We have the good things that we have, not because of our own power, but because the Lord has chosen to not withhold them from us. The Lord is the one that paid the price on Calvary, and we should thank Him for our successes rather than having self-esteem, considering ourselves more highly than we ought.

A man and his wife are co-heirs of grace, because once we receive the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot hold it in a vacuum. And marriage is the laboratory in which the Lord Jesus Christ commands us to display this love.

The Holy Spirit is our Helper. But He does not make our decisions for us. Our conduct is still our own decision. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we have to deny the call of our members, of our flesh, and even of those that would tempt us, and decide to do that which is right rather than wrong.

God designed marriage so that we could help one another and become as one. Satan introduced complaining so that we could drive one another crazy, change the oneness that God planned for us to an adversarial relationship, and become separated and divorced.

The Lord has given women a way to control men; it’s just not by arguing. Husbands have authority, while wives have influence. Men are, by design, emotionally dependent on their wives, and if wives use the tool that they are given to positively control their husband’s emotions rather than trying to use the negative tool of argument, wives will, according to the Scripture, be successful in getting that which they desire from even those men that do not obey the Word of God.

When conforming to God’s Law, we almost always find ourselves having to choose between our objective evaluation of the situation and our emotional reaction to the situation. My emotional reaction is caused by peer pressure. But, if everyone kept the law, there would be no peer pressure, and I would have an easier time keeping the law.

God wants our relationship with Him to be intact whether or not we keep the letter of His law. As a matter of fact, God recognizes our sinfulness and has made provision for our sins, even before we commit them.

The Holy Spirit is the intelligence of God that is always looking for ways to bring life, meaning reconciliation, to man from God. Those filled with the Spirit of God focus on salvation and reconciliation, just as Jesus brought salvation to reconcile us to God, not condemnation to the world for sin.