A 1 PETER 3 WIFE

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP

 

A 1 PETER 3 WIFE 

I would like to encourage Christian women whose husbands either are not saved or at least are not the spiritual leaders of their home.  You are in a difficult position, but be assured the Bible definitely speaks to your situation.  I know you desire to do the right thing in the Lord’s eyes, so let me share with you how to be A 1 PETER 3 WIFE.  Let’s read the passage first:

(1 Peter 3:1-6) Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,  2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.  3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—  4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.  5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands,  6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. 

- BE SUBMISSIVE:  This means coming up under your husband’s authority.  And yes, this means even if he is not saved or is a believer but is not the spiritual leader.  Showing respect to your husband is a huge thing because they have taken polls of men who say that is what they want from their wives more than anything else. (Eph 5:23-24, 33)  Peter references Sarah and how she admired Abraham.  So ladies, study godly women of the Bible and also that you personally know, and refuse to follow the ungodly attitudes of so many of the popular women of today.    

- WITNESS BY YOUR LIFE:  Notice how the apostle Peter says you can win your husband by being a woman of character.  Also observe how all this can be done without preaching to him or nagging him.   Both of those things will irritate the man and he will become angry and resentful and it will also drive him away from the Lord.  It also belittles the man and makes him feel less than.  Give him a peck (kiss) and refuse to hen-peck him!   

- POSSESS A GENTLE AND QUITE SPIRIT:  Peter is basically saying to put your emphasis on your character and not so much on your physical.  Now don’t get me wrong, men love when their wives look nice but to have that beauty of the heart really speaks to the man.  He can find a pretty girl anywhere but how many women have that precious inner quality of godliness?  Even if your husband doesn’t know the Lord he still respects the fact that you shine from the inside out.  That’s the kind of woman he is proud to have hanging on his arm!   

A further encouragement:  Love your husband.  Have fun with him.  Spend time with him.  He might not come to church with you but picture him not as he is, but as he will be. (Heb 11:1)   Don’t give up praying for him!  There’s nothing God can’t do, and that includes changing hearts! 

Louie

THREE WORDS FOR A HAPPY HOME

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

THREE WORDS FOR A HAPPY HOME 

A happy home.  It’s what we all want.  To not only get along, but to really love and support each other.  Our families can be the source of our greatest stress or the basis for our greatest joy.  It all depends if our home is happy or not.  So how can our homes be more joyful and content?  What can families do to come together in unity?  Well, here’s three words for a happy home.  They might not be magical words, but they sure are practical.  And there’s one word for each member to make it easy.  With God’s help we can work toward greater peace and happiness right under our roof! 

LOVE:  This is for the husbands.  (Eph 5:25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.  Paul said that a man was to love his wife and lay down his life for her as Christ did the church.  In other words, a man is to sacrifice for his wife to show her how much he loves her.  (John 15:13) Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  A wife loves it when her man goes the extra mile to show his love.  The man went out of his way.  He gave up something.  She feels valued as a result and therefore has no problem coming up under his authority.   

SUBMIT: This is for the wives.  (Eph 5:22) Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For some women in our society this is a dirty word.  They feel it is a ticket to being a door mat and to being taken advantage of.  But it is a Biblical word and a Biblical principle.  Submit means to come up under your husband’s authority and to do it as unto the Lord.  It doesn’t mean he is above you.  It means you are both equal but one must be the leader, and God has chosen the man (1 Cor 11:3).  God the Father and God the Son are equal but the Son submits to the Father as a pattern for us (1 Cor 11:3).

OBEY: This is for the children.  (Eph 6:1) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Children are to honor their father and mother as it says in the Ten Commandments (Deu 5:16).  A promise is attached to it:  …“that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” (Eph 6:3)  What child wouldn’t want that?  It is natural for children to rebel because they are sinners.  But God makes it possible for children to choose the good and to do what their parents want them to do.  It might not be easy at times but the reward outweighs the difficulty! 

THREE WORDS FOR A HAPPY HOME.  Love, submit, obey.  If each person in the family would do their part, think of the family atmosphere you would come home to.  The husband is displaying sacrificial love for his wife.  The wife in turn submits to her husband’s loving authority.  The children are obeying their parents.  Harmony…melody…symphony!  God lays it all out in His Word and all we have to do is simply do our part.  Even if one person did their share the family would be that much happier.  So why wait for someone else?  Get some sunshine in that household and let’s let our homes shine for Christ!   

Louie

GOD OF JACOB

 

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP

 GOD OF JACOB 

(Psalm 46:7) The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.  

Have you ever wondered why God loves you when you have fallen short so many times in your life?  That is the mystery of the ages isn’t it?  God is so merciful and we know we are covered by the blood of Christ.  But it never ceases to amaze us how the Lord just doesn’t cast us off to the side and work with someone else who is more faithful and honorable.  Maybe it will help to review the life of Jacob.   

Jacob.  He was Abrahams’ grandson and Isaac’s son.  He had a twin brother named Esau.  He pulled his brother’s heel at birth and so won the name Jacob which means “heal catcher”.  When they grew up the twins became rivals.  Jacob first stole his brother’s birthright (Gen 25) and then his blessing (Gen 27).  This is what his brother Esau said of him: (Gen 27:36) And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!”…  So the name of Jacob not only means heal catcher (from the cute birth story) but also deceiver (from the adult stories).   

Jacob had to flee the wrath of his brother.  On his way north he stopped in Bethel and slept with his head on a rock for a pillow.  He had an amazing dream of a ladder that reached to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it.  God then spoke to him in that dream and said his descendants would be plentiful and that He would be with him and bring him back safely to his land.  (Gen 28:16-17) Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”  17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” 

How merciful is our God!  He didn’t ball Jacob out.  He offered him grace and it was just what Jacob needed.  For the next twenty years God refined him and purged that tendency of his flesh from his life.  On the way back he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord.  From the incident Jacob had a limp the rest of his life (Gen 32).   

Now would you believe it that the phrase “God of Jacob” is found twenty three times in the Bible?  How cool is that ?  It sends a strong message.  And that message is this:  God loves you no matter what kind of traits you have or how much you have fallen from His will.  It’s a message of grace that we all need.  We all have things in our lives that trip us up.  But God is so patient with us.  As long as we keep going to His mercy seat we will be alright (Heb 4:16).  That’s what Jacob did.  He never ran from the Lord.  He knew who he was but He also knew who God was in His mercy and forgiveness.  And that is what changed his life!   

God of Jacob.  God of Louie.  God of you.  It all fits, doesn’t it?  Hallelujah to our merciful God!  

Louie

SETTING GOALS

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

SETTING GOALS 

(Phil 3:12-14) Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,  14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes it gets confusing as a Christian as to if you should set goals in life or should you just let the Lord lead you?   On the one hand you don’t want to be so goal oriented that you leave God out of your plans.  But on the other hand you feel like if you just say the Lord is going to lead you then you might feel that this is just an excuse for being lazy and never getting anywhere.  Like the saying says: If you don’t  have a target you will never reach anything in life.   

Paul was very goal oriented.  He seemed to always have a plan.   But it seemed to fit into an overall master plan he received from the Lord.  Notice how he said his life goal was to receive that prize in fulfilling his calling from the Lord.  Then from the book of Acts we see him traveling and writing and making plans to visit people and churches as all under that wide umbrella call of his service for his Lord.

So what might be that main calling on your life?  Let’s start with our relationship with Christ:  (Phil 3:10) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.  That was Paul’s passion and that is the supreme goal of every believer in Christ.  Everything we do or pursue in life fits under that umbrella.   That helps me make decisions.  Does this pursuit in life fit into the purpose of knowing the Lord and being like Him in the world?  If it does then I can surely pray about pursuing that.  If not then I will ax that out of my life instantly as it will sidetrack me.  

Once we have established that master plan/purpose/pursuit then we are ready to dial into that specific plan God has for us and start setting goals toward that.  The Lord has a unique calling for each and every one of us.  It will be different than anybody else’s.  No need to be jealous of others and what God has called them to do.  If we pursued their calling we would be miserable.   

Moses had a calling to lead Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.  God took him up to Mount Sinai and gave him the law and the commandments for Israel.  Then he gave him the blueprint  for the Tabernacle.  Here’s what God said:  (Exo 25:40) And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.  The rest of the book that is exactly what he did.  So pray about what God would have you to do in life.  Then when He shows you then go for the goals that fit under the goal of knowing Him!  And don’t get sidetracked by all the things along the way.  Stay focused and watch yourself advance in life! 

Louie