The only sure foundation for life is the Word of God.
I re-read the post and want to emphasize this part. You would think this would be obvious but it's not -- The best way to know the Word is to actually be in it! The Bible is your plate; your pen is your fork... Dig in! I would encourage everyone to get serious about that. If you're married, walk through the Bible together. The Bible tells us that our true teacher is the Holy Spirit. So, pray and ask God for discernment. If you don't like reading -- pray and ask Him to give you the desire to read it. He will also be faithful to do that... I know from experience. Take turns reading paragraphs out loud. I love doing Bible studies with my husband because we are able to cover a lot of territory and have a chance to discuss what we read. Even though we have to schedule it from 9-10 or 10-11 pm weeknights or early on Saturdays. It doesn't have to be overwhelming at all. Baby steps are okay! We just shoot for one chapter a night. We use "The Word For Today" by Chuck Smith - NKJV. His commentary is helpful. Ray Comfort, Jack Hibbs, Amir Tsarfati, John Randall, Jan Markell, Frank Turek, Ken Ham and several others -- all great resources to pay attention to alongside your Bible reading. Expository reading is best, chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse so that everything is learned in context. Just in the past year, we've been able to cover: the gospels twice, Isaiah (my favorite!), Titus, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, and we're now currently in Numbers as we are wrapping up all 5 books of Moses -- will do Deuteronomy next. (We do Romans with our church on Sundays. A hard-hitting church, which I so appreciate.)
One of my issues was letting trash TV waste my time in the evenings. I was literally wasting my life away, filling my mind with useless trash instead of doing something that would be edifying, that would bless me and others. I prayed and asked the Lord to remove my appetite for this junk. Well, He certainly did that! What ended up happening is that I deleted so many DVR timers that we cut Dish entirely! (Last people in America to do so, I'm sure -- haha!) Saved a bundle there. And now we have a healthier diet -- the Bible more than before. We still watch a couple shows on a streaming app now but only usually after our reading is done. I might end up cutting those out, too.
All that to say it's not enough to think you know the character of God well enough... or to know who "the cultural Jesus" is -- that's not the Jesus of the Bible. Get acquainted with Him for real. He gave us a whole Bible because He wants us to read it. Learn about what His promises are to the believer. Read about His instructions for a husband and wife -- His blueprint for marriage. His perfect design. Who knows us better than the One who made us? Also in these crazy days, it is great to remind ourselves. 25-33% of the Bible is eschatological. What I love about God is that He doesn't just do something... He tells you what He's going to do and then He does it (Bible prophecy). His track record is perfect. Who else can "declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done"? (Isa. 46:10) I never want my adversary to know the Bible better than me or for anyone to ever be successful at manipulating me and misleading me by twisting God's word, with a seed of truth mixed into a bunch of lies. I want to be prepared!... armored up! So that is motivation to know it and to write it on your heart. It can only help keep married people focused in the same direction, towards a common goal.
You will literally be "on the same page".
