"The Lord wants you to obey all human authorities, especially the Emperor, who rules over everyone. You must also obey governors, because they are sent by the Emperor to punish criminals and to praise good citizens. God wants you to silence stupid and ignorant people by doing right. You are free, but still you are God’s servants, and you must not use your freedom as an excuse for doing wrong." (1 Peter 2:13-15)
What is our responsibility toward the government, considering that we are not of this world? There are many groups that always seem to be against the government. We often speak against our leaders when they do not adhere to the Word of God. We sign petitions and talk around the water cooler,tearing down, not building up. But is this honouring to God?
The Word tells us here that we are free, because our citizenship does not belong here but to the Kingdom of God. But the Word also instructs us not to use our freedom as an excuse to do what is wrong according to God. We may not always appreciate our government and the decisions made but the Word is clear that we are to submit ourselves to such authority.
Do we trust God?
Do we trust what the Word says, that he raises up the government and he brings them down again?
Like so many things in our lives, we want to take control. We pray but at the same time we want to control our finances, our employment, our church and our government. I don't think we really believe that God is in control of all things. And the truth is, he is only in control of what we allow him to control. We can take control over things that God wants to direct, make a real mess of things and then blame God.
I liken it to one of my children who ask me to teach them to bake. Then part way through the process they decide they know what to do and stop following my instructions. To no one's surprise, it ends in disaster. Praise God for his grace, that he is always sovereign and has plans to clean up our messes. But we lose out in the relationship because we do not allow God the control that is rightfully his.
Pray for the government. Submit to the laws. As free as you are, do what is right in God's eyes by submitting to the authority that is under his control. Trust God and accept that he is sovereign in all things, even if it is not going the way you think it should. God wants you to silence stupid and ignorant people, by obeying him.
Showing posts with label submit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label submit. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Inconsistancy Of Love Exasperates A Child
We tend to point out to children that the Word says they must be obedient to their parents and that they must honour them. However, the Word has something to say to parents as well, especially fathers. It is not a "free for all" for parents. They don't get to do whatever they want. They have the huge responsibility to love their children and to train them in God's ways. Neither of those things are easy when you are trying to balance a busy life. I will stop myself here. No excuses. I want to address this:
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
How does a father exasperate a child? Unfairness. Decisions based on selfishness. Inconsistency. I think the latter must be the most exasperating for a child, when the rules keep changing or promises are not kept. The reason this happens is because dad's don't have a plan; they parent by the seat of their pants; they hand over all parenting responsibility to their wife; they try not to get involved unless it is a real emergency situation; they rule the house like a king or dictator.
Ever notice this is addressed to fathers and not mothers? The spiritual welfare of the family is the father's responsibility. Fathers are responsible to see that their children grow into well-balanced, mature, Christ following men and women. They must instruct their children. They must teach them, by word and example, God's Word.
Can I say, some of these lessons are taught in failure?
What exasperates a child is the falsehood of a father; the façade of perfection; the failure to admit mistakes; the lack of repentance. There is inconsistency in what we teach (if we teach) and what we live. Our children need to see how we handle failure. They need to see that even though we are far from perfect God sees us as holy and blameless. They need to understand that we deal with mistakes and imperfections and not hide them behind an act of strength. Read this again, God's instructions on training children:
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. (Deuteronomy 11:18-21)
The greatest lessons are not taught in Sunday School but in the everyday living of the parents, as they train, teach, instruct their children as they live life.
Children need to be trained by fathers, taught by them; not just the words but how to put those words into action. They need to see love in action as fathers humble themselves to help and pray for their enemy. They need to see fathers ask forgiveness when mistakes are made. They need to see and understand what it is to stand your ground and defend those God has given you to defend. They need to see fathers be honest so Jesus can be glorified in their weakness. They need to see their fathers be consistent in their service to Jesus and consistent in their training of their children.
When we fail as fathers we cannot allow that failure to define us or cripple us. We are not perfect and our imperfections cannot be allowed to destroy our strength, which is our dependency on Jesus Christ. Even though our children may turn against us we must realize our innocence before God, take up our responsibility and press forward as this is a new day. Yesterday we may have failed but we stand blameless before the Lord today and as such we must take up our responsibilities to defend, protect, instruct and love our children.
Maybe that is the greatest lesson we can teach our children; to press on in the aftermath of failure; to trust the love of God; to trust the forgiveness of Jesus.
The responsibility of a father is huge but that is no excuse to hide from it. The responsibility is daunting but that is no excuse to shirk it off onto someone else. The responsibility requires total commitment but that is no excuse for being spotty and inconsistent in the application of that commitment. Our children need us to love them with consistency more now in this dark age than ever before. Even when they exasperate you they are still looking for you to love them unconditionally. Fathers, make sure you do not exasperate them in your lack of love.
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
How does a father exasperate a child? Unfairness. Decisions based on selfishness. Inconsistency. I think the latter must be the most exasperating for a child, when the rules keep changing or promises are not kept. The reason this happens is because dad's don't have a plan; they parent by the seat of their pants; they hand over all parenting responsibility to their wife; they try not to get involved unless it is a real emergency situation; they rule the house like a king or dictator.
Ever notice this is addressed to fathers and not mothers? The spiritual welfare of the family is the father's responsibility. Fathers are responsible to see that their children grow into well-balanced, mature, Christ following men and women. They must instruct their children. They must teach them, by word and example, God's Word.
Can I say, some of these lessons are taught in failure?
What exasperates a child is the falsehood of a father; the façade of perfection; the failure to admit mistakes; the lack of repentance. There is inconsistency in what we teach (if we teach) and what we live. Our children need to see how we handle failure. They need to see that even though we are far from perfect God sees us as holy and blameless. They need to understand that we deal with mistakes and imperfections and not hide them behind an act of strength. Read this again, God's instructions on training children:
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. (Deuteronomy 11:18-21)
The greatest lessons are not taught in Sunday School but in the everyday living of the parents, as they train, teach, instruct their children as they live life.
Children need to be trained by fathers, taught by them; not just the words but how to put those words into action. They need to see love in action as fathers humble themselves to help and pray for their enemy. They need to see fathers ask forgiveness when mistakes are made. They need to see and understand what it is to stand your ground and defend those God has given you to defend. They need to see fathers be honest so Jesus can be glorified in their weakness. They need to see their fathers be consistent in their service to Jesus and consistent in their training of their children.
When we fail as fathers we cannot allow that failure to define us or cripple us. We are not perfect and our imperfections cannot be allowed to destroy our strength, which is our dependency on Jesus Christ. Even though our children may turn against us we must realize our innocence before God, take up our responsibility and press forward as this is a new day. Yesterday we may have failed but we stand blameless before the Lord today and as such we must take up our responsibilities to defend, protect, instruct and love our children.
Maybe that is the greatest lesson we can teach our children; to press on in the aftermath of failure; to trust the love of God; to trust the forgiveness of Jesus.
The responsibility of a father is huge but that is no excuse to hide from it. The responsibility is daunting but that is no excuse to shirk it off onto someone else. The responsibility requires total commitment but that is no excuse for being spotty and inconsistent in the application of that commitment. Our children need us to love them with consistency more now in this dark age than ever before. Even when they exasperate you they are still looking for you to love them unconditionally. Fathers, make sure you do not exasperate them in your lack of love.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Blessings Flow In Submission
The Church is so different than the world that it cannot be understood by the darkness. Even the words we use are different in meaning. Love, in the Church has a far greater character than the love spoken of in the world. It is the same with the word submit.
If you tell someone in the world they have to submit, walls will come up pretty quickly. Yielding, trusting, giving up rights is not something that anyone in the world accepts easily. We see ourselves as freedom fighters and we will move heaven and earth to keep our rights, or so we think. But in the Church the word submit means to open ourselves to receive from others. It involves love and trust. Not trusting others necessarily but trusting God who works through them.
If you tell a woman in the world that she has to submit to her husband you will probably get an earful. The word means something different to them. But in the Church it comes loaded with a richness that overflows with trust and love:
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. (Ephesians 5:22-24)
Let's set aside the husband's responsibility until tomorrow and just focus on the wife here. I am assuming in this situation that the husband is a Holy Spirit, Jesus following man whose personal goal in life is to increase in his revelation of love. It is the woman's responsibility to trust what Jesus is doing through her husband. She must trust his words of encouragement, believing that Jesus is blessing her through her husband.
To receive the blessings of God we must submit ourselves, casting off our fear and opinions, to be open to receive from his hand what he offers us. Wives must see their husbands as a blessing, the person God will use to bless them. Husbands are a source of encouragement as they remind their wives of the glory of God. They have a huge responsibility in this relationship to love their wives as Jesus loves the Church, but the wives have equal responsibility to love their husbands as the Church loves Jesus.
It really comes down to a trust issue. Do wives trust Jesus to use their husbands to bless them? Imagine the blessings we miss out on when we fight against God. How can he bless those who fight against receiving those blessings? The same is true in a marriage. How can God bless the wife through the husband if the wife is constantly putting her husband down, calling him names, picking fights, arguing over everything and insisting on her way of doing things. Marriage is most certainly a partnership but it is clear in the Word how God works in a marriage.
It is true that none of this applies if the woman has married someone who is lost in the darkness and does not know Jesus. There are big problems with trust in that situation and it is part of the reason that Jesus told us not to be unequally yoked. Marriage works when Jesus remains the center of the relationship and continues to be the reason for being.
I realize that this is not a popular notion, even in the Church, and it's because we have allowed the attitude and wisdom of the world to darken our understanding of God's wisdom. If we look at submission from the world's perspective it is a nasty and ugly thing. If we understand marriage from God's perspective we understand that submission is a beautiful thing, an act of love and trust. We see husbands as representatives of Jesus, overflowing with love, self-sacrifice, Godly direction, hope, great lovers of their wives and no one else. When we look at men's responsibility tomorrow you will see how submission can be the most natural response to love.
If you tell someone in the world they have to submit, walls will come up pretty quickly. Yielding, trusting, giving up rights is not something that anyone in the world accepts easily. We see ourselves as freedom fighters and we will move heaven and earth to keep our rights, or so we think. But in the Church the word submit means to open ourselves to receive from others. It involves love and trust. Not trusting others necessarily but trusting God who works through them.
If you tell a woman in the world that she has to submit to her husband you will probably get an earful. The word means something different to them. But in the Church it comes loaded with a richness that overflows with trust and love:
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. (Ephesians 5:22-24)
Let's set aside the husband's responsibility until tomorrow and just focus on the wife here. I am assuming in this situation that the husband is a Holy Spirit, Jesus following man whose personal goal in life is to increase in his revelation of love. It is the woman's responsibility to trust what Jesus is doing through her husband. She must trust his words of encouragement, believing that Jesus is blessing her through her husband.
To receive the blessings of God we must submit ourselves, casting off our fear and opinions, to be open to receive from his hand what he offers us. Wives must see their husbands as a blessing, the person God will use to bless them. Husbands are a source of encouragement as they remind their wives of the glory of God. They have a huge responsibility in this relationship to love their wives as Jesus loves the Church, but the wives have equal responsibility to love their husbands as the Church loves Jesus.
It really comes down to a trust issue. Do wives trust Jesus to use their husbands to bless them? Imagine the blessings we miss out on when we fight against God. How can he bless those who fight against receiving those blessings? The same is true in a marriage. How can God bless the wife through the husband if the wife is constantly putting her husband down, calling him names, picking fights, arguing over everything and insisting on her way of doing things. Marriage is most certainly a partnership but it is clear in the Word how God works in a marriage.
It is true that none of this applies if the woman has married someone who is lost in the darkness and does not know Jesus. There are big problems with trust in that situation and it is part of the reason that Jesus told us not to be unequally yoked. Marriage works when Jesus remains the center of the relationship and continues to be the reason for being.
I realize that this is not a popular notion, even in the Church, and it's because we have allowed the attitude and wisdom of the world to darken our understanding of God's wisdom. If we look at submission from the world's perspective it is a nasty and ugly thing. If we understand marriage from God's perspective we understand that submission is a beautiful thing, an act of love and trust. We see husbands as representatives of Jesus, overflowing with love, self-sacrifice, Godly direction, hope, great lovers of their wives and no one else. When we look at men's responsibility tomorrow you will see how submission can be the most natural response to love.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Dealing With The Four Letter Word "Submit"
Submit is a hard word in our every changing society but it should not be a hard word in the Church. In our society we are building our own little kingdom where we imagine ourselves king. We rule and only our opinion counts. It is all about independence, freedom and rights. The Kingdom of God is based on different principles than this and submission is part of it:
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)
Because we are raised in this society and we are influenced by it, we can find this to be a hard word even in the Church but we need to keep it in context in this passage.
Paul has just finished telling us to encourage each other and to promote the glory of God to each other. In love we have this duty to each other. We must lift each other up by lifting up Jesus. It is in this context that Paul then writes that, out of our love and respect for Jesus, we must tend to our duty to one another. We must give ourselves to each other, to give and receive from each other, to encourage and be encouraged.
When I become unbalanced and allow my flesh to cloud my judgement, when I feel low, discouraged or even overwhelmed at times, it is my wife who speaks encouraging words to me. Not ego stroking words of affirmation but instead words that remind me of God's glory. These are words that bring balance to my thinking and heart as I am reminded of Jesus, his promises and his sovereignty. I submit to my wife's duty to me. I accept her words and allow them to drive all darkness from my mind and heart. I yield to the Christ in her. It is not just my wife to whom I submit.
I am surrounded by people who encourage me in the Lord. As a pastor I need that as much as everyone else. People come a listen to my preaching and teaching. They submit to my God anointed wisdom and spiritual insights. They set aside their opinion, self centered thinking, and in an act of submission, accept from me what God is providing. They in turn do the same for me in many various ways, encouraging me, reminding me of the glory of our King. It is the duty we have to one another.
Here I insert a word of caution. We do not need to submit to another person's opinion. We do not to be stroked with words that fill us with selfish thinking: "you are intelligent, beautiful, talented". We do not need the world spoken into us but the glory of God. Our encouragement does not come from someone telling us we are beautiful but instead reminding us of the faithfulness of God. When I am low I do not need to hear that things will get better but instead that God is faithful to his children. When I hear God glorified I set aside my selfishness and cover myself in his glory, joining the chorus of praises that rises to our God all day long. By this I am strengthened and encouraged.
My friend, we have a duty to one another. We must take the time to encourage each other by glorifying God. We must also be willing to submit to one another, to set aside our selfish thoughts and be reminded of the glory of Jesus. In this way we will go all the way and overcome every mountain before us. Our life will be one of joy, peace and hope. Our hearts will overflow with love, adding to the praise of our God. Let us submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For this to happen we must be sure that we are not sharing our opinion or things of this world but instead the promises of God, lifting up Jesus, and speaking the Word to each other, allowing the Spirit to work through us. Make sure it is God you are glorifying and not the person to whom you are speaking. To God be the glory.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)
Because we are raised in this society and we are influenced by it, we can find this to be a hard word even in the Church but we need to keep it in context in this passage.
Paul has just finished telling us to encourage each other and to promote the glory of God to each other. In love we have this duty to each other. We must lift each other up by lifting up Jesus. It is in this context that Paul then writes that, out of our love and respect for Jesus, we must tend to our duty to one another. We must give ourselves to each other, to give and receive from each other, to encourage and be encouraged.
When I become unbalanced and allow my flesh to cloud my judgement, when I feel low, discouraged or even overwhelmed at times, it is my wife who speaks encouraging words to me. Not ego stroking words of affirmation but instead words that remind me of God's glory. These are words that bring balance to my thinking and heart as I am reminded of Jesus, his promises and his sovereignty. I submit to my wife's duty to me. I accept her words and allow them to drive all darkness from my mind and heart. I yield to the Christ in her. It is not just my wife to whom I submit.
I am surrounded by people who encourage me in the Lord. As a pastor I need that as much as everyone else. People come a listen to my preaching and teaching. They submit to my God anointed wisdom and spiritual insights. They set aside their opinion, self centered thinking, and in an act of submission, accept from me what God is providing. They in turn do the same for me in many various ways, encouraging me, reminding me of the glory of our King. It is the duty we have to one another.
Here I insert a word of caution. We do not need to submit to another person's opinion. We do not to be stroked with words that fill us with selfish thinking: "you are intelligent, beautiful, talented". We do not need the world spoken into us but the glory of God. Our encouragement does not come from someone telling us we are beautiful but instead reminding us of the faithfulness of God. When I am low I do not need to hear that things will get better but instead that God is faithful to his children. When I hear God glorified I set aside my selfishness and cover myself in his glory, joining the chorus of praises that rises to our God all day long. By this I am strengthened and encouraged.
My friend, we have a duty to one another. We must take the time to encourage each other by glorifying God. We must also be willing to submit to one another, to set aside our selfish thoughts and be reminded of the glory of Jesus. In this way we will go all the way and overcome every mountain before us. Our life will be one of joy, peace and hope. Our hearts will overflow with love, adding to the praise of our God. Let us submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For this to happen we must be sure that we are not sharing our opinion or things of this world but instead the promises of God, lifting up Jesus, and speaking the Word to each other, allowing the Spirit to work through us. Make sure it is God you are glorifying and not the person to whom you are speaking. To God be the glory.
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