Marriage is hard. Marriage requires us to put in the work. Marriage is the joining of two fallen people who tend to think of themselves first. Marriage requires sacrifice, patience, and surrender. Marriage is beautiful, it is a precious gift from God designed by Him, to help sustain us, grow us, and shape us. Marriage is hard, but God is good.
We see all over the scripture how husbands and wives are to function. God is good to give us instructions on how this should look, I for one praise Him for this. Ephesians 5 verses 21-33 will be the source text. Please take a minute to read it and then come back here. This is a heavy passage but I would like to simplify it by using verse 21 & we will go from there. “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” We don’t tend to like the word submit, it carries with it negative connotations. However, I contend this is a beautiful and powerful word when properly understood. Paul, in Ephesians 5, gives us a picture of what it means to be submitted to one another as husbands and wives. Paul shows us how marriage is a reflection of how the church, the bride of Christ, finds itself submitted to Jesus, the bridegroom. Paul uses this illustration to show us how our roles are to function in marriage, but simultaneously he makes it plain that it is an “illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.” Again, submittance is a beautiful, and powerful word. We as believers are first and foremost submitted to Jesus, He is our Lord, and our submittance to Him is wonderful as it is life giving, and redemptive. Jesus laid down His life for us, and as a result we live for Him. Now check this out. Paul in Ephesians 5 tells wives to submit to their husbands as they are the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He goes on to tell husbands to lay down their lives for their wives like Christ laid down His life for the church. Do you see it? Husbands, if we long to revive our marriage, we must be submitted to Jesus and we are to follow His example by laying down our lives for our wives. When husbands live in this way, their wives have a tendency to follow them, why? Because like Jesus, when we lay down our lives for our wives, they see it and much like we follow Jesus, they follow us. This relates to marriage between believers, but what about those who are unequally yoked, or have a spouse that proclaims Jesus but isn’t currently following Him? I’m glad you asked…If you are the believing spouse, you are called to simply live for Jesus. Take some time to read 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 which ends by saying; “Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?” It is certainly difficult to reduce such a heavy topic down to a one page devotional, so if you are serious about reviving your marriage, may this simply be the starting point of much more study and investment. Paul ends Ephesians 5 with these remarks; “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” It boils down to love and respect. Husbands love their wives (regardless of whether they are following Jesus), and wives respect their husbands (regardless of whether they are following Jesus). Speaking to those who are devoted followers of Christ, live for Him in your marriage. Be submitted to Christ, and then one another. Husbands, lay down your lives for your wives as Christ did the church, and wives, submit to your husbands as the church submits to Christ.
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“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NLT
The definition of “Revive” is pretty awesome. To revive something simply means to restore to life or consciousness, give new strength or energy to. When we put our faith in Jesus, He revived us. Ephesians 2:1,4-5 states; “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins...But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” This is no small thing, through Jesus we go from death to life, praise God Almighty! This is a beautiful truth but let’s get real with each other for a minute. You and I both know that even in Christ life is hard and continues to weigh us down. We were revived when we put our faith in Christ but we are also in desperate need of His constant reviving, so often, daily. Time and time again in the Scriptures we see God telling His people to wait on Him, to run to Him, to lay our burdens at His feet, to not be anxious but to trust Him, and so on. God knows we will experience many trials, but even more so, He knows He is the answer, and He is what we need. Our God is in the business of restoration and we will not find true strength, true life, anywhere other than in God Himself. You and I, we have a tendency to try and take the world on by ourselves. We often think “I’ve got this” or that we are in control. The reality is, we don’t have it, and we are not in control. God wants us to know that He has it, and that He is in control. When we lay our life out before the Lord, trusting that He knows what He is doing, it is not only freeing, it is life giving, it revives us. The Lord our God is the orchestrator of our lives. He desires to play a beautiful melody that is for our good and to His glory. So often we seek to add notes that simply don’t belong. Let us meditate on Hebrews 12:1-2; “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Revival in the Lord boils down to trusting Him with our lives. I don’t know where you are at in your walk with Jesus. Maybe you have been following Him for years, maybe you are yet to enter into the most glorious relationship one could ever have, or anywhere in between. The truth is, we are all in desperate need of Jesus, from the seasoned saint to the non-believer, Jesus is the answer for everyone. Another reality is not everyone will come to know Jesus, but if you are reading this and you are looking for answers, look no further than the one who plainly stated in John 14:6; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” If you have been following Jesus for a short time or a long time, this is still true and a truth that we must never forget. It’s not our way, it’s His, as He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If you are seeking revival in your life, turn to Jesus, “the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Raising children in today’s society I feel like is so tough. Things have changed so much since I was a kid. Even from when my kids were little. Raising God-fearing, God-loving, tender, meek but also brave children of the Lord is an even harder quest. How do we instill all the biblical morals and teachings when they literally only see a society that is so severely broken and backwards? And not just teach them biblical truths; but today, we are living in tumultuous times! How do we teach them to go above the moral code and be Heroes of the Lord? To be fishers of men? To be modern day Esther’s, David’s, or Paul’s?
Well, here are some practical ways to raising meek heroes in today’s world: First and foremost, pray. Often times we think of prayer as a last resort when really, this is the strongest weapon we have in our arsenal. It is arguably probably the greatest threat against the enemy and the biggest protection over our children. Pray and don’t stop. Cover your children in prayer, biblical principles and morals. Speak scripture over them, pray over their hearts, minds, and spirits, pray over their futures, pray a hedge of protection around them… When you’ve prayed over every aspect of their lives, pray some more. Then, give them to the Lord. He loves them even more than even we do as their parents and He has His own plans for them! Do not discredit His plans over yours. Start when they are small, and teach them all the things of the Lord. Proverbs 22: 6 says; “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” ~ Proverbs 22:6 Maybe you’re a new parent or a new Christian and wondering how? Read the word and live by the word. Read it to your babies, study the word of God and explain in to your children as they grow. Show them in action how to love others. Let them see you walking that road not just reading it. There are so many great resource out there for teaching but nothing is as perfect as the word of God! When you are unsure if you are doing it right or doing enough, ask the Lord to step in. As a single parent, one of my favorite scriptures that I cling to says this: “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” ~ Isaiah 40:11 We, even as parents, are not supposed to have it all figured out! He is faithful! Amen! His word right there says, He will guide those with young. Seek him for help whenever you need it. I am living proof. I have not been even close to a perfect mom, ever! But my heart has desperately sought the Lord in raising my kids and where I fall short as a mother, He steps in. Every. Single. Time. It is never too early to start teaching them about the Lord. Even when they are little, you can have them sit and color while you read the word of God to them. Children are like sponges and soak in everything. You would be surprised how much they will retain just from reading the word while they color. Need a cool Christ centered coloring book? Meek Heroes Christ Centered Coloring book is great for young kids that love to color and are learning scripture. It even has some pretty cool pages with amazing meaning behind it! You can grab that FREE right here, and print it today! Meek Heroes is a hip hop rock duo that is a part of the Christcentered.us Ministry. Their passion is bringing the body of Christ together and to create trendy new music with sick beats while still holding firm to the word of God! Our youth especially is thirsty for the Lord. They need the truth spoken and what perfect way to reach them then through music that they love! They are about to drop their newest album on September 17th! Set your alarms and keep a look out for that! Don’t forget to check them out at www.meekheroes.com So, how else can we train up our children in the ways of the Lord? Well, a scripture that has really impacted me is Deuteronomy 6:5-9, it says: “You shall love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates.” ~ Deuteronomy 6:5-9 When the Lord first put this scripture on my heart I didn’t know how to do this. We should be pouring the word of God into our children in literally EVERYTHING we are teaching them! Do you see that? Teach them diligently. When you sit. When you walk. When you lie down. When you rise. For me, my kids spent so much time in school and sports that I didn’t know how to do this, but I wanted to! My heart desperately had a strong urging to begin pouring living water into them. That is when the Lord put it on my heart to homeschool my five children. Six years later, one graduated, and now homeschooling the last four, I have recently created A Simple Guide To Homeschool by Simply Kerri. It gives great resources for parents wanting to start homeschooling but not sure where to begin. It gives document templates, tips and tricks for organization and a wealth of knowledge from all my homeschool to-do’s and not-to-do’s. Plus a few free printables! You can grab that on here! Lately, friends… Trust the Lord that He can do abundantly more with your children than we can. Yes, He has charged us with parenting and raising them, but we are human and humans are frail. And that is ok! Humble yourself before the Lord and seek him in all that you do. Trust your little ones into His hands and watch Him build Strong Meek Heroes out of them before your eyes. The Esther’s, David’s, and Paul’s of today. Won’t He do it. Simply Kerri simplykerri.com "In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew. And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:1-3 Do we understand just how holy God is? In the Scripture, when words are repeated it is to denote it's importance, it's like putting several exclamation points behind a word. We see the word holy in this instance repeated 3 times, this is to say that God isn't just holy but He's like MEGA HOLY, the holiest. The word holy has a few different meanings that all tie together. In essence, when looking at God's holiness we can say it means complete perfection. His holiness magnifies our sinfulness. God is perfect, we are not and our sin separates us from a holy God. "And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, 'Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.'" Isaiah 6:4-5 When Isaiah comes in contact with God, he sees and understands just how holy, holy, holy God is and just how not, not, not he is. Isaiah is undone, he literally thinks it's over for him and that God brought him to the throne room to destroy him. Isaiah exclaims "woe to me, for I am ruined" and then he points out why he is ruined, his sin. Do you fear the Lord? I can tell you in that moment Isaiah certainly did. When we understand (as much as we can) God's holiness and who He is, this should generate a healthy and proper fear in us. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the beginning of understanding and knowledge. Isaiah's eyes were opened and just like Isaiah, when God opens our eyes to who He is, we see our desperate need for a Savior and the grace that only God can give... "Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, 'Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.'" Isaiah 6:7 Instead of getting what he deserved as a result of his sin, and what getting what he thought he was going to get, death, he received grace and forgiveness. For us, Jesus is the burning coal that touches our lips and takes our guilt away as He has made atonement for our sin. What happens next, how Isaiah's responds, is how we ought respond when we come to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. "Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, “'Here am I. Send me!'” Isaiah 6:8 When we understand the gospel, when we understand just what God has done for us, we, like Isaiah should be falling all over ourselves to serve, obey, and tell others about Jesus. Isaiah found himself in the throne room before God and his initial reaction was "It's over for me." The man thought he had reached the end of his time on earth and that he was about to be destroyed by the true and living God because of his sin. Isaiah, after his confession of his sinful state, is forgiven his sins. So rather than being destroyed, he is forgiven and restored. This is the gospel. The bad news comes first, that we have all sinned against a holy God, and sin, our rebellion, brings death. However, Jesus stepped in, took the punishment we so rightly deserve so that we may live in right relationship with God and go from death to life. May those of us who are in Christ take Him seriously, recognizing His holiness, and finding ourselves eager to share and proclaim His Holy Name! My we echo the prophet and say "Here I am, send me!" Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, if you have any questions or want to chat more be sure to leave a comment. Below is the new single from Meek Heroes HIYN (Holy is Your Name). The song declares that God is holy, and we are not. Every one of us is in desperate need of His grace and mercy every second of every day. HIYN is a reminder that God is the King of kings, Lord of lords and that one day every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. HIYN is not only a reminder but a worshipful proclamation that our God is not one to be messed with but His love for His children is immense. |