Marriage That Lasts: A Practical Approach to Marriage with a Biblical Foundation

By Christopher M. Bonner

In todays society, the institution of marriage is becoming less and less honored.
This is specifi cally true in the Christian community. When in the recent past, the
high divorce rate was attributed to non-Christians, but today a high percentage
can be attributed to Christians. In this book we will examine seven crucial
elements of marriage, that if applied correctly, will keep your marriage strong
and long lasting. These elements can be applied by both the Christian and non-
Christian and to those already married as well as those considering it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463437275

Christopher M. Bonner

Rev. Christopher Bonner is an ordained minister and pastor or Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Franklin Ga. Rev. Bonner studied in seminary and received a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Theology from Covington Theological Seminary and is pursing his Master's level degree. A true passion for Rev. Bonner is seeing people live successful and healthy lives through Jesus Christ. One of the primary areas he seeks to encourage and empower others is the covenant of marriage. He truly believes that everything begins at home. When the home is healthy, the chances for succes in all other areas of life are greatly increased. Being a husband and father himself, he strives to practice what he preaches and be a living example for others to see God's power working in him. He has devoted himself to his lovely wife Carisa and their union has been tremendously blessed with a daughter, Lexus and a son, Jordan. They happily reside in Carrollton Ga, and enjoy serving their hometown of Carroll County and Heard County, where the wonderful church is of which they serve.

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© 2011 by Christopher M. Bonner. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 07/07/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-1111-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-3727-5 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011908953

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Foreword

CHAPTER 1

WHY DID I GET MARRIED ANYWAY

CHAPTER 2

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT

CHAPTER 3

LORD HELP ME MAKE THIS WORK (RELIGION)

CHAPTER 4

MONEY MATTERS

CHAPTER 5

LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX

CHAPTER 6

WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN

CHAPTER 7

CAN WE TALK

About the Author

Foreword

Everyone who is married wants to make it work so that their marriage will last for many years to come. Or better stated, last until death do they part. Unfortunately, while everyone wants a lasting marriage, most do not know how to accomplish this worthwhile task. Yes, I did say task. If you are going to have a marriage that lasts, then you are going to have to work at it. It is my prayer, that as you read this book, you will learn very valuable information that you can apply to your marriage to obtain that bliss that is so well spoken of. Being married myself, and a spiritual counselor, I have learned that there are seven primary areas of a marriage that require specific attention in order to make it last, but more-so enjoyable. This very practical and realistic approach to marriage will certainly be a blessing to the couple who has been struggling in one area or another in marriage or to the couple that is contemplating marriage but not yet sure if you have what it takes to make it work.

This is extremely important since we are living in a world where it seems that marriage is fast approaching the point of being a thing of the past. I’m not intending to sound old fashioned or sentimental, but we must acknowledge marriage as what it is. It is ordained and sanctioned by God. This is not understood well enough with today’s generation who think there is no need to buy the cow when they can get the milk for free. Not to mention, there is almost no such thing as the family unit anymore. We are a single parent generation with kids growing up with only a father or mother to raise them. I don’t mean this to take any credit from single parents because I was raised by a single mother who did a phenomenal job, but a complete home should have both mother and father. If it took both to make the child, then both are required to rear the child.

Now is the time when we must place proper focus on the future and next generation. We must seek to maintain the covenant with God and live according to His plan. God has to be kept in the center of family and this has to start with marriage. Because He is a God of generations, we are set to establish our kids in covenant with God when we honor covenant in our marriages. As with everything in life, when we honor God, He sets a course for us to follow that brings us peace and joy. This is what we aspire to obtain in our marriages so that we can have a lifetime of bliss with our spouses.

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CHAPTER 1

WHY DID I GET MARRIED ANYWAY

The unfortunate truth to most marriages is that many people get married for the wrong reasons. If this is your situation, then you are doomed from the beginning. Not to say that being married for the wrong reason cannot be turned around and the marriage made to work, but it does mean that there will be some hard work and determination involved. Surprisingly while many would quickly boast their love for one another, few marriages are actually based on love. If you are fortunate enough to have this as your reason for marriage, then you are well on your way to having success at it. Reason being, is that love as stated in the 1 Peter 4:8 covers a multitude of sins. One may ask, what do you mean by that? Well, when you love someone, it is easier to look beyond their faults and come to a compromise on your differences. Love replaces stubbornness and encourages you to seek a correction to the discrepancy in the marriage. Love is the fuel that supplies the engine of marriage to reach the destination of forever.

Wrong reason #1

While you