2. I must realize the true foundation of marriage I must realize the true foundation of marriage 1.God created marriage And the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him." (Gen 2:18 NLT) 2.God created me and my spouse And the LORD God formed a man's body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person. (Gen 2:7 NLT) Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib and brought her to Adam. (Gen 2:22 NLT) 3.God set oneness as the mark of true marriage So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body. (Gen 2:24 NCV)

3. I must take a real inventory 1.I must be honest with myself, my mate, and God 2.I must answer some questions 3.I must admit the true state of your marriage 4.I must admit my role in the problems 5.I must admit there is room for improvement I must take action 1) I must admit there is hope Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. (Heb 10:23 NLT)

4. 2.I must fight the enemies of my marriage Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" (Gen 3:1 NLT) 3.I must forgive my spouse and myself And what a difference between our sin and God's generous gift of forgiveness. For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's bountiful gift. (Rom 5:15 NLT)

5. 4.I must enter into true intimacy with my spouse So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body. (Gen 2:24 NCV) 5.I must receive my spouse as a gift from God The LORD God used the rib from the man to make a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man. (Gen 2:22 NCV) 6.I must tap onto the power of God Jesus replied, "Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God. (Mark 12:24 NLT)