Submission is not being a doormat. Everyone has an authority. God has laid out the structure to make the man be over the woman. It doesn’t mean that women are anything less than men, but things work in harmony when there is a head. Then we each have a role.

Genesis 2:18-23
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone ; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  19  Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever  the man called a living creature, that was its name.  20  The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.  21  So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept ; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.  22  The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.  23  The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh ; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

Submission is putting yourself under your husband so he can be the leader/head that God intended him to be.

It is not an option, but a directive given to us in Ephesians 5:21-24

And be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

1 Timothy 2:11-15 says, A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

Titus 2:5, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Perhaps your husband has a wrong idea of what submission means. Do you not expect your children to submit to your authority? But at the same time, they are not your slaves to treat poorly. We raise them for the Lord’s glory. Your husband is told to treat you with dignity.

Ephesians 5:25-30 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.

1 Corinthians 7:3-5 says, The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Does this help in getting a different picture of what submission and authority are?

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Beautiful Submission!

Oh my… what that must look like in the spiritual world! It’s easy enough to fix, though.

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains…Ephesians 6:10-20

Did you read that? So cool! Go back and reread it. Let’s highlight some things. Let’s see what we are told to do…

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains…Ephesians 6:10-20

Let’s highlight WHY we want to do those things highlighted, or what might happen if we do or don’t.

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains…Ephesians 6:10-20

Are you ready to get dressed each day?

Lord,

May we be people of the Word, doers of the Word, not just hearers who delude themselves. May we be a sweet fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing each day. We know that we cannot glorify You in our own strength, but by Yours.

Help those that are strong to bear the weakness of those without strength and not just please themselves, but let each of us please her neighbor for their good, to their edification, just as Christ did not please Himself.

Remind us not be caught without our armor so that we may give way for the devil. Help us each to keep our priorities and make the most of our time, as the days are evil, for if we live, we live for the Lord. Help us to make these habits for Your glory.

Thank You that You have made it possible for us to talk to approach the throne anytime. To You be the glory!

In Christ Jesus’ name… because of what He did on the cross…. AMEN

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Let’s Face It, You Can’t Fight Naked!

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

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1 John 4:1-21

God’s Way:
Dad
Mom
Child

Culture’s Way:
Child (Smartest, proved through “kid power” and disobedience towards a good outcome is accepted because “kids know better” and the ends justify the means.)
Mom (Wiser than dad. Lets the kids get away with more, which is made to appear acceptable and compassionate and “reasonable”, when she is actually tearing her house down.)
Dad (Dumb oaf that is not involved with anything in the family’s life. He is the dumbest member of the family and not to be honored or revered. He just “doesn’t understand”.)

As Tedd Trip, author of Shepherding a Child’s Heart, states, “God has established authority structures in the home. Men are to provide loving leadership, laying down their lives for their wives. Wives are to receive and follow the leadership of their husbands (Ephesians 5:22–33). Children are to honor and obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1–3).”

Let’s not get this messed up anymore.

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Kid Power

Whether one is qf or not qf, whatever the interpretation of that is, it is not a salvation issue, so we cannot and should not ever judge another person’s closeness to God by how many children they have or don’t have.

I ask myself often, is my life given over to serving and honoring, and glorifying my Savior in all I do? Have I given every part of me to Him in complete sacrifice, not partial, because He is worthy of it all? It may not be in regards to having as many blessings as He chooses: It may be in regard to any area of my life. I could just as easily ask, “Have I given my eating habits to God?” “Have I given my children to God?” “Have I given my marriage to God?” “Do I spend my time wisely to things that glorify God and work towards leading others to the Kingdom?” “Are my thoughts His thoughts?” Once our hearts and minds are intent on pleasing our Lord, everything else will fall into place….if we let it. Our habits become His habits. Our children and marriage become His children and His marriage. Our time becomes His time. Our body becomes His body. Remember, we have been bought with a price. We already proved in the Garden of Eden that we cannot do things in our own power. We have none.

Ecclesiastes 2:11 – Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.

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Quiverful: It’s Not About Babies

Luke 12:22-40 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!

And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.

Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

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Comfort In Slim Times

Sanctify:

hagiazō
hag-ee-ad’-zo
To make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: – hallow, be holy, sanctify.

From Webster’s:

SANC’TIFY, v.t. [Low L. sanctifico; from sanctus, holy, and facio, to make.]

1. In a general sense, to cleanse, purify or make holy.
2. To separate, set apart or appoint to a holy, sacred or religious use.
3. To purify; to prepare for divine service, and for partaking of holy things. Exo 19.
4. To separate, ordain and appoint to the work of redemption and the government of the church. John 10.
5. To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.
6. To make the means of holiness; to render productive of holiness or piety.
7. To make free from guilt.
8. To secure from violation.

Can we do this? 1 Peter 1:13-16 tells us to… 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

5:25-27 also says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” AHA!

Oh what a beautiful picture…being washed in God’s Word! I think that’s why I love to listen to it read to me out loud. I love to hear it quoted. I just soak it in, every syllable of it!

In light of the idea of keeping our children pure…and even ourselves, what steps can we do to be sanctified…holy…set apart?

Even if our husbands are not washing us in the word, we can be washing our children in God’s Word. It’s a whole lifestyle change….remember…we are aliens and strangers here….this world is only temporary. Where do we hang our hat? We can be keeping them set apart by:

• Getting rid of the television
• Getting rid of social influences that thwart holiness (this may include neighbors or family members)
• Get rid of reading material that is opposite of purity
• Know where your children are at all times and be with them
• Protecting our sons’ eyes from immodest women, clothing, magazines at the stores (how about turning magazines around at the checkout? I do.)
• Not taking our families to beaches or swim areas in which immodest apparel is worn.
• Make sure we and our daughters are dressed in purity, which includes swimwear or running around the house in anything see-through, too short, low cut, etc.
• Speak to each other in love, encouraging each other

Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Romans 8:12-14 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

The time we have with our children is oh so short!

Ephesians 5:3-20
But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.

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Training Children In Holiness & Purity

This week, we will be finishing the last 75 books of Psalms. Will you join us?

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Bible Reading Challenge

Okay, now that I got that out, will you forgive me? ~grin~

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Bible Reading Challenge

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Bible Reading Challenge