On Your Hands and Knees.

Ephesians 5:21 (NIV)

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

A man was telling his friend that he and his wife had had a serious argument the night before.

"But it ended," he said, "when she came crawling to me on her hands and knees."

"What did she say?" Asked the friend.

The husband replied, "She said, 'Come out from under that bed, you coward!' "

We husbands like the idea of our wives coming to us on their hands and knees. We are quick to memorize Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord."

And the New Testament does teach the headship of the husband. But it is not a leadership patterned after Genghis Khan (though you might think so to hear some men talk). Rather, it is a leadership patterned after Jesus Christ, and it seems to me he spent some time on his hands and knees (John 13).

In fact, the verse prior to the one quoted above gives an important principle to us all -- the principle of mutual submission: "....submitting to one another in the fear of God." (Ephesians 5:21).

Husbands I encourage you to spend some time on your hands and knees today (in humble service). Strangely enough, you may find that people look up to you as a result!

Dear Lord, help us be the husbands You have planned for each of us. Help us love our wife in a way that they will look to us for leadership. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Who is In Control?

Psalm 23:1 (NIV)

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

What do we do when the evil one continues to knock on our door, announcing day and night that trouble will now be our constant companion?

The 100 Years War began in 1337. Nine years later, the English invaded Normandy, France, and Mont-St-Michel, which primarily consisted of an abbey at that time, was soon surrounded by enemy forces. The inhabitants of the island fortress would have had plenty of reason to be discouraged, but they were not. They were, after all, pious men, and Mont-St.-Michel's fortifications, as well as the surrounding North Sea and its fast-rising tides, would be worthy adversaries to the British.

In 1424, the English decided to besiege the islet. After all, these monks could not hold out for long if they were deprived of food and water. The British were starting to gloat. The world was about to see who was truly in charge in Normandy! There was no way the monks could survive this! Mont St-Michel would be theirs within weeks!

What the British didn't know was that the inhabitants of nearby Saint-Malo were bringing food and water by boat by night to the poor souls besieged in Mont-St.-Michel. In the end, the siege against Mont-St.-Michel resulted in the British becoming far more discouraged than the inhabitants of the Mont-St-Michel abbey!

The British would continue to launch regular attacks against the islet over the next 10 years, until 1434, when the enemy became completely demoralized, abandoning hope of ever conquering this jewel of the North Sea.

When the evil one knocks at our door, with his only purpose being to bring about discouragement, we need to stand firm. We need to rely on our Father and not let ourselves sway into despair. Instead, just as the inhabitants of Mont Saint-Michel did when the British were knocking on their doors with a similar purpose, we, with the guiding of God's Holy Spirit, can completely discourage our enemy!

After all, if we put the King of Kings as our Lord in all things, our victory is guaranteed! Read Psalms 23 and be reinvigorated with how faithful our Lord is, no matter what our circumstances might be. After all, "The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing." (Psalms 23:1) Or in other words, putting God on the driver's seat will lead us to an out-of-this-world abundance.

One thing we will realize sooner or later: When we think we are in charge, we truly are not!

Have you ever crossed a border? What if you took the wrong passport with you and you gave the border guard your wife's passport instead of yours? It happened to one of my friends. The border guard was laughing when he asked: "Hey! Your hair was much longer when this picture was taken!"

What about receiving a performance evaluation and noticing that the wrong named is mentioned: "My name is not Jack" And when comparing evaluations with Jack's, you find that the two performance evaluations are identical, except for the name. A blunder from a poor vice-principal.

However when we hand everything, and I mean everything: house keys, wallet, job concerns, health worries, broken relationship nightmarish scenarios and anything else that may occupy our thoughts, to God, something particularly special happens. Worry seems to evaporate into nothingness. God is truly in control!

It's true that at times some concerns seem to reappear from seemingly nowhere, but each time this happens, we need to wonder: Have we left that particular concern in God's hands? Or have we stolen it back, as we are the ones who want to be in control over that specific circumstance?

Do we want to be stress free? Do we truly desire that our worries evaporate into nothingness? Maybe, just maybe, it is time to give all control to the One who can handle it! After all, He is the One who encouraged us to, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

Truly we can defeat the evil one by discouraging him, rather than the other way around! After all, isn't God the One we leave control to?

Dear Lord, help us give you the control of our life in everything. Once we do Lord help us not try and take the control back. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

A Lesson From the Bee and the Lilly

Song of Songs 2:2-4 (NIV)

2 Like a lily among thorns

    is my darling among the young women.

She

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest

    is my beloved among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,

    and let his banner over me be love.

"She is so gorgeous! Her swaying in the breeze is so delicate! Her white petals shine so brightly! She is the flower of my life," the bee thought, humming happily by.

As the bee continued to hum by this beautiful lily, day in and day out, the flower finally noticed him. They became acquainted with each other and started to enjoy its other's company. Love sprung in both of their hearts and wedding plans were formed and celebrated with a big fanfare.

"You will be my only nectar," the bee promised. "You will be my only glorious husband," the lily replied.

Soon though, life seemed to accelerate. There was always so many things to do. Still both the lily and the bee hoped that somehow life would slow down and that they could enjoy each other the way they used to.

Time went by. By now, both had many tasks, more than ever before. Besides the daily tasks of life, their son bees and lily daughters were demanding more and more of their attention. It seemed to the lily that she never received any help from the bee. In fact, she thought that he was so busy with his own work, that he ignored her. It seemed that the only thing of importance to the bee was to feed himself from her pollen. What about her? Why didn't he put her first in his life? Were his tasks more important than her?

It's then that she noticed the awful looking thorns that were growing around her. "Where am I, and why is my bee not taking care of me?" she wondered.

But the thorns became familiar. They began paying attention to her, and soon they didn't seem threatening at all. One, especially, tried to become her friend. At first they only talked about things they had in common and things they enjoyed. "Wow! That thorn is so nice and we have so many of the same interests!" thought the lily. "I wish my bee would pay me this much attention!"

And so her thoughts started to wander more and more to that thorn that seemed to care so much for her, and soon she starting sharing her burdens with it. And it understood her! It even understood how inconsiderate her bee was! It started to dwell on how much better it could take care of the lily if it were in the place of her bee. And the more the lily contemplated this, the more repulsive and egotistical her bee became in her mind. The thorn was so much nicer! And her attention became more directly focused sideways, on the thorn, and she no longer looked up to find her bee humming by.

As the lily and the thorn grew closer, and the bee seemed more and more distant, the lily convinced herself that the thorn was the one who really cared for her. Her thoughts began to wander down dangerous pathways: "Maybe I should…" But then the thorn pricked her, and a drop of blood surfaced on her petal. The blood seemed to fill her entire being. "Ouch!" she cried. "What have you done?"

Before long her bee came by, and the lily called out to him. She told him everything about the thorn who had hurt her so badly. What had seemed so innocent had nearly led to the break up of a relationship that had once been so cherished!

This story, however, has a happy ending. The bee and his lily began to talk to each other again--to really communicate with one another. The bee found time in his busy schedule to be with the lily, to help her with her many tasks, to listen to her and to love her. Priorities were reset, and they began enjoying an intimate relationship, closer than ever, until the end of their days. They realized that their friendship was precious, and that the thorns could only destroy them.

My friend, how is you relationship with your spouse? Are you still communicating with each other and sharing all you intimate thoughts with each other? Are you spending time with each other and expressing your love towards each other?

If not, it is still not too late. Even if your mutual feelings have drifted, start reaching out to your loved one, now. Don't let the thorns of this world take advantage of your alienation. Spend time with each other. Listen to each other and share with each other your inner thoughts. Before you know it, your relationship will be closer than ever, even closer than the day you married each other. Not only will you remain husband and wife, you will become lovers and will develop an appreciation of each other that you never could have dreamed of.

The same is true with your relationship with God. Are you still communicating with each other and sharing all you intimate thoughts with each other? Or is it a one way communication, where God is trying to reach out to you? Are you spending time with each other and expressing your love towards each other?

Come back to Him and enjoy fellowship with Him. Only He is the One who can fulfill your dreams. He is waiting for you. Instead of concentrating sideways to the worries and attractions of life, let us look upwards and admire the One who really does care for you!

Dear Lord, help us not stray from Your fellowship. If we have help us come back to You so that relationship can be a light shining in this world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A Godly Example

1 Peter 3:1 (NIV)

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.

Robert Van Antwerp was raised in Benton Harbor, Michigan and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1972. Though he went occasionally to church, he did not consider himself a Christian.

He rose quickly through the military ranks and married. In the mid-1980's, while Robert was on military deployment, his wife Paula came to know the Lord through a Bible study. When Robert returned, he nearly hit the roof when he found out his wife had gotten religion.

But as the weeks went by, Robert was deeply attracted by his wife's newfound faith and he credits Paula with bringing him to his faith in Christ. "The love of my life and the most important relationship in my life is Jesus Christ," says Robert.

Robert's faith continued to grow and the Lord has put him in key places to minister to others including the front lines of Desert Storm in 1991, the recovery efforts for the Northridge Earthquake of 1994 and he was in the Pentagon during the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.

Today, along with his military responsibilities, Major General van Antwerp is the national president of the Officers Christian Fellowship and he shares his Christian testimony freely with others.

A life yielded to Christ is a strong witness.

Dear Lord, thank the You for Your earthly example.  Help us seek to follow You in all of our ways .In Jesus’ Name Amen.

Beatitudes For Married Couples

Matthew 5:1-2 (NIV)

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

In Matthew 5 Jesus shared the beatitudes, this morning I came across this and wanted to share it. Check out the beatitudes for a married couple.

Blessed are the husband and wife who continue to be affectionate, considerate and loving after the wedding bells have stopped ringing.

Blessed are the husband and wife who are as polite and courteous to one another as they are to their friends.

Blessed are they who have a sense of humor, their marriage shall be much brighter.

Blessed are the parents who abstain from alcohol (I would add ", tobacco, and drugs"), their children will surely follow their example.

Blessed are they who are faithful to each other and mutually helpful. God will surely guide them.

Blessed are the husband and wife who thank God for good things which come to them. They shall receive both good things and thankful children.

Blessed are the parents who recognize their children as gifts from God, their home shall be filled with love.

Blessed are those mates who make their home a place "where seldom is heard a discouraging word". They shall inspire others to do likewise.

Blessed are the parents who attend and support their church. Their children shall develop a strong faith.

Blessed is the couple who are good stewards of all God's gifts, their children will bless them and follow their example.

Blessed are all those whose lives are a testimony of faith in God, they shall be the channels through which God's kingdom will come on earth.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow them all the days of their lives and they shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Dear Lord, we pray that we would follow the beatitudes for a married couple and in doing so we would be an encouragement to the couples around us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The "Tech Support" Line is Open

1 Peter 5:5-7 (NIV)

5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

    but shows favor to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Customer: "I got this problem. You people sent me this install disk, and now my A: drive won't work."

Tech Support: "Your A: drive won't work?"

Customer: "That's what I said. You sent me a bad disk, it got stuck in my drive, now it won't work at all."

Tech Support: "Did it not install properly? What kind of error messages did you get?"

Customer: "I didn't get any error message. The disk got stuck in the drive and wouldn't come out. So I got these pliers and tried to get it out. That didn't work either."

Tech Support: "You did what, sir?"

Customer: "I got these pliers, and tried to get the disk out, but it wouldn't budge. I just ended up cracking the plastic stuff a bit."

Tech Support: "I don't understand sir, did you push the eject button?"

Customer: "No, so then I got a stick of butter and melted it and used a turkey baster and put the butter in the drive, around the disk, and that got it loose. I can't believe you would send me a disk that was broken and defective."

Tech Support: "Let me get this clear. You put melted butter in your A: drive and used pliers to pull the disk out?"

At this point, Tech Support  puts the call on the speaker phone and motioned at the other techs to listen in.

Tech Support: "Just so I am absolutely clear on this, can you repeat what you just said?"

Customer: "I said I put butter in my A: drive to get your disk out, then I had to use pliers to pull it out."

Tech Support: "Did you push that little button that was sticking out when the disk was in the drive, you know, the thing called the disk eject button?"

- Silence -

Tech Support: "Sir?"

Customer: "Yes."

Tech Support: "Sir, did you push the eject button?"

Customer: "No, but you people are going to fix my computer, or I am going to sue you for breaking my computer."

Tech Support: "Let me get this straight. You are going to sue our company because you put the disk in the A: drive, didn't follow the instructions we sent you, didn't actually seek professional advice, didn't consult your user's manual on how to use your computer properly, instead proceeding to pour butter into the drive and physically rip the disk out?"

Customer: "Ummmm."

Tech Support: "Do you really think you stand a chance, since we do record every call and have it on tape?"

Customer: (now rather humbled) "But you're supposed to help!"

Tech Support: "I am sorry sir, but there is nothing we can do for you. Have a nice day."

Sounds like the mess we sometimes make of our lives. We don't consult God's "instruction manual" (the Bible), we don't call for assistance (pray), we just try to "fix" the problems in our lives by ourselves and in the process do some pretty stupid things.

But there's one big difference. When we finally reach the point where we realize we've made a mess and we humble ourselves in the presence of God, He doesn't say, "There's nothing I can do for you." Rather, He stands ready to help.

Made a mess of something lately? The "tech support" line is open and ready to take your call. God is always there ready to help.

Dear Lord, thank You for being there even when we mess up and don’t follow the instruction You have given to us in Your word, the Bible. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Handling Mistakes

Proverbs 28:13 (NIV)

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,

    but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

An grizzled old sea captain was often spotted by his crew opening a small, locked box on the bridge, peeking inside at its contents, and shutting the lid before anyone might glimpse inside. The crew's curiosity grew and, on the day he retired, they rushed to the bridge, cut the lock and looked inside the box. There they found a sheet of paper that read, "Left -- port. Right -- starboard."

Are you afraid to make a mistake? Some people feel as if no one is listening until they make a mistake! If you goofed in a big way recently, maybe you need to hear about Roy Riegels.

The story is told about Roy and the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football game between Georgia Tech and the University of California. Shortly before half-time, a man named Roy Riegels made a huge mistake. He got the ball for California and somehow became confused and started running in the wrong direction! One of his team mates outdistanced him and tackled him after he had run 65 yards just before he would have scored for the opposing team. Of course, Georgia Tech gained a distinct advantage through the error.

The men filed off the field and went into the dressing room. All but Riegels sat down on the benches and on the floor. He wrapped his blanket around his shoulders, sat in a corner, put his face in his hands and wept.

Coach Nibbs Price struggled with what to do with Roy. He finally looked at the team and said simply, "Men, the same team that played the first half, will start the second."

All the players except Roy trotted out to the field. He didn't budge. Though the coach looked back and called to him again, he remained huddled in the corner. Coach Price went to him and said,

"Roy, didn't you hear me?"

"Coach," he said, "I can't do it. I've ruined you; I've ruined UCLA; I've ruined myself. I couldn't face that crowd in the stadium to save my life."

But Coach Price put his hand on Riegels' shoulder and said, "Roy, get up and go on back; the game is only half over."

Roy Riegels went back and those Tech men will tell you that they have never seen a man play football as Roy Riegels played that second half.

The next time you make a mistake, it might be good to remember the A-B-C method of handling mistakes.

A - Acknowledge your error and accept responsibility for it. Don't try to fix the blame on other people or circumstances. When you fix the blame, you never fix the problem.

B - Be gentle with yourself. The game is only half over. This is not the first mistake you ever made, nor will it be the last. You are still a good and caring person. Besides, later you may laugh at the blunder, so try to lighten up a bit now.

C - Correct it and move on. "Those who are wise don't consider it a blessing to make no mistakes," says Wang Yang-Ming. "They believe instead that the great virtue is the ability to correct mistakes and to continually reinvent oneself."

Now, go make your mistakes. And though some may be no less than spectacular, if you practice the A-B-C method, you'll live to tell about all of them and laugh about most of them.

Dear Lord, we thank You for the forgiveness that You freely give to each of us. Help us when we fail to acknowledge our error, be gentle with our self and correct it and move on. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.