What are our priorities?
I used to say without hesitation:
1. GOD
2. Family
3. Job
4. Friends
5. ME
Truth is I have come to realize doing an examination on where my money and time is spent is a tell tale sign on a more realistic priority list. In view of this I challenge you to look at your bank statement and journal your time. Then write three lists 1 of which you believe are your current priorities and 1 that shows what the top ten things your money is spent on and one that shows the top ten things you have spent your time on. Compare the lists. Are all three lists the same? Do you spend at minimum of one tenth of your money on Godly endeavors? Do you ever give freely of your time to serve others out of obedience to GOD? Or are you like the old me where most of my time and money were spent on me and Godly endeavors were lucky to get any of my time and money. I used to have a great fear of death with all my time and money spent on me. I now see why death was so scary. I wasn’t living a spirit driven life only a selfish earthly life. Needless to say I am looking forward to spending eternity with my Father these days. Amazing what happened when I started really living like I believed their is a GOD who has a book that tells me how to live. Amazing how much the peace seems to grow exponentially the more I live for Christ.
Christian Husband?
Ephesians 5:25 (Today’s New International Version, ©2005)
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Until last Easter (2010) I never really understood this verse and it's true significance.
Christ gave his life for the church. He gave a perfect example for her to strive to live by. When I really meditated on this scripture I realized the gravity and deepness of its meaning. Was Christ perfect in his giving himself up for the Church? Was Christ served or was he the one who washed feet? Did he set on a throne and have others serve him? I am not forgetting Ephesians 5:22-24. I am however focusing on Christian Husband’s responsibilities to their wives. I wish I would have focused on this before but there is only today yesterday is gone no going back. With Ephesians 5:25 making an analogy as to husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, I think much more time should be spent by Christian Husbands meditating on this instead of the previous scriptures. Does this model of Christian Husbands fit you? It didn’t me. What does the church give back to Christ? At best the church is made up of sinners and people that can never be perfect. If we could then we would not have needed a savior. We can't be perfect, we all do need a savior, and praise God almightily we have one and he has RISEN, HE HAS RISEN INDEED!!!!
So do you as a Christian Husband follow this scripture?
What have you sacrificed for your wife?
Was it something she wanted you to sacrifice?What would she say?
I sacrificed all the time I thought. Like Ephesians 5:25, the truth to that is NEVER! I rarely sacrificed my will or my temper or anything. I lived feeling entitled and like I deserved something more. "The man of the house." I do believe that God has ordained the man to be the leader of his family, but I know I took this with the wrong spirit and did not lead through humility and love. I acted more like a spoiled child always needing my way through entitlement and selfishness not leading with silent humility and loving strength. I also believe that christian women would have no problem what so ever following a christian husband that would give himself up for her.
Do you treat your wife valuable?
I did when we were dating but after we were married and moved into a brick rent home, and even worse after we bought our own brick home, from that point on I felt like I had arrived and deserved love and respect (Which we all do but you don't demand Love and Respect you earn it). I never knew it at the time but now that I have my identy from JESUS who loves and accepts me. I see that from that point on I treated my wife as a burden. I was a fool she was and still is an extremely valuable person. I being selfish and needy lost someone of great value. I beg you to please treat your wives as the second most valuable part of your life, with only GOD above them in value to you. The one key to this is to accept GOD's unconditional love and acceptance for you. Then through this truth learning to Love and Accept yourself you can freely give love and acceptance to your wives. I had never accepted this unconditional Love from GOD and I sure had never accepted and loved myself. I was not able to give love and acceptance while facing disapproval from others because others is where I gained my worth, not through the above truth of GOD's Love and Acceptance. I would become defensive instead of understanding what I was doing to her. I sought to "protect" myself through defensiveness instead of excepting the truth and working to be a better husband. Having my identity through GOD’s Love and Acceptance would have freed me to be able to face truth and grow instead of going into "protect mode". I made myself and tried to make my wife believe that she was not valuable to me, because I never believed I deserved someone as valuable as I truly thought she was and is. PLEASE ACCEPT GOD's UNCONTITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE FOR YOU, THEN ACCEPT AND LOVE YOURSELF, AND THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SHOW YOUR WIVES HOW TRULY VALUABLE THEY ARE TO YOU.
Proverbs 31:10 (The Message) A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (Today’s New International Version, ©2005) 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Does your LOVE look like scripture the above?
I used to say without hesitation:
1. GOD
2. Family
3. Job
4. Friends
5. ME
Truth is I have come to realize doing an examination on where my money and time is spent is a tell tale sign on a more realistic priority list. In view of this I challenge you to look at your bank statement and journal your time. Then write three lists 1 of which you believe are your current priorities and 1 that shows what the top ten things your money is spent on and one that shows the top ten things you have spent your time on. Compare the lists. Are all three lists the same? Do you spend at minimum of one tenth of your money on Godly endeavors? Do you ever give freely of your time to serve others out of obedience to GOD? Or are you like the old me where most of my time and money were spent on me and Godly endeavors were lucky to get any of my time and money. I used to have a great fear of death with all my time and money spent on me. I now see why death was so scary. I wasn’t living a spirit driven life only a selfish earthly life. Needless to say I am looking forward to spending eternity with my Father these days. Amazing what happened when I started really living like I believed their is a GOD who has a book that tells me how to live. Amazing how much the peace seems to grow exponentially the more I live for Christ.
Christian Husband?
Ephesians 5:25 (Today’s New International Version, ©2005)
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Until last Easter (2010) I never really understood this verse and it's true significance.
Christ gave his life for the church. He gave a perfect example for her to strive to live by. When I really meditated on this scripture I realized the gravity and deepness of its meaning. Was Christ perfect in his giving himself up for the Church? Was Christ served or was he the one who washed feet? Did he set on a throne and have others serve him? I am not forgetting Ephesians 5:22-24. I am however focusing on Christian Husband’s responsibilities to their wives. I wish I would have focused on this before but there is only today yesterday is gone no going back. With Ephesians 5:25 making an analogy as to husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, I think much more time should be spent by Christian Husbands meditating on this instead of the previous scriptures. Does this model of Christian Husbands fit you? It didn’t me. What does the church give back to Christ? At best the church is made up of sinners and people that can never be perfect. If we could then we would not have needed a savior. We can't be perfect, we all do need a savior, and praise God almightily we have one and he has RISEN, HE HAS RISEN INDEED!!!!
So do you as a Christian Husband follow this scripture?
What have you sacrificed for your wife?
Was it something she wanted you to sacrifice?What would she say?
I sacrificed all the time I thought. Like Ephesians 5:25, the truth to that is NEVER! I rarely sacrificed my will or my temper or anything. I lived feeling entitled and like I deserved something more. "The man of the house." I do believe that God has ordained the man to be the leader of his family, but I know I took this with the wrong spirit and did not lead through humility and love. I acted more like a spoiled child always needing my way through entitlement and selfishness not leading with silent humility and loving strength. I also believe that christian women would have no problem what so ever following a christian husband that would give himself up for her.
Do you treat your wife valuable?
I did when we were dating but after we were married and moved into a brick rent home, and even worse after we bought our own brick home, from that point on I felt like I had arrived and deserved love and respect (Which we all do but you don't demand Love and Respect you earn it). I never knew it at the time but now that I have my identy from JESUS who loves and accepts me. I see that from that point on I treated my wife as a burden. I was a fool she was and still is an extremely valuable person. I being selfish and needy lost someone of great value. I beg you to please treat your wives as the second most valuable part of your life, with only GOD above them in value to you. The one key to this is to accept GOD's unconditional love and acceptance for you. Then through this truth learning to Love and Accept yourself you can freely give love and acceptance to your wives. I had never accepted this unconditional Love from GOD and I sure had never accepted and loved myself. I was not able to give love and acceptance while facing disapproval from others because others is where I gained my worth, not through the above truth of GOD's Love and Acceptance. I would become defensive instead of understanding what I was doing to her. I sought to "protect" myself through defensiveness instead of excepting the truth and working to be a better husband. Having my identity through GOD’s Love and Acceptance would have freed me to be able to face truth and grow instead of going into "protect mode". I made myself and tried to make my wife believe that she was not valuable to me, because I never believed I deserved someone as valuable as I truly thought she was and is. PLEASE ACCEPT GOD's UNCONTITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE FOR YOU, THEN ACCEPT AND LOVE YOURSELF, AND THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SHOW YOUR WIVES HOW TRULY VALUABLE THEY ARE TO YOU.
Proverbs 31:10 (The Message) A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (Today’s New International Version, ©2005) 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Does your LOVE look like scripture the above?