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Can God Change Things in Your Home? And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. --- Colossians 3:17 Introduction: Are we products of genetic disposition? Do circumstances keep us from being drawn together by God? Do we seem to drift apart in marriage? If you believe most nay-sayers worldwide, the answer would be yes. Our marriages are seemingly in concrete to them, with no change in sight. Many give up because of this perceived reality. Yet, the world is changing all around us. We believe in the power of the gospel to change lives. Many say their marriage is unmovable and they have given God a "no trespassing" sign on it. But we should believe differently. Main Thought of the Scripture: The difference in a believer's home ought to be the presence of the Holy Spirit, even if the husband or wife is an unbeliever and does not want to cooperate. We also couple the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit with a Christian ethic in our home. That ethic is seen fully in Col. 3:17, where the right thing to do in our homes is to "do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." That means as we treat Jesus, we treat our marriage partners. The heart-wrenching question today is are we doing that? If not, God is still in the business of changing hearts. Spiritual heart surgery is all a lot of marriages need to be revitalized and restored. Feelings get in the way of doing the right thing in our home. But obedience is greater than sacrifice (I Sam. 15:22). Have we given God an open invitation to heal broken relationships in the home? Unfortunately, what ought to be the first thing we do is usually the last thing we wind up doing. If God is in the business of changing hearts, certainly He can change ours toward our mates. The consistent theme for God to work in our homes is obedience. We are to love our wives as Christ loved the church. Wives defer to their husbands to lead. Our attitude is so important in this surrender. It is all a surrender of obedience. Admonition There is a blessing to obedience. We especially see this in the home when we do the right thing. Heart change is the result of obedience and not obedience the result of heart change. Will James said, "You act your way into a feeling; you never feel your way into an action." We must take the actions necessary for God to work, and then we will see what He can do in our homes. You can use this area to inform your subscribers about your organization. --- Dan Nelson