Husbands And Wives

Ephesians 5:21-33

Today’s Scripture from the Lectionary of The Book of Common Prayer, is one that is likely to cause controversy, likely to ruffle the feathers of a number of folk.  These verses in the Bible, along with similar verses, such as Colossians 3:18, and I Peter 3:1-6, have angered many women since at least the 1960’s and onward.  The reason for the dislike of our Scripture today, along with those other Scriptures, is that both the Apostles Paul and Peter instruct women to submit to their husbands.  Since the days of the women’s lib movement, women have hated that, some even going so far as to tear those pages out of the Bible.  However, they are a part of God’s Word, so let’s take a look at what the Lord has to say.

Women have taken issue with these verses because they say that the wife is to submit to her husband.  They feel that this gives the husband the right to rule it over the wife, and no one wants that.  And what if one has an abusive husband?  Is the wife expected to obey them?  These were all problems that led women to reject these verses.

As we look into this passage, we see that it isn’t just about women submitting to their husbands, we see that the husband is told that he is to love his wife, just as Christ loves the church.  There are actually more verses, more than half of the passage, that focus on what the husband is supposed to do in the marriage.

Actually, the first verse in our passage tells us that we all are to submit one to another, the wife to the husband and the husband to the wife, along with others in our community (vs. 21).  We balk at this, as no one wants to submit.  No one wants to sacrifice their supposed rights and freedom.  No one wants to follow God’s design, even if it is good for us.

It isn’t just about women submitting to men.  God wants each of us to consider the other first, to be looking out for the needs and best interests of others before those of ourselves.  Instead of always wanting to be the one in control, consider the other person first.  Even though we might be reluctant to, believers should submit to their husband, wife, and others out of reverence for Jesus Christ.

Submitting to one’s husband, or to anyone else isn’t giving in to a bully or to abuse.  No where in the Bible is abusive treatment to others approved or condoned.  Submission carries the idea of “yielding to” or “deferring to out of respect”.  God’s Word, the Bible, calls wives to voluntarily submit to their husbands in context to their relationship to the Lord Jesus.  And the husbands are to love their wives, to model the kind of self-sacrificial love that Christ has for the church.

Many women will question how they can submit to their husband, especially if they feel that they “know more” than they feel he does.  And many husbands question how they can love their wife when she is such a temperamental woman.  However, if we love the Lord Jesus, and desire to follow in His footsteps, we will seek the Holy Spirit’s power to both love and submit to one another.

Family members should treat each other with respect and humility.  Husbands and wives are to treat each other in a similar way to how they treat the Lord.  When members of a family make it a priority to serve one another and look out for one another, to think of others more highly than themselves, they become the family that God intended.  This is the way the Lord intends family relationships to be, not a way to rule over and enslave one another.  Let’s try to make our family a picture of what the Lord Jesus intends, a picture of heaven.

He Hears Our Cry

Psalm 34:15-22

Today we conclude a three-part look into Psalm 34.  As  you may recall, Psalm 34 was written by David as a praise to God for protecting him when he needed to escape from King Abimelech.  David had gone to Gath, a city of the Philistines, to escape from King Saul.  Abimelech had welcomed him, but then men of the royal court reminded the king that David had led the armies of Israel against them.  David then feared for his life, and feigned madness in order to safely escape.  Now he was back in Israel where Saul continued to chase him.  Who could he turn to for help and deliverance when he is surrounded by trouble and danger?  Who can we turn to in our own situations?  Let’s continue our look as we finish up Psalm 34.

When a young child is feeling scared or alone, or needs help, what do they do?  Generally they will cry out for someone, usually their parents or older siblings, to help them.  The need to cry out for help doesn’t end when we become an adult.  Who do we turn and cry out to?  Sometimes it is a friend or family member.  At other times it may be an attorney, a politician, or the police.  Maybe someone who can loan us some money.  However, those sources for help do not always come through.  Money lenders usually charge high interest, so you ultimately are worse off.  The police may arrive too late, and an attorney or politician may not be able to help you.  And as many of us have found out, friends and family often turn their backs on you, even in your hour of need.  So where do we go?  David found out early in his life that the only One who he could always depend on when in need was the Lord God (vs. 15-17).  Our Heavenly Father wants His children to cry out to Him.  When a crisis comes, cry out to God with a righteous heart.

One way that we can tell if someone might help us when we call out to them is if they turn their face to look at us.  If they have no desire to help us, they pretend to not hear, and won’t look our way.  However, if they care, they look towards us.  God’s face shines on the righteous, the saved (Psalm 67:1-2), but His face is against the wicked unsaved (vs. 16).

Sometimes events in our life can leave us shaken and off-balance.  David surely knew this feeling.  He knew, though, that he was a child of God, and if we’re saved, we are, too, and as such God’s eyes are always on us, and He hears our prayers.  It is a comfort to know that the God of the Universe loves us so much that He constantly sees what is going on in our individual lives, and He hears us when we cry out to Him for His help.  Not only does He hear, but He responds.

When we are feeling the farthest away from God, that is when He is actually closest to us.  David knew that the Lord was near to him, especially when he was feeling lonely and brokenhearted (vs. 18).  So many people he had counted on to care about him and help him in his time of need had turned against him, but that was never the case with the Lord.  No matter where David was, the Lord was near to him, and that is always the case for us.  God does not abandon us in our times of crisis, for He has promised to save us, even in our darkest hour.  He is a Rock whose presence we can depend on (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Do you have afflictions in your life right now?  God has promised us that He will deliver us out of them all (vs. 19), not just some of them.  A friend might help us with one thing, but not the other.  They may offer you a ride somewhere, but if you need someone to shovel the snow on your walk, don’t ask, and certainly don’t bother if your problem is a serious one.  However, the Lord promises to deliver us out of all of our afflictions!

Jesus is there for those who feel broken, lost, and crushed in spirit.  He is greater than our brokenness, our feelings of being unloved, dejected, and lonely.  Broken lives and broken hopes are precious in the Lord Jesus’ sight.

The Most Important Choice In Our Life

Joshua 24:1-2, 14-25

Every day we make multiple choices, multiple decisions.  Many of them are not all that important, such as what we eat for breakfast, or whether to wear the blue shirt or the yellow one.  Others are much more important, such as whether or not to go to college, or what job we take, where we decide to live, and who to vote for.  And then there are some life or death decisions, like seeking medical treatment for health issues, and which kind of treatment to take, whether or not to ignore some danger signs and proceed down an uncertain path, etc.  In today’s Scripture we read about a very important choice to be made, one that has eternal consequences depending on what one decides.  This was a choice that the people of Israel faced, and one that each of us has to make, as well.  Let’s see what that choice to be made is.

As our Scripture opens, Joshua is nearing the end of his life.  He had been the one chosen by the Lord to lead the people across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land after Moses had died.  He was a skilled army general, and led the people in conquering the land.  Now, as his life is drawing to a close, Joshua wanted the people of Israel to recommit themselves to the Lord.  He knew the people’s past, and how they had a tendency to quickly turn away from Yahweh.  He knew that was the reason for their having had to wander in the wilderness for forty years, and even now, within the Promised Land, many of them had faltering faith.  They were encountering pagan nations, and the false gods of these people were a snare.

Now that they were in the Promised Land, and much of their territory had been conquered and was beginning to be settled, Joshua gathered the leaders of the tribes together to proclaim exactly who they would follow (vs. 1).  He first reminded them of their great Patriarchal Father, Abraham.  He had made a vitally important decision in his life, one like the people right then were needing to make.  Abraham came from a family of pagan idol worshipers (vs. 2).  His father, Terah, worshiped the Sumerian gods and goddesses of the time, yet Abraham made the most important decision of his life, one that had eternal consequences for him, when he chose to forsake those false gods and instead worship Yahweh, the one true God.  Now Joshua confronted the people, and asked who they were going to worship.  They could choose those ancient gods of the ancestors of Abraham.  They could choose the pagan gods of Egypt where they had lived as slaves for so long, they could choose the idols of the Canaanites and Amorites where they now lived, or they could choose to follow Yahweh (vs. 14-15).

Joshua and his family had made their choice.  They were not going to forsake the Lord and turn to pagan gods and goddesses.  They were going to serve Yahweh, the one true God (vs. 15).  He reminded the people that this was a vitally important decision, one that cannot be made lightly (vs. 19-20).  God wants a total commitment from those who choose to follow Him.  He does not want a half-hearted commitment, nor will He tolerate a mix of worshiping Him along with worship of other gods or goddesses (vs. 23).

Joshua gave a godly example for the nation in his life and that of his family, which helped to encourage them in choosing to follow Yahweh, and to forsake the pagan gods from their past and those around them.  The examples of godly people we know, and the power of the Holy Spirit will give us courage to stand firm and make us strong in our faith.

Every day, all throughout our life, we make choices, and those choices turn us into the type of person we become.  Now is the time to choose the right side.  God is giving us the chance now.  It won’t last forever, as none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.  We never know when our last moment will come.  Nor do we know when Jesus will return, as it could possibly be in the very next minute.  We must make the choice to follow Jesus now, not tomorrow.  We can choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior, or choose death and hell.

The Hard Truth

John 6:53-59

When someone goes to the doctor, they usually want to hear the truth from him.  Though they would like to be told only good news, deep down most people want to hear the truth.  However, what if your doctor only told you good things, such as whenever you had medical tests done, he kept telling you that everything was fine, when in reality there were several very serious problems.  Not knowing the truth could have very serious consequences, and could even cost you your life.  This holds true in many different scenarios with our physical lives, and also with our spiritual life, as well.  We need to hear the truth, whether it’s difficult to take or not.  In our Scripture today, as we continue on through the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus said some very hard and difficult things that some people may just shake their head at and walk away.  Let’s take a look and see what you think.

Over the past several decades there has been a movement within many churches to be more “seeker sensitive”.   These churches seek to draw in people who usually would not attend church by making the church service as comfortable, inviting, and non-threatening as possible.  They use theatrics and musical entertainment, with state-of-the art technology, sound, and lighting to keep the church service from being boring to the unsaved.  They have loads of special programs all throughout the week to try and get people involved.  However, a closer look shows that most of these programs have nothing to do with Jesus Christ, and very few, if any of the sermons (a word they don’t like to use, preferring “talks” or “messages”) ever mention sin, repentance, God’s Word, or even Jesus.   This “seeker sensitive” approach doesn’t want to offend or turn off anyone.  They feel that somehow, some way people might find Jesus, even though His Name and His message are rarely mentioned.  These churches are no different than a rock concert, a visit to a theater, or a country club.  One of the most popular TV preachers in the U.S. never mentions sin or salvation, but only gives “feel good” messages on his program, in his church, and even in his books.  He and his staff don’t want to talk about anything that is hard to hear.

Jesus was definitely not a practitioner of the “seeker sensitive” approach to reaching people.  He was not concerned about making people feel comfortable, nor did He ever tailor His messages to do so.  Jesus’ message in our Scripture passage today was designed to disturb.  When the crowd asked for an explanation, Jesus didn’t say He was using figures of speech (vs. 53-56).  These words were so shocking that even some disciples balked at them.  Jesus’ aim was not to make people feel good, but to awaken them to the truth.

If the flow of blood is cut off to a part of the body for a certain length of time, that part will die and often need to be amputated.  As members of the body of Jesus Christ, we depend on His Blood to keep us alive and functioning.  His Blood saved us, and now we depend on Him for mercy, forgiveness, and wisdom.  Jesus lives in us, and we live in Him.  His Blood is our life.  Talking about partaking of Jesus’ Body and Blood was just as radical, offensive, and crazy back in His day as it would be if any preacher said that about themselves today.  Yet Jesus did not hesitate to preach the truth.

What about us today?  Are we willing to speak out the truth, no matter how “offensive” it might be to those who hear it?  Are we willing to call sin what it is, sin, and to say that a life of sin will bring death and damnation?  Are we willing to say that there is only one way to heaven, and that this way is only through the Lord Jesus Christ, and no one else?  Are we willing to preach the Word of God, and not give in to the common practice of high-tech entertainment that other churches are providing?  Jesus gave the people what they needed, the hard truth.  His followers today should do the same.

A Careful Walk

Ephesians 5:15-17

Have you ever taken a fall because you weren’t careful where you were walking?  Most of us have, I’m sure.  I know I have, and twice these falls resulted in some broken bones that required surgery.  Now I am very careful where I walk, so as not to trip or slip on anything, especially as I get older.  Older people especially need to be careful about walking as their bones may be more brittle, and it’s more difficult for them to get up again.  Hikers, also, need to be careful where they walk, not only for protruding tree roots and rocks, but also for things like poisonous snakes.  In our Scripture for today taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle warns believers to be careful how they walk.  Let’s see what he was referring to.

All throughout the fifth chapter in Ephesians Paul instructs us about our Christian walk.  We read about the need for believers to walk in the Light of Christ and to forsake walking in darkness and the ways of their former unsaved life.  As our Scripture passage begins, Paul urges us to be careful with how we walk through our life.  He tells us to walk “circumspectly” (vs. 15).  That is a word which means to be careful and cautious with how we walk.  If you are walking barefoot in your house, and one of your children left a lot of little Legos scattered all over the floor, you are going to walk circumspectly across that room.  Parents know how painful it is to step barefoot on a little Lego piece!  Imagine how carefully a soldier walks across a field that he suspects might have some hidden landmines!  Christians need to be just as careful in their daily walk, looking out for the traps that Satan has set against us.  He wants to trip us up, whether with smaller sins which add up like little Legos, or something big, like a landmine, that will completely bring us down.

God wants us to be wise, not fools in these matters (vs. 15).  A fool walks wherever they want and however they want.  They are the ones that end up with bruised feet, broken bones, and maybe even blown up in a landmine.  A wise person is careful how they walk, and are less likely to slip, slide, or tumble.  They are much less likely to fall into one of Satan’s traps, whereas the fool walks right into them.

We are also encouraged to be careful with how we spend our time (vs. 16).  We all know how fast the days and weeks speed by.  It is so easy to get caught up playing some online game or scrolling through some social media site, and before you know it the day is over!  There are so many ways to waste our time, even back in Paul’s day.  Once a day, an hour, a minute has passed, we can never go back and decide to use it differently.   As believers we have work that we could and should be doing for the Lord and His Kingdom.  These are perilous and wicked days we live in.  Every day there are lost souls dying and going into an unredeemed eternity.  We should be sharing the Gospel with them.  There are Christians all around us who need our help and encouragement.  Are we available, or are we wasting our time on frivolous matters?  We need to take advantage of every opportunity the Lord gives us.

Time is short (I Corinthians 7:29).  Are we wasting our time or redeeming it according to God’s will?  The time we have to do God’s work is limited, so we must use it wisely.  We need to make the best use of the time we have, because the days are evil.  Don’t just spend time - invest it!

Again, Paul urges us to be wise, and understand what God’s will is, and then to do it (vs. 17).  Too often we want to go our own way, and do what we want, not necessarily what the Lord has for us.  However, not everything we want is good for us.  Parents learn this with their children.  They may want to do or eat something that would hurt them, and we need to tell them to stop, and leave it alone.  God often has to tell us that, too.  He knows what is and isn’t good for us, and when our behavior is immature and unwise.  We can find God’s will by reading and studying His Word, the Bible, and by spending time in prayer, and listening as He speaks to our hearts.

In closing, we need to be alert, just like animals are in the wild, always alert for any dangers that come near us, always aware and looking around, walking circumspectly.  Be on guard for any danger, both physical and spiritual, not just in the present, but also several steps ahead in our future, as well.

Seeking Good Things

Psalm 34:9-14

I think that it is safe to say that just about everyone wants to have a good life.  When their years are drawing to a close, and they would hope that they are many years, they would want to look back and say that they had a good life, that the good, heart-warming events outweighed any troubles.  And when there were problems, there was Someone there, along with friends and family, to help them go through them.  If you could have a procedure to help make that more likely, would you follow it?  Our Scripture today is a continuation of our look into Psalm 34.  In today’s section the Lord gives us some instructions to help make a good life more possible.

First, before anyone might think that this is some magic formula to getting rich, or like a genie in a bottle to grant us our every wish, we need to define, from a Biblical perspective, what a “good life” is.  Many people think that having a good life means being rich, with a big mansion, expensive cars, and associating with other wealthy, fashionable people who travel all over the world to have a good time.  They define good things in life as items and experiences that make us feel happy.  Despite the fact that there are some preachers who proclaim a prosperity gospel, that financial blessings and good health are always the will of God for believers, that is not how the Bible defines “good things”.  God defines “good things” as those things that fit into His individual purpose and plan for us.  For some that might include prosperity, health, and various talents.  But more likely it will include periods of trouble and need, as God considers those times valuable.

If we look into the Bible, we see that there were several people who went through some very challenging, difficult times that were not a result of some sin in their life that the Lord was disciplining them for.  Some examples were Joseph in the Old Testament, Daniel, Jeremiah, Stephen, Paul, and the other Apostles, just to name a few.  These were believers that went through some very difficult times, and yet they had the full blessing of the Lord upon their life.  Through the centuries, we can look at the lives of the saints of the Lord, and see that many of them did not have what the world would consider “good things”, and yet in God’s eyes they did, and were abundantly blessed by Him.  If we are looking at our life and bemoaning that we don’t have what the prosperity preachers say we should, perhaps we need to adjust our definition to be more of a Biblical definition of good things.

As David continues in this psalm, we see that one key element in receiving good things from the Lord is to have a biblical fear of the Lord.  To “fear the Lord” is to have a proper respect and reverence for Him.  God promises here that if we fear Him, if we have respect and reverence for Him, then we will not lack any of the good things He has in store for us.  He will meet our needs and bless our lives.  The key to receiving good things is to seek God, Himself, not just the treasures.  Come to Him with an open heart, not just an empty basket we want Him to fill.

As we read in this segment of our Psalm, we see that David tied respect for the Lord with the way we use our words (vs. 11 - 13).  In his own personal life, David had made a resolve to keep his tongue from sin (Psalm 39:1).  He knew that an easy way to fall into sin, and also cause a lot of turmoil in one’s life, is by having no restraint with our tongue.  One slip of the tongue can do great damage (James 3:1-12).  Our words have the power to build up or to tear down, so let’s be very careful with what proceeds out of our mouth.

As we close this segment of Psalm 34, we see that God is our Provider.  He cares for us, and we can trust Him.  Even lions, the king of the jungle, might get weak from hunger, but the Lord will see that our needs are met.  By relying on God, we will lack no good thing.  Next week we will finish this beloved psalm.

Wisdom's Invitation

Proverbs 9:1-6

I think just about everyone would like to be given a nice dinner invitation, even someone shy and introverted like myself.  Who wouldn’t want to attend an elegant dinner with some favorite dignitary or celebrity?  Unfortunately, few of us regular common folk have that opportunity.  In our Scripture today from the Book of Proverbs we read of an invitation that is issued to all of us, one that would be foolish for us to ignore or reject.  Let’s briefly see what this invitation is.

Special meals often take a lot of planning, whether it is a big State banquet at the White House or a meal that you are planning for several of your friends for an occasion.  The menu needs to be planned, then purchased, and then special care to prepare it properly.  The best plates and silverware need to be taken out, and the house properly cleaned.  Then when all is ready, we wait for our guests to come.  How disappointing if some of them don’t show up!  We want them all to come!

As we briefly look into our short Scripture we see that an invitation has been issued to all of us from Wisdom to attend the banquet that she has prepared.  In the Bible, and particularly in the Book of Proverbs, Divine Wisdom is personified as a woman.  She represents God’s Wisdom in all of its forms, from His acts of creation, to His presence and involvement in the world, to the wisdom He gives His children.

As our Scripture passage begins, we have a quick look into Wisdom’s house (vs. 1).  The seven pillars are figurative.  In the Bible, the number seven represents completeness and perfection.  Man’s supposed “wisdom” is faulty and incomplete.  God’s wisdom lacks nothing.  It is complete and perfect.

Everything for the banquet was made ready for Wisdom’s guests (vs. 2).  The food and the drink were prepared.  The table was set just right, probably with the best of china, and possibly a beautiful centerpiece.  The Lord’s wisdom is ready for us when we call upon Him for it (James 1:5).

After everything was ready, Wisdom sent out messengers to notify everyone that the banquet was ready (vs. 3).  All throughout history the Lord has sent His messengers out into the world, His prophets, evangelists, apostles, and missionaries.  They bring the Lord’s message to us, calling us to turn to the Lord.  They urge us to turn to His wisdom.  True messengers know where to find that wisdom, exactly where to turn to, just like in this word picture with Wisdom’s maidens (vs. 4).  They knew where to direct people for this banquet, and a true preacher of the Lord knows where to direct people when searching for Him.

The bread and wine symbolize the broken Body of Jesus, along with His shed Blood (vs. 5).  The Savior testified of this at the Last Supper as we read in Matthew 26:26-30 and in I Corinthians 10:16-17.  Jesus gave His life, His Body and Blood for us for our salvation.  It is offered to all mankind, and those who accept show they are not foolish (vs. 6), but have chosen the way of understanding.

We need to turn a deaf ear to worldly foolishness, including false doctrines and false apostles.  We need to choose to go the way of the Bible, which is true understanding.  Wisdom, righteousness, and faithfulness multiply their return on investment.  Foolishness and wickedness leave one spiritually bankrupt (Matthew 25:29).

The Lord has invited us to this banquet with Wisdom.  Many may intend to go to this banquet, but they never make it because they get sidetracked by other activities that seem more important.  What is your decision?  Do you want to accept the Lord’s invitation, or go the way of the world?  Don’t let anything become more important than our search for God’s wisdom.