Teaching the blessing of Being Best Friends

"Secret to being Best Friends"

#1 Reason for Marital problems~starts from the beginning of the relationship!

The divine purpose of 'Courtship' is to get to know each others heart's NOT bodies! 

Dating, is the false substitute of God's plan for entering marriage. Dating is what robs most relationships of the divine blessings which God intended for each of us in a marriage relationship. This false substitute has corrupted the blessing God meant for 'Courtship to Marriage' in our culture as the numbers rise in pre-martial sex and living together before marriage. Dating says, "All I care about is a quick fix to my loneliness and I really don't care about you/ I can be lazy about our relationship/ Lust is more important than love/ If we have issues I'll just try someone else! Dating has little to low standards and poor results~more marital problems, higher divorce rate, higher rate of abuse, sinful addictions and adultery. 

Courtship is a commitment to become the best of friends by spending time together (6 mon. to 2 years on average) with set boundaries and limitations which promote respect for one another, reverence for God's Will and desire to live a life which will be blessed. It is intentional investment into the relationship to connect spiritually & emotional as best friends while acting upon self-control to preserve the intimacy for after the commitment before God and others in joining together as one until death do you part. This relationship is built on the solid foundation of both male and female devoted to their first love in Jesus, a higher standard of respect for one another, an agreement to resolve issues, and a devotion to build a blessed relationship. Courtship has high standards and great results~better prepared to deals with issues in life, longer lasting relationships, better sexual relations, better friendship, no worries of sexual diseases or unplanned pregnancies and less sinful behavior. 

Seven Foundations of a Good Friendship

1. Faithfulness (Prov. 17:17)

2. Believing in one another (James 2:23; Gen. 12:1; Psalms 100:4)

3. Embrace your differences ~ 3 levels

a. reject others differences 

b. accept/tolerate others differences

c. celebrate others differences

4. Be real and transparent (John 15:15)

5. Be a pace of safety and refuge (Heb. 4:16; Gal. 5:22)

6. Be fun, creative and positive (Prov. 18:24)

7. Bear each other's burdens

Marriage is about Sharing and you are not sharing if you expect your spouse to live in your world!

Be Best Friends

Marriages robbed of friendship are missing a vital element that makes that relationship a paradise. If friendship has grown cold in your marriage, or was never given an opportunity to develop at all, 'you' can change that.