness. Right from the beginning, God was thinking about teams. He created man in his image, male and female. Later on we read in Genesis chapter 2 that he brought them together in marriage…and this is just like God to work in unity, oneness. He works as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Never in contrast but always in unity. They are One.

Jesus spoke of this oneness in Matthew 19:4-6. It has to be important.

Benefits of Oneness

Better ROI

Whether it is the return on investment or return of investment, you will get a better return when you are married and maintaining and growing your oneness. You should read Ecclesiastes 4:9 to see this and just watch most couples on this one.

The Honk Team

In Ecclesiastes 4:10, we are given a picture of a team that looks out for each other and honk each other along. In marriage, there is nothing more refreshing than the encouragement of your spouse. Much like geese honk each other along when they do their migration thing every year.

Companionship

In Ecclesiastes 4:11 we find that the warmth of fellowship is also experienced in marriage. Here is a closeness that only the “initiated” can attest to and those yet to be can look forward to. It goes beyond the fellowship you have with your friends or anyone you have ever known.This companionship includes the fellowship of sexual union that God intended to be experienced without any shame…if done right.

Strength and Protection

There is something God ingrained in the power of a team that works together in unity: success. Ecclesiastes 4:12 shows us that there is strength and protection in a husband and wife team. When they do things together, they are unstoppable. Their results have a minimum of exponential growth.

Want proof?

While maths was never my thing but I know this is something that is yet to be explain in our human reasoning;

Deutoronomy 32:30

How could one have chased a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had delivered them up?

Leviticus 26:8

Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

Just how does that work? I don’t know but it does. You are your spouse will accomplish far more if you do it God’s way and in unity.

Even God was “concerned” that the people had unity to build a tower that reached the heavens (Genesis 11)

So here is the thing: you and I will do well to promote oneness in our marriage. We should ruthlessly fight off, temper and mercilessly mutilate the things that threaten our oneness in marriage.

Leave your comments below…

Last time I spoke about how marriage has a beginning. And the premise was that if marriage has a beginning, then the One who started it has some sort or instructions, some guide on how best it should be run for maximum benefit. Much like how you get instruction manuals with your phone or microwave. Today I want to talk about the first purpose marriage was created.

Image Is Everything

When you read Genesis 1:26-27, we are told that God made man, male and female in his own image. However it works, we see that man and/or woman  is created in God’s image. There is something about God in every man and woman on this planet. Later on in Genesis 2:22-24 we see how God established marriage. I think the image is clearer here…stay with me I am going somewhere with this.

A Picture Tells A Thousand Words

Fast forward to Ephesians 5:21-33 (I hope you read that!), we have a discussion on the relationship between husband and wife compared to the relationship between Jesus Christ and His church. Read it again, I will wait.

Done? Good.

Here is what I see: there is something about a marriage relationship that reflects the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church. In fact, in other passages, the Church is called the Bride of Christ. Marriage is a beautiful picture of the image of God.

Applications Are The Key

We live in a world full of apps. So here is how we are going to work it out: If you want a marriage “made from Heaven” as we say then seriously consider

• Living your life in a way that the image of God is not tainted. God’s image in your should be enhanced. This is something that you should do even before you are married but if you already are, you, not your spouse, should change course and start living a life that says “there is God’s image”
• As a couple, the husband and wife should live their married life based on the pattern that Jesus does with his Church. There is a pattern that will ensure a successful and enviable marriage that will have others drool with admiration. Pretty soon you will be impacting everyone around you.

To sum it up: one of the reasons marriage was created was to reflect God’s image. Now as husband and wife, we need to live our individual lives with that goal in mind. As a couple, we are to follow the pattern of Christ’s relationship with his church.

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In my last post “What Is The Definition Of Marriage?” I did promise to look into the purposes of marriage but before doing that, I thought a look into the origins of this amazing institution. We are going to look at the beginning of marriage.

According to the Lord Jesus, marriage has a beginning. It has it’s beginnings in God. Read it for yourself in Matthew 19:3-8.

So sure, there are cultural, legal, tribal definitions of it but as followers of Jesus Christ, we are being driven to the understanding that marriage has it’s beginnings with God. So we do well to work with the fact that it was God’s idea and he has not abandoned it.

When I was single, was convinced of one thing: I wanted to be a married man (never mind the reasons). I was also convinced that marriage was hard especially with all the devastating statistics of divorce, separation and all the abuses that go along with it. So I had a dilemma: I looked forward to it but I was also scared. When I learned this truth about God being the author of this institution, I was set free.

I reasoned within myself that if he started it, then there must be a manual, some guidance, principles, enablement, for it to succeed.

It does not make sense that you buy, say, a microwave oven, a phone, a car and you do not get a manual on how to use it and maintain it. They always sell you the manual as well. The airlines always tell you where the emergency exits are even if you have flown with them hundreds of times.

Why should God be different? He started it and he sure has instructions for it. Armed with this liberating truth, I continued my quest of identifying a woman I wanted to marry…but that’s another story for another day I guess…

So if we do it God’s way, it must be successful…unless you have a problem with the fatherhood of God…and he anticipated that

¹¹If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and ^[h]advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and ^[i]advantageous things to those who ^[j]keep on asking Him!

Mathew 7:11

We have to trust in the Goodness of God in authoring marriage. We have to trust in his instructions otherwise this is going be a really long and hard journey. He has good plans for you.

So the premise of this whole series on marriage (and anything else regarding it on this blog) is that marriage was started by God and he has given us the “how-to’s” of going about it. Next time I will begin to look into the purpose of marriage.

Recommended Resource: Staying Close

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I had always assumed that the Bible gives us a definition of marriage. I wonder why? Oh I know, I had people stand in front of me and tell me the definition of marriage. Lovely people. But I am the investigative type so I wanted to find it out for myself.

That was because I wanted to pursue marriage and I was digging around in the Bible for that definition and I was frustrated to say the least. It seems to me, that the definition of marriage in the Bible…and I hope you are sitting down, does not exist. So what happened? Where did all those definitions come from?

Towards A working Definition

I learned that while the Bible does not define marriage as in, we have the definition of faith (Hebrews 11:1), it does list the purposes of marriage. Everyone I had read and listened to seems to have taken those purposes and worked out a working definition of marriage for whatever reasons.

And there are some great definitions to that end. Very useful too.

Here is the question: why should the God-given institution of marriage not be given so much as a definition in the Bible? I don’t know. Perhaps it was to show us that marriage is a process to be continuously worked out.

A journey to be taken.

Which I think is what it is.

And that does not go well with our generation that wants everything well packaged and ready to go.

So What Are The Purposes?

There are three that I know of so far: Image, Oneness and Posterity. I will not go into the details of the three purposes here but suffice to say that they are based on the Bible and they are good for us. I must admit that I these are not original ideas from me. I have also read and watched from others but more on this later.

Conclusion

I am thankful that I learned of these purposes before I was married. Not that I have had it all smooth in my marriage, but I think it has been “smoother” than it should have been if I didn’t know…and, as I am learning from my speaking engagements to married people, they are never too late to adopt in any marriage.

In the posts to come, I will be discussing each of those purposes of marriage and later on look at how we can benefit from them in our marriages.

Here is an excellent book that discusses the purpose of marriage. It’s called Staying Close.

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How Making Money Has Become a Level Playing Field

The internet has opened up a vast world opportunities that has helped a lot of people to make money. The downside of it is that it has also revealed the painful reality of people who have lost money while trying to do the same.

I am here to share with you that you do not have to invest money in courses or guides or coaching programs to succeed.

What You Bring To The Table

Make no mistake about it, it will involve work. Or should I say working smart. If you do not want to work then you can forget the whole thing right now.

Still here?

Good.

1. Motivation

You’ve got to have a reason or reasons to push you forward. A reason that makes you not want to give up at all. If you do not have it, you will get the bug that hits all who want to get into this business: they are always searching for the next big thing…which does not exist. You will be chasing the end of the rainbow. Spare me and spare yourself.

2. Find A Teacher

There are a countless number of guides. The trick is in identifying a credible one. Search around the forums and other places and you will see some names that keep coming up as legit.

Pick someone who has walked the path. Someone who goes beyond talking the talk. Someone who is known to walk the talk. You will save yourself some time because your learning curve is going to be less steep than if you would want to learn everything alone. Connect with them and learn all you can to get your confidence levels high. Resist the urge to buy anything but sign up for free courses. Success or failure leaves traces. You will begin to notice some trends.

3. Action

You must apply what you learn. There are countless guides, courses and mentoring programs. If you are not implementing what you learn then you will be spinning your wheels in the same place for a long time. Those who succeed learn what they need to do and then they do it. Sure, you will goof here and there but that is how you learn.

4. Dedication

A mentality that is looking for results. A mentality that says “I am in this until I see the fruit of my labour”. Even if it means the first twenty dollars. Once that first one comes in, you will be addicted. Promise.

With this arsenal of attitudes you are bringing to the table, you need to pick a strategy for learning how to increase your earning power using the internet and stick to it until you see results. The playing field is the closest it gets to zero. It is being done and you are no exception.

Here is one guide that has made a big difference in my quest to make money online. You get it for free. The guys who wrote the guide have a deal: If you make money by using what they teach you, then you can sign up for their membership forum where they go into details to ramp up your profits. You can get the guide by clicking the picture below

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So you have heard about others who make money “from the comfort of their home” and you are busy wondering what is special with them to be able to do that while you slave away at your job with all the trappings that go with it. Truth be said, this is something everyone can do. Back in the day before modernization hit my tiny country of Malawi, everyone made money from home. True.

The market was always on specific days of the week. The other days were spent making hoes, clay pots, leather mats… you get the idea. Today, things have changed. Those who work from from home go through the following process, knowingly or not.

• ANALYSIS

They analyze their hobbies, skills, competencies. In this case I will take the case of a family friend who is really good at cooking and baking. Let’s call her Angie.

• DEMAND

The next step is to assess if there is a demand for your skill and hobby. Angie managed to find a few places and people where she could sell her product. Schools, workshops, children’s birthdays.

If you cannot establish a demand, you are basically going to be spinning your tires in one place…for a long time and lose money in the process. And that is not what we want.

• SUPPLY

You need to realistically ask yourself if you can supply the demand from your home. Note that not all businesses can be run from home. They may start off from home but they may have to move out to some business premises at some point. Angie is still backing cakes, cooking meals and all that from her home. She has the time to do it and she even enlists her family to help out. She can determine how many orders she is going to fulfill.

• GROWTH POTENTIAL

As pointed out earlier, you will have to think of the tough questions about growth. Angie seem comfortable to do the business from home. She has grown it to a healthy size where she does not have to move it to a café or something like that. She thinks of it but as of now she is happy with the current size even if it has meant referring her clients to her competitors.

In conclusion, working at home can be and is being done by a growing number of entrepreneurs. Seriously think about the pointers I have shared before you go into it and then do it. Nothing hurts a dream like the inability to take  action. Go for it. Make money.

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In these tough economic times we are living in, just about everybody I know is looking for ways to earn extra money. One of the options that is becoming more popular is the option or working from home. Just why is this so appealing to many people? Here are a few reasons I have found

No More Commuting

The prospect of less pressure on your time to get ready, get the kids ready, beat the time to get them to school or all the related rush hour issues is very appealing. When you work from home, this is significantly reduced. You might still have to get your children to school so, you are still caught up on the rush hour traffic but it is reduced. Plus, you have less trips to make or at least less distance to cover and that means you save time and money.

Office Politics Avoided

When you are working from home, you are removed, to a large extent, from office politics. You know, the scheming and all that goes with it. You are more focused on the work at hand and that usually makes you more productive because you have got that one thing most office folk do not have in abundance: focus.

Your Time Is Yours…Sort Of

Think about it, when you work from home, your time is in in your hands. You decide when to work, tea break, lunch break and all those breaks. As long as the job is done, you are the captain of this ship. At least that is what is appealing to most people.

Client’s Trust – Or Not

Depending on where you are from, working from home can give you a big boost in the ratings from your clients. Some clients are more relaxed to know that you are in your home doing the work. Other clients have got their security sensors up when they know you are working from home. They find you unstable. You could close shop tomorrow and move to another city. This depends on the type of work you are doing but it certainly does help to have the proper documentation if you are doing your work from home.

Family Relationships Enhanced?

The upside of working from home, if your spouse is also working from home, is that you are with each other much of the time. This can be a plus if you work together and your skills and knowledge compliment each other. That’s just about as much office politics you will get. Depending on the ages of your children, it can also be a great help for them to know that you work from home. Handling interruptions is another matter for another day.

Let’s not be naive. There are  disadvantages too when you work from home. For now, these are some of the factors that appeal to people working from home.

The latest trend in these economically turbulent times is to cut costs. It’s not just the big companies that are downsizing and merging, small businesses are also doing the same. And most of the offloaded end up at home scratching their heads on what to do with their lives next. And somehow, the heart it around that it is possible to work from from home. Just what is it like working from home?Here are some of the things I have experienced.

DISCIPLINE

Working from home calls for a lot of discipline. You have all the time before you to do whatever, whenever. This depends on what you do. For instance, if you are a wedding caterer, then your time will definitely be tied to the wedding event. This is different from, let’s say, web and graphic design. You could be working late into the night or early in the morning or mid-morning.

LACK OF UNDERSTANDING

This one comes from all sorts of angles. If you have young children, they may not find it easy to connect what you are doing to being a “job”. For them, Daddy is home. And the sparks fly. Your spouse could ask you to do an errand when you are right in the middle of things you just hate to leave. And you lose your focus.

If your friends and family do not understand what it is you are trying to do, they can easily think you are free to do stuff. I have had them say to me “Since you are at home (i.e. doing nothing), could you please do this for me”.  And you have to explain that you are actually working on some stuff…

ISOLATION

This is a biggie especially if you are coming from the cooperate world. All of a sudden the office dynamics do not exist. You are not in on the latest gossip or who did what to whom and so on. The buzz you use to be in on in your industry suddenly begins to get hard to come by. The closest you can get to it is in the news or some other social gatherings.

And you are always trying to catch up. You are full of  the phrase “Oh, I didn’t know that”

However, in spite of these challenges, working from home can be rewarding if your family has grasped that you need to be doing this. If they cooperate with your schedule and you are disciplined enough to stick to your schedule.

It can be one of the most rewarding things that could ever happen to you.

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The lure of making money online is very, very attractive indeed and we easily fall for those who claim to have made thousands and are now living the internet lifestyle. However, the reality for those who want to join this community is that there are tricksters who will really go to great lengths to steal your hard earned money, leaving you duped and dejected.

I should know. I have had my share of being duped. Crafty personalities who seemed like the real thing stole my money up to…shall we say, a few thousand dollars? The good thing is that success, or failure, leaves traces. There are patterns for you to either follow or avoid. I hope that you will learn to recognize the tricksters and find the real thing to help you make money online.

What You Need

The first thing you need is to identify your strategy for making money online. Are you into pay per click advertising? Blogging? Cost per action, article marketing, media buys…

If you do not know of any, then read up on what others are doing. Go to online forums or communities that are dedicated to helping people make money online and watch if the people there are really being helped, that is, if they are really making money. Ask questions, observe, read. I recommend The Warrior Forum.

Secondly, you need to identify your teachers or trainers or gurus. Whatever you call them, identify those who have been successful in your chosen strategy for making money and learn from them.

For instance, if it is article marketing, then follow those in that strategy. If it is pay per click, then follow those who use that strategy. You will reduce your learning curve by doing so. Some will charge you money for their courses and some will not and still give you good quality information…yes they exist! Look for those who have a proven track record for doing what they teach. You want to be sure you are not talking to a theorist but a pragmatic guide. One way to do this is to sign up on their mailing list. Do they give value or they just sell you stuff in every other email they send out?

Thirdly, you need to take action. I cannot over-emphasize this enough. Stop chasing the “next best thing” that is said to make you untold riches. You will do well to get one and stick to implementing that one strategy, learning as you go. Learn what it is that gets prospects, how to convert them into buyers, how you keep them coming back and so on. This calls for patience and focus. Most people who want to make money online are not patient enough, or focused or they are lazy to implement anything. That leads them to label the good guys bad.

I hope that you will take these three pointers to heart as you start your journey. No need to make the same mistakes others have made for you. Learn from them and shoot ahead of the pack with the knowledge that there are good guys out there waiting to teach you. Good guys (and gals) with whom your hard earned money is safe.

Click here to Learn to Make Money Safely

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You have read the stories of others who are making a killing online and you are convinced it is possible. The only thing that is left is the unanswered question of how you can make money without using money. Is it possible? The short answer is: yes and no.

Why Yes?

Just about anything you need to do will require money. Get used to it. It’s just the way things are. The internet connection itself will require you to pay something unless a friend is paying it for you or you are stealing your employer’s time to do stuff that will make money online. Something I do not recommend. So I say yes, it is possible to make money without using money if someone is going to pay for your internet connection and let you use their computer and so on.

It’s Not Just The Money

There is a misconception that payment is always in terms of money. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is also about the time you spend, especially if you are using most “free methods”. Free means you do not have to pay for anything else like domain name, hosting, guides and so on.

They say time is money, yes but anyone asking the question we are discussing most likely has a lot of time and little to no money. So what we are looking to do is to use the time we have to make the money we need and hopefully have more money. This will free us to spend our time doing other things we deem important. In short, we want both the time and the money in abundance.

Why No?

You cannot make money without using any money unless someone else pays for some or all of the things you need to do to make money online. And there are lots of things you need to do to make money online.

The Good News

The good news is that there are people and companies who are willing to let you use their assets to make money. Make no mistake about it, you will have to work hard and smartly. If you do not like work then this is not for you. You are better of going elsewhere to try your luck.

And this stuff doesn’t take luck.

But you have a choice.

The first one is for you to search out these people and/or companies who are willing to share their money making businesses with you. You will pay nothing, in terms of money except your internet connection, but you will have a chance to make money online just like anyone else who is.

The second choice is for you to take what I have found and recommend. All you need is to download the report, read what it has to say and implement it if it seems feasible. You lose nothing but potentially gain a lot by implementing what you read. It is called

The Internet Wealth Guide