How Do You Rate?

Are you:

neat,
loving,
gentle,
kind,
polite,
considerate,
patient,
responsible,
hardworking?
Are you your wife’s dreams come true? Okay, well, if not now, were you earlier in your marriage?

What about a critical self-assessment of the above? Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being awful and 10, wonderful.Then prayerfully begin to work on all areas and purpose to move the numbers up. If you are really serious, ask your wife to rate you. May we make it easy for our wives to love us.

Material gifts are nice and not to be neglected, but could the best gift this Mother’s Day be a dad who is seeking to grow in the Lord Jesus and be easy to love and respect?

“Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband” (Ephesians 5:33). “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children” (Titus 2:4).

Steve

What If?

Let’s suppose you had a friend who has struggled with lust for most of his life. He reads what Jesus said in Matthew 5:28: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Then he thinks to himself, “Wow, Jesus didn’t condemn my enjoyment of looking at women. It’s just sin when I allow it to go to lust.” So he decides that as long as he just enjoys looking at women all is fine. He just can’t let the looking turn into lusting.

My guess is that you would tell your friend that he will not be successful in not lusting. The flesh is the flesh, and no matter what his good intentions are, he will lust. When it comes to truth, the question is: How do we apply it to our life?

anger-for-seriously
Tools to help you stamp out anger.

Likewise, the practical application of Ephesians 4:26 regarding anger presents a challenge for some. “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” It can be read as “in your anger, when you begin to feel angry, don’t sin.” The problem is what a person does with his anger. Isn’t that similar to enjoying looking at women but not lusting? That is likely why God tells us to “cease from anger” (Psalm 37:8) and to “put off all these; anger…” (Colossians 3:8). Then in Ephesians 4:31 we find this: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger … be put away from you.” What is it that we don’t understand about ceasing and putting off?

Lust and anger are both powerful in the flesh. That is why Proverbs 6:25a says, “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart.” A man’s heart will quickly move from appreciating her beauty to lusting. In a similar way, might it be wise to abhor anger because of how easily it leads to sin as opposed to allowing it and then trying not to sin in it? Some sin dies hard, and man is reluctant to let it go.

Steve

Will Your Children Have Children?

Will your children love children and want to have children of their own (your grandchildren)?

The more bored your children are,
The more they love entertainment,
The more they dislike work,
The more conflict they experience in the family,
The more disorganized and chaotic their home-life is,
The more deprived they feel,
The less purpose they have,
The less you have their hearts,
The less they love God’s Word,
The less they love Jesus,

the less likely your children are to want to have children. Each of those things could contribute to your children’s not loving children. Why? Because as adults your children will want to serve themselves and make up for whatever they think they missed growing up. If you try to satisfy their wants, you never will succeed because the flesh is never satisfied!

The solution is to raise sons and daughters who love the Lord Jesus Christ and delight in pleasing Him. Frankly, children are a lot of work, but not compared to the blessings they bring. They are the only real gift that we can give back to the Lord.

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3-5).

Steve

WARNING – Lest You Be Tempted

Do you blame your dad for some of the sins you struggle with? Do you think that God “goes easy” on the children who have adopted the sins of their father?

Each of us has a choice. Will we blame our sins on our father or humbly learn from his errors? We would be well advised to learn from our father’s failings, repent of them, and make right choices.

God in His mercy and grace gave Nebuchadnezzar 12 months to repent after warning him in his dream. His son Belshazzar, however, followed in his dad’s proud footsteps and reaped the consequences of his life on the very night God warned him. God did not give the son even 24 hours to repent. He did not get a “pass” because of the sins of his father.

I believe Scripture teaches that we are wise to learn from, repent of, and flee from our father’s sins. A son had better learn from his father’s mistakes and not make excuses for embracing them. God did not excuse Belshazzar because of his father’s sin of pride. He chastened him because he should have repented.

“And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this” (Daniel 5:22).

Steve

 

 

What Would You Do With?

What would you do with:
an extra $20?
an extra $100?
an extra hour a day?
an extra day in the work week?
an extra Saturday?
another year added to your life? …

We can easily live in a world of “I would … if …” But would we? Is the Lord currently pleased with how we are spending our money and our time? If we aren’t responsible with what He has given us, why would we expect Him to give us more?

“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).

Steve