Marriage a Picture of Christ and the Church

This statement that the man will rule over the woman does not mean what we have all been taught.

 
The word "desire will be for your husband" means there will be the desire to rule over your husband, but he will rule over you. In other words, there will be a struggle in the marriage that is ungodly because of the fall.

 
The man should not rule over his wife, and she should not rule over him. He leads by example, teaching and loving kindness, and she follows of her own choice. This is God's way; the devil perverted the marriage by causing conflict, but this ought never to be in the Christian marriage.

 
Men should not "rule" over the woman, and the woman should not "rule" over the man. Marriage is a partnership, not a dictatorship. The woman is to be the "helpmeet", meaning counselor and supporter. The husband is to listen to the counsel of his wife and he will have the final say if they disagree.

The husband and wife should discuss things to come to an agreement, not one person making all the decisions by themselves and demanding obedience.

 
When the husband fulfills his role as the loving protector and leader, and the woman fulfills her role as the counselor and supporter of the husband's calling, no one will be treated as lesser than the other. Both are equal with different roles, each enhancing the other's duties.

 
Ephesians 5:25-33
"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."

Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church; it must be taken much more seriously than our culture views it.

Pride and Arrogance are Cousins

When we encounter those who seem to be angry all the time, judging every little thing without evidence, we are watching arrogance and pride at work.

 
Often, the need to judge others is based on someone's own mindset and not on what is really happening.

Pride and arrogance sound like the same thing, but there is a slight difference. Both pride and arrogance are devastating to relationships, but I am convinced arrogance is the worst because of the desire to ruin someone else to elevate oneself.

 
Pride is happiness in ourselves, often a higher opinion than is warranted.
Arrogance is the desire to be superior to others.

 
Satan was thrown out of heaven because of his desire to be above God. He not only had a high opinion of himself he also wanted to ruin others in his quest for superiority.

Only Jesus Christ can transform someone to cleanse them from these terrible traits.
Pride leads to the destruction of oneself when those plagued by it cannot see the pitfalls that will destroy them, since they live in a fantasy world about themselves.
Arrogance leads to self-blindness but with the added desire to ruin others.
Proverbs 16:17-19 "…17 The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life. 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.…"

James 4:6 "But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Luke 14:11 "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

May each of us seek to be changed and cleansed of our pride and arrogance that dishonors God.

Love people but trust only in Christ. No one is all-knowing except Christ.

God’s Warning: 3 Types of People You Must Not Help

7 Habits that God Hates (And You Might Be Doing)

Modern Church Disobedience and Defiance

Today's modern church violates more of scripture than it obeys, but still asserts itself as "Bible Believing." They seem to think if they just "say" something, that makes it true. Or, if they follow some they like and ignore others they don't like, then they count themselves as obedient.

 
No one is perfect in obedience; we are still all growing, but when most scripture is ignored and replaced with cultural standards God never made, then we have a problem with obedience.

 
When Scripture is denied or ignored to adhere to culture then there is willful disobedience.

 
John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men."

1 Peter 1:14 "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,"

1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."

Speak the Truth and Let the Holy Spirit do His Work

Proverbs 26:4-5 "4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes."

Thinking that if we just yell louder or dominate others is going to make people listen is itself foolish. It is also pride, thinking that we must make sure others believe us or validate us in some way. The wise and strong man is the one who doesn't need others to like them or understand them.

 
When we grow to the point that Christ is enough, even if no one else validates or appreciates us, that is when we are truly free. What a blessing to be able to love others even if they don't love us, and the only way to do this is to be unconcerned about their lack of love for us.

 
Every day that I live, I grow stronger in love for others as I no longer have expectations of them. Notice that Christ loved people enough to die for them while they were still sinners.

 
When we love this fully, we will warn those who do not obey Christ. We will remain respectful even if they show us no respect, and we will remove ourselves from them when they make it clear they don't want us.

 
God gives us what we want, whether to be changed by Him or if we reject Him; He does not force Himself on us. He walks away and leaves the choice to the one who rejects Him.

Matthew 10:11-15 "11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

12 As you enter the house, greet it.
13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town."

It is not unloving or uncaring to move on from those who reject Christ or reject us. Everyone who has heard the truth always has the opportunity to make a later decision without us.

 
Sometimes I wonder if it is pride that makes people want to be the ones to "lead someone to the Lord", when they ought to remove themselves so the Holy Spirit can get all the credit. We speak truth, and the rest is God's responsibility to work in their lives and ultimately their responsibility to respond to Him.

May we be so grounded in trusting Christ that we don't feel the need to badger or manipulate anyone into making a decision out of intimidation.

Characteristics of the End Times and the Impact on Authentic Believers

One of the most striking characteristics of these end times that sometimes feels overwhelming is the lack of respect people have for one another.

 
We knew it would be this way because God said so in His Word in 2 Timothy 3. Having grown up in it, watching everyone pretty much acting the same way, with a few exceptions, we thought it was normal to be defensive and subtly rude if there was a good reason.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 "1 But understand this: In the last days, terrible times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, 4 traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!"

 
The more God opened my eyes to what I was looking a,t the more I realized how entrenched in the 2 Timothy 3 scenario we had become.

 
There are still many kind people in the world today doing good things. The test is to bring them the gospel truth that exposes their sinful nature, which will bring out of them their inner heart of rebellion.

 
People can be very friendly when we are validating their lives of sin. The moment we speak of the Word of God and His standard to show them the difference between sin and righteousness, the wolf in them appears, fangs shown and claws out to destroy the one who brings the truth.

 
2 Peter 3:3
"Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires."

1 John 2:18
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour."

 
Those who love the Word of God and want to live by it are dismissed, demeaned and rejected regularly for their efforts to bring truth that cleanses people if they will just trust in Christ.

 
We see it in the church as well as the world, because the world is in the church now, masquerading as religion but denying Christ through disregard for His Word, even though they say they are "Bible Believers."

Those who have trusted Christ and desire to actually follow His commands and principles are a small remnant now, feeling very much alone and yet full of joy, knowing that their home going is soon. Ane yet, they continue to speak the truth without reservation.
Hallelujah!!!!

Remaining Faithful in Trials

Never use difficulties in life as an excuse to treat others disrespectfully. Everyone has trials, and the one who is treated badly was not the one who caused your trial.
God uses trials in our lives to reveal our true selves when we emerge in the midst of life's tribulations.

James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

Romans 5:3-5 "3 Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."

John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Psalm 34:17-18 "When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."

God does not always deliver us from our trials, but He does go through with us, being His strength for us.

 
Matthew 5:12 "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

If we keep God's word in our hearts as we walk through many things, we will be able to endure ill health and the persecution of those who do not have the love of God in their hearts. We do not have to become like those who do not love; we can be steady and consistent in our walk with Christ, even when the world is falling apart all around us.