Matthew 7:24-27 NLT “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

We can choose where we want to build our house. What we can’t choose is weather.

Every marriage and single life will be well if we read the Bible and apply it. Yet, we must do more than just read it. We have to practice it. The blessing is in the practice.

This is more than just loving each other. We have to get the definition right. When we put the word of God in the right place in our lives it actually works. It works because God created marriage.

He left instructions in His word. Marriage is a supernatural union. Marriage is simple if you do it God's way. It’s simple, but it’s not easy, because culture can be so strong when we are not constantly setting our focus on seeking the one who made it all.

Every marriage is in one of 3 stages: growing, stuck or dying. We need nourishment and accountability to remain in growth. Many marriages are so hard because we have the wrong definition to which we are chasing. Happiness is destroying marriages.

It’s the worst reason to get married, as the metric of happiness changes everyday. The goal of marriage is not happiness, it's holiness. Holiness is saying, “I am going to listen to the designer of marriage for marriage.”

It’s then that we get something better than happiness. We get joy, and all the fruits of the spirit.
We get the right to pursue holiness.

Here are 4 habits of a successful marriage
Love God
Completely devoted to Him first and above all others.

Luke 10:27 NIV He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Exodus 20:2 NIV “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Our attention is meant to be on Him. When we are loving God the right way and drawing closer to Him the 10 commandments are outcomes not restrictions. In this way, God isn’t just first, but He is the center of everything you do. Our love for God must be greater than our love for our spouse. Our love for our spouse is magnified because of our love for God.
Love each other
Ephesians 5:21 NIV Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

This is mutual collaboration, not domination.

Ephesians 5:1 NLT Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

Our submission is not contingent on each other; it is contingent on the word of God.
Our submission says, “I’m being good to you and submitting even if you don’t because I’m submitting to God.” This is why feeling loved is not the standard for choosing to pursue marriage.

1 Peter 3:7 NLT In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

If love was easy Jesus would not have had to die on the cross.

Love is not easy but it is rewarding!

Ecclesiastes 9:9 NLT Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.

Proverbs 5:18-19 NLT Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.

Men go first in all things. Wives submit to your husband. Then celebrate each other. What gets celebrated gets repeated.
Play hard - Together!
Protect the promise
Cleave to your husband and wife. Nothing can separate you.

Matthew 19:5-6 ESV and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”