Regarding Your Marriage…Done God's Way!

Today, I would like to speak to the husbands out there….regarding your marriage.

Now, speaking from experience let me say that my wife, Terri, and I have a wonderful marriage. I mean, after all, she is married to a pretty incredible guy….at least that’s what I keep telling her. But what works best in our marriage is the fact that Terri is an Ephesians wife, based on the scripture from Ephesians 5: 22-24. She has given herself to me in submission as an act of obedience to the Father….and I;  I am committed to her as a husband that is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. In is no small wonder that so many marriages seem to be facing rocky roads in these difficult and terrifying days. We don’t read the scriptures like we should and when we do; we fail to follow their godly instructions.

In Ephesians, Paul first admonishes the wife to submit herself to her husband, “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”  He then goes on in the very next verses to say, “Husbands love your wives as Christ love the church and gave himself for her.”  And in verse 28-29, “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”

It is easy to see why Paul put the verses about a submissive wife first….she that is submissive is easier to love….but he never said that if she is not submissive this would in someway relieve the husband from his mandate to love his wife as he loves himself. If she submits, she is following biblical teaching, but if she does not, you’re to do what Christ would do for His church….love her UNCONDITIONALLY.

That’s a word that strikes fear into the heart of most men…unconditionally, without reservations. My love for Terri is not to be based on what she does for me …but rather, who she is….MY WIFE. And I am to love her, cherish her, protect her, empower her, admonish her, extol her, comfort her and be willing to give myself in any manner simply because she is my gift, my blessing from God.

Do you love your wife unconditionally and are you treating her in a way that shows how much you value her as your life-long mate? I hope that you’re not in the same boat as the examples that follow. Enjoy the levity that these provide, but if, by some remote chance, you find your self identifying with one of the husbands in these capulets…..IT’S TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE….love your wife with all your heart, body, mind and soul….YOU’LL BOTH BE GLAD YOU DID!!!

Blessed with the Best,

WPQ

A Marriage Seminar

While attending a marriage seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor regarding how essential it was in a good relationship for each partner to know the others likes and dislikes. The instructor asked Tom, “Can you name your wife’s favorite flower? Tom leaned over, touched his wife’s arm and gently whispered, “It’s Pillsbury, isn’t it?”

Family Ties

A couple drove down a long country road without saying a word. An earlier argument had lead to this deadly silence, neither party willing to concede their pronounced position. As they passed a barnyard filled with mules, goats and pigs, the husband quipped sarcastically, “Relatives of yours?” Came the wife’s quick reply, “Yep, in-laws!”

Remember ….God may have created man before woman, but there’s always a rough draft before the masterpiece. So husbands..... Treat your wife as the masterpiece God created her to be and you both will be better for it…

Poem for the day:

If God has given you a mate

That loves you more each day;

Then you should ever thank Him for

The love He brought your way.

So give your wife her honors due

And always seek to find....

A life from two, now joined as one;

One heart...one love...one mind!

WPQ © 2017

Are you a Bargainer with God?

It wasn't that long ago that I sat down to view one of my favorite TV shows, NCIS, but about midway through, I became a little peeved with the writers and directors.

There was a scene where Tony Denosoe, one of the NCIS federal agents finds himself alone in the chapel on the Navy base. He starts down the aisle of the chapel carrying on a flippant conversation with the "BIG GUY” regarding his lack of staying in touch (Tony’s been SOOOOO busy) as he continues to plead his case that “he is doing the best he can down here.” Now, here’s where I  wanted to plant my size nine squarely on Tony’s posterior region. He matter-of-factly queries God to see if God still intends to hold up his end of a bargain that Tony had made with him on a previous tough occasion…..of all the unmitigated gall.

He’s made a “deal” with God and he wants to know if God can deliver …or I guess through the implication; then if not, the deal is off!

I was perturbed on so many fronts, I really don’t know where to start….first with the writers who once again have chosen to represent  God as a giant genie in a bottle…we rub it and our wish is his command,

Secondly… the only way to get something from God is to promise Him something in return….like we have anything that God wants, needs or can’t get or do for himself.

Thirdly….if you believe in God and trust in Him, you must be a moron. Besides, how can you believe that God is really going to keep his end of any bargain that you might make with Him?

Once again, those that bring us entertainment think that God or even the concept of an Almighty being is just to ludicrous for words…so they paint Him and all of those who might profess to follow Him as idiots….and then, it hit me as the words of Christ rang true in my head and then my heart…”You have heard it said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-44

Although the above scene left me feeling anything other than loving or forgiving for the blasphemous way in which our God was portrayed, I must admit Tony’s diatribe with the Father set me to thinking…do I bargain with God in order to somehow try and influence His answers to my petitions….have I made some vows or promises that I have failed to keep in my daily walk with the Lord….do I hold back my obedience to His will waiting to see if God comes through as He has promised in His Word?

So, let me be honest and admit that this show got me to thinking about two very important issues for me as a Christian……am I loving those that persecute me because I am a follower of Christ and eager to display my heritage as one of God’s chosen…. or am I all too eager to give them a swift kick in the pants as punishment for their treatment of me?

And, when given the opportunity to petition God for an answer to my needs, do I put myself in the position as a “deal maker” or a “faithful follower”?

Two pretty serious questions that definitely bear some more self scrutiny…and prayerful consideration in the light of God’s Word.

Holding to His Truth….Loving as He Loves,

WPQ

Poem for the Day:

May I faithfully follow you, O Lord;

In your service make my spirit meek…

And when others put me down, O Lord

May I turn the other cheek?

May I show your heavenly love, O Lord

And never doubt your caring ways;

May all who I encounter Lord

Be filled with joy and praise.

WPQ 2011

RUNNING THE RACE...INGESTING HIS WORD

Across our society today, there are people on all sides that debate the validity, accuracy and inerrancy of the Scriptures. Even the most learned of our Biblical scholars fuss and fight over translations and interpretations that will not and cannot be solved until Jesus comes again…so where does that leave us in relationship to God's Holy word?

The tortured, yet tireless apostle Paul had this to say to his young protégé, Timothy, in his second letter to him. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof,  for correction and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be competent, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

There are several things that we should notice in this scripture. First, the Word of God is His exhale. It is what He breathes out so that we may breathe it into our lives and be forever changed. Just as we cannot live without breathing in oxygen, the competent, committed Christian cannot go a day without breathing in the Holy Word of God….it is vital to our DNA as a Christian. The lack of God's word in our lives will lead to a slow and deathly asphyxiation of who we are as a believer and will make us totally and completely vulnerable to the lies of the Deceiver.

Secondly, there are the other attributes of God's word that Paul shares with young Timothy…the ever-present need for us to be fed and taught the attributes of God so that we may become more like Jesus. There is the need for reproof or rebuke…to be called "on the carpet" for the sin that separates us from a loving Savior and to be admonished to repent and restore that relationship with a righteous and holy God.

There is the loving hand of God at work to correct us and to remake us through ingesting His word…it truly becomes His word that nourishes our soul and makes us hunger to be more like Him as He lovingly corrects us and our interactions with those that He has placed in our path. We are to point others to Jesus, but that becomes increasingly difficult to do when all anyone can see in our lives are the mistakes we make and cannot tell us from the rest of the "loonies" that run around proclaiming to know the "truth."

And then, perhaps the most important aspect of God's word is its use as a training manual in righteousness…something that is totally foreign to us as His creations. We were born into sin and that's where we would die, except for God's grace and mercy displayed in the sacrifice of His Son for our sins. In Christ, we are declared "RIGHTEOUS" but that is just the first step in claiming our inheritance as children of the King. If we are to live as His children, we must immerse ourselves in His Word and be in constant training to run our race as believers. Our study of God's Word will equip us as God's messenger to be competent and ready to do every good work that He sets before us… and each good work propels us toward our Heavenly home and our eternal reward.

Constantly training...Living in the Word,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

The Bible is God’s headlights

To light the unseen way;

We need not know the destination

But just trust Him for today.

For when we put our faith in Him

His plans for us are sure;

To live a life in Him complete

Righteous …holy…..pure!

WPQ © 2017

Blessed or Bothered....It's All About Your Point of View!

I woke up today, after celebrating my 68th birthday yesterday; and though I had a few aches and my back felt a little stiff, I considered myself to be doing okay for a guy approaching seventy. I mean, I vividly remember at the age of 35 attending the funeral services of my dad who had just passed away at the young age of 63 (It seemed young then and even younger now). I know that his gene pool never had longevity on their side; so for me, I lived thinking that I too might experience the same fate.

But praise be to my Heavenly Father that He is not finished with me yet...and that is why I am still bumping and prodding along on this earthly sod. So, it comes down to a this very simple question...How shall I spend my remaining days on this planet...LOOKING AT THE GLASS HALF-EMPTY OR THANKFUL THAT IT IS STILL HALF FULL?

Which brings me to my Scripture for today found in Matthew, the 6th chapter, where Christ says beginning with verse 31: " So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

For most of us, we spend a LOT of our energies in life chasing the things of this world...wealth, security, fame, position, prestige...the list is truly endless. And when we fall short of achieving and gaining the things we desire, we are often left embittered and disillusioned that somehow God has failed to give to us as He promised...."the desires of our heart."

So we do what is natural to man...we look for someone to blame for our miserable existence and then dump on them all our shortcomings and failures. We see life as disappointing and definitely view the glass of life as half empty...or even worse. We are bothered that God could have, should have and would have done more "if only"..... and it is the "if only" that makes our remaining years a time of bleak despair and downcast expectations.

But if we would only take Christ at His word...first seek HIM and HIS righteousness...then all the things we need and many of the things we would want would be GLADLY given from the Father of Lights from whom all blessings flow. But how do we seek HIM and how do we grasp and hold on to His righteousness?

Well, that's a question with an answer for another time... for now, concentrate on counting the blessings that you have and with each one give THANKS to a God who loves you SO MUCH that He did not even spare His own Son....rather He sent Him to pay our sin debt and give us the righteousness of Christ; so that one day we can stand unashamed in front of a HOLY GOD...now that's a glass that is filled to the top and overflowing.

So no matter your age or your position in life, look forward to this day that the Lord has given you and rejoice in the blessings of your life...changing your outlook is simple...JUST CHANGE YOUR UPLOOK AND SEEK THE FATHER AS YOU IMITATE THE SON!!!

Seeking to Serve So That Others Might Be BLESSED,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

It's easy in this world of ours

To lament our place in life;

To fault our Father up above

For our toils, our pain and strife.

But when we strive to follow Jesus

And truly imitate this man;

Then  we will have a joy-filled  life

As we live according to His plan.

WPQ©2017

Are you a 007 Christian?

I don’t know about you, but I am a diehard James Bond fan. In fact, I practically grew up watching and re-watching the James Bond films… and to this day, I will gladly plunk down in front of the old boob tube and catch a Bond thriller or weekend extravaganza of Bond classics.

I guess the mystery and excitement of James dashing around the world as a servant in Her Majesty’s Secret Service was the juice that would quench the thirst of a young mind’s wanderlust and allow me to step out of the problems and tribulations of a youthful adolescent, even if just for a few hours. I seemed to always marvel that James was so adept at hiding his true identity and pretending to be so many different people with such diverse and intriguing backgrounds.

The same can be said for so many Christians in this day and age….they profess to follow Jesus as they pass down dark halls and gather in church vestibules on Sundays; but, on Mondays, they move through the corporate world incognito ….stripped of anything that may give away their secret identity ….a son or daughter of the Most High ….a member of the family of God.

But they are not the first to travel such a path of deception as they conceal their Christian identity; just look in the Scriptures in John 12:42-43: “Nevertheless many, even of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”

Even in the day of Jesus, when many had seen with their own eyes the miracles he performed, they could not be persuaded to believe in Jesus….but there were many that did believe; and rather than confess Him as Lord and Savior, they kept their faith in Him a secret….they became a silent follower with a secret identity for fear of the cost.

Today, unfortunately, there are too many Christians living as 007…an agent for Jesus with a secret identity. They will profess Him to their close circle of fellow believers but they are not willing to publicly announce their allegiance and loyalty to the King of Kings for fear of the cost….the cost of ridicule, weak-mindedness or sarcasm…the cost of power or prestige or put downs….the cost of glory or praise from others that see Christ as a crutch and not as a conqueror.

How are you living in this world today…are you out in the open as a true believer that values the opinion of God over the fleeting fancies of the “in” crowd….or  are you living as a “secret agent’ that is pretending to be what the world values rather than living the values taught to us by the Savior.

As always, THE CHOICE IS YOURS ….AND YOURS ALONE!!!! God will not hold your feet to the fire until you confess Him as Lord and Savior in your life; but, He is watching …and often withholding His abundant blessings until we are stripped of our secret identity and fully functioning as a child of the King.

So go ahead and drop the pretense that you can be an 007 Christian…. Step out in faith to tell others that Jesus is INDEED the one you adore and the one to whom you answer ….and in that matter, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY!!

Stepping out of the Shadows….Living in His Glorious Light,

WPQ

Thought for the day:

Living for Jesus in this day and age can be quite hard to do;

Especially when the pressure's on and it all depends on you…

So take a moment to confess, no matter the end of the story;

God is at work to bring you good and in that receive His glory.

HUMILITY PERSONIFIED

I wrote yesterday regarding humility and the lack of it in our world today….yet, it is still at the heart of service to our Lord and the very essence of who Christ was. In Philippians 2: 6-8 we read, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Being a servant is not an easy profession; and one that very few would aspire to. But, our Lord came to earth with that express mission…to humble himself and serve. From the earliest days of his ministry on earth, he served the lowly and down-trodden. He healed their infirmities, restored their sight, cured their diseases and raised their children from the dead. He even went so far as to wash the feet of His disciples when no one else would stoop so low. He, the Maker of Heaven and earth, with a towel girded about His waist, washed the dusty, dirty feet of those He loved…just to demonstrate how we are to serve. Humbly, quietly, without flash or fanfare, giving unselfishly, he lowered himself to us so that in our faith and trust, we could be raised to Him.

He, Gloriously…Magnificently…Seated on high...and we in a servant’s rightful place, next to our Master. Do we consider ourselves better than our Savior or are we just making excuses when we fail to serve? Is the example that our Savior gave us to hard to follow or are we just too proud and haughty? If we are to call ourselves Christians, then we must be Christ-like and that means…. we must be a servant!

Humble yourself to the position of “faithful servant” and see how God is exalted in your life…you’ll enjoy the view from on high, seated next to your Savior in glory.

Salt & Light Quote:
Never is a man so exalted as when he has humbled himself before the Lord…. nor can he bend so low that God will not raise him on high.

Serving my Savior…Humbled by His Grace,

WPQ

Thought for the day:

If you want to be like Jesus,

The very best place to start

Is to do for other's unselfishly

With a servant's humble heart.

Just serve the Lord with a humble heart

And in all you say and do;

When you bless others in service for Him

They will see our Lord in You!

WPQ @2008

HUMILITY ....A LOST ART

There was a time before the “you can do anything” promoters in this world that humility was actually considered a desirable characteristic. A time before the heavyweight fighter, Muhammad Ali, proclaimed that he was the greatest and we all began to make similar claims. We were told and taught to believe that there was nothing that we could not accomplish if we just set our minds to the task before us ….and that it was okay; no, it was mandatory that we tell everyone just how great we were and how we deserve the very best of everything. That thinking has corrupted our younger generation and has left them gasping for breath as they race around in life trying to have it all.

The Bible speaks at great length to extol the virtues of humility …and it’s a word that is timely for all of us today. From the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs 15:33, we read, “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.” And in just the next chapter, Solomon continues to instruct us in verse 18, when he says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Haughty is a word we don’t hear very much anymore because it defames our character. When we take a closer look at what it means, words like proud, arrogant, conceited, snooty, stuck-up, overconfident and high and mighty come to mind ….and those are words that no one likes to have associated with them and their character.

No, no one wants to think of themselves as haughty or as Paul admonishes in Romans 12:3, “I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith God has assigned.”

So that brings us back to humility….how do we get it and how can we hang on to it? In James 4: 6, we read that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble and then in verse 10, he tells us to “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Humble ourselves before the Lord…. the Creator of the Universe, the GREAT I AM, the ALPHA and the OMEGA, the BEGINNING and the END, the Name above EVERY Name. How could we NOT humble ourselves before our Maker?

Haughty or Humble…..the choice is yours? More tomorrow on how to be humble!

Seeking to be humble…Bold for my Savior,

WPQ

Thought for the day:

Lord, make my life a guiding light

So that my neighbors might see;

May they be lead to seek your face

Because of what they’ve seen in me.

May my life be an open book

And on each page this story....

I'm living a godly life

So that God gets the GLORY!!!!

WPQ@2017