Model Family, Model Bride

(Author's Note:  This is the devotional I brought forward at this month's men's breakfast.  Though it is written specifically towards men, I believe that women will find it of interest as well.  God bless you all!)

Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her, [saying], many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all.  ~Proverbs 31:28-29 (AMP)

Most people know this as the "Virtuous Woman" passage.  It also offers instruction to husbands, children and encouragement to the Bride of Christ.  We'll look at this here today.

Note first that the children bless her.  We all have mothers, and if they still live, we need to bless them; whether we feel they deserve it or not.  "Her children rise up" - They take an active role in doing this.  They do not just sit on the sidelines and ask for blessings to fall upon her; rather, they speak those blessings forth into existence.

Now, look at what her husband says to her.  He is expressing his satisfaction in her; his joy with her; and his fidelity to her.  How many times have we heard the women in our lives speak about feeling as though they don't measure up to other women?  The virtuous husband builds his wife up by assuring her that the only reason she does not is because she stands head and shoulders above them all.  He is telling her that his eyes see only her, and she is a precious treasure.

Ecclesiastes 9:9 - 

"Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil." (NLT)  

This passage tells husbands to live in joy with his wife all of his days.  This passage gives us an example of this in action.  Song of Solomon 8:7 -

"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would offer all the goods of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned and despised." (AMP)  

Read that carefully, for it tells us that nothing in this world can buy the love a husband and wife share- It should be treasured, not despised or taken for granted.

These two verses in Proverbs also speak to the joy of the family as a whole.  When we are operating in full alignment with the Word of God, there is joy and assurance within the family that no one can take away.  Indeed, we see this in Micah 4:4 -

"Instead, each person will sit under his vine and fig tree, with no one to upset him, for the mouth of Adonai-Tzva’ot has spoken." (CJB)

This passage also gives encouragement to the Church, for as Matthew Henry said, "God by His grace has formed from sinful men a church of true believers, to possess all the excellence here described" in Proverbs 31:10-31.  Verses 28 and 29, then, show us a picture of what we are to strive for in our daily walk.  A makes the point that we ought to live in such a way that we are held by those who know us best in high esteem; that those who see us at our lowest and our worst can nonetheless speak only blessings upon us, so well we serve the example of Christ.

Moreover, when we as Christians are living in the will of God; surrendered to His Word and doing nothing except by His strength; we serve as an example for the next generation.  They look back on us, as we look back on others, and bless us, as we bless those before us for their excellent example, instruction and encouragement.

Finally, Christ, our Bridegroom, praises us in the same manner when we live according to His Word.  He encourages us and builds us up- Reminding us of our future joy, and telling us not to compare ourselves with others.  His love is for us, and we surpass all others in His eyes.


So, in conclusion my friends- Be men of God.  Let us bless our mothers; build up our wives; provide the right example for the next generation; and be the Church that Yehshua earnestly awaits to rapture and bring away to Himself.  In His grace and mercy, we do not have to be perfect; in His strength, though, we can do all things.

Prayer Snobs

(NOTE: R.E.T.S. will be taking a few days off from writing.  Thus, we'll have a couple "guest authors," as well as Ajax and hopefully Yoda.)


A lot of Christianity seems to look at prayer as a magical incantation or ritual- Something I find to be ironic given the sheer amount of venom that is sprayed on anything having to do with magic. (Point in case: Harry Potter)


Think about it for just a moment. In order to pull off a "proper" ritual, everything must be in the exact order- Nothing can be missing, but nothing must be added. Every word must be exact, pronounced the right way, and for some, tone must be held for a certain amount of time.


Now, let us go into the church. In order to pull off a "proper" prayer, everything must be in the exact right order... Not a single "amen," name, request or unction can be missing. However, many also believe that using the Lord's Name too often will also screw up the prayer- so nothing can be added, either! Every word has to be exactly what is prescribed in seminary; they must be pronounced exactly right- (GEE-sUS, Gah-duh, Holey Sspeer-et-ah); not to mention that if the "Holey Sspeer-et-ah" is on you, then you must draw out certain sounds of every word.


Folks, I have always found this debate to be ridiculous, for several reasons.

1) The Lord said to let the children come to Him and not to hinder them. When we go into prayer, we are going before the Lord. Yet what do you think this debate does to children, when held around them? What do you think we do when we tell a child they should not, or do not need to, pray in the way they always have? Let the child come to a personal understanding of their own prayer style and prayer life.


2) I see prayers of all sorts throughout the Bible, and guess what? There are some that use the name of Jesus and some that do not. However, not once have they been the self aggrandizement they seem to be today. Sure, the Pharisees prayed just to be heard, but I'm talking about the believers. To continue to demand, or even believe, that there is a specific method to prayer is foolish- Moreover, if you actually believe this, and also believe that YOU'VE got it? ....Well, all pretty mausoleums line up just there.

3) I do not see the words "In Jesus name, Amen," written anywhere in the Bible. In fact, I don't even see the words "In Jesus name" at the end of a prayer or otherwise. So what?! I do see in many places after Christ's ascension, people praying for something very specific and doing so "in the name of Christ." For instance, "silver and gold have I not, but such as I have, I give to thee- In the name of Jesus Christ, rise and walk!"


4) There are some who find it foolish to address God more than once or twice in a prayer. I find it interesting that they do, because I see no reason why one shouldn't. Prayer is you and I speaking to God. I am not going to alter my prayer style to fit the preferences of any other human being- I am not going into prayer for their ears, I am praying to God's alone. If HE delivers me a Gibbs Slap and says to knock it off, then I will.

5) How proud do we need to be before we jump on someone else for their method of prayer? Jimmy prays with "in Jesus Name Amen" at the end. Johnny prays "in the name of Jesus, AH-men." Little Timmy, he says "God" or "Jesus" with nearly every sentence. You know what though? It is guaranteed that the Lord will hear their prayers, and He'll hear them long before He'll even bother with whatever "perfect prayer style" the theology snobs work out.




So, the question in my mind, when I see this sort of discussion, is almost never "should we use, or is it required to use, Jesus Name at the end of prayers?" Instead, it becomes "should this even be a discussion/debate?" Loxen had it 100% correct when he stated that prayer is mainly about the contact, and not the method or content. TC had it 100% correct when he stated it was about the heart more than anything. The fact is that if the heart is right, you could be talking to God about dust particles in a ray of sunlight and you would have an attentive and unwavering ear. You could pray for more sliced cheese packets for sandwiches, while saying His name a million times, and with your right heart, someone's going to walk through the door with sliced cheese.



However, if your heart isn't right, then you could be using the perfect prayer model while asking for a life to be spared... And guess what will happen? God'll listen to the child praying for extra blueberries in their pancakes before you, because their heart is right.


/rant


Nothing said here was meant to offend- If any of it did offend someone, then I ask two things: 


1) Please forgive me, as that was unintentional. 


2) If you're not inclined to forgive me, then put your big kid pants on, sit down, and shut up.

Because...

I won't do this often, but today I'm going to reprint a devotional I received in my own email inbox today.  This was written by Christopher J. Harris, Overseer of Youth at Fellowship Church of Chicago.  This was such an impactful and inspiring message, I had to share it with you all.  God bless!
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As we were exiting the department store, I watched one of my toddlers struggle to hold the door open for a stranger. When I explained to him that I would help him, he boldly told me, "Daddy, I've got it..." To be totally honest with you, I was amazed and curious as to why my son would struggle to open a door that was heavier than he is for someone that he didn't know. 

So I asked him. "Why did you open that door for her?" He replied, "because..." (He had that look that implied that my question was a dumb question...) When I further pressed him for a more detailed response, in his powerful childhood expressiveness, he responded, "Because that's what we do!" I replied, "We who?" Without hesitation he answered, "God people, Daddy!"

Wow! A toddler has learned, picked up, and processed that 'God people' serve.

The truth is that we adults know that, but we don't always live that out.

As I thought more about this idea of serving, there were a few critical questions that came to mind:
1) Why do we gather for worship and call it "service"?
2) Do you think people have confused being active in ministry and actually serving people?
3) Do people really know how to serve?
4) Are we able to serve without first being at the feet of Jesus?
5) Are we too busy to serve?

As I processed these questions and all of their potential answers, I immediately began to identify the starting points of how to move people from silent observers to engaged servants. Here are five starting points to serving:

1) Pray for discernment, discipline and passion to serve
2) Identify a social area of passion and frustration (i.e. - illiteracy)
3) Develop knowledge and expertise in that area by listening, learning, observing and training.
4) Set realistic goals for how you plan to serve and what you want to accomplish through serving.
5) Build intentional time in your monthly itinerary to serve in that area of passion.

As you move through the starting points to serving, be clear that moving into a serving mindset challenges and stretches you beyond areas of comfort. It is never convenient and a part of your normal thought process. As a matter of fact, I am convinced that there is a high degree of spiritual warfare that takes place to keep us from moving into a serving mindset. As much as the Word of God is used to allow us to hear God’s heart, and prayer is to get us into communion and communication with God, I believe that serving is what helps us develop the necessary character to look like Christ and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. So it is only reasonable that our enemy, satan himself, will pull out all stops to keep us into a habit and routine of movement and busyness without starting afresh with the idea of real servant hood.

I believe it is time to begin something revolutionary, and create a new normal. As the world has branded 'God people' into denominations, judgmental, arrogant, selfish, and spooky, let's re-brand ourselves to accurately reflect the character of Jesus Christ and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Not only in moments of convenience or comfort, but consistently and courageously. We can all begin by serving people...because that’s what we do. 'God people', that is.