{"product_id":"the-meaning-of-marriage-a-couples-devotional-isbn-9780525560777","title":"The Meaning of Marriage: A Couple's Devotional","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling authors Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller comes a gorgeously packaged daily devotional that takes us on year-long journey into discovering the meaning of marriage\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMarriage is the most profound human relationship there is. Coming to know and love your spouse is one of the most rewarding and wondrous things we can experience in life. But it is also one of the most difficult and painful. In this 365-day devotional, Timothy Keller and his wife of forty-three years, Kathy Keller, share powerful instructions on how to have a successful marriage. The Kellers draw from and expand upon lessons they first introduced in their book \u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Marriage\u003c\/i\u003e, offering stories, daily scriptures, and prayer prompts that will inspire anyone who wants to know God and love more deeply in this life.\u003cb\u003ePraise for Timothy Keller and his books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A C. S. Lewis for the twenty-first century.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Newsweek\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"At Redeemer Presbyterian and in several books, Keller shaped a vision of Evangelicalism that de-emphasizes politics and stresses care for the poor, personal sacrifice, and inclusiveness across ethnicity and class.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eFortune\u003c\/i\u003e, naming Timothy Keller one of the \"World's 50 Greatest Leaders\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eTimothy Keller \u003c\/b\u003estarted Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons. Dr. Keller is also the cofounder of Redeemer City to City, an organization that helps national church leaders around the world reach and minister in global cities. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Prodigal Prophet \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Reason for God\u003c\/i\u003e, among others.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKathy Keller \u003c\/b\u003ereceived her MA in theological studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Kathy cowrote\u003ci\u003e The Meaning of Marriage\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e The Songs of Jesus \u003c\/i\u003ewith Tim. This is their fourth collaboration.\u003cp\u003eINTRODUCTION \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSeveral years ago \u003c\/i\u003eTim and I wrote a book, \u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God. \u003c\/i\u003eWe discussed a number of issues related to knowing and loving your spouse in the context of a marriage grounded in the Christian faith. Many people have told us how much the book has helped them, and nothing makes us happier. It was the fruit of hard-won experience, and God promises that what he gives to one is meant for the benefit of all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is not necessary to have read that book in order to use this one. But it is worth recapping some of the basic themes of \u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Marriage\u003c\/i\u003e. The main problem every marriage faces is the self-centeredness in both spouse’s hearts. Traditional cultures often dealt with this by browbeating people about their sin. Modern culture has virtually enshrined it, talking about “Me-\u003cbr\u003e Marriages” that last only as long as both parties feel the marriage is meeting their needs without too much exertion. The solution, however, is the gospel of Christ, for it both humbles us and exalts us at the same time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn equally crucial theme is that the essence of your marriage is a covenant, a binding promise. A covenant is neither a cold contract nor merely an emotional pledge. It is giving your whole life to each other, not just physically but also legally, financially, emotionally, spiritually. The binding, legal commitment creates an unparalleled space for trust, vulnerability, and intimacy. Many modern people think the essence of marriage is a romantic feeling, but rather it is the marriage promise that keeps you together through the ups and downs of feeling, which over time provides a depth of love that could not be attained any other way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe see marriage as friendship-with-a-mission. While ancient and traditional marriages gave priority to the roles of parents, and modern marriage elevates the desires of romantic lovers, we argued that, along with all the other factors, spouses need to be best friends. Friendship, however, needs to be \u003ci\u003eabout \u003c\/i\u003esomething, and in a Christian marriage it needs to be about spiritual growth and each spouse helping the other to grow into Christlikeness. If we aim at holiness for each other, happiness will come; if we aim primarily at just happiness, we will get neither.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen, for these various tasks and responsibilities in marriage, we pointed to a “toolbox” of ways to know and love your spouse over the years, particularly as you both go through major life changes and sometimes we feel we are married to a stranger. What do we do? There are three basic things to do: speak the truth; show love— in the particular “currencies” or “love languages” that your spouse finds most valuable; and, finally, give grace through regular repen- tance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Christian marriage, it is both a glory and a challenge to love someone of the other gender. Loving across the gender divide takes a great deal of patience, understanding, humility, and love. Today, of course, this is an area marked by controversy, but we tried as much as possible to follow the Scriptures here, which critique both overly rigid gender stereotypes as well as the modern denial of dis- tinct gender roles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In the last two chapters we turned to the subjects of singleness and sexuality. There we laid out something of the Christian ethic and understanding of sex, so revolutionary when it burst on the world scene, but so contested today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo why this devotional? The purpose of this couple’s devotional is to provide an opportunity for sustained and practical reflection on love and marriage within a Christian perspective. A book like \u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Marriage \u003c\/i\u003ecan provide principles and insights, but it can also be hard to digest and apply to every- day life. In the book you hold, we both expanded on and broke down the themes and lessons into short meditations, looking at each concept in its various aspects and proposing application questions and practices.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis devotional pulls out passages from \u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Marriage \u003c\/i\u003eand provides an opportunity to think out the personal implications of one very specific aspect of Christian marriage each day. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the first week of each month, we provide you with a Scripture text regarding love, sex, and marriage, followed by a meditation on an aspect of the biblical teaching. After that there is a reflection, which is a set of application questions, followed finally with a brief example of a prayer about the subject. While some of these biblical texts are referred to in \u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Marriage\u003c\/i\u003e, these studies are new and not found in the earlier book. The\u003cbr\u003e texts that are covered are listed on page xiv.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJANUARY            \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGenesis 1 and 2                 \u003c\/i\u003eMarriage and creation\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eFEBRUARY         \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGenesis 2–3; Ephesians 5    \u003c\/i\u003eMarriage and redemption\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eMARCH              \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eVarious                               \u003c\/i\u003eThe seventh commandment \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAPRIL               \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGenesis 39 and various        \u003c\/i\u003ePreventing adultery\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eMAY                  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eVarious                               D\u003c\/i\u003eivorce\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eJUNE                 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eProverbs and various          \u003c\/i\u003eWho we are to one another\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eJULY                 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eVarious New Testament       \u003c\/i\u003eHow to serve one another\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eAUGUST            \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eVarious New Testament      \u003c\/i\u003eHow to reconcile with one another \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSEPTEMBER      \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e1 Corinthians 6                  \u003c\/i\u003eThe Christian sexual revolution: 1\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eOCTOBER          \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e1 Corinthians 7                  \u003c\/i\u003eThe Christian sexual revolution: 2 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNOVEMBER       \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Song of Solomon -       \u003c\/i\u003eLove song: seeking one another \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDECEMBER       \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Song of Solomon          \u003c\/i\u003eLove song: finding one another\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e On each day of the other three weeks of every month we begin with a quote from \u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Marriage \u003c\/i\u003einstead of a Bible verse, followed by a meditation and a reflection. Finally there is a “Thought for prayer” that gives some ideas for how you can pray the topic of the day into your heart and life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a “couple’s devotional,” and it is designed for married couples to use. One way to do it is to read it aloud to each other. Then ask: “What helped you the most?” After that, answer the Reflection questions together. Finally pray together, using the “Thought for prayer” as a springboard for your own conversation with God. Another way to use this book, however, is to read it daily as an individual, write down your thoughts, and regularly meet with your spouse to discuss your insights and findings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKeep in mind that the basic themes and lessons noted here will be brought up numerous times, but each time they will be approached from a different perspective, or asking different practical questions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Marriage \u003c\/i\u003ewas not written only for married couples. Its origin lay in a series of sermons to a congregation consisting overwhelmingly of single adults. This particular devotional, however, is meant for couples, though unmarried couples who are engaged or who are considering marriage could use it in the way we have prescribed. Some of the meditations near the end of the year should be especially applicable to them. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne very important caveat. Every Christian needs to be read- ing the Bible and praying daily. This book, while it can supplement that, should not be the only time one spends daily before God. As important as this subject is, marriage is not the only thing you should be talking to God about for an entire year! We would ask readers to consider also using either our Psalms or Proverbs devotionals along with this one, or some other aid to a daily time with God.","brand":"Viking","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44886256517349,"sku":"NP9780525560777","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780525560777.jpg?v=1767740453","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-meaning-of-marriage-a-couples-devotional-isbn-9780525560777","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}