Archive for October, 2007

4. An Exalted Position-Female

Monday, October 29th, 2007

God could have created only men or only women, but He chose to create men and women.  Wouldn’t it have been a boring world if there were only one gender? Seriously!  Booooring!  Not only did God create two distinct genders, but He also gave them corulership over the animals and the world he made.

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.  Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air.  He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.  So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.  But for Adam no suitable helper was found.  So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.  The man said, “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.”  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”  Gen 2:18-24

First of all, if God says something isn’t good, it must mean that something EXTREMELY serious is lacking.  That says a lot right there, because God never said that any of his creation was wrong or missing an element except the relationship between Adam and Eve……..we are THAT important ladies!  God provided a wonderful and creative solution. 

Let’s be honest, how do you feel about being described as your husband’s helper?  In most cultures, the word helper refers to someone who assists a person of greater status or worth.  In Gen. 2:18, God did not paint this picture at all.  In fact, the word helper is an exalted word in Scripture. God refers to Himself as the helper of His people.  Jesus said that He came to serve and not to be served (Matt. 20:28).  Make no mistake:  to be a helper is an exalted position from God’s perspective.   “We say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?”  Heb. 13:6

Scripture clearly states that it was not the woman who was in need of a helper; indeed, the man was in need of help.  “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”  Peter 3:7   In Greek the weaker partner, referred to a cherished piece of pottery of great value.  Peter said that if a husband didn’t recognize and treat his wife as an heir of God’s grace, his prayers would be hindered. Ouch…..that is harsh, but it means he is ordered to treat us like royalty.  (But don’t let this get too out of control!)

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3. The Face of God

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

“ You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)


We are made in God’s image, not only intellectually and emotionally but also spiritually.  We can respond to His Spirit’s voice.  We can communicate with God.  No matter what the circumstances, we have the Spirit of God within us helping us and guiding us.  Not only are we created in God’s image, but we are created to be like God. 

“ We have not received the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.  The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  1 Corinthians 2: 12-14

Paul encouraged the new believers in Ephesus to pursue lives of righteousness and holiness, always doing good works as they accepted the responsibility of being heirs of God.  Because we are made in God’s image, we have the responsibility to live like His children and show God’s image to the world through our lives.

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2. Uniquely Designed

Thursday, October 4th, 2007

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”  Gen. 1:27

 The animals were created according to their own kinds, but mankind was created in God’s own image.  When God finished creating the animals, He saw that “it was good”, but when God finished creating mankind, He saw that “it was VERY good.”  The fact that we are made in God’s image shows us the unique value we have in His eyes.  God’s creation of you and me was according to His plans and purposes, and He made no mistakes!  When you believe and accept that we are uniquely designed in God’s image and that He loves you unconditionally, you can begin to see yourself as loved and precious in His sight.  

We each have hurts from the past that have shaped how we feel about ourselves; “you are inadequate for the job, ugly, stupid, fat, nobody likes you, you will never be successful, nobody will listen when you talk, etc.” Some of these feelings come from our families, and others occur from external events. Whatever it may be, THESE ARE LIES!  When you are aware that everyone around you has emotional wounds, you can better understand the relationship of humans. 

If you look at any religious description of hell it is the same as human society.  Hell is a place of suffering, a place of fear, a place of war and violence, a place of judgment and no justice, a place of punishment that never ends.  There are humans versus humans in a jungle of predators; humans full of judgment, full of blame, full of guilt, full of emotional wounds—envy, anger, hate, sadness, suffering.  These things were brought into God’s once perfect world when sin was allowed in a very long time ago and ever since then these traits and actions have continued to be passed on through the lineages. 

As a result, we carry these feelings of doubt and low self-esteem into our marriages.  The world teaches domestication of humans the same way we domesticate a dog or any other animal: with punishment and reward.  The world is numb to that teaching, which makes it seem completely “normal.”  So, in turn we often expect our husbands to meet our need for acceptance and receive confirmation and assurance, yet God never intended that another person would meet the needs that only He can meet.   God is the only one who will ever fulfill all of our needs since he is the author of our lives, no other human being can fill that ultimate void.  Remember, we were created in His image, NOT the image that the world has created.  Therefore, we need to look to the one who molded us at birth to find confirmation, NOT our husbands, who also live in the world with similar emotional wounds.

“There is only One Being who can satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.”  -Oswald Chambers

Have you burdened your husband with being the source of your self-esteem?
If so, will you free him today of that burden?  
(find time to ask your husband’s forgiveness, tell him that you want to find our acceptance in God.  Ask for and thank him for his support as you seek to live out this truth.)
God created you the way you are, and He is incapable of making a mistake.  When you accept the truth that you were made by God and for God and that He loves you unconditionally, you can begin to see yourself as loved and precious in His sight.
 

“Out of His abundant love, we are able to love others as ourselves.” Mark 12:31

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