The Godly Knight Report
The Godly Knight Report is a faith-driven podcast hosted by Michael the Archangel, dedicated to exploring the intersection of Christian values and modern life. Each episode delves into practical, biblical insights on relationships, dating, marriage, and personal growth, always rooted in a God-centered worldview. Michael speaks with authenticity, drawing from personal experience and scripture to address real-life challenges, such as navigating hookup culture, maintaining purity, and building meaningful, God-centered connections in today’s society. The podcast fosters a welcoming space for listeners to reflect on their spiritual journey, offering not just biblical exegesis but practical advice for living a life that honors God. With a focus on faith, personal transformation, and building stronger relationships, The Godly Knight Report challenges cultural norms while encouraging listeners to remain true to biblical teachings.
The Godly Knight Report
Building Meaningful, God-Centered Relationships in a Modern World: Building God-Centered Relationships Today
Can your relationships truly reflect the profound love of God? Join me, Michael the Archangel, on The Godly Knight Report as we launch our new series, Building Meaningful, God-Centered Relationships in a Modern World. In this transformative episode, we uncover the biblical foundations of love through 1 John 4:19, exploring how our capacity for love originates from God's initial love for us. Journey with us as we delve into the selflessness exemplified by Jesus, emphasizing the importance of mutual respect and sacrificial love in all forms of relationships, from dating and marriage to friendships.
Discover the transformative power of patience and forgiveness, inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. We discuss how true love embodies patience, kindness, and the act of keeping no record of wrongs. Learn why perseverance through tough times is crucial, and how forgiveness not only liberates us but aligns us with God's will. Marriage is highlighted as a divine covenant, drawing on Genesis 2:24 to emphasize its sacred nature and the unity it brings between partners and God. Understand how these elements are vital for nurturing deep, meaningful connections that mirror Christ's unwavering love for the church.
Strengthen your relationships with God's guidance by integrating prayer, Bible study, and open communication into your daily life. We'll share practical tips to enhance trust and mutual support, ensuring your relationships have a resilient foundation. As we conclude, I'm eager to hear your experiences and feedback. Connect with us on our new Facebook page, via email, or through the link in the episode description. Let's continue this journey together, staying rooted in God's love and building relationships that honor Him. God bless.
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Visit Us Here: https://linktr.ee/thegodlyknightreport
Hello everyone and welcome to the Godly Knight Report. I'm your host, michael the Archangel, and today we're diving into something so crucial for every believer relationships. Now, relationships are at the core of who we are and they reflect so much about our character and faith. We're starting a new series today entitled Building Meaningful, god-centered Relationships in a Modern World. I'm really excited about this new series. This series will explore relationships from a biblical perspective and I'm thrilled to share what I believe God has laid on my heart. In this first episode, we're going to explore what it means to have God-centered heart. In this first episode, we're going to explore what it means to have God-centered relationships, relationships that don't just rely on emotions or worldly wisdom, but ones that are rooted in the love and guidance of God.
Speaker 1:Whether you're dating, married or building deep friendships, understanding God's design for relationships is foundational. Friendships Understanding God's design for relationships is foundational. So let's start with something that I think we all need to grasp from the very beginning Relationships aren't just about you and the other person. As Christians, every relationship we should you know, every relationship we have, we should reflect God's love for us. That's a big statement, but it's so true. In 1 John 4, verse 19,. We read we love because he first loved us. Think about that for a moment. The only reason we are even capable of love true, selfless, sacrificial love is because God loved us first. He set the example. When you're in a relationship, whether it's a marriage, a friendship or even a dating relationship it's not just about how you feel or what you get out of it which, in today's world, a lot of people focus more on the what you get out of it than how you feel. It's about reflecting the love that God has already poured into you. For a moment, let's look at how Jesus loved us. His love wasn't based on convenience or how lovable we were. His love was sacrificial. He laid down his life for us, and that's the model for our relationships.
Speaker 1:Imagine if every relationship we entered into was rooted in that kind of love, one that that's not based on feelings but on deep, selfish desire to see the other person flourish. Imagine if relationships were were truly about the other person. If we went into a relationship truly, you know, focused on wanting to bring out the best in the person that we love, the person that we care for, could you imagine how great relationships would be? Do you honestly think that divorce rates would be as high as they are. Do you really think that there would be this divide right now between men and women when it comes to dating? Do you really think that there would be this divide right now between men and women when it comes to dating? Pouring love into the other person to pull that good and and, and, just you know, just bring about joy and happiness and and, and having a selfless desire just to see that other person thrive, man, it would be like, I guess, marriage back, you know, back after the garden of Eden, right when a marriage was supposed to be this really sacred, meaningful thing that we committed to and that we poured our whole being into. I wish it was like that today, though, but unfortunately there are far too many divorces these days, and now you've got people saying that they don't even want to get married. It's I mean, from my own perspective, it's sad.
Speaker 1:I believe in love. I've always been a hopeless romantic Kind of can't help myself there, but I've always believed in the power of love and I've always thought that there was true power and love, and Jesus demonstrates even today that there truly is power and love. Sacrificing yourself, laying down your life for another is the greatest thing you can do for someone else, and being selfless is just that it's laying down your life for someone else. When I first began thinking about relationships, you know, in this way, it really changed how I viewed my own connections with people, whether it was a close friend or someone I was dating. I started to ask myself am I loving this person the way God has loved me? Am I showing patience, grace and sacrificial love? I started to ask myself am I loving this person the way God has loved me? Am I showing patience, grace and sacrificial love? That shift in perspective was huge for me and helped me build deeper, more meaningful relationships. This brings us to the next key principle mutual respect and sacrificial love. Now, this isn't just for marriages, it applies to all relationships. But when we look at God's design for relationships, we see that love is at the center and this love, again, is selfless.
Speaker 1:In Ephesians, chapter five, verse 21, we're told submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Now let's break that down. To submit to one another means to put the other person's needs before your own. Now there's a lot of people out here. As soon as they hear the word submit, they want to run the other way and it's like wait a minute, no, no, I'm not bowing down to somebody else. No, I'm not going to be someone else's slave. No, and that's not. That's not what it's about. That's not what it's about at all. Notice that it's not just one person doing the submitting. This is a mutual action. It's it's mutual.
Speaker 1:Both people in a relationship are called to love and serve each other. In a marriage, that might mean making sacrifices for the good of your spouse. Remember what I said about being selfless. It's sacrificial. You put your life, you put your desires, you put things that you might want to do or achieve. You put them aside for the good of the person you're married to. However, however, that goes both ways. So the husband must make sacrifices and show sacrificial love to his wife. The wife must make sacrifices and show sacrificial love to her husband. In this way, both people are having their needs taken care of. Both people are being loved unconditionally. Both people are being pushed and nurtured into being the best possible version of themselves that they can be. It's amazing.
Speaker 1:In a friendship, it can mean listening when you'd rather be speaking or helping when it's not convenient for you. Think about that. You know you got those friends that. You know everybody's got that friend that can talk, talk, talk, talk, talk and you might not be, you know, in the mood to sit there and listen to. You know all the talking. However, being a good friend means that you sit and you listen when that other person wants to talk, even if you'd rather be the one doing the talking. You know it means that you put your feelings aside, you put what you want to say aside. Let that person say what they need to say, get it off their chest, or to vent, or to to, you know, express themselves in the way that they feel they need to. Your turn will come. Be patient.
Speaker 1:Jesus modeled this perfectly, he said in John, chapter 15, verse 13. Perfectly, he said in John, chapter 15, verse 13,. Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends. In God centered relationships, love isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Let me say that again In God centered relationships, love isn't just a feeling, it's an action. It's about serving, giving and sometimes sacrificing for the other person, and when both people do this, it creates a beautiful balance where love, respect and care thrive.
Speaker 1:Think about a time when someone in your life made a sacrifice for you. Maybe it was a parent or a friend, or even a spouse. What did that make you feel? More than likely, it drew you closer to that person because you saw that they valued you above their comfort or their own convenience. Now imagine if both people in a relationship or marriage made those sacrifices for each other regularly yes, regularly, not on holidays, not on special occasions. Every day, regularly, daily. That's the kind of love that we're called to by God. We're called to show that kind of love to each other.
Speaker 1:Now, no relationship is perfect. No relationship, no friendship, no marriage is perfect. And we all know that we're human beings and human beings make mistakes. So what holds a relationship together when things go wrong? The bible gives us the answer patience and forgiveness, two of the things that, in this day and age, people seem to be extremely in short supply of.
Speaker 1:Let's turn to uh, first corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4 through 7, often called the love chapter. The reason why is because it reads love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongdoings. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Man, wow, that's a lot to live up to, right, but that's what love looks like when it's shaped by God's example. Notice how patience and forgiveness are central to this description of love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast envy. It does not boast. It keeps no record of wrongs.
Speaker 1:We're not supposed to keep score of each other's mistakes and we're called to persevere, even when things get tough. You know we're not supposed to just easily throw in a towel and say I'm done. You know well, you know we're not supposed to just, you know, get married to somebody and the first couple of years are great. And then you hit that one rocky year. Because, let's be for real, everybody has a rocky year, whether it's in a relationship or whether it's in a marriage. Everybody has a rocky year. It happens. You hit that rocky year and then, when the rubber meets the road, people want to run. That's not what God calls us to do in relationships or in marriages, or even in friendships. That's not what he calls us to do.
Speaker 1:Now, I think we've all been there holding on to something someone did to us, letting it build up and create a barrier in the relationship. But when we model our relationships after Christ's love, we have to let those things go. Just as Christ forgave us, we are called to forgive each other, and forgiveness is not for. It's not for the other person, and I think that's one of the big things that people get hung up on when it comes to forgiveness. It's not for the other person, it's for you.
Speaker 1:Forgiveness is for you because forgiveness frees you. Once you are forgiven, you are no longer bound by the chains of guilt, by the chains of condemnation. You're no longer bound by the chains of guilt, by the chains of condemnation. You're no longer bound by that. Once you've been forgiving, you've been set free. And in God's eyes, you have been set free Because, see, if you don't go get forgiveness from the person that you've wronged, if you don't go get it, I got news for you. Um, god's still looking at you like um, so you want me to forgive you, but you can't forgive that person over there, or you know you can't go and and, and you know, make things right with that person so they can forgive you.
Speaker 1:When you don't forgiveness, when you don't give forgiveness, when you don't give mercy, it's a little hard to expect mercy when you don't give it. Just something to think about. Now, that doesn't mean that God's going to say, oh well, as long as you don't you know, forgive that person, I can never forgive you. No, he can forgive you, but, but first and foremost, he wants you to forgive that other person. You need to let that go In order to be right with God. You need to let that go. If that's an important thing to you, you need to let that go. If that's an important thing to you, you need to let it go.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure there's somebody out there right now listening to me. At this very moment. You're holding on to something that you've been holding on to for years, for a long time, and you just have not let it go. And it's been eating at you, it's been wearing at your mind, wearing at your very soul, because you won't let it go. But you got to. You got to In order to move on, in order to see the light of day, in order to truly start to feel comfortable in your own skin again. You got to let it go. You got to.
Speaker 1:Now let's shift our focus specifically to marriage for a moment. Now, marriage is a covenant, not just between two people, but also with God. That's right. Some people I swear, I think that when some people get married, they think that it's just between them and the other person and it's like, oh well, yeah, I got a parent I made these vows, but that vow was to her. No, well, I got a parent made these vows. That vow was to him. No, when you make those vows, you make those vows to God. You become one person in the eyes of God. You vow before God that you will love, honor, cherish and obey that person. Yeah, you're making that vow to God. So, yeah, it's really important that you don't forget that part.
Speaker 1:Marriage is a covenant. It's not just between the two people at the altar, it's between the two people and God. You're making a promise to God. You're entering a contract with God. It's a reflection of Christ's unbreakable love for the church. In Genesis, chapter 2, verse 24, it says that is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. You become one flesh, one being, yeah, kind of deep right. Yeah, kind of deep right. Marriage is designed to be a deep spiritual union, one that transcends the physical. It's about two people becoming one in every sense of the word, and this covenant mirrors christ's relationship with his church, which is unbreakable, sacrificial and eternal.
Speaker 1:One of the challenges we face today is that society often treats marriage as a temporary arrangement, something you can walk away from when it gets hard. But the biblical view of marriage is so much deeper. It's about commitment, sacrifice and and faithfulness, even when times are tough. I can't count how many times I've dated someone and when things got rough in the relationship, they're ready to bolt. That's when I knew that person was not for me. Yeah, marriage is not a revolving door, and we've gotten to the point where people act like that's exactly what it is and it's not. It is a permanent, lasting covenant, a contract you make with yourself, the person you're marrying and god.
Speaker 1:This is supposed to be an eternal binding of two souls to become one soul. Can you split a soul apart? Has anyone ever been able to do that? Can you tear us all apart? I don't think so. So why do people do that on the daily? Why do they go out here and tear souls apart daily like it's nothing.
Speaker 1:This is a very, very tough subject for me because I believe heavily in the sanctity of marriage and I believe that when two people become one, that is it. You are one. There is no, there is no going back. No, don't get me wrong. There are situations where things get a little how should I say out of hand and you might need to leave. And, yeah, there are times when it is biblically OK for you to leave a marriage. But you can't just roll out simply because times get tough, money gets a little tight, somebody loses a job, someone gets sick, you know, uh, someone has a, a fatal illness.
Speaker 1:I believe it says till death, do us part. If that person ain't dead, where are you going? I mean, really, I just I don't, I don't get that. That boggles my mind. It really does. It boggles the mind because I just don't understand why so many people want to get married but then they don't want to commit to the, to, to the, to the long haul. They don't want to, they don't want to stay in it through the good and the bad, the thick and the thin. Then don't get married, stay celibate, stay alone, buy a cat, buy a dog, die alone.
Speaker 1:I mean, I'm not trying to be mean, but why go out here and ruin somebody else's life? Because let's be for real, when it comes to a relationship or a marriage, there's going to be one person that walks away, there's going to be one person that wants to stay, work it out, and their heart's going to be torn, shredded. And they're sitting there with their hand out saying, hey, come on, let's keep going, we can get through this. And the other person's walking down the street, oh, and taking half of everything while they're gone too. But anyway, the point I'm trying to make is it is sad that people treat marriage like a revolving door, and it's not supposed to be that. It's supposed to be the ultimate expression of love between two people, where two people bind their souls together for eternity in the eyes of God, in the presence of God, and then you walk through life together, together, as one being, and I just don't get. I don't get it now. Love is, love is so. It's so rough today it really is, but you know what? I'll save that for another episode.
Speaker 1:If you're married, take time this week to pray together as a couple. Ask God to strengthen your bond and guide your relationship to reflect his love. If you're dating or preparing for marriage, make prayer a regular part of your relationship. Yeah, like you and your girlfriend, or you and your boyfriend, pray together, seriously like pray together. It is one of the best ways to strengthen your relationship. It is one of the best ways to come together as two beings. And the great part is, when you pray together, god is there with you. He's right there with you. You imagine what that, what that's got to be like. You know the two of you are together in love and then the father standing right there with both of you, listening to both of you, and saying, okay, okay, whatever you ask for in the name of my son, if it is my will, it will be done. Man, I wish people could grasp that. I really, I really do. I really do, cause that's that's powerful. That's truly powerful.
Speaker 1:When you invite God into the center of your relationship or the center of your marriage, you build a strong foundation that can withstand any challenge. You'll see, you know divorce rates drop. You'll see, you know divorce rates drop. So how can we take everything we talked about today and put it into practice? Building God-centered relationships isn't something that happens overnight? No, it ain't gonna happen overnight. So let's get that straight right now. It's gonna take some work, it's gonna take some time. It's a daily commitment to loving, serving and honoring God in your connections with others. Now I've come up with a couple of practical ways to help you with that along the way. Like I said earlier, pray together regularly. Prayer is powerful. When you pray together, you invite God into your relationship. It helps align your hearts with his will and it brings you closer together. If you're not praying with your partner or friend yes, even friends can pray together.
Speaker 1:Start this week, start today. Study the Bible together. The Bible is our guide for life. It's especially important in our relationships. Our guide for life. It's especially important in our relationships. Find time to read scripture together. Look for passages that speak to love, forgiveness and patience, and reflect on how you can apply them in your relationship. And I'll give you one other tip Check this out. Go onto your phone, whether it's Android or iPhone. Find a Bible app. The one I use is the YouVersion Bible app, and in that app they have study plans. You can pick plans on almost any topic, and then those plans that you choose from will give you scriptures that you can read and study on the topic that you're looking for. So, whether it's marriage, whether it's love, loneliness, forgiveness, patience, you know, losing a loved one, whatever the case might be, grief, you know, adultery, adultery, whatever it is, you can find a plan and you can. You and your, your friend, you and your husband or wife, you and your boyfriend or girlfriend can both read it together and you can sit and talk about it, study it together and pray about it. It's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1:I have a group of friends. It's a group of guys. We get together once a month and we have a Bible study just us guys and we sit together and we read scriptures and then we talk about it and we try to we all try to sit and, you know, come up with the meaning of whatever scripture we're reading. We try to dive into it and and you know, even break down. You know, try to break it down as much as possible. We, we try to do exegesis of scriptures as much as we possibly can yeah, and it's a great thing of scriptures as much as we possibly can. Um, yeah, and it's a great thing. You know, we engage in prayer together and it brings us closest, to get closer together as brothers. You know, these guys are my brothers and I love them dearly and there's nothing that we wouldn't do for each other.
Speaker 1:Practice sacrificial love, as we discussed earlier. Love isn't just about how we feel, it's about how we act, look for ways to serve the other person, whether it's a small act of kindness or something more significant. When both people in a relationship commit to sacrificial love, the relationship flourishes. And it's like I told you earlier when you set aside you, when you put you aside and you focus on the other person, when both people do that to each other, when they're both sacrificing self to serve the other, to see the other thrive, to see the other succeed, to see the other flourish. When you do that for one another, you're building each other up, you're coming together much more tightly as one unit, especially in a marriage, especially in a marriage.
Speaker 1:If people spent more time building each other up in a marriage than tearing each other down, divorce rates wouldn't be as high and you wouldn't have people out here chasing somebody else just because they make XYZ amount of money and then disappear with the money. You know people wouldn't be entering into marriages just for the benefit and then not being able to sustain the marriage through a rough patch Just for the benefit, and then not being able to sustain the marriage Through a rough patch. Sacrificial love Will see you through the bad times, but it will magnify the good times as well, because then what happens is the other person that's sacrificing so much. You. When you succeed, you become so much more enamored, so much more in love, so much more appreciative. You truly appreciate and love and care for and are thankful that that person is in your life. And so what happens? What happens after that? Naturally, you turn around and shower that person with love and adoration, because that person did everything in their power to see you thrive. But then make sure you turn around and do the same for them, because they deserve it too.
Speaker 1:Communicate openly and honestly. Communication is key. Be open about your feelings, your struggles and your hopes. When you're honest with each other, you build trust, and trust is essential for any relationship to thrive. I'll tell you right now without trust in a relationship, you got nothing Relationship, marriage, friendship.
Speaker 1:If you can't trust the other person, your relationship or your marriage or your friendship is doomed to failure. Trust is hard hard to gain, easy to lose. It is hard to gain but easy to lose, and once it's gone it is almost impossible to get it back. It would take the act of a being that could do the impossible. Oh wait, we already know a being that does the impossible on a daily basis, don't we? Yeah, god. It takes God to come in and heal wounds. It takes God to come in and restore trust. He's the only one that can come in there and do the impossible. But you gotta turn to him. You got to trust him. But you've got to be open and honest in your relationships. You got to. In your marriages you have to. Without trust, you got nothing, nothing.
Speaker 1:Like I've said once before, communication is the oxygen. It is the oxygen to a relationship, to a marriage. It is the oxygen. You don't communicate, you guys are going to fall apart. One hand is not going to know what the other hand is doing and the next thing you know, you're going to be at each other's throats because you're going to be thinking that someone's doing something they shouldn't be doing, someone's not being honest, wires are going to get crossed and somebody's going to end up hurt. You got to be, you got to communicate. You got to be honest. You have to. There's. There's no way around it. There's no app for that. To. There's no way around it. There's no app for that Now.
Speaker 1:As we wrap up today, I want to encourage you to reflect on your relationships. Are they centered on God's love? Are you practicing mutual respect, sacrificial love, patience and forgiveness? If not, what steps can you take to invite God more fully into those relationships? I want you to think about that Now, this week, I challenge you all to take one step to build a more God-centered relationship, whether it's praying together, forgiving a past hurt or simply showing kindness. Invite God into the center and watch how he transforms your connections. Watch how he transforms your relationships, your marriage. Bring him in, because he's already watching. You can't do anything without him seeing it. He's already watching. So why not just go ahead and invite him in? He's already there. Just invite him in, and when he comes in, trust me, he's going to show off. He always does. God is good for showing off. He always does. He will show off.
Speaker 1:Now I'd like to close this episode with a prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you today thankful for the gift of relationships. You've shown us the perfect example of love through your son, jesus Christ, and we pray that you would help us reflect that love in all of our relationships. Guide us to be patient, kind and forgiving, just as you have been with us, just as you are with us every day. Teach us to love sacrificially, putting the needs of others before our own, and help us build relationships that honor and glorify you. Lord, for those who are struggling in their relationships, I ask for your healing and strength. May your spirit guide us in all that we do. We give you all the praise and glory and trust you with every aspect of our lives, especially our relationships and our marriages. In Jesus's name, we pray Amen. Now, this has been the first episode in our relationship series, and I hope it has given you some insight and encouragement on how to build God-centered relationships. Relationships aren't easy, but when we put God at the center, he helps us love in ways that go beyond what we're capable of on our own.
Speaker 1:Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Godly Knight Report. Our next episode will dive into the challenges of dating in today's world, especially in a culture that promotes instant gratification and a hook-up mentality. Yeah you, gratification and a hookup mentality. Yeah, you heard me, hookup mentality. We'll look at how to navigate dating with biblical values and I can't wait to share that conversation with you.
Speaker 1:If you've been enjoying the podcast and would like to support what I do, you can now buy me a coffee. Yes, I drink coffee. I take it black usually, but I do like some cream in it though I don't really do sugar Maybe a little bit of Splenda, or maybe like a sugar-free flavored creamer. Hazelnut's my favorite. Just so you know. It's a simple way to help keep the episodes coming and every contribution goes directly towards making the show better. You can find the link in the show notes, in the description, or you can visit buymeacoffeecom slash the godly night. I can't even talk. Buymeacoffeecom slash the godly night report. Thanks so much for your support.
Speaker 1:If you have any questions, feedback or thoughts on today's episode, feel free to reach out to me. I would love to hear from you Now. You can reach me on our new Facebook page. You can also use the link at the bottom of the episode description, or you can email me at thegodlyknightreport at gmailcom. I'd love to hear how God is working in your relationships and marriages and how you're putting those principles into practice, or any episode ideas you might have or anything you might want to say at all. Well, until next time, stay rooted in God's love and keep building relationships that honor him, and remember God is always there for you. Even when you're not there for him, he's always there for you. God bless, and I will see you in the next episode. Stay safe, people.
