Husband's Treasure

Proverbs 18:22

The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord. 

Again, another verse that is nothing more than cut and dry. Fellas, wives are considered our treasure. Yet, everyday there is news of a husband, even Christian husbands, who beat, verbally abuse, cheat on, rape, even murder their wives. That's pitiful. I bet those same men wouldn't mistreat a monetary or material treasure in the same way. WE FIND A TREASURE when we find a wife. She is something of great value, to be cherished and taken care of. NOT to be abused in any way, not even to complain about. A treasure. A treasure, that when found, also brings favor from the Lord. That's heavy. Society has not only decreased the worth of our women, but also the value of marriage. Society displays women are to be used and marriage to be thrown away. To all men who are reading this, I challenge you. I challenge you to go against the grain of our corrupt society and hold the value of our women at the highest below Jesus. Husbands, I challenge you to hold your wives tight, value them like the treasure they are. Keep the values of a biblical marriage true. WE NEED A CHANGE. And for the woman reading this, if these men aren't following these guidelines that Jesus has ordained, know your worth and demand better. 

Marriage

Genesis 2:22

Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and He brought her to the man. 

        This verse is really pretty straight forward, to me anyway. It seems to be that there is a created wife for every man, perfectly suited for him. I'm sure several will disagree, but if we all followed this God-designed plan for marriage, instead of seeking lust, or money, or anything else, the divorce rate would drop, probably to very, very minimal numbers. Since God has the first day in marriage, no society or the courts or our peers, it seems like going against His plan and marrying otherwise is similar to that game we all played (and got wrong) as children, trying to shove a square into a circle. Adam didn't devise marriage, so neither should we. 

Miracles

I've been meaning to post for awhile, forgive me. Around Easter, I had the privilege of getting to be in the Passion play at the Christian theater we are affiliated with. There were many scenes and many perspectives that I'd like to share over the next few posts. 

One scene that stood out to me was that of a healing of a young boy. To reference the Bible, this story is in John 9. One of the townspeople stepped out to Jesus after he was asked to be healed and said, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" It was the answer that stuck out to me. Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents have sinned. But he has been born blind so that the works of God can be displayed in him." Amazing. Many people have tendency to think that God punishes us with harsh consequences when we sin. While this may be true for those who do not know Jesus or have turned their back on the Father, it is not true that He simply does this to His children. I guess what I'm saying is as sure as Jesus performed miracles while He walked this earth, He is still performing miracles today. Keep the faith. Even that of a mustard seed is enough faith to witness the miracles of Jesus. I remember when my wife and I were going through our first big trial with my back, a short 9 days after our wedding day. It was said by an individual that this was God's punishment for my sins. We shook off the comment, kept our faith in our Father, and sure enough, He came through with a miracle. Even the surgeon said it was out of his hands. 

Please, as many of us will face medical and physical trials while we are on this earth, remember that they are not punishment for anything that we have done in our pasts. We have been forgiven and every circumstance is a chance for us to show relentless faith and wait for God's miracle. 

Work......

So I've been out of work due to medical issues once again. The devil is attacking us by trying to throw these issues at us. Notice I said trying. My wife and I knew that when you do good in the Lord's work, satan will attack. Well that's fine and dandy, I guess. But he's gonna get tired. We keep getting stronger and stronger, not only in the ability to lean on each other, but in our faith in God as well. Since I am out of work, we thought we would would volunteer some of our downtime between appointments and such at a local Christ based theater where we consider ourselves affiliated. What better way to counter satan's attacks than to step up more for God? As many of you know, any time you deal with the public, you'll get a little of the good, bad, and ugly. For the most part, people are kind and courteous. Of course there are always some that keep a frown on their face and prefer to be rude. And that's all good I guess. I have personally enjoyed volunteering my time for God. My wife and I, both, have enjoyed it. There is nothing better in this world than to do God's work, no matter how small it is. Whether it's pastoring a church, or ushering at a play, it pleases our Father.

It's Hard

Jeremiah 29:11 says this, "For I know the plans I have for you." says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
This sounds relatively easy. And it is almost always the advice from the outside voice to the one who is troubled in some way. In a day where good people suffer, good people are persecuted, good people are condemned, it is hard to think that Jesus, our Lord and our Savior, would allow good people to suffer. Pains of this world are harsh. From cancers to wars to condemnation and persecution, it seems we have it pretty tough. Read closely, plans for good and not of disaster. If we are looking at the world, we won't find any plans for good and not of disaster. This world is full of corruption and dismay. So seek not anything of this world. The rest, to give you a future and a hope. Without Jesus we have no future, we have no hope. If we are His people then our future is there, in heaven with Him. That is our hope. That is our good. And that is NOT disaster. What makes us think we should ever rise above Jesus and not partake in suffering? Jesus came down here to buy our salvation at a very costly price. And we turned our back, after demanding he die for nothing, while he hung on a cross, alone, bearing the sins of all of us. So alone to the point that His Father, God, turned His back because the sin Jesus bore was too great. God had plans for Jesus. And those plans were for good, not of disaster, and for a future and hope. Jesus has those same plans for us.

Life, Death, and Time

In the beginning of spring, there are so many signs of new life. The grass is getting greener. The trees are beginning to regain the leaves. Bushes are beginning to bloom. As spring turns into summer, and over the course of summer, life remains. Some remain almost the same throughout these seasons while others flourish. As fall rolls around, we begin to see the early signs of the fading away of these things. The leaves, the grass, the blooms, all begin to die. Soon, all the leaves have fallen and the grass is brown, bushes barren. Over the next few days I have related this to our lives as human beings. See, my wife and I visited an old cemetery the other day. I took my time, reading the headstones and absorbing some of the history. As I looked at the dates, perspective began to set in, I guess. Our life is like the seasons from spring to fall. We will be born, and we will die. There's no way around it. Just like we were born, we are appointed to die as well. Now, seeing that the appointed date of death is unknown to us, time is a beautiful gift from God. Life, well, that's just the time between birth and death. As I read the headstones and looked at dates, I realized that the gift of time is very different for everybody. Some people had 40-50 years of time on this earth. Some had as many as 80 or 90. And unfortunately, some only had a few months to a few years. Proving that death arrives unannounced. So why do so many people take advantage of the gift of time? I don't have an answer for that. But no matter the amount of time, it is a gift that isn't guaranteed. It is time to grow, spiritually, mentally, physically. Learn what God wants from you and do it. It is a time to love, and love wrecklessly. Don't waste time dwelling on negative things that will only drag you down and focus more on things that will create positivity. God looks at the life we have as the time He has given us. Don't waste it. The only time promised is the time it just took for you to take that last breath....

Baptism

On June 15,2012,i had the amazing privilege of marrying the most wonderful woman I've ever known. We began our relationship with a common goal, to base our marriage completely around God. Marriage being the most important relationship God created, He used His Son, Jesus, and the Church as a model. At our wedding ceremony, just as Jesus humbled Himself to serve the church, I humbled myself, knelt down, and washed my wife's feet. A public display of humility and servitude towards the woman that I declared my love to. Over the course of our marriage, we have loved each other, praised God through thick and thin, and strived to learn and live as biblically as possible. With all that, we decided to be baptized together. A very special moment. I went first, and went to stand to the side as my wife went. Little did I know the pastor would ask me to join her in the water, to assist in the baptism. He simply said could do that now. At that moment, this special moment just exploded with symbolism and was a moment to be cherished deeply. To have my wife, the woman I lift to God in my prayers, in my arms as she was being baptized was..... indescribable. I was honored to do this for her. In doing so, the pastor "had a moment" before we got out of the water, as well as many in the congregation. I knew we had something special, and with the amount of people who approached us afterwards, others do too. I am blessed to have her as my wife. And we are blessed to be backed by an making God.