What do you see in the midst of your troubles?

Isaiah 6

King James Version (KJV)

6 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Isaiah was a very important man. He was a prophet. He was also near kin to the king. As such, he had the honor of being in the kings court as an adviser. 

When King Uzziah died, the land was turned over to his son, Jotham. Uzziah was a righteous king. Albeit, he made one severe mistake and the Lord placed leprosy on him because of it. According to 2 Chronicles 27, Jotham was an even better king that Uzziah had been. 

But, in Isaiah 6, Isaiah (nor anyone else) had no idea what kind of king Jotham would be. Would he follow the Lord, as his father had? Or, would he, like Solomon's son, turn his back on God and the people. It certainly was a possibility. How many children of wealth and power turn bad? Many.

But, here, in Isaiah 6, you can imagine Isaiah's troubled thoughts. As a king's prophet, he was accustomed to living well and having the best of everything. He was also accustomed to having the king's ear. 

In many cases, in the ancient world, whenever there was a change of kings, those that were in leadership positions for the old king, were put out of their positions and left to fend for themselves. They also were, sometimes- killed. 

So, Isaiah had a lot on his mind. Would he lose his job? His life? He didn't know what would happen. 

So, he did what we should do. He went to the house of God and sought the Lord. I'm sure Isaiah wasn't expecting what happened. Sure, he expected guidance. He expected to hear from the Lord for a word to help him in his troubles. He didn't expect to be ushered into the very throne room of heaven and see God almighty in all his glory.

When he saw the glory of God, and the majesty of heaven, Isaiah just knew he was done for. You can hear it in his response: "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."

"This is it for me," he seems to have thought.

Yet, unexpectedly, God didn't kill him- as he deserved. On the contrary, the Lord cleansed him. May we all learn from this.

Yes, God is holy. Yes, God expects us to be holy. Yes, God is judgement. But, as it was so eloquently worded in the book, The Harbinger (by Jonathan Cahn), "judgement is God's necessity. But his nature is mercy."

God cleansed Isaiah of his sins. Then, he acted as if they had never existed. And, as if Isaiah's problems really amounted to nothing at all, he ignored them. Rather, he offers Isaiah a promotion. He basically said, "Will you go and speak for me? Let me be your king? Let me worry about the future?"

In the midst of all of Isaiah's problems, the scripture declares he "saw ALSO the Lord." Herein lies the answer to our dilemma's. It doesn't say that he ignored his problems. It says that, though he did see his problems, he ALSO so the Lord.

He didn't just see him, however. He saw him "high and lifted up." He saw him as the ultimate being, on the throne and in control. He saw "the mighty God, the everlasting father." (Isaiah 9:6)

He also saw that "his train filled the temple." First of all, the temple was a huge place. This was not someone's living room, or a store front church. This place was so big that angels had room to fly (verse 6)!

In those days, royalty wore a train. But, it usually only hung down to somewhere just above the ankles. When a prince became a king, this was about how long his train was. But, every time he won a battle, the train was made longer.

Here, Isaiah saw the Lord in a huge temple. Yet, the Lord's train filled that temple! In other words, God had won battle after battle. And guess what? He's never lost a battle! So, when the Lord gave Isaiah a mission, he knew he could safely answer, "Here am I. Send me." Why?

Because he knew that by joining the Lord's mission, he was on the winning side.

So, in the midst of life's chaos and calamity, we can know we are right. In the middle of this worlds confusion and our troubles and problems, we can know that we are on the winning side. That, no matter what, if we stay with the Lord's will for our lives, we will be victorious.

So, rather than focus on our problems and worries, struggles and trials, lets see ALSO the Lord. If we can somehow pray our way into his presence and see that he is in control, then we can have hope that our trials won't last forever. And,we can know that we are on the winning side.

Who knows, maybe God will give us a mission, as well.     

Marc Royce 3.0- Called to be weak?

1 Timothy 6:11-12

King James Version (KJV)

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Matthew 19:26

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

If you (like me) are a fan of Davis Bunn's action character, Marc Royce, then get ready for a treat. What started in Lion of Babylon and it's sequel, Rare Earth, continues in Bunn's latest novel, Straight of Hormuz, due out November 5, 2013.  

Part three has more action, more plot twists, and even more problems to overcome. Seemingly isolated from his government, in conflict in his personal relationships, and facing a foe that is both intelligent and tricky, what's a spy to do?

However, for me personally, the true resolution of the book doesn't come at the very satisfying ending that leaves the possibility of another sequel (please?). It comes on pages 201 and 202 out of 332 pages. Marc Royce teaches us all a much needed lesson:

"I have spent my entire adult life training to be a warrior. To analyze and fight and succeed. To control risk and battle danger. And yet there comes a moment when I must go against my training. When I must accept that events are not to be fought against, but rather accepted in prayer. That at such times I cannot retreat into the safety of coldness and anger and still remain a faithful servant. There is NO (emphasis mine) harder lesson for me to learn than to recognize the moment when I am called to be weak."

Wow! What a lesson!

I can hear Paul (I believe) saying: 32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (Hebrews 11:32-34).

I can hear 2 Chronicles 20:15 : And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

We humans, especially men, seem to go through life trying to "defeat our enemies." Every situation we find ourselves in must be analyzed, strategized, and conquered.  We pat ourselves on the back for our ingenuity. Yet, sometimes, our Lord has to allow the situation to get so bad that we have no choice but to look up and ask for his divine help. That's usually when he moves his sovereign hand and brings victory- after we have submitted to him.

This is why I enjoy these books so much. Though Marc is an amazing character in literature, he is not presented as a superman. He is presented as well trained, intelligent, and dedicated, but as a real human being. He suffers the same doubts, fears, and weaknesses that we do.

Most importantly, he has to rely on God's help to bring the victory, just as we do.

If you want to read a good book just for enjoyments sake, Straight of Hormuz is an excellent choice. However, if you want to get more out of it than an afternoon or two's entertainment, then dig a little deeper.

This action book should come with a Christian study guide. It covers themes of relationships with the opposite sex (keeping ourselves pure), standing for truth (even when our superiors are against us), relationships with other believers, and much more.

Want to taste before you buy? Here's a link to the first 3 chapters:  (http://statictab.com/j4s7yd8). 

Good stuff, Davis Bunn. When's the next one coming out?

Sometimes, real men need to sit down.

John 6

King James Version (KJV)

6 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

² And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

³ And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

⁴ And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

⁵ When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

⁶ And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

⁷ Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,

⁹ There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

¹⁰ And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

¹² When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

¹³ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

My pastor preached "little is much with God" out of this section today. It was truly a very good message. However, I must confess that, as he read the scriptures, my mind went a slightly different direction. So, let's take a look. 

The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that it was NIGH Passover. In other words, it was very close to Passover. Without going into a great amount of detail, there was a lot of things that had to be prepared for Passover. 

             A) They had to find just the right lamb (unblemished in any way). This lamb had to be killed and prepared for their table in specific ways using specific herbs. 

            B) The unleavened bread had to be prepared (not a fast process, to say the least). There were also dipping sauces made with bitter herbs that had to be made. 

            C) The list goes on. 

Suffice it to say that to prepare for the Passover was not a microwave process. It could take days to prepare for this special and God-ordained day. 

Yet, what were these masses of people doing to prepare for this high Holy day? Following an itinerant preacher they knew little about because they had heard he was a miracle worker. 

Though this is a good place to start (Jesus did say, "Believe me that I am in the father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works sake." Translation, "believe what I say, but if you have trouble with that, at least believe the miracles.") but this should not be our stopping place.

Many follow Jesus for what he can DO for them. Indeed, to some, he's a spiritual candy machine: press the button (pray) and down drops the delicious treat. Again, Jesus says this is a good starting point. It's weak faith, at best. Those who follow him for what he can do, will soon stop following him because they didn't get the desired result when they pressed the prayer button.  

Back to our story. These people were following Jesus, but disobeying the law of God. Let that sink into your craw a minute. Jesus was (and is) God in the flesh, yet, on this day the masses that followed him were breaking the law because they were not preparing for the God ordained Passover meal. 

There were 5000 men (and who knows how many women and children) there who should have been out looking for that perfect lamb to use. The women should have been preparing the unleavened bread and sauces, getting the clothing ready, etc. Husbands and wives should have been using this as an opportunity to teach their young children about what God did on the first Passover, when he set his people free from Egyptian bondage. Yet, here they all were, following Jesus. 

Jesus, as the author of the law himself, had every right to condemn these people. He could have openly and strongly rebuked these folks. But, he didn't. He had a higher purpose in mind than the Passover formalities- though they were important. After all, he would soon fulfill Passover on a rugged cross. He was after their hearts and minds, not just mere legalities. 

Rather than rebuke or destroy them, he had mercy on them. He notices their predicament. These people need fed. So, knowing full well what he is going to do, he asks his disciples: Where we gonna get bread to feed all these folks? 

His disciples are flabbergasted! Are you kidding me Lord? All these people? Why even if we had close to 8 months of wages (a penny is a days wages in scripture. They had a 6 day work week. Do the math and that's about 33 weeks- or nearly 8 months- of wages), we could never feed this many, Lord.

Phillip had pointed out the lack of supplies to get the job done. Andrew then, showing a little more faith, points out that there's a young boy with 5 loaves and 2 fishes. 5 BARLEY loaves, at that. As my pastor pointed out today, Barley was the poor man's wheat and flower. The poor couldn't afford the good stuff. So, not only do they only have 5 loaves, but it's not very good quality stuff. Not much to work with, to be sure. 

Then Jesus decides this is enough for him (God almighty) to work with. He takes this little bit and feeds the multitudes with an abundance left over to boot. This little boy gave truly all he had, and God blessed it to bless thousands! 

But, there's something else he did first. He ordered the men of the multitude to sit down. Right there, in a field and on the side of a mountian. No comfy chairs. No Air conditioning. Just hard ground with a little grass to soften it slightly. These men should have been out providing the Passover meal for their own families. Instead, they are being told to sit down. In other words:

                          "Get out of my (Jesus) way and let me work! I'll have mercy on you and provide for your needs- even though you are disobeying me by being here in the first place." 

We men are told by God to provide for the needs of our families and help others with theirs. We are told, as preachers, to instruct and feed the flock of God diligently. Pray, work, give until it hurts (our all- not just money). 

But, sometimes, in spite of what we are supposed to be doing, God will find us in the wrong place, at the wrong time, doing (or not doing) our best to fulfill the burdens placed on us. Like these folks, we get sidetracked and find ourselves drawn away from what we should be doing. Before we know it, we're in a real fix.

Away from home and totally helpless. We try and hunt in vain for the provision we should give our families (physically and spiritually), to no avail. We are at the end of our rope with nowhere else to go. We will die, if there is no divine intervention. 

But Jesus, as he did for these men, calls to us men and tells us to....SIT DOWN. Take a load off. DO NOTHING. Leave it all to me.

If you find yourself in this predicament, take heart. Whatever your need, trust him to fulfill it. He will! He fed the multitudes full of rebellion and he will care for us and our needs, too.

These men could have thrown their hands up in the air and stopped following Jesus altogether. They could have struck out on their own, dragging their families behind them, in a desperate attempt to do what's right. If they had, they'd have been wrong- and they would've died apart from Jesus. 

We are the God ordained provider for our homes, but HE gives us what we need to give our families. Wisdom, food, shelter, godly instruction, it all comes from God to us. Our job is to do what we are supposed to do and follow Jesus. 

When we find ourselves hogtied by our situation though, our job is to pray and sit. Let him handle the struggle. He will come through in his mercy! 

I'm declaring my independence day!

2 Timothy 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.


Ephesians 4:14
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;


1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

I'm tired of it. I'm sick and tired of it. This life is very hard-especially living for God. Life is hard enough, but it seems that when a person decides to give their all for Jesus, the naysayers come out of the woodwork.

Living for Jesus is good and honorable. It is holy and righteous in the eyes of God. It all sounds fantastic to the young Christian. When the preacher/teacher begins to discuss living for God, the young child of God gets an almost euphoric feeling. They see things as rose colored and wonderful.

Then, when they begin- through prayer and effort- to implement the changes in their life that the scriptures declare they need to, it's "Katy bar the door" from their "friends" and "loved ones." Then comes the battles.
They begin to hear things like:

                              "Do you think you're better than us?"
                              "That's not how I raised you to live."
                              "It's not necessary to live that way."
                              "Don't you think you're taking this Jesus stuff a bit too far?"
                              "Well, Jesus loves us all and we don't all have to live that way."
                           
My personal favorite is when you've never said a word to the person about how they live. All you've done is change how you live. Then, they get mad at you? Ever heard this one? "How dare you tell me that I'm living wrong!" The truth is that your lifestyle is stepping on their toes without you ever speaking a word.

I've been living for God for nearly 22 years, now. I've made many mistakes in that time. I've stumbled and fallen along the way. I've hurt some folks along the way- unintentionally.

I've worried and lost sleep sometimes over the opinions of people that I love and friends that I care about. I've suffered from that very human disease- trying to win people's approval. Let me tell you that this has added more than a few gray hairs to my head.

Folks will share a scripture that they think contradicts what God has shown me, and I go through a time of worry. Am I wrong? Did I mishear God? I begin to pray and search it out. Sometimes, I discover that I was wrong and my understanding changes. Other times, I discover that the person who gave me the scripture was wrong in their understanding. I then gently try to explain the correct understanding- usually to an increasingly angry person.

This causes more stress to me. If the word of God tells us how to live. If the word tells us something different than how we've been living, don't get mad at the messenger. We need to change our lifestyles to adapt to the word of God. Not the other way around.

I'm tired of the finger pointing. I'm tired of the nay-saying. I'm tired of worrying about the opinions of others who have no heaven or hell to send me to (no matter how much they may personally wish me to go to either place).

Therefore, today- as we celebrate the July 4th holiday- I'm declaring my own independence.

No more will I concern myself with the opinions of others. No longer will I worry about the finger pointers and Pentecostal fruit inspector's alike. Let the chips fall where they may. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord in word and deed. If folks don't like how we live, that's their prerogative. If folks don't like the way we look- don't look. Don't like what we say? Don't listen. Have issues with what I write? Don't read it.

Hard times will come. But, we will stand- stedfast and unmoveable. Nay-sayers will come and go, but we will stand for Jesus. It's not that I don't care about you, it's that I care about Jesus MORE than I care about you. I'm not trying to run anybody off, but if I have to choose between Jesus and you, I choose Jesus- every time.

It's a free country and you have a right to move on down the road if you don't like my house (or writing, or Facebook page). I'm done worrying about you. I'm free. Why? Because "he whom the son hath set free is free indeed."

Jesus- because he's God!

For those of you who pray for me and my family, thank you. We have had a lot going on of late. I was able to go back to work after nearly two months of being out with both gall bladder surgery and a very extensive blood clot in my left arm. The Lord has faithfully taken care of us. Our youngest daughter, Heather, is now engaged to an Apostolic Marine, so we have all the wedding planning to do. My second week back to work (last week), had me running 16 hour days and I am physically ill from the strain of it. So, rather than getting ready for church this morning, I'm sitting in my living room coughing and sneezing and writing this blog. We do covet your prayers!

But, as I thought about how faithful the Lord has been to me and my family, an old song began to ring through my soul. It's called "He'd still been God". You can find the lyrics and hear it here: http://christiansongoftheday.blogspot.com/2009/06/hed-still-been-god.html

You see, many of us, when we think of Jesus, we think of Calvary, or healings, or salvation, or deliverance. We thank him for all he's done and all he's gonna do. We praise him for all his mighty wonders. We exalt him for .... (you fill in the blank). However, I think there's something we tend to overlook.

Jesus is worthy of all praise and glory and honor, not just because of all he's done, but because of who he is.

Jesus IS God!

The old Testament declares it: Isaiah 9:6

Jesus declared it: John 8:56-59, John 14: 6-11

The Apostles declare it: John 1:1,14; Colossians 2: 8-10; Colossians 1:12-19; 1 Timothy 1: 15-17, etc

We should praise him for all he's done. But, we should also praise him for who he is! As the song so beautifully says: "Even if he never did another single miracle, Jesus would've still been God."

He is not a politician to be elected again to represent us because we like his policies. He is not a mystical servant who exists to serve us what we think we need. He is not some cosmic Santa Claus who is supposed to give us all toys to play with.

He is God alone. And we who follow him (indeed, all of creation- even if folks choose not to follow him) are duty and love bound to worship him- for he is God. He is an awesome God, but he is God.

If we love our spouses only for what they can do for us, do we truly love them? No. We love them for who they are. The things they do for us are the icing on the cake. If we love Jesus only for what he does for us, do we love him? No. The wonderful things he does for us are the tip of the iceberg. Let's remember who he truly is and love him for that.

The scriptures declare that: Philippians 2:⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We're ALL gonna bow one day. We may as well do it today from our hearts, rather than then because we're forced to.

So today as we worship him, let's just love him for who he is. He is worthy because he is God.

The mother's challenge. (Pray for the mothers)

Genesis 2:¹⁸ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.


Ephesians 5: ²² Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

²⁴ Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

²⁸ So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

²⁹ For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

³⁰ For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

³¹ For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

³² This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

³³ Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Deuteronomy 6: ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

⁵ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

⁶ And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

⁷ And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Titus 2: But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

³ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

⁴ That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵ To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

I appreciate my wife. Truly, I do! But, I'm very glad that I'm a man. I don't believe that I could do her job. The worst thing that our femenistic society has ever done, is to convince a generation of people that being a wife and mother is a waste of material. Our children and our homes are suffering for this- desperately. 


Understand this also, God in his infinite wisdom created the family BEFORE he created the church. The family relationships are to be a model of the relationship between Christ and his bride. Our homes are MORE important than our callings of ministry. In fact, if we don't perform our duties at home correctly, the word says we are not fir to lead in his church.


So many preachers kids go slap wild because they were neglected in their homes! The parents put most of their emphasis on their ministry, rather than on their family. This is wrong and needs to be corrected- now! 

Lets take a close look at what scripture says about her job. Let's really look at how tough her job is. 

First of all, she is to be a "help meet" to her husband. Many folks have taken these two words and made them mean something they do not. This does not mean that husband and wife, male and female, have equal authority in the home. In fact, the term "help meet", in scripture, actually means, "help help" in the Hebrew. 

The wife is there to help the husband, but as we will soon see, this does not make them equal in authority. It is NOT a 50-50 proposition, as some teach it. And we husbands DO need, probably, twice as much help as the wife does. 

However, the husband is the head (authority) of the wife in the same way that Christ is the head (authority) of the church. It is HIS job to lead the family in the direction that Jesus wants the home to go. It is the wife's job to submit to his leading- even when she disagrees or doesn't like it- just as we must submit to Jesus in the same way. 

Disclaimer: Paul told the church to "follow (him) AS (HE) follows Christ". It's the same in the home. If the husband is trying to lead the wife and children down ungodly path's, she can disobey him and not submit. 

We husbands are to love our lives as Jesus loves the church- AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR US! We are to pray, work for, follow Jesus, and lead our family- even if it kills us to do so. If we will devote our lives to our families, then them following us won't be an issue. They'll be happy to follow us. Just as we are happy to follow Jesus- look at all he's done for us. 

We are to nourish and cherish our wives and children. Our wives are to love and obey us- and nourish and cherish our children. The children are to be taught to submit to the parents and will learn to love and cherish their own families one day by what they see modeled in the homes that they are raised in. 

If the wife is submitted to the husband, then the children see a picture of how the church is supposed to submit to Jesus. If the wife is not submitted to her husband, but rules him or tries to be equal to him, then the children are raised to think that Jesus is to either give them equal say so or even is to submit to them- and they get mad when he doesn't! 

Deuteronomy 6 tells us how we are to raise our kids. But, guess who does most of the teaching? MOM! Read Titus 2. The husband does lead, teach, and enforce. But, mom does most of the teaching to the children since they spend the most time with them. 

If we line our homes up the way God tells us to, then our children will be raised to fear the Lord and come to know him. If we do not, then our children will not only have a hard time in their future marriages and with their future children, but they will have a hard time in their walk with God. Mom's have the tougher job, by far. 

I spent several years in restaurant management. People think that you're the boss and have it made. You're not. The owner is the boss. The supervisor he hires is your direct boss. Yes, you manage the restaurant and the crew, but you are confined in what you can and cannot do by the policies that the owner and supervisor lays down. 

It's not a problem, really, if the owner, supervisor, and manager are on the same page. But, if the supervisor begins to go against the owners policies, problems arise. It is then the managers job to stick to the owners policies, irregardless of what the supervisor says. 

If the manager steps out of line and the supervisor has not, it is the supervisor's job to discipline the manager and bring them into compliance with the owners policies. 

If the crew steps out of line, it is the managers job to discipline them and bring them in line with the owners policies.  

If the supervisor convinces the manager to go against the owners policies, they cause BIG problems. If they don't change, the owner will fire them.

The husband, in a home, is the supervisor. Jesus is the owner. The wife/mother is the manager. She is confined in her job by what her husband allows her to do and not do. 

If the husband tries to do things a different way than Jesus has said, then problems arise. The wife is to hold her ground- standing in prayer on scripture- until Jesus (the owner) disciplines him and brings him back in line. 

If the husband is following Jesus and the wife is not, then it is his job to pray for her and lovingly correct her. No, husbands, you cannot whip our wives. God does a much better job of that than we do.  

If husband and wife are following Jesus, and the children are out of whack, it is the parents job to pray for, correct, and whip them when they need it to bring them in line with God's rules. 

If husband and wife are NOT following Jesus, expect a bad whipping, possibly even being fired (we can lose our salvation). The kids will go slap wild in this case! 

This is why Titus 2:5 says that if the husband and wife don't do their jobs they risk "blaspheming (1) to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme

2) to be evil spoken of, reviled, railed at the word of God!" 

Titus 2: But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

³ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

⁴ That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵ To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Mothers do the majority of this teaching, as they spend the most time with the children.

Men are the head of the home, but mom's are the heart. As the heart goes, so goes the body (home). If the mom submits to dad, and dad leads, loves, and corrects, then the children turn out right. 

But, if our homes are not in God's order, then the kids don't turn out right and we risk blaspheming the word of God. 

Lord, help us to fix our homes. Help the husbands to lead, and help the wives to obey and lead the kids. No job on earth is anywhere close to as important as Mom's job. Help us to help them. In Jesus name! 

Excuse me, but your insides are hanging out!

Imagine with me that your walking through the streets of your town. As you walk, you begin to notice that some folks are looking at you strangely. The farther you walk, the more folks keep looking at you. You don't wonder about yourself. You know there's nothing wrong with you. You're not sure what's gotten into these people, but they have problems. You decide to ignore their stares.

Finally, a kindly old gentleman approaches you. He begins to speak to you in a nice, but concerned manner. His words strike you as strange, for what he says is, "Excuse me, but your insides are hanging out." You're offended at first, but your automatic reaction is to look down. Sure enough, your insides are hanging out!

You are stunned! Fear takes a hold of you. You begin to feel weak and dizzy. Your breathing becomes rapid and shallow. But, the old man, places gentle hands on your shoulders, looks you in the eyes, and says, "It's OK. I'm a doctor. Let's get you into this hospital over here and we'll fix you right up.

Does this sound ludicrous to you? Of course. Yet, millions of people every day do just what you were doing in the above story: they walk around with their insides hanging out. Not physically, to be sure. But, all of our inner lives are on full display for all the world to see everyday. It's obvious by our actions and speech (remember, "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh", Jesus said.) to any who care to look closely, what we truly believe.

Proverbs 23: ^{7a "}For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."


Our actions always follow our emotions. Our emotions always follow our beliefs. Our beliefs always follow our thoughts. Who we are on the inside is- quite literally, who we are! 


This is why the scriptures warn us to think only on godly things and, in this way, to guard our hearts. If our thought life is in line, then our beliefs will be in line. If our beliefs are in line, then our emotions will be in line. If our emotions are in line, then our actions will be in line. 


As an example, lets look at Saul's life. 


King Saul's story begins in 1 Samuel 9. We find him out looking for his fathers donkeys with a servant. His father, according to verse 1, was a "mighty man of power." His father evidently was a man of some financial means, as he owned animals and had multiple servants. With money comes power. So, he was an influential man, as well. 


Saul, was a young man who seemed to have his life planned out ahead of him- beautifully! Grow up in wealth and prestige. Take over the family biz. Grow that wealth and prestige. But, the Lord God had other plans.


Israel had lived in a theocracy for hundreds of years. But, Israel wanted to be like everyone else and have a king. So, the Lord looks around and chooses Saul. He doesn't allow Saul to find the animals. He gets him so frustrated that Saul goes looking for the judge/prophet Samuel to learn where the animals were.


This is where Saul's life takes a sudden turn. Like Saul, most of the time, when God wishes to call us into a different direction, it seems he reaches into our everyday lives to work things to get our attention and point us in a different way. 


Saul is told that God is calling him to be King over Israel. Talk about unqualified! From herding animals to leading a nation- Oh what a change. God equips him by filling him with his spirit to strengthen and guide Saul in his new duties. God gave him a great start! 1 Samuel 10: 9-10)


Saul is a bold man, if nothing else. We've already been told of the wealth and prestige his Father had. Yet, he has the audacity to LIE to God's prophet about who he is in society: ^21"And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?"


He's a liar who suffers from low self esteem- as most liars do. Already, his insides (who he really is) are beginning to show. To top that off, on the day of his coronation, Saul is nowhere to be found. Where is he? He's out "hiding amongst the stuff." (1 Samuel 10: 22) He doesn't want the responsibility God has given him. More of his insides were hanging out. 


How many of us RUN from the call of God on our lives because we don't want the responsibility, nor do we desire the necessary change in our lives. So, we hide in the stuff of life. We get caught up in entertainment, our jobs, finances, parties, status, etc. All the while, God has a job for us to do that will benefit many other people- IF we will submit.  


Later, he is told to wait on Samuel to come and sacrifice before he goes off to war. Samuel is late. Some of his men begin to leave him. Saul's lack of faith in the God who called him, his looking to others to validate his self esteem, and his impatience come rapidly to the surface. He steps out of his God-given role and tries to stand in Samuel's role. He performs the sacrifices.


As he's cleaning up his mess, Samuel comes. God requires obedience and listening to him MORE than he requires sacrifice. Saul's lack of letting God change him costs him dearly. He fulfills the ritual, in the wrong way. 


He should have been praying and seeking God all along. When he was hiding in the stuff, he should have been asking for God's direction. Instead of religion and ceremony, he should have sought relationship. 


Due to his bad insides, he has a bad ending. He loses his kingdom and loses out with God. 


Saul was placed under immense pressure. This pressure caused the real him to come out for all the world to see. 


Like Saul, God calls us- even with our bad insides hanging out. But, if we don't enter into relationship with him and allow God to change our insides, we will lose our promises and lose out with God as well. 


Let us be like David: "Create in me a clean heart, Oh Lord, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, Oh Lord. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me all the joy of thy salvation." 

So what's wrong with growing old?

Leviticus 19:32
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.


Proverbs 16:31
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

1 Corinthians 3:19

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.


The term hoary, here, means: "1) age, gray hair, hoary head, old age

                                                             a) gray hair, hoary head

                                                             b) old age"

We live in a society that puts a premium on being "young". The entertainment stars- and even politicians- of our day spend much money on surgeries, nails, hair salons, etc to try and stay looking young. Movies, magazines, newspapers, billboards, and even sporting events all put a high value on "the young". 

Everywhere we look, in other words, we are told that a) young is good, and b) to get old is bad. Many are the men and women who have bought into this lifestyle. They look in the mirror and, instead of being grateful for the time they've had, lessons learned, and thankful for the victories and wisdom God has given them- all they see is a person who's (gasp) "getting old"! We wear makeup to cover our age. We imitate the ungodly fashions of the day because we want to be "cool" and accepted by society. 

Many even brag about staying "young". They throw out the music styles and lessons of their youth. They take on the modern music and lifestyles all to try and appear "young". They fight this battle every day. 

One day, inevitably, it hits them. In spite of all of the money they've spent and effort they've applied, they are...dare I say? ....GETTING OLD! This is terrible! What can they do? Instead of being glad for the blessings they do have, they pine for the youth they've lost. They think back to high school or college and wish they could be that age again. 

Then, the enemy of their souls- having reeled them in to this point- baits the trap that he has so painstakingly prepared all this time. He sends them a young person that seems to be, or even is, attracted to THEM. Being around this young one makes them feel "alive" (a euphemism for "young"). The more they hang out with this person, the more they begin to look at their own spouses lack of youth. 

The results? First it's adultery of the heart. They spend lots of time speaking with this person. They go out of their way to be with this person. They begin to try and woo this person the way they wooed their own spouse in their youth. Finally, comes the inevitable: physical adultery. 

Suddenly, all the faithful years their spouse has spent with them doesn't matter anymore. All the laughs and smiles, tears and trials of their lives together are thrown away for something they believe to be "better". Whether by their doing it, or their spouse doing it, the marriage ends in divorce. A family is destroyed. 

Soon, they learn that their greener grass, isn't so green. Their "new and improved" partner lacks both the true love of their original spouse and the experience and care that comes only from years together in the trenches. They've thrown away what they had for an illusion, only to find that what they now have is less than what they gave up.

MANY times, after the divorce, their new partner winds up leaving them all alone. All they really wanted was the thrill of taking this married person away from their spouse. The person has built up their ego on the pain of a destroyed home- leaving the newly divorced one, helpless, despondent, and all alone. All because of the fear of getting old.

God's word paints a different picture all together. It's GOOD to grow old with God and your spouse. It's GOOD to learn together, laugh together, struggle together, and grow together. Let the world point a finger at you. Let them call you old. It's a JOY to grow old together.

More than that, it's a joy to be able to help younger folks who are trying to learn and grow together. Your stand for God can be a living testimony for the young folks around you who are trying to live out their own marriages and walk with God. Your testimonies can give strength to them, as they struggle with some of the very things  that God brought you through. 

Don't give in to the "stay young" lie. Don't give in to that young thing who's trying to flirt with you. Stand for God. Hold onto your spouse ("cleave unto"- as the scriptures say) with ALL your heart and mind. Live your life together as a testimony of what God can do- even in this day of high divorce rates. 

Growing old is a blessing, not a curse. Let God carry you both through so that your life and experiences will be an example for later generations to follow until the Lord comes back. Instead of settling for the enemies "hall of shame", hold on to Jesus and enter God's "hall of fame". 

God bless you all.