Give Thanks to God For…

Posted on by brettyamaji

As with many folks in America, this week is all about preparation to celebrate a holiday.  Now that might mean a bunch of different things.  From packing a suit case and hitting the road or getting on an airplane.  Or just going to the store to get all of the ingredients for the Thanksgiving holiday feast.  Whatever your plans are this week, for most people it seems to pass by with little sincere consideration of thanksgiving.  Sure, we give a passing gesture of what we are thankful for, a brief thought of thanks, and the traditional thanks for the banquet feast we are about to overstuff ourselves with.  We will give thanks for the family and friends that we will share it with and we might even let God in on the festive moment of thanks with a placated prayer and then we set Him back in a box.

Perhaps I exaggerate, but I hope you get the idea that we more often fail to come to the Holy Day – holiday – of Thanksgiving with a heart full of thanks.  A heart ready to give thanks, not for the things that fill our table, or house, or garages, but to the One who has filled our hearts.  Yes, it is good and right to acknowledge Him and give thanks to Him for filling our table and house and all of those things.  But all these things should not be the first that come to mind when we gather in celebration of Thanksgiving.  Let’s look at a particular Psalm to get an idea of how we ought to approach this particular Holy Day, Psalm 95:1-5:

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 3 For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods, 4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also. 5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land.

The opening verse speaks to everyone coming together in a communal gathering to sing prepared songs with great joy to the God of the universe.  This is not a haphazard, “let’s throw something together right at the last second as we go to grandma’s house.”  It is prepared worship; we have thought things through.  We know what we are thankful for, but above all we know Who we are thankful to.  It is not some mystical abstract force, or chance, or luck that you are saved or blessed of the Lord.  It is by His gracious hand that all is accomplished and all are blessed, we would be wise to remember all that He these blessings.  Even the unbelievers that are living on this world He blessing, that should be demonstrative enough of His goodness and His lovingkindness. Verse 2 reminds us that we are in the very presence of this great God, and if we have forgotten His credentials, take a look at verse 3.  He is a great God and a great king above all gods.  There is none like Him, nothing to compare Him to.

He is a consuming fire, and when the Israelites heard Him speak from the mountain in the desert they shook with fear.  This is the very same God that we are to be giving thanks to.  This is the very same God that parted the Red Sea.  His power is the same today as it was then and it is the same as when He said let there be light and there was light.  He does not change.  We may not see a physical manifestation of Him in our time like a burning bush or a pillar of cloud by day or a pillar of fire by night, but we have something far greater.  We have the precious blood of Christ, the Rock of our salvation.

The last 2 verses remind us of His majestic reach of what belongs to Him on this world.  It does not even go into the great expanse of the rest of the universe but remains on planet earth.  The depths of the earth and the peaks of the mountains are in His hands; they belong to Him and all that they contain.  It goes on, the seas are also His and I love how verse 5 ends, “for it was He who made it, and His hands form the dry land.”  It was by Him, and through Him, and for Him that creation was created.  It was not for our benefit alone that He did what He did.  We do benefit, yes, and we should give much more thanks that He created us, that He redeemed us for Himself and by Himself, and much more than we should give thanks for a holiday meal.

The Selfless Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

We, as men of God, are to be selfless, or in another word, unselfish.  But what does that mean?  Does that mean that we have to give up on all our dreams or give all our money over to God, or the poor, or to those who are in need?  Are we do expend all our time and energy on endeavors that enrich and uplift other people?  Well, the short answer is no, but you must keep reading to get the full answer.  So, what does God’s Word say about all these things?  Take a look at Luke 6:35:

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

As we can see, this is our Lord Jesus telling us not just to love our family and friends but our enemies.  We are to love those that hate us.  Just pause here and really consider what that means.  Think about what it means to love your family and friends and what you get in return for loving them, and being a loving member in their lives.  Now love someone that hates you, love someone that will not reciprocate, love someone that wants nothing to do with you.  That is what we are commanded to do.  That is preciously what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8) and while we were enemies and hostile to Him (Romans 8:7)

To be generous is relatively easy.  Even to do good deeds is a remarkably easy task when we have the means and motivation. Even when we do not have the means or motivation, it is it is easy to do good deeds for those that we love, and those that we agree and get along with.  But that is not what we are commanded to do.  We are commanded to love those that do not love us.  We are to give to them and lend to them with the expectation of nothing in return.  Give without even expecting a simple thank you in return.

Let me back up for one moment to look a little deeper at the word love.  We may overlook and sometimes undervalue this 4 letter word.  We kiss the wife good-bye in the morning and say, “I love you”, or tell the kids that we “love you” before we send them off to bed.  It is a simple word packed full of meaning.  But it is also a word that has to be lived out.  There has to be action behind that word to give it meaning.  In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 we can see what Scripture says about love

4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. 

The truest love is explained here, that is agape love.  Agape love is usually the love that is expressed by God to His creation and upon His creatures.  So how do we know that this is the truest and purest form of love? Again, let’s search the Scriptures. First John 4:8 says, “God is Love.”  But what does that mean for us?  The word love is translated from different Greek words, and that is how we get our different biblical love types.  In this case, the word love is translated from the word agapos, which means that God is the very source of this love.

So, what does it mean to have agape love?  It means that you choose to love them.  It is a deliberate action demonstrated toward and for the highest good of someone else.  God did this by sending His own son Jesus Christ to die in the place of penitent sinners.  To say that you love someone that is a world away from you, that might not like you is a ‘nice’ gesture, but that is all it is, a simple gesture.  Agape love is demonstrated in the other person’s life, you know, your enemy’s life.  If you want to follow His command and be a selfless man of God, you must demonstrate a self-sacrificing love to someone that does not so easily or readily reciprocate your love. Or in other words, someone that demonstrates any love other than agape.

Getting back to our starting verses in Luke, we can see that God Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.  The thing about the Scripture is that there are so many things that are clearly delineated into a right and wrong, good and evil, light and dark, and moral and immoral.  God is kind to those that are ungrateful to Him and are, at heart, enemies of God.  Yet He so loved us with agape love that He sent His son to take our punishment for the sins, the moral failures of His standards that we all committed.

God the Father is demonstrating how He is being selfless to those who are His enemies.  He chose long ago, before the foundation of the world, that He would redeem sinners.  The choosing of Abraham long ago is both the actual selection of a real people nation – Israel – and a foretaste of the calling of Christians.  It is the deliverance of Israel from bondage under Egypt to the deliverance of sinners from under the bondage of sin. Now some might say that they did not need this deliverance and that they are not enemies of God, because He either does not exist, or they have not offended Him.  But here is the thing, as I just stated in the previous paragraph.  There are rights and wrongs and there are friends and enemies of God.  Better said, there are those who are of the household of God and then there are those who are His enemies.  God emptied Himself. He was selfless so that He could make His enemies His family and we are commanded to demonstrate that kind of love.

It is easier said than done, which is why we must do it in His Spirit and in His strength.  For if we do anything on our own it will fizzle and fade, and if we could keep it up, it would ultimately be done for the wrong reasons.  Even without us realizing it, we can do things with selfish motivations and self-glorification and for what we can get back.  We can love like this because He first loved us (1 John 4:10).  We can be selfless because we, who are in Christ, have the mind and the heart of Christ.  We must have a heart that aches for those who hate and revile Christians.

God our Father has always been and is still this very day merciful to us.  Those of us who seek to be men of God are to emulate that same characteristic through agape love.  Now, demonstrating love does not mean accepting and tolerating all things that are going on in the world.  That is not love.  To be tolerant of all things is actually the opposite of loving.  It is a demonstration of selfishness, showing/revealing that we do not really care enough to be concerned about others and their eternal destination or how they get along in their day to day lives.

This selfless love is a big deal.  It is referenced many times throughout Scripture and it transcends so many of the issues within the contexts of Scripture, covering every issue that we encounter today.  Here is the bottom line: for us to demonstrate, or more precisely to have selfless love, we must have that type of love for God and for our neighbors.  We cannot love one another and especially not our enemies without a right and proper love for our God.  The Good Samaritan story demonstrates just who our neighbors are.  We must have both a right love for God, by loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and the second, is like it that we will love our neighbor as ourselves.  Luke 10:25-37 is where we can find this interaction and story.

25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

You must understand the tension that exists here between a Jew and a Samaritan.  There were racial, ethical, religious, and cultural tensions and differences and hatred that divided these two peoples.  We could very easily say that the Jews and the Samaritans were enemies.  Then Jesus basically tells the people and the lawyer that asked the question – someone who was very knowledgeable about the Mosaic law – that these are the ones they are to love unconditionally.  Unconditionally love those with whom we might have racial, ethical, religious, cultural, political or any other differences.  That is exceedingly hard to do if we do it without God.  With God all things are possible, even loving someone that despises you.

To unconditionally love an enemy is to look beyond the differences and despite what separates us love them anyway.  It does not mean to ignore or disregard what might be sinful issues, but to deal with them appropriately, which is a difficult thing to do.  Dealing with sin in someone’s life is a most difficult task, but it is a selfless task.  We live in a time of great sin, but that is no different than any other time in human history.  Addressing sin in our own lives is a constant battle that we will never win without the assistance of the Holy Spirit and help from the fellowship of believers.  When we have men of God who are actively fighting against their own sinful tenancies than we will have more Christian men who are selfless. I will echo our Lord Christ Jesus’ words when He exhorted the Lawyer and the crowd to go and do the same as the Samaritan.

September 11 Memorial

Posted on by brettyamaji

For so many of us, September 11, 2001 is not just a day that passed by in our lives like any other.  It is a day that has scarred each of us in one way or another.  From those that were killed that day, to those of us who answered the call to take up arms in the fight on terrorism. To those who have fallen in the course of that cause or are living with physical or psychological wounds and scars.  These are just a few reminders as to why this is more than just a date on a calendar from 2 decades ago.  Much like we do for another tragic date in history, that being December 7, 1941, we memorialize it.  We set it aside to remember what happened that day, the lives lost, and the changes that have transpired because of it.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed that morning, and the events that resulted in those deaths altered the course of our country.  For instance, I never would have thought I would see armed soldiers in American airports.  Thankfully, it did not last too long as we now have the TSA (say what we will about the TSA, they do serve a purpose), as well as the creation of the Office of Homeland Security.

I could recount stats and timelines but there are countless sources for that already.  What I want us to focus on is a time of reflection.  A time to remember where we were that day and what we were doing when we first heard of the news of the attacks.  What was our first reaction, was it panic? Were our thoughts of the end of the world? Was it seeking prayer and shelter in God the Father who is a Strong Fortress?

I went to work on September 10, 2001 at 9:00 pm as the Night Manager in a small-town grocery store about 50 miles south of Kansas City, Missouri.  It was a typical night of restocking grocery items on shelves and making the products look nice for the next day’s business.  Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing on the radar for this 21-year-old kid who, at the time, worked 6 nights a week, served one weekend a month in the US Marines, and lived alone, but had plans to get married, an education and a better job.

Of course, that all changed the very next morning.  As I was finishing up my duties, my Assistant Night Manager, who had the night off, called me and told me about a plane that flew into the World Trade Center.  I did not believe it, for starters, her and I had a great rapport and did a lot of kidding around, and another is that something like this was just so far out there that it was inconceivable.  With my work finished up, I rushed home and turned on ABC news and listened to Peter Jennings all day long as I packed my military gear and checked in with my command.

But as I watched the second plane hit the South tower, and then as I watched both towers fall, I will tell you that my first thought was not of the Father, it was of unbelief.  No one could do this to us here in America.  That was my first reaction.  Then it was of all of those people trapped in the buildings, of the people on the planes whose lives on this earth were extinguished in the blink of an eye.  We are told this in James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

I grieved, yes, for the loss of their earthly lives, the loss that will be felt by their family and friends, but the greatest loss, the greatest tragedy is of those who died so suddenly who were unbelievers.  Those that died in their unbelief have no hope in eternity.  They will and they are experiencing the wrath of God even now.  We do not know when we will depart this earth, whether we are believers or unbelievers, we are not guaranteed tomorrow, not even the next hour.  This is one reason why it is so urgent to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to all those that we come into contact with, because we do not know at what point we will pass from this world to the next.

The Humble Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

I will admit that this is a difficult characteristic to define.  We will do this through the Word of God and, more specifically, the example set by Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry.  I could have used a multitude of different sources and definitions, reviewed a plethora of different papers, books, blogs, etc. to work through this “hard to nail down” subject, but since Scripture is sufficient for all things – not to mention that humility is mentioned almost 100 times – it only makes sense to start there. Proverbs, the book of wisdom, tells us this in chapter 22 verse 4:

“Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life;”

Humility begins with the fear of God, which is not a trembling, terrified fear, but an awe-filled referential fear. This text declares that this is an admiral trait to have within us; there are rewards to be had if we have a humble heart.  These can be eternal or temporal.  Riches are not necessarily only financial or material, but can be riches as in those we might call friends.  Honor.  It goes without saying, but when does a humble person ever get disrespected because of their humility?  Life here may not speak of the quantity of life, but the quality of life: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Philippians 2:3-5, “3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”

The Apostle Paul is writing to the Philippian church about what their motivation should be in their service to one another.  Humility is not the outward acts of being humble, but is the inward motivation that reflects true humility.  It is the condition of the heart that will motivate the hands into action.  We can also say that true humility will generate in us a desire to serve others and yet go unnoticed or unrewarded. 

So, what are these two passages trying to tell us?  It is telling us to consider, declare, deem, treat, and rate others of more value than ourselves.  But in order to value someone more than ourselves, we must have a valuation scale. Let me take a time out here.  I am not determining or stating that we assign some arbitrary value to other people.  Each person that makes up the human race has dignity.  That is clear throughout Scripture because we all, whether unbeliever or believer, are created in the image of God. We are to be treating others better than we treat ourselves. That is respecting and caring for others.

In contrast to humility, there is the sin of pride, most prominently displayed in narcissism.  Narcissism is essentially a heart full of pride that is so deceived by sin that it does not realize it.  People who are narcissistic tend to be selfish, but in a way that is hard for them to see it as being selfish.  They are self-focused to a point that everything is about them, how everyone treats them, how this is against them, how great they are at this or that.  This is not humility.

Yet, humility is also not a low value of ourselves.  We are not to look upon ourselves as worthless or of lesser value than any other person.  As believers we must understand that 1) we are valued and valuable, but 2) the value of Jesus Christ is so grand, so fantastical that in comparison it makes us look like we have no value. This is why in Job 25:6 Job declares “How much less man, that maggot, And the son of man, that worm!” We must remember Christ died for us. To be humble we must be looking outside ourselves to those around us. 

As I stated in the beginning, humility is a hard word to define, and it is also a hard thing to describe.  So, let me define it this way.  Humility is to love and serve that which is unlovable.  It is to know, love, and serve that which may never reciprocate, either by choice or ability.  Jesus Christ exemplified this very thing in washing His disciple’s feet.  This narrative is found in John 13:1-17.

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.

5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Let me start with the fact that Jesus already knew two things.  The first was that Judas Iscariot would betray Him and the second He would be, in a matter of hours, crucified. The basic definition that I gave earlier fits this situation, that you know, love, and SERVE those who are unlovable and who may not be able to reciprocate that love.  Does that not rightly fit Judas Iscariot?  If Jesus was returning to the Father shortly why would He need to stoop down to the lowest stations in that culture, the foot washing servant?  Because He is humble and was giving them an example to follow.  Jesus said as much in verse 15. But here is another thing that Jesus makes very clear.  Look at verse 16 Jesus is Lord and Teacher and no one is greater than He and yet even He, the King of kings and Lord of lords, took on the role of the lowest station at that time.  No one else can say that serving in whatever need there is – within the church – is beneath them.

When someone says, “I am humble” what is it that they are actually saying?  There are only two response categories that the answer can fall under.  Some might argue that there is a third category, and that being indifference.  But I do not believe that the ability to be indifferent is applicable here because there is something that will always motive our choices and actions.  It could be something that keeps us from helping or serving.  It is not by indifference; it is selfishness that prevents that. 

The first response would be of pride.  This declaration of one’s own humility is actually the exact opposite.  It is a statement of their pride and ego.  It is done so without fully understanding the weight of their sin, or the price of their salvation, and quite possible comprehending what they were destined for prior to coming to faith in Jesus Christ.  Hell, that place of eternal wrath and punishment for sins not wiped clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.  The sin of pride is all about self, that is narcissism.  We all know someone that is at some level a bit narcissistic.  One thing about narcissism is that the one with it rarely admits it, usually because of their false sense of humility.

The second response would be of true humility.  This is a declaration of not one’s own work, but the admission of what Christ has done for them.  They have an understanding of what it means to be a child of the Most High God.  And they understand what they have been saved from with a true realization that they could not do it for themselves.  For every Christian, this should be our response, but on this side of Glory we are still prone to sin.  We must continue to be reminded to have a humble spirit.  When we are truly humble, we are more protected from so many other sins.  The sin of pride tends to sprout other sins, so we must guard our hearts and always be able to see when we are becoming more prideful. 

The man of God will have a sense of humility.  He will serve in any way he can wherever he can and will do so with all thankfulness.  To be humble is to deem others of greater value than himself and to see his God as that of greatest value.  He will recognize the great divide that separates himself and God and will have a sense of being undeserving of being called and redeemed by the blood of Christ.  For it was Jesus Christ who bridged that gulf, that divide, so that the man of God might have a right relationship with the God of the universe.  The man of God will recognize through his humility that he brought nothing to his own salvation.  That it was only through the completed work of redemption of Jesus Christ.

Does this characterize you? If so, you are demonstrating a characteristic of a man of God.  If it does not, pray about it.  Get into the Word of God. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness, for right living and walking as Christ walked.  We have been told how to do it, but not just outwardly, the heart must be the focus.  If you are not saved, I pray for you that today would be the day of salvation, but know what it is that you are being saved from, an eternity in Hell.  A place where all unbelievers go to be punished for all of eternity, with no relenting, no breaks, and no reprieves.  You will, if you are redeemed, spend eternity instead in the marvelous presence of Jesus Christ and His glory, but count the cost, there is a cost to following Christ.  There may be relationships with family and friends that are lost, lifestyles that change, your desires and thoughts will be changed because He will place in you a new heart that seeks Him and desires Him and less of self.  Let today be that day!

Why Do We Celebrate Easter?

Posted on by brettyamaji

As the title suggests I am writing about Easter.  Is it wrong for a man of God to allow his family, or in a broader sense, any Evangelical Christians to celebrate Easter?  If you have read, that you might have already answered that question, but we cannot give a clear answer to that until we have a clear understanding of the context.  You see, the name Easter, like so many words in the modern English language, are loaded with multiple means.

So where did the name Easter come from?  The history is not as strong as some would like and I am by no means highly educated in this matter, but I wanted to give some insight into some possible historical lineage.  The Saxons of Northern Europe worshipped a goddess of the east called Eastre or Eostre.  She was referred to the goddess of spring with her symbol being the hare which happens to be the symbol of fertility.  However, there is very little, if any, physical evidence that there was truly a group of humans that ‘worshipped’ a goddess called Eastre.  There are several other examples that I can give, but they are the same.

It appears that the Easter celebration that Christians celebrate, which is the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead, has been taken over by the secular world.  Could it be that simple, that quick, and that easy?  In the last 100 years, do more Americans look forward to an imaginary man-sized rabbit hopping into their houses to seal their hard-boiled eggs (or hollow plastic eggs) and hide them outside, rather than the rising of a Jesus Christ?  The secular world says we cannot tell our children about Jesus Christ because that has not been proven true. It might negatively impact how they see the world.  But we actively promote the Easter Bunny on TV and in stores and in our schools, and sadly in some churches.

That last one is really a sad one.  The church should truly be counter cultural and should not allow something like that to creep into it.  Should a church have an Easter Egg Hunt? Some will outrightly say no, others will say yes, and I will say with caution: it depends.  Definitely no bunnies, but if you want invite the kids of the neighborhood and share the gospel in a friendly and inviting environment, sure.  But the gospel message must be the focal point, not the eggs, or candy, or the fun.  It is the message of the gospel.  Jesus did not rise from the dead so that we might worship a bunny and enjoy chocolate on this particular Sunday.  He defeated death so that we would no longer be slaves of sin.  And no bunny, chocolate, or egg will ever give hope of defeating the death that waits for those who are still under sin.

So why do we celebrate Easter?  Let me rephrase that.  Why do we celebrate Resurrection Sunday?  Because it is the day that Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior defeated death.  He declared to all that death no longer had power over Him and those that would be found in Him.  If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, well, He still would be dead, showing that He was not God, and as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19:

14 If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. 15 Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But Paul does not stop there.  He continues on with the good news with verses 20-22, especially at the end of verse 22:

20 But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 

I started with a question and I want to get back to it.  Is it wrong to celebrate with the hiding of eggs?  While I would say no it is not and Scripture does not say that it is forbidden.  How does it seem to you?  Is it too close to the secular celebration of Easter and the hoppy man-sized bunny?  Then I will suggest to you what was recently suggested to me – hide lambs with Scripture verses inside.  Your children will find the treasure of the wisdom of God instead of the foolishness of men and all to His glory.  Resurrection Sunday is coming – He has risen! He has risen indeed.

The Teachable Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

It is a difficult thing in our culture to have a teachable spirit.  We have an innate belief that we are smart and intelligent and are generally put off when told that we are wrong about something.  This is not having a teachable spirit.  I am, of course, not speaking of learning skills like accounting or plumbing or nursing, but am speaking specifically about those things that we believe.  Although we do want to be teachable in whatever profession or hobby that we might have and enjoy.

A belief is something we hold true based on information that is not entirely conclusive to all.  To believe in something is the same as saying we have faith in that thing being true.  But it also requires a presupposition.  We must have a preconceived notion that what we will eventually come to believe in is true.  To illustrate this, let’s assume that humanity is basically good, that at the core we have a good heart or a good character.  Overall, our good deeds or even just our good intentions will outweigh our mistakes, our misdeeds, and all of those mean-spirited thoughts.

There are several beliefs that someone who believes this way must bring to the table. Their belief is built on 2 major assumptions, the first being that we must know what good is.  We have a standard of what good is and what good is not, that which is evil. The second assumption is that we know (without measuring and tracking) all the deeds, intentions, and thoughts (good and evil) that have been done throughout the world in all situations and in all history.  This is an impossibility as no one can truly understand the intentions of the heart of another person, let alone all people that have ever lived.

In order to counter this belief, we must look to something other than ourselves to judge what is good and what is evil.  Otherwise, we run the risk of good and evil being abstract.  To the Biblically sound Christian, that standard is the living God and what He has declared in His Word.  He is the very definition of good.  Jesus says so in Matthew 19:17 when he responds to the man asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, “And He said to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’”

I will use a rough illustration to try to explain this.  Instead of using a tape measure to measure something, we use our own feet.  For me and my size 9 ½ shoes, the distance between two points might be the distance of 4 heel to toe feet. However, for someone who has size 14 shoes, their measurement of 4 heel to toe feet will actually be different.  The measurement is only accurate if we are both using the same scale, such as a standard tape measure. 

To be teachable, one must be willing to have their beliefs challenged.  As Biblical evidence is given to a belief or as counter to a belief, one must be willing to submit to the authority of the teaching that Scripture is.  To belief that mankind is basically good would fly in the face of the plain teaching of Scripture.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”  If the heart is deceitful and sick and that is the center, the source of all that man is, how can he be good?  If a piece of fruit is rotten in its middle how “good” is it in its entirety?  Sure, there are “good” parts, but the whole is contaminated.

Another example that is prevalent today is that women can pastor and lead churches.  Let me start this illustration first by declaring what proponents and opponents of this argument say and what Scripture declares as well.  Men and women are of equal value, but here is where the difference begins – Scripture declares distinctive roles between men and women.  God created them male and female, the male first as the head and the female from male to be his equal and his helpmate.  Woman is not made to be a subject under the rule and authority of the man.  With distinctive roles, we have different responsibilities.  I am not saying that the role of women is to be responsible for the domestic care; men are equally capable.

The basic premise of the belief that women are able to pastor and lead churches is based on humanistic belief structures, not Biblical mandates.  It is based on human value systems and not sound Biblical principles. Scripture again gives ample evidence that they are not to be pastors in the church.  First Timothy 2:12 says “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.”  This does not mean that women are not to speak or that they could not teach or lead a women’s study, or teach a Sunday School children’s class.  What this is speaking to is the fact that a woman is not to have teaching authority over a congregation.  A pastor’s responsibility goes far beyond preaching duties.  They include counselling, modeling, and living a Biblically sound life.  There will be further discussion on this topic later, but I wanted to use this here as an illustration.

It is not easy to have someone come along side and tell us that we might be in error in our thinking.  That stings our pride, but just as Proverbs tells us in 12:1, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.”  If we truly love knowledge, then we must welcome the challenges to our thinking.  We serve a living, gracious God who has provided to us all that we need for life and godliness, and one of those things is His Word.  Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.”  We can and must allow the Word to teach us, to correct our wrong thinking, and we must use the pure unaltered Word of God.  Not allowing the darkened reasoning of the world to filter the Word of God.

The greatest example is the creation account in Genesis.  Did God really say that He created all things in 6 literal 24-hour days or is this an allegorical tale or poetic picture?  The deception is that we look at modern science theory and interject that into the creation account.  By doing this, we are, of course, using worldly views to filter Scripture.  But if we stand on the fact that Scripture is inspired by God, who is infallible and immutable, does not lie, and understands who and what we are, it demands that we read and understand the creation account the way it is written.

We must have a high view of Scripture from the onset, that God has inspired it and that it is sufficient for all life, even today, and that it is without error.  With regard to any belief system there will be some foundational presupposition.  Now, what does this mean outside of Biblical Christianity?  With regards to the belief system of evolution, that is being declared fact.  The theory of evolution has no eye witnesses and cannot be repeated; it is not observable.  Proponents of evolution do not belief that they hold a presupposition, but in fact they must.  Since they have no account during all those years of evolution, they must assume certain things.  They look at the fossil record and extrapolate out what must have occurred millions and billions of years ago. 

Most scientists, and really most people who believe in the Theory of Evolution, will not even entertain the idea of belief in the Bible.  This is because things that are spiritual cannot be tested by science, but on the flipside, there are things in the Biblical account that can be tested.  The historicity can be measured up with what we know through non-biblical historians.  However, most of these validations are not considered trustworthy because the accounts are recorded in the Bible and are spiritually based.  I will counter that argument by stating the fact that non-spiritually based writings from the same time periods are seen as creditable, which demonstrates a clear presupposition.

Biblical Christians believe that Scripture is true in every regard and that each word – Old and New Testaments – are true and accurate and there is no error and that God the Holy Spirit was at work in the men who physically wrote the 66 books of the Bible.  On the flip side to that belief is the belief that there is no such thing as God and everything can be explained by science.

To be teachable is to allow others to instruct us, to be able to have our thinking challenged with a humble spirit as we are not all-knowing creatures and can have incorrect thoughts and beliefs regarding some things.  Now let me say this.  Because someone might try and challenge our beliefs, we must be able to defend what we believe is truth.  How do we challenge one’s beliefs and how do we defend our beliefs?  It must always be done based on Scripture.

Again, 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that Scripture will teach us and it will reprove and correct.  Our beliefs, and therefore how we reprove and teach one another, cannot be based solely on feelings of truthfulness or even on life experiences.  It must go beyond and above these things, although they can add to the applicability of Scripture.  The danger of relying on life experiences and emotions is that they can be skewed and lead to a misinterpretation of Scripture.

I leave you with one final illustration of this.  One major counter argument against Christianity or the authority and sufficiency of Scripture is the supposed ill-treatment of women.  But if we search the Scriptures, we can find a plethora of women who are powerful and influential. Quite truthfully, women are honored in Scripture.  How can I say all of this? Read through the Bible and see how many women are dignified through the pages: Esther, Ruth, Mary (Jesus’ mother), the Samaritan woman, and Lydia. 

You may not recall who Lydia is, but I will say that she was financially well off as she was a trader in purple fabric and traveled all over the region.  We may not think much of it, but during that time period, it would not be easy for a woman to lead such a successful business life.  She did these things, not her husband, which suggests that she was not married.  While Paul and his travelling companions where in Corinth, she supported them for an extended period of time.  Meaning Lydia opened her home and provided for all the needs of these men until they left.

Allow the Word of God to instruct you and to change you where needed.  Scripture is sufficient for every area of our lives and for all instances, circumstances, and scenarios that we come across.  We must have a spirit that is willing to be taught and to even unlearn what may be incorrect.  This, of course, takes humility.  Earthly wisdom can cause us to puff ourselves up and become prideful.  We must be wary of this and remain humble, knowing that wisdom is from the Lord.

Come to know and love Scripture.  Seek its truth when you are challenging someone else’s views or beliefs, but also seek it when you are being challenged. See if what they say is true and that you are indeed in error.  This is Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  We are to sharpen one another, by teaching one another and having our wrong thoughts corrected so that we can grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).  I will leave you with this question, are you teachable?

The Disciplined Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

When we think of people who are disciplined, we think of professional athletes, and one reason is that they are the pinnacle of their respective sport.  Pick your favorite athlete and consider the amount of time that goes into them practicing, studying, and working out.  They have a very specific, regimented diet that they keep, not to mention the fact that they have been working in their sport for all of their lives. We must also be disciplined in order to be leaders and protectors of our wives and children.  Paul wrote about this in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

In verse 26 Paul is not talking about running an actual race or literally boxing.  He is using an illustration to tell us that there is a purpose to being disciplined.  This discipline is keeping ourselves in control of what we do with our time and our energy.  Use it wisely to maximize our efforts so that we can excel in the things of the Lord.  The apostle is also saying in verse 27 that he must live out what he is preaching to others, and that is where the discipline comes in.

We are to live a disciplined life so that it does not invalidate our testimony.  It should give proof of the power of the One who redeemed us.  There will be outward evidence of a new life, but not what most people think it should be.  We should never be confused about this simple truth.  It is not the discipline within us that will lead us to salvation.  Instead, it is through salvation and being transformed that brings us to want to be disciplined.

So, what does it mean to be disciplined and in what shall we be disciplined?  That is a difficult question to answer as there is not a hard and fast list in Scripture.  We can, however, gather a list of things that we know we ought to have control over and be disciplined in.  Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list.  You can find several other lists out there, many books have been written regarding Spiritual Disciplines.

1. Emotions (Proverbs 29:11)

We are to be in control of our emotions at all times.  Not just emotional outbursts, but the emotions that course through us.  Emotions can be so damaging to those around us, but also to ourselves.  They can leave us bitter and feeling unworthy or unloved.  We must be on guard against rampant emotional outbursts or rampant emotional swings that we hide from one another and never deal with.

2. Words (Ephesians 4:29)

The words that we use can do one of two things.  They can edify, or they can tear down.  They will build up, encourage or challenge someone.  However, they can also tear them apart, deflate them, and cause them to withdraw from the fellowship.  Be careful with the words you use.

3. Thoughts (1 Corinthians 6:18)

Our thoughts are to be pure.  It is, of course, is impossible to keep every impure thought out.  However, when a lustful thought enters our mind, it is not sinful at that moment.  It is sinful when we dwell upon it and toy with it.  Like when King David first laid eyes on a bathing Bathsheba, that glimpse was accidental; it was not sinful.  But the second view and the ensuing lust was.  Sinful thoughts will have an impact on our emotions and on our words.

4. Bible Study (Psalm 119:97, 2 Timothy 3:16)

This is by far one of the most important aspects of discipline for a man of God.  This can be broken down into 2 parts: Bible intake (regular Bible reading) and Bible memorization.  We must be filling our minds with the Word of God so that we might know Him better and meditate on His word (not the empty mindedness of Eastern religions). We are to be filling our minds and thinking on His word, pondering the depth and truth of it.  We are also to hide it in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him.  He has provided a means of escape for every temptation.  And I tell you, if you quote an appropriate verse for a particular temptation in the time of struggle, along with prayer, you will overcome that moment of temptation.

5. Prayer (Hebrews 4:16, Luke 18:1-8, Matthew 21:22)

Speaking of prayer, we should not be lacking in prayer.  Right behind Bible study, we should be known for our prayer life.  The danger is never that we pray too much, but that we pray too little.  One way to jump start your pray life is whenever you get even the smallest inclination to pray, stop and offer up a prayer to God.  It does not need to be a great orated 10-minute prayer.  A simple prayer praising God for being God and for providing you salvation is the greatest prayer.  Communion with your God, that is what prayer is.  The most intimate relationship you should have is between you and your God, not you and another human sinner, even if you are married.  How much and how often you pray tells you how intimate that relationship is.

6. Fasting (Matthew 4:2-4, Matthew 6:16-18)

Yes, fasting is commanded in Scripture and fasting is expected.  Sometimes we fast for health reasons and sometimes we give up things for a time for other reasons.  But I am talking about Biblical fasting, not eating for a day (or longer) and spending that time in prayer or Bible study.  Fasting is about giving something up that is a physical need to demonstrate our spiritual dependence on God.

7. Confession (Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:9)

We are commanded to confess sin.  First and foremost, we are to confess our sins to Christ.  He is our Great High Priest who has been tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin, so He knows our struggles.  We are to confess sin to someone else, a trusted fellow Christian who can help and pray with and for us, especially if it is a sin that we are repeatedly falling into.  Along with confession comes repentance.  We are called to repent, but again repentance does not happen in a vacuum that no one is supposed to know about.

8. Worship (Matthew 4:10, Matthew 28:17, Philippians 2:6, 1 Chronicles 16:29)

God has declared how He will be worshipped.  He is a God of order; He is a God of Holiness.  He will be honored as God, and He expects us to come to Him with offerings of praise from our lips and from our hearts.  We do not get to choose how we will honor and worship Him, for He has declared the how.  But because God has created us with creative minds, we have been granted some leeway in the means of worship.  That is to say, we can choose the style of music, the instruments, the furniture, the lights, and even our attire.

9. Fellowship (Acts 2:42, John 10:24-25)

I am separating fellowship and worship as I believe they are two different disciplines.  Fellowship is about being engaged in the lives of one another; worship is about being united together to honor and praise Jesus Christ.  We cannot be engaged with one another unless we are around one another and having everyday conversations.  But it also requires us to have more than just everyday conversations as well; we must challenge one another in the things of the Lord.

10. Rest (Psalm 127:2, Proverbs 10:5, Proverbs 6:9-11)

This is a strange one as we do not think we should need to be disciplined in getting rest.  But we humans are the worst in all of creation in getting proper rest.  We either get too much (and become lazy) or do not get enough rest (and get burned out).  Improper rest leads to other issues with our thoughts and emotions, which lead to other issues with our service, worship, and fellowship.  God created us to work 6 days and rest 1 day.  We must balance how much we work and how much we rest.

11. Celebration (1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 11:19)

Celebration is the fun that we have.  It is also those life events that we truly celebrate, weddings, births, graduations, etc.  I have never known such events where there was not food present.  Sometimes there is alcohol present, and it is easy to get caught up in eating too much or drinking too much.  But do not forget that the sin of gluttony is not limited to just consuming too much food.  This sin is about obsessing over food too much, so do not make food or the drink too big of a priority to the celebration.

12. Service (Colossians 3:23-24, Mark 10:45)

Service to the people of God is important.  It is important because it demonstrates our love and devotion to the Lord by our love for His people.  It also demonstrates our submission and obedience to His command to serve one another; it takes discipline to do it.  Serving others stings pride, but through our serving, it can also build pride.  So we must be mindful and disciplined to be watchful of that.  Also, I want to point out that we are commanded to serve, but our service should never, ever replace corporate worship.  When serving in a capacity during a time of corporate worship service, we are removed from that worship.  Serving is a type of worship, but it cannot replace corporate worship.

13. Evangelizing (Mark 15:16, Matthew 28:19-20)

Evangelizing is not just for missionaries in far off countries, and it is definitely not for Pastors on Sunday mornings.  Sunday mornings are meant for the proclamation of the Word of God and the Worship of Jesus Christ.  In general, unsaved people do not come to a church service to hear the truth about God.  That is up to all of us.  We are to go and preach the gospel to all of creation and to share the truth about people’s condition without Christ, but that they have eternal hope with Him.  This is the first step in making a disciple, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and not just our personal testimonies of coming to faith.

14. Disciple-Making (Matthew 28:19-20)

Disciple-Making is an important discipline for the man of God.  I am not merely speaking of sharing the gospel and getting a confession of faith.  What I am saying is a long-term relationship of making a disciple of Jesus Christ.  This is a multi-year long relationship, where one mature man of God works with a young in faith man of God (and disciple making is not limited to men only) to teach him the things of the Lord.  We are not gifted spiritual disciplines and Biblical understanding upon conversion.  There will be questions and problems that the new Christian will face.

As I have stated before, this is not an exhaustive list, and even the descriptions are not as deep as we could have gotten into. I really wanted to get your minds working so that you could evaluate our own walk.  How are you doing in these disciplines, are you as disciplined as you think you are?  If you need something more, there are plenty of good books out there.  The one that I would recommend is “Spiritual Disciplines” by Don Whitney.

The Loving Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

Watch any modern television show or movie and you will see men portrayed in a number of ways that are anything but what they should be, men.  These versions of men are usually shallow and singularly minded.  Now depending on the plot, these men may be self-focused, dim witted, short sighted, uncaring, chauvinistic, and on I could go.  But even the “good guys” seem shallow and marginally relatable to an actual living breathing male.

Generally, I think there are several different views of what men are to be. Even if I say a loving man or a man of love, that imagery is still not necessarily what I am attempting to get at.  We have to use different terms that better define what we are looking at to get a clearer picture of the contrast in worldview.  And my main categories here are just that, worldviews.

Category 1: The Secular Man

We can break this category down into 2 main subcategories.  We see these in much of our culture.  These are displayed time and again on the most popular television sitcoms and movies.

Subcategory 1: The Brute Man

The Brute Man is best summed up in “big on brawn but light on brains.” You could also describe him as tall and muscular with an overbearing attitude.  Physicality defines the mightiness of one’s manliness.  The old football saying that football is a “man’s man” sport would define the Brute Man’s mentality.  Men of this class can tear apart a car engine with ease and reassemble it, but cannot find their way around the kitchen, or know how to run the washing machine. 

These men are intelligent men in the field of “manly” things, but are not suitable for home living.  They are incapable of grocery shopping or other simple tasks like picking up the kids from school.  The Brute Man can only handle so many tasks in a day and only tasks that are repetitive in nature and require little brain power and, of course, only to his liking.  This is one of the versions that modern man has devolved into.

Subcategory 2: The Domiciled Man

The Domiciled Man is best summed up with the “yes man” adage.  The Domiciled Man does not want to rock the boat, as it were, and so does as he is told no matter how he is treated.  Sometimes he is rewarded for being obedient, but many times it is just expected behavior. Another way to describe this one is as a defeated dog.  The dog still has that drive to be a dog, but when he hears the masters voice, all the fight in the dog melts away.

The Domiciled Man is also portrayed on television and in movies.  He is usually a husband who wants to be the head of the house but is easily “put in his place” by the withholding of food or sex by his wife.  The Domiciled Man tries in vain to hold his ground, to put his foot down.  But inevitably, within days or sometimes within hours, he will cave, and usually to his own humiliation and to the laughter of everyone else. Many standup comedians use this approach; many sitcoms do the same thing.  The Domiciled Man is what all Husbands turn into because of the power that their wives hold over them, through food and sex. 

Category 2: The Biblical Man

The Biblical Man, as I have called him, differs from the Secular Man described above in one major characteristic; his love.  The Biblical Man starts there, with the Bible, the Holy Scripture, the special revelation from God Himself.  And we are image bearers of God.  Therefore, we are to love as He loved.  But before I get into all that let me say this:  God is not a God OF love.  He IS love, but He is also grace, mercy, goodness, and righteousness.  We must not forget that He is a God of judgment, a God of wrath, and He is holy, and one day He will deal with unrepentant sinners.  My point here is that we can only love because He first loved us, 1 John 3:16-18:

 16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Verse 16 is the key verse here.  We can only know love because He loved us, we see His example, and should seek to follow it. This means to sacrifice for one another, and not specifically and only speaking of the ultimate sacrifice, but any type of service rendered to a Brother or Sister in Christ.  Verse 17 is an example in how we might live it out, and verse 18 is encouragement that we must go beyond intentions and thoughts.

The Biblical Man is motivated by love to sacrifice for the well-being of others.  He has that love because that love has been placed in him since the Spirit of Christ – the Holy Spirit – resides in him.  We must be motivated by love. The love I am referring to is the love that Jesus Christ demonstrated by leaving the throne of heaven, by living a sorrow-filled life, and by dying on a cross.  This was not an emotional love, the feeling love, that motivated Him.  No, this was a love that interfered in the lives of those who needed His intervention. He loved others so much that He stopped and interjected Himself and His love, grace, and mercy into their lives.  Vast contrast from what so many are demanding we do today in the name of love.  But, men, how are we to love others?  If we are married, we are told very clearly in Ephesians 5:25-29:

 “25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 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. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church.” 

Now, obviously there is a tremendous amount that we could unpack here.  And in context, Paul is writing about what Christ accomplished for the universal foundation of the church on this side of glory.  But marriage is to be a picture of this.  The love and devotion of the husband in the marriage union is to be a picture of what Christ accomplished and the continual relationship between the church and Jesus Christ.

Husbands, love your wives sacrificially.  I know it is difficult, but we are not talking about ‘me’ time.  Men are to be leaders and servants.  You are to demonstrate what it takes to run the house by running the house.  You are to demonstrate unselfish love by loving unselfishly, and “me” time is by definition, selfish. If we look at the meaning of the word husband a little bit, we can get a better understanding of the responsibilities that we have.

Husband is related to the Latin word we get husbandry from and it speaks to the care and cultivation of gardens or crops.  This is the care and cultivation of our wives, continuing to bring her up spiritually.  It means to defend her spiritually, to keeping the weeds and pests and the vermin out that would destroy and eat away at the roots or prevent her from blossoming fully.  This, of course, does not mean that our wives are less valuable than we are, but that they are less than what they can be.  Since men are to be the head and the example, we must be spiritually sound ourselves.  You cannot be a leader in something unless you are knowledgeable. It is just that simple, and simple acts can mean a world of difference to your wives. 

Verse 28 and 29 speak to how we men are to treat, cherish, and nurture our wives.  It is how we would cherish and nurture our own bodies.  We are to (and if it were possible) present our wives blameless and spotless before the True and Just Judge.  That means our wives must know sound Biblical doctrine and we must teach it, we must live it, and we definitely must exemplify it.

But a man is not to start demonstrating a selfless love only when he gets married.  He should be doing that long beforehand.  Those that are not yet married are to conduct themselves as if preparing for marriage by keeping themselves pure before a Holy God.  They should also be learning what they can in how to be a man of God, and what it takes to exemplify the love of Christ to his bride day in and day out.  For those of us who are married, let me pause and echo the Apostle Paul and exhort all of us to excel still more in that selfless love to our wives, children, and folks that we interact with every day.  Now, obviously as married men we should not be showing the same type and devoted love that we have for our wives to just anyone.  But we are to still show that selfless love.  How do we do that? Let me call you back to 1 John 3:17, “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

It is a simple act of a phone call to check in and see how others are doing, or getting together for lunch.  Help out a brother or sister with chores around the home when they are unable.  A demonstration of our love for one another does not require us to go to great lengths.  A word of encouragement and stopping by to pray with one another is a great way of demonstrating that we love one another.

A man of God is known because he loves the Lord and he loves His people. John 13:35 says that, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Let your love be known in your marriage, in your homes, and in your places of work.  But in order to love as Christ loves, you must not leave out Christ.  Jesus must be the center and the reason for your love.  You must communicate Him by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to those that need to hear the true gospel, repent, believe, and be saved.

One of the greatest ways to love one another is to be involved in one another’s lives.  Help with chores and provide for needs, but knowing what is going on in the lives of the Brethren means that you are connected.  Pray for one another, communicate, confess sin to one another, be a community of believers working through the sanctification process – daily working toward the ultimate goal of becoming more Christlike.  We do not become more like Christ by ourselves.  We need the Word of God, we need the work of the Spirit, we need one another, and we need men of God who love.

Sacrificial Love

Posted on by brettyamaji

The 14th of February is a special day where we display our love for one another. But for us husbands we should be doing this every single day to our wives.  I am not saying to bring them cards, flowers, and chocolates every day, although they may enjoy them for a time.  So how can we demonstrate in meaningful and practical ways Ephesians 5:25, sacrificial love?

First off, sacrificial love means we lose something, husbands we are going to miss whatever is on TV, or destressing right after work.  Your wife has had a stressful day too, why not sacrifice some time and give her some time to relax before dinner by making dinner, or at least helping?  If she cooks, you clean.  I use dinner time because that always seems to be the most ‘chaotic’ time in my home.

Another thing is to be present and listen to your wife.  Stop doing whatever it is that you are doing when she needs to talk and listen to her.  Sometimes she may just need you to listen and not ‘fix’ anything, we men are created to be problem-solvers, so it is important to understand and ask if she needs anything from you.

Husbands and wives are one flesh, they are united together for one life.  That means we each other for emotional support and encouragement.  The root word for husband means to nurture, nurture means work, not sit on a couch at your leisure and let your wife cook your supper and pick up your dirty socks.  We are right back to where we started sacrifice and sacrificial love.  But what is the point? 

Husbands if you love your wives and you want to see them blossom into more lovely women physically, spiritually, godly mothers and wives they need you.  Just as Christ sacrificed Himself for the Church so that He might purify her and present her blameless and spotless one day so must you husbands, you must work to deny yourself, sacrifice yourself so that you can lift your wife up and lead her to a higher standard.

One last thing I have to say is this, husbands and men who are not yet married we are called to be leaders in the homes, we are to be the examples for our wives and our children.  They see how we treat our wives, therefore our sons will treat their wives as we treat our wives and our daughters will seek men that model our behaviors.  Do we want sons-in-law like us and do we want our sons to treat their wives like we treat ours?

I just gave you some hard questions to answer and I’ll give you a few more to ponder and answer, preferable answer together with your wife, she sees your behavior better than you do.  Also, if you have children ask them what you do well and what you are not doing well at.

Is it a joy when I come home?

Am I an example for who my daughter should be looking to marry?

The Compassionate Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

The world is rapidly changing; people are struggling with real issues that are weighing heavily on their hearts and minds and placing heavy burdens on their families.  Emotions are being poured out on social media outlets.  Families and friendships are being splintered because of so many complex issues.  This post does not address any one issue.  It is a call for compassion, regardless of which “side” you find yourself on. 

There is always a much bigger problem than what than the current societal issues; this problem is within everyone, and that is sin. Sin introduced disease, death, and destruction into creation and we still see and experience that today. We all have or will see loved one suffer with diseases and bodies that wear out and eventually die.  Some of us have even experienced destruction to some degree, whether that is through the loss of possessions in storms and disasters or financial hardships or other such life altering events.  But through all this as we see those around us experiencing these things, we need to have compassion, but what is compassion and how do we demonstrate it?

To have compassion is to show kindness and to be willing to help others.  It is putting yourself in their shoes as the saying goes. It is empathy, understand their pain, whatever their experience is.  Sometimes we know exactly what they are going through, and sometimes we can only imagine because we have not been in their situation.  We do not have to experience loss and pain to have empathy and compassion; that is a complete misunderstanding in today’s culture.  Look at 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

We experience trials, tribulations, and hardships.  We experience loss so that the God of all comfort might comfort us. And we in turn, are then able to comfort others.  When we are in need of comfort, God may comfort us through the ministering of others. That is an amazing truth, one which we should not deny others the opportunity to serve in.

Much of the unbelieving world believes God to be a wrathful, vengeful God, although He will unleash His wrath upon sin. He is actually demonstrating His compassion by being patient in delivering His wrath on those who are unbelievers, giving them additional time to come to saving faith.  That is not the actions of a wrathful, vengeful God. A representation of His compassion would be the sacrifice of His Holy, Sinless, and Righteous Son, Jesus Christ, who paid the full price of all those who would believe. That is the compassion of God demonstrated for all to see.

So how ought we men of God demonstrate our compassion?  I want us to look at another verse, and this verse reveals something deeper to us than the single word characteristic of compassion.  We tend to think of compassion as just being kind, and possibly empathetic usually demonstrated as showing someone kindness as they go through some difficulty and possibly understanding their pain through some shared experience.  But Colossians 3:12 tells us a lot more.  Read it a couple times, slowly and pause through the punctuations.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Compassion is not a standalone characteristic.  You cannot be compassionate without kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  If you lack some of these sub-characteristics, just how compassionate are you going to be with someone who is pouring out their heart and crying on your shoulder?

  • A Heart of Compassion

Even though compassion is an outward act, it is driven not by the hands, but by the heart.  Just like Jesus on so many occasions when He healed the masses and fed the thousands.  He was moved with compassion in His innermost being, His spirit, His bowels (that is His heart).  That too is our hearts.  Compassion should always start within us.  If we are in Christ, we must have a heart to have compassion for others.  1 John 3:17 tells us what the opposite of compassion is:

But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

If we lack compassion, then we lack the love of God.  As John continually states throughout his Epistle the sons of God and the sons of the devil are evident by what they display.  He is writing specifically about the condition of their hearts.  The works of the hands are an outflow of the condition of the heart. If you are one of the redeemed (chosen of God), then you have a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26).  And with this new heart, we can now love God as He intended us to and love one another as we ought to.  Remember the 2 greatest commandments that our Lord and Savior gave?

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:30-31)

That is the key.  If we are not loving God rightly, how can we love one another rightly?  But this is a two-way street.  If we are not loving one another rightly, then how can we love God rightly?  Demonstrating compassion is from the heart first.  True compassion is an act of love to one another and to the God who compassionately went to the cross.

  • Kindness

This is one of the fruits of the Spirit.  Most people, when they think of being kind, may think of being friendly, generous, and considerate.  And although these attributes are true, they do not encompass the depth of meaning to kindness.  True kindness requires something far greater than just a friendly helping hand.  It requires a strong hand and a courageous hand from a friend who is near.  Does this not describe Jesus Christ?

Was Jesus not a friend who was kind and generous to the lost sheep throughout the land in which He travelled? Whether He was in Judea, Galilea, or even Samaria (Jews and Samaritans had a racial hatred of each other), He healed all that desired to be healed.  He fed thousands that where hungry, physically and spiritually, and He raised the dead so that families could be reunited.  But the true demonstration of His kindness was His willingness to go to that cross in our place, to take upon Himself our guilty charge.  His desire was to do the will of Him who sent Him.  “Not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:26), He prayed the night that He was betrayed.  That took courage and that took strength.  True compassion is accompanied by strong and courageous kindness.

  • Humility

This is not listed as a fruit of the Spirit, but it is a result and an offshoot of the working of the Spirit.  I will speak of humility in much more detail in a future post, so I will say no more here.

  • Gentleness

Again, here is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and interestingly, with this attribute, it is not a sign of weakness, but of strength in one’s character.  Some might think or say that being gentle means that you allow others to say or do anything to you without regard.  This is not a true understanding of gentleness.  Gentleness is displayed when someone speaks the truth, even a painful truth, but while doing so, guards their tone in such a way that the truth will be well received.  I can put it this way: gentleness is a strong hand with a soft touch.

Jesus demonstrated gentleness all the time, did He not?  He spoke the truth, and He confronted sin.  Most of the time He was gentle, but firm, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11).  Jesus, the God-Man, was fully God incarnate and had all the divine powers and could do all things.  We see many miracles being performed throughout His earthly ministry, and yet He is gentle with His people Israel even as they reject Him as their God and Savior. What gentleness He showed. Even knowing how many would refuse and deny Him, He would still choose to go to the cross for them and us.  What compassion!

  • Patience

This is another fruit of the Spirit that is an attribute of compassion.  Without this fruit of the Spirit, compassion is very hollow and shallow, nothing but a self-serving, self-glorifying show piece.  We must endeavor to have patience when demonstrating, having, and showing compassion to others.  I want to be very clear here, compassion is not easy.  It does not flow naturally from us.  It is a selfless act, which goes against what our flesh wants.  Our flesh wants to be served, not to serve.  It does not want to endure patiently, but that is exactly what compassion requires.  True compassion will endure because it comes from the God of all compassion.

Our great God and comforter knows what we are and what we go through.  He is omniscient and omnipotent.  He knows that we are frail in our bodies and our own power, and that is why He has provided His Spirit.  It is through His Spirit that we can have joy.  It is through His Spirit we can bear one another’s burdens and comfort one another.  And it is through our own trials that we learn how to help guide and teach and comfort one another through trials of life. 

If you are not a believer in Christ then make today the day that you bow your knee and confess with your tongue that He is Lord and Savior.  He did die for the forgiveness of all sins, He did rise from the grave 3 days later, and He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father.  The Bible states that whoever believes this word will be saved.  Do you believe this in your heart?  If you still have doubts, I ask that you pray that the Lord help your unbelief and that you read the Gospel of John over the next 21 days (21 chapters).  Consider what you read each day and find someone to talk to about what questions arise through the reading.  You may reach out to me through the comment section on this site as well as some excellent sites such as: gotquestions.org and answersingenesis.org.

Men, as Proverbs 27:17 states, “As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.” By asking and answering, and by sharing and having conversations we are sharpening one another and making ourselves wiser men where it matters most, men of the Word.