Women - No Dominion Over Men

In light of the crazy Bible twisting Beth Moore and others bring to us, I began to realize just why the Bible is very clear about women having any kind of dominion over men and asserting that by teaching them. Being in a teaching position is leadership, thus forcing men to submit to her authority (Hebrews 13:17). In these post modern times us girls are taught vigorously to not only compete with men, but to beat them over the head for control.

Women are allowed to teach other women. Women are allowed to teach children and are instructed to teach their own children and wield their influence there. Women have a prominent role in the church and they are to be honored for all the hard work they put in, but they are not to be teachers in the church. It's given to men to teach both men and women. They have the authority by God.

"Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness. For Adam was first formed, then Eve; and Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression:" 1 Tim 2:11-14

It was Eve who had been deceived not Adam. Though Adam freely followed Eve into the fall, he wasn't the one tricked. Eve was the one targeted not Adam. She was weaker and easily duped. In light of a lot of heresy running rampant in the church these days of apostasy, there's no room for gender wars or prideful self assurance.

"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:3

I love everything about being female and would never wish otherwise, but let's face it, us females are emotional creatures. We don't always use our heads. I know some girl is going to read this and get upset because she's been raised on a feminism diet. In any case, we are to obey God even if our sin nature takes offense. One thing that stands out with Beth Moore, Joel Osteen, Priscilla Shier and many others is their constant appeal to emotions. They base entire ministries on the emotions and addressing emotional issues females are highly prone to.

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,  treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.  They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,  always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3:1-8

Paul, writing Timothy, warns him about the end times and what people will be like. Mankind will go from bad to worse being completely self-centered, self absorbed and narcissistic. He ends it with "having nothing to do with such people". Turn away and cut it off. Is he talking about the world? No. We'd have to go live on the moon to have nothing to do with them. He's talking about in the church. Heretics don't announce themselves. They don't introduce themselves as deceivers. They slip in unnoticed.

Then Paul points out that they're the kind of deceivers who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women. They strike when the husband is not around because he's not so easily deceived or gullible. He's not as easily moved by emotions. They prey on the weaker of the two who is easily given over to emotional stimulation and who has more influence over the husband. Just as Satan got Adam through Eve. Satan didn't have to go after Adam. He knew if he could get Eve then he could get Adam through her influence. Being one flesh, as you can see, means a lot more than working together.

We don't need to have someone showing up at our door to fulfill this. We let these heretics in our homes everyday through the TV, computer, books, DVDs and radios. While the cat is away the mice will play, in other words, while our husbands are away they move in for the kill. Get the wife and you'll get the husband. Women are far easier to deceive with a sob story or any other appeal to our emotions.

Lastly, he points out, "they are loaded down with sins and swayed by all kinds of evil desires". That's very interesting. Look at the concentration of teaching coming from Beth Moore and many others. It's a man centered message and not God centered. It's all about "me". They want me focused on me. It's focuses on self esteem, confidence, hurts, abuse, failures, insecurities, etc. It focuses on sins women tend to be loaded down with. Paul doesn't call these things anything other than what what they are....sin. Satan did the same thing to Eve. He told her the forbidden fruit would be good for gaining wisdom which would benefit her. The fruit was attractive, it didn't look "bad". He got Eve to focus on herself and what would be personally beneficial to her. She was aware that God created Adam first and gave him His command. She was aware God placed Adam over her. Satan appealed to her emotions.

We are swayed by all kinds of evil desires because it's mostly emotional. We are constantly looking for something to fulfill us emotionally and this makes us females easy prey. Since we are far more likely to get it wrong then it's downright dangerous to put women in a position of teaching which is a position of authority. Where men would have to submit to her leadership thus an eventual total derailment.

Finally, Genesis 2 gives us the account of the creation of man. Something very important happened here that I think often gets skipped over. Notice that when God created Adam he gave His command to Adam about eating from all the trees except one. Eve hadn't been created yet. God never spoke directly to Eve or gave her any commands. He only spoke to Adam. Once Eve had been created, Adam was the one who taught Eve what had been given by God. It established the order of hierarchy God intended in their relationship and when Satan deceived Eve, he not only questioned and made her doubt and distrust what God said, but also her husband.

God didn't establish His order in our relationships because He's a chauvinist. It was for a very specific reason. Trying to usurp that or change it is direct disobedience and rebellion to God and us females continue to fall for Satan's trick even today. Did Christ ever lock horns with the Father? Though equal with the Father, though He was God in the flesh, He submitted and women are to follow Christ's example. By taking this hierarchy seriously, even though men are not perfect themselves, it's respectful to God and His rule and also protects us...His daughters, from further deception and future heartache.

Beth Moore's Dangerous Bible Twisting

 So long, Beth Moore! You've been a bad friend to us!

I used to attend her studies too until I discovered Beth Moore is not rightly dividing the Word. Instead she twists, distorts and takes Scripture way out of context to force it to fit her own ideas. Beth Moore is not sound. It's a simple test you can do on your own to see if this is true and you don't need to be theologian or scholar. If you own a Bible then you should be checking it out for yourself anyway. Look at the scriptures she uses in her teachings then go to it in your Bible and read all the surrounding text for yourself taking it into context. You'll quickly discover what the Bible teaches and what Beth Moore teaches are two very different things.  Her "rapid fire" style is done on purpose. Unless you slow it down yourself and go over her teachings with your Bible, you'll completely miss the damage she's doing to the Word of God and her listeners.

Pirate Christian Radio did just that and you'll be shocked by what they discovered....
A BETH MOORE EXPOSE



Listen for yourself. Study for yourself. Check her references....then RUN!

Ask For The Ancient Paths

Amos 8:11-13  "'The days are coming,' declares the Sovereign LORD, 'when I will send a famine through the land--not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. In that day "the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst.'"

In the above scriptures, the Prophet Amos was describing the fast approaching destruction of Israel. God was fed up and was ready to judge and destroy. It wasn't a matter of "if" it came, it was a matter of "when" in the very near future.

Pastor's and scholars use Amos 8:11 to describe our own time. I know now from experience it's very difficult, if not almost impossible, to find a church or teacher who is preaching the sound biblical doctrine alone without some infiltration from worldly philosophies and practices.(See HERE) When it's found...people hang onto it like a cup of water in an arid land. Those who are seeking the Words of the Lord are wandering, staggering, looking for somewhere it's distributed to the flock. Most churches are feeding their flocks the equivalent of fast, junk food. And many are eating it up gladly. In fact the junk food appeals to them so much they can no longer  put up with the Words of the Lord. They can't stomach it and therefore reject it.

A famine of hearing the Words of the LORD is an act of judgment by God. What we're seeing today is judgment make no mistake. I know in America and most of the Western world pop psychology, philosophies, mysticism, witchcraft have been added to popular teachings by popular teachers and distorted the Bible. Because they have continually rejected the Words of God and His knowledge and knowing Him through the only means He's provided (His Word)...He's rejected them.

"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. 'Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.'" Hosea 4:6

As people have vomited up His Words so He is vomiting them up. This is a fatal blow. Not only do most not recognize it for what it is, they don't care...

 "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 2 Timothy 4:3

The teachers and Pastors propagating these myths are to be blamed because they are in positions of authority, teaching and leading so they will be judged far more harshly. But look at the above verse carefully. That verse isn't describing teachers. That verse is describing the people who flock to those types of twisted doctrine and teachers. They are not victims. They are just as guilty as the teachers. They can no longer put up with the sound doctrine. They themselves are surrounding themselves with these false teachers because they're being told exactly what they want to hear.


The people can't handle the truth. They don't want to hear it. They can't stomach it. They reject it. Because they reject it God rejects them by withholding His Words, His blessing and His guidance and turns them over to their sin. They love it so much they can have it. Another fatal blow. The longer they sit under those teachers the more they are subjected to their own deceit until they become so debased they are good for absolutely nothing. God has withdrawn His protective grace. Now they're on their own until they are utterly pulverized in their sin.

They're told God loves them just the way they are and don't have to change and they love it. They're told God wants them to be successful and rich and they devour it. They're told God is all love and understanding to their struggles from the past therefore won't act on their continued sin and they gorge themselves. They're told any suffering they go through is evil and God only wants to bless and they feast on it. It's exactly what they're itching ears want to hear and they flock to it, rejecting all sound doctrine. They've cast it off.

Look at these teachers. They fear the truth. It will drain their pockets so they malign the Bible and do character assassinations on people who are calling them out with the truth. They hate when anyone questions what they're teaching. They don't want anyone going behind them and searching the Scriptures to see if their teaching lines up or not. If Paul didn't have a problem when the Bereans cross checked his message in Acts 17:11 why do these teachers? But like rabid dogs they go on the attack and the people love it.

"Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." 2 Peter 2:2-3

They always have one thing in common...they all have special messages from God and they all have been given some revelation, dream or vision. God is always "speaking" to them. They take scripture and twist it to suit what they're eager listeners want to hear. They take scripture out of context. "God told me" or "God said to me" and when you compare their message to the actual Bible it doesn't match up. They all sound the same in many ways because they're all intermixing, taking and using things from each other then tailoring it to fit their listeners.


"'Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has My word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?' declares the LORD. 'Is not My word like fire,' declares the LORD, 'and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 'Therefore,' declares the LORD, 'I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from Me.'" Jeremiah 23:20


They use God's Word in twisted, distorted ways and "having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5) because they "think that godliness is a means to financial gain". 1 Timothy 6:6

Both teacher and people are guilty because they feed off each other in their debasement.  They both want the same things and as Paul Washer said "It's not God."

But those who truly want out and don't know where to look because they've been so inundated with everything but God's Word...

"This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.'" Jeremiah 6:16

"'Come out and be separate', says the Lord" (2 Corinthians 6:17) Go back to the Bible. Go back to the ancient way. This is the good way. It's the way all the Prophets, Patriarchs and Apostles have walked...the narrow road. Get rid of all your "Christian" books from your favorite teachers....lock them up, burn them, throw them in the garbage but don't give them away because at some point you're going to know that all your favorite teachers are in fact perpetuating lies and it's just as sinful to pass their heresy off on someone else. Get out the only book God has provided for you...the Bible. There is no room for laziness with God.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3) But we have to put in the effort. Start reading it, study it, meditate on it, know it, pray it because that is the way where God is.

Ravi Zacharias Compulsion in Religion

And the freedom to disbelieve...

Hijacked Studies - Beth Moore Rant

Trying to find an actual Bible study where someone's book isn't the center is like trying to find the Loch Ness Monster. Women's/girl's Bible studies have been hijacked by Beth Moore and others. Beth Moore is charismatic, funny, pretty and animated. I use to love her too and attended several studies until problems began popping up. Before you close this page thinking I'm just another person picking on Beth Moore, take a few minutes to read. I was just as disappointed and disturbed by the truth as you'll be, but the truth is rarely easy to take, but always necessary.

Beth Moore studies are not Bible studies. The Bible isn't used much at them. What scripture is used is taken out of context, twisted and severely distorted at times.  One instance as an example is HERE. We're encouraged and taught to get rid of insecurities, to have self esteem and confidence and try to make sense out of our pasts. That's not even Biblical. (To read more about the sin of "Self Esteem" go HERE.) God has never advocated or encouraged such teachings, which is what Beth Moore's studies center around. Paul pointed out teachers that would come and prey on weak women who are loaded down with sins (2 Timothy 3:6) What kind of sins are us girls prone to and often loaded down with? Searching for security, wanting to love ourselves, wanting to feel good about ourselves, emotional satisfaction in ourselves or with mates, obsessed with physical imperfections, abuse mentalities, victim mentalities, grief, worldly success and security, etc,. The Bible calls these things sin and sin is to be cut off not cultivated. (Mark 9:43)

We're all damaged goods. Every single one of us. It's the affects and natural course of sin past on and getting worse as man increases on the earth. How often is "sin" even mentioned by these teachers? How often do they even bring up the Gospel or repentance and need for a Savior? Not very often I can tell you from experience. 

God chose the weak things of the world, the despised things, the beaten down things, the poor things, the unwise things and the things the world looks down on (1 Corinthians 1:27). Every human being has been bulldozed somewhere and wounded deeply. But only in our constant weakness and understanding that we are nothing without God does He work in us and through us. Wanting to feel good about ourselves and having self esteem is a direct affront to God and His greatness. It's a direct affront to the work of the Holy Spirit and the purpose for which Christ died. Wanting these things and chasing after them is pride and of the sin nature.

So we buy someone's book and watch their DVDs to hear from God and to feel good about ourselves when we already have God and His book. But, more often than not, the Bible doesn't tell us what our itching ears want to hear especially when we're being convicted of sin. So we surround ourselves with teachers that will.

My husband heard about her involvement with contemplative prayer HERE.  This made me start looking deeper at her studies and noticed how she incorrectly handles scripture, twists scriptures and even lies. Beth Moore was called out by apologetic groups about her involvement in the "Be Still" DVD and initially she backed away from it, but then she dug her heels in and  sided with the new age Contemplative Prayer and eastern mystics advocating it. It's really not a surprise to me now noticing how much pop psychology Beth Moore uses in her studies.

 Beth Moore studies keep us so focused on ourselves and problems we never look up long enough to notice God. I asked my husband one day..."When you and your family were being persecuted in Iran (after they converted from Islam) did anyone ever whip out a Beth Moore book to help get you past it and protect your self esteem?"

Obviously the answer was "No". They survived. In fact their maturity in the faith under such extreme conditions is staggering. They did it with God alone. The Bible is where they went for answers, comfort and assurance. No one even knows who Joel Osteen or Beth Moore is over there. Only in America, a capitalistic society where everything is about making a buck, do we find these types of things. While they keep Christian girls and women wading in the mire of their past and sins, throwing out "self help" books as useless life rafts and making empty promises, these teachers are getting rich while millions are drowning. If we could help ourselves by reading books, doing workbooks and watching DVDs then no one would need God. Self help is just that: self help. God is not included.

What God does want us to do is....

"Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead," Philippians 3:13

"But Jesus said to him, 'No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Luke 9:62

God wants us productive for Him and through Him. God already saved us from our pasts, but these pop psychology teachers like Beth Moore keep telling us to run back there, jump in the mire and sift through it. Love yourself, feel good about yourself, God wants you to be a better you." God wants us to be like Christ.

When the Egyptians  were coming for the Jews at the Red Sea did God yell "Ok everyone! Stop, drop and analyze why this is happening and what it could all mean for the future. You can't move ahead until you all understand how being a slave effected you for the last 430 years. Moses you wanna add anything to this?"  He told them to get going to the sea.

Do we ever see Joseph running back to the rotten way his brothers treated him and picking it apart in order to serve Pharaoh effectively or perform his duties? No. Did he tromp through the prison and yell "Come on girls! It's time to say so long insecurity! I know I gotta break free from the stuff my brothers pulled. Man was I treated bad and where was my father when this was all happening? Let's spend the next 10 years having circle time and discussing it."

I'm not trying to minimize what people have gone through. I truly can sympathize/relate. My life hasn't been all fun and games either. That's what makes me so angry about these teachers. They prey on some of God's weakest lambs. We're supposed to be running a race, but Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer and others keep us stagnant and focused on ourselves. That's not what God wants. That's what Satan wants.

When crushed women and girls fail to attain to the level Beth Moore and those like her advocate and claim they've ascended to...it breeds depression. When it fails to be manifested in their lives after repeated studies and very little results they turn in on themselves. They think God doesn't love them, they lose hope, they beat themselves up, ultimately crushing any morsel of faith.

Our joy, peace and comfort is found only in Him. There's nothing in us to feel good about. There's nothing in our flesh deserving of confidence, love or to esteem. We're sinful creatures and filthy before God. That's what repentance is...realizing we're all bankrupt and on our way to hell without Him. Without that we have no idea what true repentance is, therefore, true and saving faith. God doesn't want us like us or a better us. God doesn't want us like Beth Moore, Osteen or anyone else. He wants us like Christ and we can only attain that through Christ. Everything we go through, every obstacle, struggle, trial, persecution, hardship etc., is for the sole purpose to make us into the image of Christ. And if Christ learned obedience through what he suffered (Hebrews 5:8) so will we.

If our behavior, mentality and personalities are running contrary to what God demands then it's sin. And how are we to handle sin? He never tells us to examine it and try to figure it out, where it came from, why it's still there. We're told to...

"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if you right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." Matthew 5:30

"No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:27

"We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Here's a quote from John Piper that's fitting...

"I hear so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their shortcomings and I see so little war! Murmur, murmur, murmur 'why am I this way?' Make war!" 

Any book or commentary on God or the Bible is only opinion. All commentaries, no matter who they're from, are always low man on the totem pole and last things to be consulted in Bible study, but we've made them the first things we run to. I know I've done it because I'm lazy. Someone else has figured it out for me so I'll go with that, but that's not what God requires.

We get caught in a vicious circle and same tired rut because focusing on ourselves and problems keeps us in the same sad state and so many wounded women are falling prey to this. God doesn't want us esteeming ourselves. We're supposed to esteem Him. But as long as we're busy esteeming us He doesn't get any.

I'm not against workbooks. There are 2 amazing ones at the top of this page by Paul Washer that are invaluable and free for download and printing. You'll learn more from one page in those then 5 Beth Moore studies combined and you'll be getting good doctrine. But just like with all things everything in moderation and if they take the place of the Bible, and that's all we do and never feeding on the Word daily, then we have a serious problem. When only 10% of Christians in this country read their Bibles regularly then we understand how teachers like this hijack so easily and get a large following.  


"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6

"Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst." Isaiah 5:13

"Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My law, They are regarded as a strange thing." Hosea 8:12

It's regarded as "strange" because we don't know it. And we pay the price. Hopefully more and more will toss out the books and DVDs and turn to the Word of God. Otherwise we're starving and being led around by a hook through the nose.


Until Beth Moore repents publicly of her Bible twisting, involvement and agreement with Contemplative prayer, Eastern Mysticism and being in agreement with known heretics she will stay in the "Heretic" category.

Cross Cultural Marriages

Can be tough. When you're dating it can get tricky at times but throw a lifelong covenant on top of it and you could find yourself in a whirlwind of struggles.

My husband is from Iran and a former Shi'a Muslim. He's very laid back, has a long fuse and not too much ruffles his feathers so to his credit that in itself makes a huge difference.  I, on the hand, am American, raised under the influence of Judaism and am a former Sunni Muslim. (I know I know! lol!) We're both in agreement that he is the one who wears the pants. He's the boss and because I can trust him with that position that's another huge help. But even though he's been in the States several years and has become very "Americanized" culture does have a big role in our marriage as I'm sure it does for anyone whose in a cross cultural marriage or relationship. Until we got premarital counseling neither one of us thought much about it. It was our Pastor who brought it up and made some really good points that now we're seeing is coming into play in our marriage. So here's a few suggestions for you to consider if you're going into a cross cultural marriage...

1. Extended family is going to serve a function in your marriage. If you can't get a long with them or your family can't get a long with your mate for whatever reason this should be given a lot of consideration. In my case I don't really have extended family and I get a long great with my husband's but that doesn't mean everything will always be perfect or won't present problems later. Your mate may want family heavily involved in your marriage (culturally this may be the norm) or maybe you want your family involved. In any case...too much involvement from extended family can lead to disaster. If you can't sneeze without a family member jumping in you really should work this out first.

2. Never underestimate upbringing. Maybe you have a more liberal upbringing from the West and your spouse is from the conservative East (or whatever culture lines you're blurring)...this will clash at some point and someone's going to be offended. If there's been no communication about this before getting married you're in a for a rough ride. Upbringing plays a major role in every area of life and when liberal meets conservative there has to be compromise and good communication.

3. Don't assume your spouse will agree with your choices or just go along with what you decide. Culture can get in the way in a big hurry here. Just because you think something is ok doesn't mean your spouse does even down to the smallest things.

4. Learn from your fights. Pay attention to how your mate takes a stand on something and how they fight. Are they reasonable? How do they handle compromise and figuring out a solution? Do they just demand you abide by their ideas and shut down any more arguing? Look...if they start acting like a dictator it's not going to go away later. It's just gonna get worse.

5. How open is your mate? Communication in a cross cultural relationship has to be good. If they shut down on certain issues it's not going to change later. As in any relationship you can't change anyone.

6. Be prepared to deal with the unexpected because you're going to hit cultural barriers.

7. Personalities are essential for any relationship but sharing things in common is no guarantee. When it comes down to it culture will play a big role in how someone thinks, makes judgments, behaves, reacts, makes decisions, etc.

8. Do you trust your mate to have control and lead? Again this is probably true in any relationship but things happen and if for some reason your mate has to end up running the show can you trust their judgment and ability to make good decisions? Are they able to lead? Can they handle taking the reins?

9. Social customs. What is acceptable to you may not be for your mate. You may be perfectly ok with giving friends hugs and kisses when you see them but something that is so tiny to you may be a huge problem for your mate. Even down to how someone dresses could be the start of a huge fight. Even in situations of compromise it may take some time for your mate to get accustomed to the compromise so don't assume just because you agreed on something that everything has instantly changed and is alright.

10. Communication, mutual respect and love. If you're marrying someone then you are accepting all their imperfections as well as everything that makes them beautiful. You're not perfect and neither is your spouse. If you find it hard to communicate very little will probably go smoothly. You have to be able to talk to your spouse about anything and get honest, respectful feedback. You have to be able to work together as in any relationship.

11. Someone has to be chief. Nothing runs smoothly when everyone's a chief and there are no indians. We're taught in society that everyone's in charge and marriage is 50/50 and blah blah but in reality...when the rubber meets the road only one chief is going to emerge. Better to find out asap who that will be in a marriage. I can say my husband is the man but if every time a decision needs to be made and I start locking horns with him then what I say is worth nothing. Who's gonna be in charge of money, paying bills, making financial decisions. That doesn't mean I have no say in any of them but when a decision has to be made, when choices have to be made can you trust your spouse to make the right ones and can you go with it?

12. Kids. How will they be raised?

13. Religion. You may both be the same religion but culture still brings differences and can be a problem. World view or culture is going to affect everything even if you share the same religion and must be prepared for. 

Marriage itself has all it's own problems and stressers and a cross cultural adds a few more. No matter how much you love your spouse that's not a magic potion to keep everything together. Going into it armed, prepared and ready will make a massive difference. It's gonna take working together and good communication. Don't be afraid to ask for or get help.