(December 8, 2010)
Prayer House News!
No classes tonight because of Family Week HOWEVER there is Christmas Caroling. Call the church for details. This is truly a family event open to everyone. Come and join us. After we are finished we gather back at the church for a time of fellowship and deserts.
===========================================================
Devotional!
Faith is more than saying something the right way. It’s more than going through all the proper actions. It’s more than making ourselves believe something; it’s the end result of a right relationship. People of great faith are also people of great relationship. They know their God and they love their neighbor. Don’t you believe that the faith of Jesus came because of His love for His Father as well as His great love for you and I? Love is the motivator for faith. When there is great love there is great faith.
1 Peter 3:7 You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
This verse says that if a husband’s relationship is not right with his wife his prayers are hindered. Some men have interpreted this verse as justification to mistreat their wives, since they are the weaker vessel. That would completely miss the spirit of this verse. We are to grant them honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life. In other words, they are subject to the same grace of God men are.
Being the weaker vessel does not make a woman inferior to the man in any way. I once heard a preacher put it this way; the woman is weaker in the same way a crystal vase is weaker than a 100-pound clay pot. The clay pot may be stronger but it is in no way superior to the crystal vase. However, you must be more careful of a crystal vase as it glimmers and sparkles in the sunlight. It is much more fragile than a clay pot subsequently, it needs tender care. Like it or not men, the crystal vase may be weaker than a 100-pound clay pot, but it is also worth much more.
Because men are physically stronger than women they tend to want to lead from that perspective, which is quite contrary to the way Christ leads us. When we think of the bride of Christ, the church, we are definitely the weaker vessel in comparison to Jesus. All power has been given to Jesus and yet he does not use force to lead us. His way of leadership comes through submission. Christ submitted to His Father because we are the weaker vessel.
Christ could have come to earth and simply used His power to force us into submission but that would have crushed our spirit. Many times men will crush the spirit of their mate and then still expect God to hear their prayers. It doesn’t work that way. Everything about Christianity comes down to relationships; first our relationship with our Savior and then with our fellow man. When you think about sin – it’s relatively difficult to sin without the mistreatment of another person. What kind of sin can you think of that does not effect others. There are not very many. Most everything has to do with our relationships with others. That is the heart of Christianity. Jesus came to earth to restore man’s relationship with the Father. Now that Jesus lives in our hearts one of our primary responsibilities should be that of proclaiming that message through our life style.
Look at how 1 Peter 3 continues in verse 8.
1 Peter 3:8 To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted, and humble in spirit. (9) not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a bless.
Then in verses 10-12 Peter begins to quote King David from the 34th Psalm.
1 Peter 3:10-12 Let him who means to love life and see good days, refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile: (11) And let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. (12) For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer: but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
Dad, if you love life and want to see good days – then refrain your tongue from speaking evil, turn away from doing evil, and seek peace with your fellowman. Try to be harmonious, sympathetic, kind hearted and humble in spirit. I love what verse nine says; give a blessing. Bless instead of curse. We inherit what we give. If you curse your family then you live under a curse. If you bless your family – then you live under that blessing. When you bless, God’s ears will be open to your prayers. Then you can pray in faith believing, because your conscience with God will be clear.
=========================================================
Medication: A Merry Heart
Afterlife
A woman was worried about whether or not her dead husband
made it to heaven, so she prayed earnestly for God to allow
him to speak to her.
"Hello, Margaret. This is Fred."
"Fred!" she exclaimed. "I just have to know if you're happy
there in the afterlife. What's it like there?"
"Ooooooh, it's much more beautiful here than I ever
imagined," Fred answered. "The sky is bluer, the air is
cleaner, and the pastures are much more lush and green than
I ever expected. I lack for nothing; all day long we just
eat and sleep, eat and sleep, over and over."
"Thank God, you made it to heaven," his wife cried.
"Heaven?" he answered. "I'm a buffalo in Montana."
Prayer House News!
No classes tonight because of Family Week HOWEVER there is Christmas Caroling. Call the church for details. This is truly a family event open to everyone. Come and join us. After we are finished we gather back at the church for a time of fellowship and deserts.
===========================================================
Devotional!
Faith is more than saying something the right way. It’s more than going through all the proper actions. It’s more than making ourselves believe something; it’s the end result of a right relationship. People of great faith are also people of great relationship. They know their God and they love their neighbor. Don’t you believe that the faith of Jesus came because of His love for His Father as well as His great love for you and I? Love is the motivator for faith. When there is great love there is great faith.
1 Peter 3:7 You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
This verse says that if a husband’s relationship is not right with his wife his prayers are hindered. Some men have interpreted this verse as justification to mistreat their wives, since they are the weaker vessel. That would completely miss the spirit of this verse. We are to grant them honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life. In other words, they are subject to the same grace of God men are.
Being the weaker vessel does not make a woman inferior to the man in any way. I once heard a preacher put it this way; the woman is weaker in the same way a crystal vase is weaker than a 100-pound clay pot. The clay pot may be stronger but it is in no way superior to the crystal vase. However, you must be more careful of a crystal vase as it glimmers and sparkles in the sunlight. It is much more fragile than a clay pot subsequently, it needs tender care. Like it or not men, the crystal vase may be weaker than a 100-pound clay pot, but it is also worth much more.
Because men are physically stronger than women they tend to want to lead from that perspective, which is quite contrary to the way Christ leads us. When we think of the bride of Christ, the church, we are definitely the weaker vessel in comparison to Jesus. All power has been given to Jesus and yet he does not use force to lead us. His way of leadership comes through submission. Christ submitted to His Father because we are the weaker vessel.
Christ could have come to earth and simply used His power to force us into submission but that would have crushed our spirit. Many times men will crush the spirit of their mate and then still expect God to hear their prayers. It doesn’t work that way. Everything about Christianity comes down to relationships; first our relationship with our Savior and then with our fellow man. When you think about sin – it’s relatively difficult to sin without the mistreatment of another person. What kind of sin can you think of that does not effect others. There are not very many. Most everything has to do with our relationships with others. That is the heart of Christianity. Jesus came to earth to restore man’s relationship with the Father. Now that Jesus lives in our hearts one of our primary responsibilities should be that of proclaiming that message through our life style.
Look at how 1 Peter 3 continues in verse 8.
1 Peter 3:8 To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted, and humble in spirit. (9) not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a bless.
Then in verses 10-12 Peter begins to quote King David from the 34th Psalm.
1 Peter 3:10-12 Let him who means to love life and see good days, refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile: (11) And let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. (12) For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer: but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
Dad, if you love life and want to see good days – then refrain your tongue from speaking evil, turn away from doing evil, and seek peace with your fellowman. Try to be harmonious, sympathetic, kind hearted and humble in spirit. I love what verse nine says; give a blessing. Bless instead of curse. We inherit what we give. If you curse your family then you live under a curse. If you bless your family – then you live under that blessing. When you bless, God’s ears will be open to your prayers. Then you can pray in faith believing, because your conscience with God will be clear.
=========================================================
Medication: A Merry Heart
Afterlife
A woman was worried about whether or not her dead husband
made it to heaven, so she prayed earnestly for God to allow
him to speak to her.
"Hello, Margaret. This is Fred."
"Fred!" she exclaimed. "I just have to know if you're happy
there in the afterlife. What's it like there?"
"Ooooooh, it's much more beautiful here than I ever
imagined," Fred answered. "The sky is bluer, the air is
cleaner, and the pastures are much more lush and green than
I ever expected. I lack for nothing; all day long we just
eat and sleep, eat and sleep, over and over."
"Thank God, you made it to heaven," his wife cried.
"Heaven?" he answered. "I'm a buffalo in Montana."
