January 30, 2000 Volume 1 Number 5
Promises
… Promises …
“I promise no new taxes!” “I
promises to save Social Security.” We
have heard countless statements like these from countless politicians.
When was the last time you believed them
I can’t either! Even
though their decisions, statements, and actions can at times be ridiculous even
contrary to the will of God, ultimately, we do not have to fear them.
Jesus said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill
the soul” (Mt 10:28). The latter
part of the verse tells us who we must fear, “But rather fear Him (Our
Heavenly Father-cma) who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt
10:28b).
God has proven over and over again that when he says something it has and
will come true. From the beginning we find his promises and/or prophecies
being made and being fulfilled. Remember what He said about His words, “So
shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void,
but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for
which I sent it” (Isa 55:11). We have example after example of promises being
made and fulfilled in Scripture. After
creating the universe, the earth, the animals and man, sin entered the picture.
God had given them instructions as to their conduct and warned them of the
consequences. In time they sinned had to suffer the consequences of that
violation (Gen 2:15; 3:1ff). The
result of those actions is felt to this day.
When God promises he will do something, it will be done.
In our study on Wednesday nights we have seen a number of prophecies made
and fulfilled. No matter how many years passed.
As we closed our study of 2 Kings we were introduced to young king
Josiah. God considered him a
righteous man. In fact it says, “Now before him there was no king like him,
who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his
might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him”
(2 Kings 23:25). He fulfilled a prophecy made 300 years prior to his existence
by destroying a particular “high place of worship.” What does all of this have to do with us?
Again, God will accomplish what he has set out to do.
As you recall Jesus came to this earth to save it. “For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; 12:47).
He accomplished all of it. He
fulfilled every last prophecy concerning the Messiah. From when and where he was going to be born and all the
circumstances surrounding that birth to his death and all the events surrounding
it. Jesus cried out on the cross at
the close of His life on this earth, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He
finished everything from the beginning of his life on this earth to the end of
it and everything in between. Jesus
also said that along with saving the world he would return to judge it.
The standard by which he will judge us is His word (John 12:48-50).
The book of Acts also makes it very clear that he will return.
In Acts 17:30-31 it says, “Truly, these times of ignorance God
overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, (31) because He has
appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man
whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from
the dead." So what are we to do? Very simply, obey the words of Jesus.
It is the adherence to and practice of the inspired Word of God that will
prepare us for that day. Paul says
it is the “power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16).
It is said of Jesus that he “became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him” (Heb 5:9). Now
if someone handed you a book and said, “Follow these instructions and all your
problems will be taken care of.” Is
Jesus not someone (God Himself) and is He not an author?
Most certainly! He is the author of eternal salvation and He has done
everything possible for us to have these most important instructions available
to us. And like any good
instructions they are only good if used properly.
Notice what Paul said, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you
have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2Tim 1:13).
To “Hold fast” is “to have, that is, to own, to possess” (Thayer’s).
When we own, or possess God’s Word as our own wonderful things begin to
happen. We begin to transform from
children of darkness to children of light.
We begin to cast off the old man of sin and replace him with a new man.
We begin to remove the works of the flesh such as; “adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lewdness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like” and replace them with the fruits of the
Spirit which are, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law”
(Gal 5:19-23). In short, you become
a Christian. For you, there is an
inheritance waiting. Peter said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to an
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in
heaven for you” (1Pet 1:3-4). Remember Christians belong to Christ and those
who belong to him will receive the inheritance according to the promise (Gal
3:29). Men may lie to you, but God cannot lie. Won’t you accept his call
today?
#Carlos Aguilar
Home
and Family:
RESPONSIBILITIES OF HUSBANDS
The position of the husband in the home and his related responsibilities
are quite clearly defined in principle in Ephesians 5:22, 28-31. "Wives
submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is
head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church; and he is the savior of
the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to their
own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wife as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it . . . So ought men to love their wives as their
own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated
his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church . .
. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined
unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh".
It is impossible to completely deal with the responsibilities of the
husband in such a short article. I am going to ask you to make some notations of
scriptures and then read them later. Let us start with some scriptures that deal
with the husband as head of the house. Genesis 3:16, says in part "her
desire shall be to man". Then Eph. 5:23, "husband is head of the
wife"; then I Tim. 2:11-12, "She shall have no dominion over a
man".
Now don't stop at these verses and think that the only responsibility of
the husband is to be HEAD of the house. By the way, head does not mean master as
in a master-slave relationship, nor does it mean a relationship like a general
to a private in the army. It is more like a partnership where one is the leader,
guide, and director. Now consider this. Can you think of any decision that a
husband should make WITHOUT consulting or considering his wife and her wishes? I
cannot!
Now let us consider some other responsibilities. The husband is to love
his wife above all other human beings. Consider Eph. 5:25 and 28; and Col. 3:19.
These passages teach that the husband is to be considerate and tender. The
verses in Ephesians 5 teach that the husband is to cherish his wife. This means
that she is to be treated with tenderness and affection. This would mean that
since love must be fed, there is to be a warm demonstrative love relationship.
The husband has the responsibility of not only demonstrating his love and
concern, but also telling her. He should not sit in such self-absorption that he
does not talk with her and communicate with her socially, mentally, verbally and
physically. The husband will demonstrate his love for his wife in other ways,
rather than just at the time of sexual relationship. If this is the only time
that affection and consideration is shown, then a wife will get the idea that
all a husband is interested in is her body and that she is merely a sex object.
I Peter 3:7, teaches that the husband is to honor his wife. She gave up
her name to take yours. Honor means that you should show her respect and this
involves courtesy, consideration and emotional support. Be sure that as her
husband that you do not hold her up to ridicule in public by the cutting remarks
that you make. She wears YOUR name and is to be viewed as part of your body. She
is not perfect and you are aware of this. Do not expect perfection, but as
Ephesians 4:32 teaches, "forbear one another". This means to be gentle
toward her. Control of temper, abstaining from physical violence and restraining
a sharp tongue that makes one feel so inferior - are ways by which you can
exhibit forbearance.
Paul presents another responsibility of husbands in I Timothy 5:8 - "But if any provide not for his own, especially for those of his own household, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel". Marriage is a financial venture and the husband has a responsibility to finance or support or provide for his family. This is talking about money. As a husband, your earnings are not your own but belong to your wife as well and your children.
Another responsibility of the husband is to be active in the area of the
discipline and rearing of the children. When the Apostle Paul was giving the
qualifications for elders and deacons, he included this statement that is
certainly applicable to all men: I Timothy 3:3-5, and he speaks of ruling your
own house. Now this discipline should be with love. Many times discipline is
administered without love. The Book says in Ephesians 6:4, "Fathers provoke
not your children to wrath", and again in Colossians 3:21, "Fathers
provoke not your children to anger lest they be discouraged". The husband
therefore does not leave all the discipline up to his wife, but shares in the
molding and direction of your children. It is not a proper division of
responsibility to say that as the husband, I will provide the living and the
wife is to take care of the house and children. The husband has duties even
after his days work is done by which lie is earning a living to support his
family.
The Christian father should set an example for his family as he earns a
living, directs the household with concern for each member, and as he fulfills
his role as head of the house. He should see to their spiritual development by
the life he lives and the direction in which he leads his family.
Your wife is a part of your body - you are a part of each other. For this
reason Paul said, "Love your wife". He didn't say, if you want to. As
you love her, you love yourself and are fulfilling the role that the Lord wanted
you to have.
From
“Bible Research Library”
Negative
“Over the past decade, whenever I have lectured throughout the country
on the powerful, and often negative, impact of words, I have asked audiences if
they can go for twenty-four hours without saying any unkind words about, or to,
anybody. Invariably, a minority of listeners raise their hands signifying
"yes," some laugh, and quite a large number call out, "No!"
I respond by saying, "Those who can't answer 'yes' must recognize
that you have a serious problem. If you cannot go for twenty-four hours without
smoking, you are addicted to nicotine. If you cannot go twenty-four hours
without a drink, you're most likely an alcoholic. Similarly, if you cannot go
for twenty-four hours without saying unkind words about others, then you have
lost control over your tongue." -- Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
James
3:8-11 “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly
poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have
been made in the similitude of God. Out
of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought
not to be so.”
Sentence
Sermons
It
is far better to slip with the foot than with the tongue.
The
teeth may be FALSE, but let the tongue be TRUE.
We
hope you find this bulletin useful in your Bible study.
2
Sam 22:31
As
for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to
all who trust in Him. NKJV