Re: Verse reading–Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (day one)
“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”–Deuteronomy 6:6-7. “The primary responsibility for discipling a child toward faith and obedience to Christ belongs with parents. No church can fully or adequately substitute for the influence of a parent’s instruction and encouragement. The church works in partnership with parents. We offer training and encouragement as we work together to lead children to Christ and to a life of obedience.”–FBCSA Next Gen Report, 2012. For 3500 years it has been clear. Parents are, first, to have God’s commandments on OUR OWN hearts. From this intense, vital, personal relationship with the Lord, we are to TEACH OUR CHILDREN a similar love. What a privilege! Lord, help us!
“Holy, Holly, Holy”
RE Verse reading–Ephesians 5:21-33 (day seven)
“As the church submits to Christ, so also wives must submit to their husbands” v 24. It is a Guthrie family story. Holly used to be a church secretary. One day she typed the song title for the bulletin. “Holy, Holly, Holy”. Actually, it is true. She has been a holy influence on our family. From her, I have learned much about my own relationship to Christ. Holly never asks me for things that she thinks are contrary to my own best sense. She dedicates herself to my welfare, tirelessly shapes the right environment for our sons and their families. Do I do as well toward the Head of the church? I hope so! If wives learn by watching the church respond to Christ, the church is blessed when we see what strong submission looks like by watching them. Happy Father’s Day! May all Christian men submit to God and lead our families to Him.
Seeing is Believing
Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 5:21-33 (day six)
Marriage is an amazing thing. It is beautifully complex, and yet there is nothing as simple (or whole) as the number one, as in one flesh. From the beginning God makes it clear that marriage is not the cooperation of two individual parts but a oneness, two parts combining into one, becoming something new. Paul affirms this reality, and then amplifies it. He makes the case that when a husband and wife become one flesh something remarkable happens, they unveil the mystery of the Gospel.
Perhaps the greatest evangelistic message in your home is your marriage. Perhaps the mystery is even unveiled beyond the threshold of your home into the neighborhood, or the workplace. Could it be that God designed our marriages to powerfully portray His love for His church? Could it be that how you love your wife just might help your neighbor see and know the love of Jesus? Loving my wife (laying down my life for her) just became that much more important!
See That!! Do That!!
Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 5:21-33 (day five) Confession: I am a visual processor. Seeing a mock-up or writing down the problem and possible solutions, helps me make better decisions and commitments. Sometimes actually moving the picture or furniture is the only way for me to understand what the room could look like. Asking questions like “How will this look?” and “How can this work?” leads me to sketch, build charts, and fill white boards with endless possibilities. If I can see it, then I can process better and quicker.
When Paul unpacks his teaching on marriage, he communicates deep theological and emotional truths and insights. Very complicated. But he also includes pictures and examples. How awesome is that!? Did you catch them? For husbands: Look and observe how Jesus loved (loves) the church. For wives: Watch and notice how the church is subject (submits) to Christ. The scriptures give a clear and recognizable pattern and model!!
Marriage- How can this work? How will this look? Answers: See that!! Do that!!
Submission to Authority
Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 5:21-33 (day four) Our culture does not teach or encourage submission. We prize independence. Nobody can tell me what to do! We even demonize discipline or competition with our children for fear of scratching their psyche. In reality, society must be built on discipline, self-control, and submission. The populace must willingly submit to civil authority or there will be anarchy. The military must exist on discipline and submission to authority or they will dissolve into uselessness. In the marriage relationship, God has given us a model to follow…wives should submit to their husbands, husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the Church. This relationship paints a picture of the heavenly relationship between Christ and His Church. When we distort the relationship from God’s design, we give an inaccurate picture of God’s eternal plan. We are choosing to forego submission to God in favor of our own independent choices. Why should we submit to God? He is our Creator…He paid our price for sin with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. What does your relationship look like at home and in heaven?
Incarnate
Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 5:21-33 (day three)
“‘…And the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.”
Man and woman marry, and the children born to that union are one flesh from the two. This is how the human race goes on. And God participated in that fleshly union when he joined himself to human flesh in the womb of Mary. Without human marriage creating and perpetuating the nation of Israel, Christ would have not entered human history—and without Christ, there would be no church. Therefore, even our salvation was made possible by flesh (Christ’s flesh) that came from the long history of the union of man and woman. When we use sexuality rightly—through the union of man and woman or through celibacy—we declare with God that his creation is good.
Get Fit
Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 5:21-33 (day two)
“After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church–for we are members of his body.” vs. 29-30
American culture has an obesity problem, this is a fact. The institution of marriage is in danger of becoming a mockery in our society. Sadly, this too, is a fact. Are the two in any way related? It can’t be as easy as loose weight-save your marriage, can it? Probably not, but this scripture cannot be ignored in light of our growing issues with health and marriage. When you think about it why would you concern yourself with another if you won’t take the fundamental steps to care for yourself? A body and mind that function at their peak have the energy and strength to care for others, specifically a spouse. Paul’s assertion is that it would be ridiculous that someone wouldn’t care for their own body, but here we are. It seems odd to find some biblical mandate to be fit, but to use the body as a starting place for relationships is indeed good wisdom. God’s gift of life to us is precious. Take care of yourselves, and by extension each other.
The mystery of marriage
Re: Verse reading–Ephesians 5:21-33 (day one)
“This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church.”–v 32.
No. The mystery of marriage is not how to get your husband to talk when he comes home from work. It is not what to get your wife for anniversary. The mystery of marriage is a secret truth ( something that none of us could have seen without the revelation of God) that marriage is shaped after an eternal reality–the love that Christ has for His church. When God created marriage–one man, one woman together for life in mutual submission to each other–His purpose and plan was to hint at an eternal love story. Only with this upward reference can marriage be what God intended. Only as we understand HOLY matrimony is the Lord pleased to bless and protect. Marriage was never about my happiness, never something that we were free to redefine for our own purpose. Marriage points to Christ.
The ugly duckling
Re: Verse reading–1 Samuel 16:1-7; Psalm 139 (day seven)
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”–1 Samuel 16:7.
News flash! Man looks at the outward appearance. If you are tall, thin, strong, good teeth, good hair you have an immediate advantage. Spirit gram! God does not do it that way. “Heart” in the Scripture refers to the inner man. The center of the soul. Mind, will and emotions. What God looks for in a person is not how she looks, but rather what he thinks and desires and feels. Sometimes even believers forget this truth. We covet beautiful and talented people only to miss the powerful friendship of the Eternal One as He touches/teaches/chooses/uses people who are beautiful on the inside. Remember the Hans Christian Andersen story? One duckling is considered “ugly” because He was actually a swan. Misjudged at first, admired eventually, what we are (and are becoming) in Christ is all that matters.
Lord Knows
Re: Verse reading–1 Samuel 16:1-7; Psalm 139 (day six)
“You knew me thoroughly, my bones were not hidden from you… Examine me and probe my thoughts! Test me and know my concerns.” Psalm 139:14-15,23
You cannot know, relate to, or love yourself as you ought apart from God. Period. It is not that you are not capable of knowing the ongoings of your heart and mind, it is just that only God can provide proper perspective; he offers you the right view. Left to ourselves we see a distorted picture, a Picasso of the human self. We emphasize some things, and diminish others. We exaggerate; we are dishonest with ourselves. And enamored with what we can see with our eyes, we accommodate the expectations of the world by trying so hard to look the part. We idolize the outside with no consideration for the whole.
David asked God to search him (God needs no invitation), to shed light on who he really was, to offer the right perspective. Are you doing the same? Do you know yourself? Or is the world your guide? Run to Him, consume His Word, take a deep breath of the divine perspective, and you will see Him, and then see yourself. You cannot know yourself without God; anything else is a shallow facade.