Titus 2: 3-5

I am going to go off course, for a moment, and write about this last Sunday's sermon. He was talking about the woman's roles in life and how Jesus saw her. The pastor started with Genesis 1 and 2 when man was created in Their own image and woman created from the man: the humans were created to establish the different - but equal - roles to establish the perfect norm, to reflect the God head. The man being the head and the woman, the Holy Spirit role, as comforter and helper.

He went on to talk about the five different seasons (roles in ministry and life) for the woman. If you are a man I am sure there is similar seasons. Check out Titus 2: 1-2 and 6-8. But for the woman, there is 5 seasons of life.

1. As a child, living in her parents home. Eph. 6: 1-2
    In this stage she is learning from her parents and viewing love and marriage.

2. A single woman, free of a husband or children. I Cor. 7
    Here she has time to learn to be a wife and a mother. She has freedom to prepare and study. Her time is her own, she can find a ministry and find a way to serve.

3. Married without children. I Cor. 7: 32-33
    Learning to be the helper and homemaker to your husband with time for ministry and work outside the home.

4. Married with children. This goes without saying...
    Your husband remains first but your children are the priority to teach them. Your example should be a godly, loving wife and mother.

5. My stage. Married or Widowed, children have left the home. Titus 2: 3-5
    My biggest contribution is to train the younger women in the way that they should go. Below is my verse:

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored."

I've messed up some of the other stages of life, but here in the final season, I can be on track and do God's will for my life. I still have to work, but I have young women who work under me that I can be an example for. I need to stop trying to be one of their peers, joining in with the gossip and whining; with much prayer, I want God to show me how to be an example to them, - and to my daughter -  to provide encouragement and a hope.

1 Corint. 5

"Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." v. 6-8

Note: leaven in scripture usually represents evil influence, as it does here.

Sincerity: honesty of mind : freedom from hypocrisy.
Truth: sincerity in action, character, and utterance. Wow!

Only with Christ could we live such a tall order. What can I change in my life, or what do I see that I might not be living with sincerity in action, character and utterance?




 

1 Corinth. 4

"Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy." v. 1-2

"Therefore, do not go on passing judgement before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God." v.5

"For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power." v.20
I love this verse meaning: Spiritual character is measured not by the impressiveness of words, but in the power of the life.

Paul is talking in this chapter about what is required of himself, Peter, Apollo, etc., to preach and be leaders of the church. But obviously these same measurements are for us as well.

I remember a story once about letting Jesus come into the rooms of your heart, like you let company come into your home. You let them into all the rooms except the one - or the  closet -  that holds all the junk, that is messy and disorganized and hides one you don't really want to reveal to a visitor. However, unlike visitors to our home, we need to let Jesus into the darkness closet to help us clean up our motives and our hidden agenda or whatever it might be. We need Him to walk a life of power.

1 Corinth. 3

"According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." vv.10-15

Let's start with the promise: as long as your foundation in life is Christ, you will be saved no matter how you mess up the building.

Now, let's look at what we are building on our foundation. I thought of how it should look: On the foundation of Christ the bottom floor should be thankfulness, forgiveness and prayer. The walls going up could be humility, joy and steadfastness...the windows, praise and worship...resulting in a door of hope and a roof of love.

Or something like that. =)

For Andrew

For Andrew Doau, who lost his young life by the hands of his father, just a few days ago. Andrew was a young man, of 22, of great faith, and is now walking with his loving Heavenly Father.

1 Corinth. 2

"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words." vv. 11-13

'"For who has known the mind of the Lord, that He will instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

Wow. Think on this a minute. No one -human - can read your thoughts, your private thinkings deep within your mind and soul, except you. However, gloriously, God, through the Holy Spirit has allowed us to hear His thoughts, His revelations, His plans for us! He reveals His thoughts within revelation, inspiration, and illumination.