Ephesians 5:21-33 GOD’S WORD Translation
Advice to Wives and Husbands
21 Place yourselves under each other’s authority out of respect for Christ.
22 Wives, place yourselves under your husbands’ authority as you have placed yourselves under the Lord’s authority. 23 The husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. It is his body, and he is its Savior. 24 As the church is under Christ’s authority, so wives are under their husbands’ authority in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He did this to make the church holy by cleansing it, washing it using water along with spoken words. 27 Then he could present it to himself as a glorious church, without any kind of stain or wrinkle—holy and without faults. 28 So husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. 29 No one ever hated his own body. Instead, he feeds and takes care of it, as Christ takes care of the church. 30 We are parts of his body. 31 That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will be one. 32 This is a great mystery. (I’m talking about Christ’s relationship to the church.) 33 But every husband must love his wife as he loves himself, and wives should respect their husbands.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
My wife and I knew we were embarking on a season of intensity.
Lots of life changes, lots of expectations, and lots of unknowns awaited us.
I told her I thought life would eventually give us a tiny break here and there.
We were sure there would, inevitably, have to be a season of respite much sooner rather than much later.
Several months rolled around, then those months became years, and life was still coming at us at roller-coaster-like velocity with just about as many twists and turns as any two people thought they could keep themselves adjusting to.
We believe we are both “mature” people of faith and believe in God more so than ourselves to be able to ride out that whole host of issues on our plates.
Several (too many to count) broken plates later we learned that faith is not an abstract something that is nurtured inside a spiritual greenhouse environment.
It’s grown and stretched, sometimes uprooted too, in wild, uncharted terrains. (For further biblical references here – just look up the Parable of the Sowers)
Unquestionably, we have been so grateful for God’s faithful hand moving and through our growing our lives as husband and wife, even if we feel like that life resembles more a white-knuckle ride than a peaceful, stroll along quiet waters.
We are both mature enough, realistic enough, to know we can’t expect life on this earth to be continuously easy or even placid.
That is not the “welcome to our world” environment we each grew up in and we both welcome the thought that God is continuously after our seasons of growth!
People I know right now are going through seasons of unrelenting intensity.
Physical and financial fallout has coaxed many from cocoons of comfort out on the proverbial limb of trusting God rather than in their retirement or bankrolls.
A cascade of serious health, financial concerns weigh heavily on the hearts of many as they lift faces to God, hope for miracles that’s beyond the hand of man.
Family crisis, family crises, family struggles are a harsh, ever present reality that couples encounter and try to process and deal with (hopefully) together.
Dreams to pursue become dreams put on hold, dreams juggled, blessings given, become blessings ripped even violently stripped away, all put a stress and strain on the “for better of for worse” fabrics, blankets, tapestries of our marriages.
We shout out at and to each other rather than shout out at and unto the Lord.
Regardless of whether we find ourselves in a season of intense stress right now, the truth of the matter, is that biblically, we’ll eventually enter such intensity!
Right from the beginning Adam and Eve got married and for a time enjoyed all those seasons of health, tranquility and abundance – then things got intense!
The serpent showed up – then in the intense tranquility, intense sin entered in.
Eyes wide open, they feasted on the forbidden fruit, realized they were naked and they ran through and rushed all over the garden for any suitable fig leaves.
God showed up – and in the intensity of their moment – they ran from God and they hid from God and did not immediately respond to God’s verbal summons.
God then demanded an accounting from the both of them for their actions and immediately finger pointing entered the lexicon, the blame game was invented.
In as big a hurry as anyone can imagine, life is just something that rockets itself to the deepest heavens, inevitably full of things that add up to stress and strain.
How we handle the intensity and suddenness of the emotion of it all makes or breaks us as individuals and as a married “for better or for worse” couple.
Consider the following passage recorded the night Jesus would be led away to His crucifixion:
“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me'” (Matthew 26:36-38).
The God of the Universe, the Creator of All Things, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords experienced emotions so powerful, deep and intense that the pressure of His grief made Him feel as if He could just keel over and die right there!
He sweated blood (Luke 22:44)!
Like uncountable numbers of fellow human beings, I have been stressed and I have been deeply intensely upset, but never been so distraught I sweat blood!
Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.”
Jesus is our High Priest who sympathizes with our weakness — even our weak, frail, human emotional stresses and issues.
He empathizes with us, sympathizes with us because He understands pressure, grief, sorrow, stress, anger, at measures of intensity no human can understand.
Yet in all the intense emotional drama that surrounded His leaving His home in heaven, being born of a human being, crucified earthly life, He never sinned.
He didn’t snap at the disciples out of impatience, like we might snap at our spouses when we are out of patience.
His blood sugar might have dropped low from hunger, but He did not get a horrid case of the “sudden lashing grumpies” like I do when that happens.
He didn’t let anxiety over mean, hurtful, destructive people eat away at His insides until He was totally immobilized for His mission — like I have done.
Yet He understands my struggle — and your struggle — with the emotions that derail and distract us from the good stuff He has planned for us.
He understands better than any human can hope to, deep, intense emotions.
And the hopeful part is this – He knows exactly, precisely what to do with them!
In our marriage husband and wife will inevitably, will even undoubtedly come to impasses where life is just plain too hot to touch, intense, too overwhelming.
In those seasons of intense stress we must proactively guard your marriage.
Practical ways we can protect our marriages from the eroding force of stress:
1. Follow Jesus’ example and pray!
Stats show that couples who pray together stay together!
Come together as simple, needy children before your Father in heaven and seek Him together with honesty and trust.
Also, pray with and for your spouse. Pray earnestly for their protection from temptation, the evil one and for their relationship with God to grow strong.
2. Be compassionate to one another.
Stress of any intensity causes us to do some weird things and we all need grace!
Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NIV).
3. Encourage your spouse to take the time they need to seek God, maintain physical health (time to sleep, exercise, eat well) positive, Christian fellowship.
I have always encouraged each other to take time for ladies lunches, retreats, enjoy “Christian” sisters who are a great source of joy and encouragement for her, fellowship, laugh, eat healthy and spend quality time deep in God’s word.
Especially when life is stressful, is intensely stressful, it seems really hard to take time to care of yourself — and that is often when you need to do it most!
Encourage your spouse to take care of him/herself.
4. Spoil ‘em a little!
Does your hubby really like foot rubs or a certain meal for dinner?
Does it bless your wife when you wash up the dishes after dinner or rub her shoulders at the end of the day?
Then go the extra mile and spoil your honey when life is stressful! (And this refers to you — it’s not for you to elbow your spouse to read — wink, wink!)
If you find yourself in a season of stress, my wife and I are praying that God’s grace would intensely surround you, that you would learn more of who God is, that your faith would grow deeper and that your marriage would grow stronger.
Committed, Covenanted, to For Better or Worse
Ephesians 5:25-33 GOD’S WORD Translation
25 Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He did this to make the church holy by cleansing it, washing it using water along with spoken words. 27 Then he could present it to himself as a glorious church, without any kind of stain or wrinkle—holy and without faults. 28 So husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. 29 No one ever hated his own body. Instead, he feeds and takes care of it, as Christ takes care of the church. 30 We are parts of his body. 31 That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will be one. 32 This is a great mystery. (I’m talking about Christ’s relationship to the church.) 33 But every husband must love his wife as he loves himself, and wives should respect their husbands.
A lack of commitment to marriage is widespread among Christians, and it is genuinely heartbreaking.
We have been mandated to set the example for godly marriages.
We have the blueprint for how to combat the fiery darts designed to test our unity, love, and faith in God.
Instead, I am convinced that we too often forget when we recited our vows.
Our thoughts and actions would differ if we comprehended the magnitude of the covenant that we make before God and the company of witnesses.
Actually, as Ecclesiastes 5:5 declares,
“It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.”
The covenant commitment to “for better or worse” is meant to be kept.
All marriages experience trial, tribulation, calamity, and tragedy.
How awesome is it to remember God, and have God carry you through.
God rewards us when we trust and obey him through better and worse.
For better or for worse, even through better and through the worst, to stay committed, we must decide to never leave our partner behind, forgive quickly and often, commit to work through the tough stuff, and love unconditionally.
Philippians 4:10-13 GOD’S WORD Translation
Thanks for Your Gifts
10 The Lord has filled me with joy because you again showed interest in me. You were interested but did not have an opportunity to show it. 11 I’m not saying this because I’m in any need. I’ve learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. 12 I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little. 13 I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.
For better or for worse, through the help of the Lord, all things are possible.
For better, through the worse, through the strength and help of the Lord …
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 23Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 