A Wife of Noble Character

“Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. Her husband praises her: ‘There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!’ Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.” – Proverbs 31:10-12, 28b-31 New Living Translation

     With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I think it is only fitting to shine a light on these great verses regarding women.  Let’s face it marriage isn’t an exact science. Two completely different people of the opposite sex meet, date, get engaged & marry. At least in a perfect world that’s the way it goes. No matter how much you love your husband or wife there will be times when they just drive you batty. You’re different. You think about things differently, do things differently, like different types of music, books, movies & so on. You compromise or sometimes just plain give in to the others wishes. You do it because you truly love them.

     A woman who becomes a wife & mother should be applauded, especially in this day and age where it would seem only the financially well off can afford to have the wife stay home. Women may no longer be considered the weaker sex because what they do in one day would wear men out. They keep more balls in the air than a professional juggler and still have time to greet their husband with a smile when they come home from their job.     

     Women are to be treated as the prized jewels God intended them to be. As men we must cherish and love them with all our heart and soul. They deserve every good thing we husbands can give them. The list starts with love, honesty, trust, respect & everything else that God enables us to do for them. They are worth it & most assuredly deserve it. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

FORGIVE AS YOU HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."  -  Ephesians 4:31-32New Living Translation 

GOD IS IN CONTROL

“In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” - Psalm 56:4 NIV

     There is a very basic thought that a believer needs to digest and understand. It is that God is the Creator of all things … ALL things. This means there is nothing greater than Him … NOTHING.
     God knows what He is doing and doesn’t need anyone’s help, especially ours, to accomplish His purposes. God has foreordained all that has taken place, all that IS taking place now and all that will take place in the future. To say it is not so would mean that God is not in ultimate control of His own Creation and not only doesn’t that make any sense, but it would be a lie.  
     Man wears himself out seeking ways to circumvent the plans of God in favor of his own. The scripture addresses this: Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25 (NIV) both say “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” Many times the creation thinks itself more intelligent then the Creator Himself. This stems from the simple notion that man does not want to be ruled over by anyone.
     Understand this, God’s path is the only way to heaven. Belief in anything else is a pathway to destruction. Trust in God; fear no one but Him (fear as in revere with awe); seek His wisdom and guidance; follow wherever He leads, for to do anything else is accepting less than the best. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

BEING ALL YOU CAN BE

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” - Romans 8:1-2 New Living Translation

     To condemn is to pronounce judgment against someone. In a court of law it would be sentencing someone to prison.  In reality, all of mankind has been sentenced to death due to repeated offenses against God’s Law. This is why Christ came. God’s love for his creation was so great that while he sentenced mankind to death, he also provided a substitute to suffer that punishment in our place. That is love.

     Sin can have a terrible grip on a person, but it doesn’t have to be that way for you. You have been freed from the power of sin by virtue of the blood shed on the cross. Have you availed yourself of that power? It’s there for the asking. The ignorance of man continues to lead him down the wrong path while the path God has for him is right before him. It’s difficult for man to admit his own failings and first, admit there is a higher authority, then submit to that higher authority.

     Spiritual rebirth is available to all. The Holy Spirit is the power behind this rebirth. He fans the ember in our soul until it becomes a flame. Once he has our attention it can then be made into a consuming fire of passion for God. We must do our part. Belonging to Christ enables us to avail ourselves of the promises God has placed in his Word. Free from sinful living man can now become all God knows he can be. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

HAVING CONFIDENCE IN GOD

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” – 1 John 5:14-15 NIV

     Believers get all wrapped in asking whatever their heart desires based on sentences and phrases that are taken out of context. Take the above phrase “whatever we ask” or Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” To many that means no matter what we ask for we will receive. They get upset when they don’t receive what they want. They apparently need to learn the tremendous difference between what we want and what we need.

     The formula to use here is very basic: When you give your life to Christ your desires are supposed to start to change. They are to begin to line up with God’s desires for you. Therefore whatever you ask for is supposed to line up with God’s will for you. Admittedly, it takes some time to achieve this attitude. We must seek to be more like Christ and truly wish to do that which is pleasing to the Lord. The more time and effort we invest in knowing God’s standard for living and personal will for us, the more quickly the spiritual maturation process will progress.

     The end point here is that if we hold up our end of the deal, we can have every confidence that the Lord will not only hear us, but also answer us. There is no timetable involved here. The answer could be immediate or it could be some time in the future. We must accept that God knows the precise time to deliver the perfect answer to us. Once we have that down, we can be at peace regarding the timing of his answers.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

SPEAKING WITH NON-BELIEVERS

“Conduct yourself with wisdom in your interactions with outsiders (non-believers), make the most of each opportunity [treating it as something precious]. Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].” Colossians 4:5-6 Amplified Bible

     The church in Colossae had a problem that Paul is attempting to deal with in his letter to them. Some of the members of the church were trying to inject elements of paganism and secular thought into Christian doctrine. Paul’s letter was written in such a way as to show its readers that everything they need is in Christ and him alone.

     The above verses speak directly to our dealings with non-believers. Our conversations with them should never be laced with pride or arrogance, as we must always remember from whence we came. We need to be polite and courteous to all who would question our faith; even those who would be antagonistic towards us.

     When Paul uses the phrase “seasoned with salt”, what does he mean? Just as salt makes food “wholesome and palatable”*, so it should make our conversation “useful, agreeable and (generally) beneficial.”* Getting into an argument with someone outside the faith does little good. Agreeing to disagree may be the right road to take in such a case. When speaking with non-believers we should always remember how God introduced himself to us and let that guide us along with the Holy Spirit. We should also remember that we just might be the only Bible some people will ever read. Let our light so shine that others may be drawn to it and receive redemption. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; Barnes Notes on the Bible.

SEEKING FORGIVENESS

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” – James 5:16 New International Version 

     It was and is important not only to confess our sins to God, but to our offended brethren. Sin can easily drive a wedge between one or more people thus causing eventual division if left unforgiven. Since the Lord has forgiven us of such a great number of sins, should we not forgive one another?

     Depending on who is affected, we may need to seek forgiveness from an individual or an entire congregation; the fact remains that forgiveness must be sought. The onus is now on the offended party to offer the forgiveness that is sought. It is just as important to give the forgiveness sought, as it is to seek it, for without forgiveness there is still a rift.

     Too many times the offended party wishes to make the offender suffer guilt or shame prior to their eventual forgiveness. Did God make us suffer guilt or shame? We may have felt it, but it was not God who made us feel it. The offended party should never play the part of god by lording their position in the matter over the offender. Honest indiscretion can provide it’s own guilt. Rubbing salt in the wound, so to speak, is not what God would do, nor is it what he would want us to do either. Forgiveness given out of genuine love for the offender should rule the day. Seeing others as God sees them makes this possible. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.