Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Slow Disappearance of the American Working Man

"While unemployment is an ordeal for anyone, it still appears to be more traumatic for men. Men without jobs are more likely to commit crimes and go to prison. They are less likely to wed, more likely to divorce, and more likely to father a child out of wedlock. Ironically, unemployed men tend to do even less housework than men with jobs and often retreat from family life, says W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia."  To read the entire article, follow the link below. 
 http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/the-slow-disappearance-of-the-american-working-man-08242011_page_2.html

For further insight on this matter, I highly recommend Dr. Albert Mohler's podcast.  Dr. Mohler serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.  

http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/09/01/the-briefing-09-01-11/

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Are Your Christmas Lights Plugged In?

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:19-26.


In Galatians 5:22-23, the apostle Paul list these "gracious habits" - "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."  All 9 fruit stand together and make up our walk with God.  They are like a string of Christmas lights - there is one string with many lights that all light up at once when plugged into the electrical socket.  But if one bulb goes out, then the entire string goes out.  That's how God's fruit is borne out in our lives.  Not one of them can be missing, and all must be evident - lit up - to be God's fruit.  As you recall your actions today, were any of these spiritual habits missing?  What must you do to get "plugged into God,"  the power source again?




Elizabeth George,
A Young Woman's Walk With God:
Growing More Like Jesus

Saturday, September 3, 2011

What is God's Plan For Me as a Wife? (Part 3)

For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Ephesians 5:23

Have I ever agreed with God that my husband is my spiritual head?

Do I allow my husband to lead me, or do I resist his leadership, making it difficult for him to fulfill his God-given responsibility?

However, let each one of you live his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 5:33

Does my husband feel that I reverence and respect him?

Do others know that I reverence my husband?

By my words, example, and counsel, do I encourage other women to reverence their husbands?

The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband.  for the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.  Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
1 Corinthians 7:3-4

Do I reserve intimate communication, looks, words, and touch for my husband?

Am I giving of myself to meet my husband's sexual needs?

If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home.  For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
1 Corinthians 14:35

Do I motivate my husband to grow spiritually by seeking his counsel, input, and direction, or am I quick to run to my pastor or another counselor for answers to my questions and problems?

Does my husband feel that I value and respect his input and counsel




Biblical Portrait of Womanhood,
Nancy Leigh DeMoss