Beneath the Surface

MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! Marriages are imploding all around us.  Homes are fracturing.  Families are shipwrecked.  And one of the leading causes is sexual temptation that leads to moral failure.  How does a guy guard his heart and home in a culture that is so sexually saturated and permissive?

It doesn't just happen.  It takes intentional, biblical decisions to set guards and stand strong.  And those decisions--or lack of them--will inevitably set directions for life which will lead to inevitable destinations.  We are what we choose!

BENEATH THE SURFACE compares and contrasts two of scripture's best known men--Joseph and David.  Both were faced head-on with sexual temptation.  One stood tall--and one fell flat.  And it all centered on the choices they made.  This book pulls out both the choices, and the prniciples undergirding them, of both men.  And they serve as beacon points to all of us on what to do...and what not to do...as the inevitability of temptatoin knocks on our door.

Journey through the lives of these two men and you will discover dangers to beware of that lurk around unsuspected corners of life's path.  How to break bad habits before they become a "way of life" will be addressed head on.  We'll walk together with how to make a U-turn in our life when needed, realizing that it is insane to keep going in a way that is causing problems while at the same time expecting different results.  Different results only come from a change of direction.  Simple, yet profound principles of setting guards on one's heart regarding thorughts, attitudes and actions will be handed to every man to use as tools for victory in his everyday battle.

And who of us don't want to leave a great legacy when our journey is finished?  But to finish well in the future requires making the right and wise decision today.  Kicking the can down the road, is a tragic decision.  Your kids and grandkids will thannk you for your choices!

And for those who are married, or soon will be, there are helps all along the way within the book to strengthen this foundational relationship, making it better and more resilient daily.  The eight questions that every husband ought to ask his wife yearly, combined with the eight a wife can ask her husband annually are guaranteed to take the relationship "beneath the surface" issues of life, and have proven to be a game changer for hundreds of marriages.

Chapter 1-Standing Tall or Falling Flat

Chapter 2--Guarding--or Gutting--the Essentials of a Solid Marriage

Chapter 3--Decisions Inevitably Lead to Destinations

Chapter 4--Recognizing (and Acknowledging) our Weaknesses...and Overestimating Our Strengths

Chapter 5--Guarding Your Heart Doesn't Just Happen!

Chapter 6--I Can't! But...with God's Help I Can!

Chapter 7--Abusing Authority or Rightly Using Authority

Chapter 8--Life is Built One Choice at a Time

Chapter 9--Justifying Our Actions or Facing Up to the Facts

Chapter 10--Staying or Fleeing--That Choice Can Make All the Difference

Chapter 11--Manning Up to Make a U-Turn When Needed

Chapter 12--Leaving a Legacy of Tragedy or a Legacy of Triumph

Chapter 13--Saying "I Don't" or Saying "I Still Do!"

Chapter 14--Standing with Joseph, or Falling with David

Chapter 15--When the Vow Breaks

Appendix--The Bare Facts About Porn and Today's Sexually Saturated Culture

A Small Group Study Guideline