You didn’t know you were a priest, did you?

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Quincy

The first thing Christ did for the church that we should do for our wives is He served the church. Even as the leader and head of the church, he came to serve.

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26

Jesus served to the point that he gave his life to serve as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. No amount of dish washing or diaper changing could ever make up for that kind of service.

And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-39

2 Jesus taught the Church

As husbands, it is our responsibility to pray over our household. We must not only be the physical protectors of the home and family, but spiritually we must be powerful and ready to take on any spiritual enemy. Anyone who has been in the military or a paramilitary organization will tell you that knowledge is power on the battlefield. If you don’t know who the enemy is or what they are trying to do, you have some major limits. However, if you know who the enemy is, where they are, what their plan is, and when they are going to execute their plan, you have the advantage. The same goes with spiritual warfare. The husband must study the word and learn how Satan works. He must learn to recognize the signs that Satan is at work at his job, at his home, in his marriage, and in his relationships with other family members. He must be skilled at controlling his reaction to the attacks the enemy may wage against him.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4:6

Temptation is custom to every person. Satan is not some dumb evil spirit that floats around playing tricks on people. He is an accomplished liar, cheat, thief and hustler. He knows what it will take to make you sin. He will put that one thing in your face that makes you pay attention. The same thing may not make another person even flinch. As the husband gets better at recognizing when Satan is at work, he has another duty. Just as Jesus did, the husband must then teach his family how to recognize when Satan is trying to gain a foothold in their lives. He must teach his family how to react when temptation approaches them with an enticing offer and train them on how to deal with it.

“Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

As husbands, we must protect our families from that prowling lion or he just might devour our family. Learn how to pray. Pray with your family. Practice with them just as you would practice a sport with a child so that they will be prepared to deal with the prowling lion that is sure to come. These are part of the duties of the Heavenly Husband.

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How do we know God is real

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Quincy

Question: Is God real? How can I know for sure that God is real?

Answer: We know that God is real because He has revealed Himself to us in three ways: in creation, in His Word, and in His Son, Jesus Christ.

The most basic proof of God’s existence is simply what He has made. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities”his eternal power and divine nature”have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1).

If I found a wristwatch in the middle of a field, I would not assume that it just “appeared” out of nowhere or that it had always existed. Based on the watch’s design, I would assume it had a designer. But there is far greater design and precision in the world around us. Our measurement of time is not based on wristwatches, but on God’s handiwork”the regular rotation of the earth (and the radioactive properties of the cesium-133 atom). The universe displays great design, and this argues for a Great Designer.

If I found an encoded message, I would seek out a cryptographer to help break the code. My assumption would be that there is an intelligent sender of the message, someone who created the code. How complex is the DNA “code” that we carry in every cell of our bodies? Does not the complexity and purpose of DNA argue for an Intelligent Writer of the code?

Not only has God made an intricate and finely tuned physical world; He has also instilled a sense of eternity in the heart of every person (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Mankind has an innate perception that there is more to life than meets the eye, that there is an existence higher than this earthly routine. Our sense of eternity manifests itself in at least two ways: law-making and worship.

Every civilization throughout history has valued certain moral laws, which are surprisingly similar from culture to culture. For example, the ideal of love is universally esteemed, while the act of lying is universally condemned. This common morality”this global understanding of right and wrong”points to a Supreme Moral Being who gave us such scruples.

In the same way, people all over the world, regardless of culture, have always cultivated a system of worship. The object of worship may vary, but the sense of a “higher power” is an undeniable part of being human. Our propensity to worship accords with the fact that God created us “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27).

God has also revealed Himself to us through His Word, the Bible. Throughout Scripture, the existence of God is treated as a self-evident fact (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:14). When Benjamin Franklin wrote his autobiography, he did not waste time trying to prove his own existence. Likewise, God does not spend much time proving His existence in His book. The life-changing nature of the Bible, its integrity, and the miracles which accompanied its writing should be enough to warrant a closer look.

The third way in which God revealed Himself is through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:6-11). “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,14; see also Colossians 2:9).

In Jesus’ amazing life, He kept the entire Old Testament law perfectly and fulfilled the prophecies concerning the Messiah (Matthew 5:17). He performed countless acts of compassion and public miracles to authenticate His message and bear witness to His deity (John 21:24-25). Then, three days after His crucifixion, He rose from the dead, a fact affirmed by hundreds of eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6). The historical record abounds with “proof” of who Jesus is. As the Apostle Paul said, this thing “was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26).

We realize that there will always be skeptics who have their own ideas concerning God and will read the evidence accordingly. And there will be some whom no amount of proof will convince (Psalm 14:1). It all comes down to faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Got Questions

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Check your Doors

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Quincy

This was forwarded to me by a friend. Just a reminder to be vigilant and stay aware!!

They have a new way to rob you now! A friend sent me this email and I am sending it on to Friends…

Wednesday, I approached my truck from the passenger side to place my
computer bag in the front passenger seat.

As I reached to open the door I noticed there was a hole right under my
door handle.

My first thought was, “someone has shot my truck !”

I began to think about it and inspect it a little closer and the “light” slowly
began to come on.

I phoned my friend who owns a body shop and asked if he had any vehicles
with damage to the doors that looked like a bullet hole.

“Yes, I see it all the time. Thieves have a punch and place it right under the
door handle, knock a hole through, reach in and unlock it, just as if they
have a key. No alarms, broken glass, or anything. I then placed a call to my insurance agent and explained it to him. I was
puzzled that they left my GPS and all other belongings. Here is where it gets
scary!

“Oh no, he said, they want the break-in to be so subtle that you don’t even
realize it. They look at your GPS to see where “home” is. Now, they know what
you drive, go to your home, and if your vehicle isn’t there they assume you
aren’t and break into your home.”

He said they will even leave a purse or wallet and only take one or two credit
cards. By the time you realize there has been a theft, they may have already had a couple of days or more to use them.

(I didn’t realize my situation for two full days!) They even give you the courtesy of re-locking your doors for you.

Periodically, walk around your car, especially after you park in a in a shopping
center or other large parking area.

Report thefts immediately … call your bank w/missing check numbers, your creditcard agencies, police, and insurance companies, etc.

Below is picture of what the hole looks like:
20110915-110748.jpg

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As Christ Loved the Church. (A 5 Part series on the example Christ left for us as husbands)

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Quincy

In order for us to come closer to our goal of becoming a Heavenly Husband, we must have a better understanding of what it means to be the Head of the Household. Eph 5:22 says for wives to submit to their husband as unto the Lord. We husbands like to read that. It says the woman must submit to them. We outline it in our bible, and memorize it in case during some sprit filled conversation with our wives, we can pull it out of our pocket and dazzle them into submission. Eph 5:23 says the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. When husbands read that, their reaction is to quickly point it out to their wife. Like a bunch of Tim “The Toolman”Taylors, we run to our wives and get it wrong, “The bible says I am the Christ of this household!” Ok, maybe that’s just me. Like so many other passages in the bible, we must be careful to understand what is meant by this passage. Eph 5:25 says a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the church. So how did Christ love the church? Over the next 5 issues I will discuss 5 things Christ did for the church that we as Heavenly Husbands should be doing for our wives. The first of the series is Christ’s example of service to the church.

1 Jesus served the church.

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matt 20:26

As men, we are for the most part the protectors of the home. We lock the doors and look outside for any predators that threaten our cars, house and family. We install security systems and lights to create a Death Star type force field around the house. And don’t even think about getting anywhere near a man’s wife while he is around. He is circling her like a Hyena with a fresh kill. He is watching, waiting and ready to defend, protect and to sacrifice himself for her. On the outside he may seem polite, but on the inside he’s protecting his own heart walking around outside his body. Or maybe that’s just me again. Anyway, I remember a friend telling me he was upset at his wife because she kept asking him to wash dishes after dinner. They both had jobs and they had one son. His wife didn’t ask him to wash the dishes every night, but he felt like she was asking him to wash dishes because she wanted to control him. “She can’t stand to see me relax.” he said. As soon as he would sit down, his wife would be there asking him to do some chore, or fix something in the house. I asked him if he would be willing to take a bullet for his wife. He looked surprised but he readily said “Yes, without hesitation”. He said if the biggest and meanest of beasts came toward his wife, he would jump in front and die to save her. But when it came to washing dishes, it was just his wife trying to control him and as the head of the household, he would not be controlled. He was a Christian man and cited his reasoning in the bible, Eph 5:23 says the husband was the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.

Christ, as the head of the church came to serve. John 13: 3, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God: so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water onto a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

Though the Father had put all things under His power Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, God wrapped up in flesh washed his disciples’ feet in service to them. Does that mean you should run to your job with a bucket filled with water and a bar of soap and wash your co-workers feet? I am not sure if they would take that the right way, but how about doing that for your wife? The true Heavenly Husband lives in service to his wife as Christ lived in service to the church. So the next time your wife asks you to do the dishes, take out the trash or to change a poopy diaper, rejoice in the Lord that you get another opportunity to be like Christ. Rejoice that you have another opportunity to provide a Godly example for your wife. And finally rejoice that you are another step towards becoming a Heavenly Husband.

 

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