My site is for uplifting and encouraging those that need spiritual advice and guidance.
This is another fun poll I thought I would do. You could even toss a coin like this:
1=Heads=Donuts
2=Tails=Cupcakes
3=Either One
4=None
5=Neutral
6=With or without coffee
7=As a Snack
Just have fun with it. I have.
Inspiration
We are to acknowledge that we have made a conscious choice to turn away from the bad deeds and sinful habits, and we have turned to the holy life God has presented before us. God had to forgive us of our sins first in order for us to be qualified to live this life. We are to never forget of this great forgiveness that God promised the children of Israel all those years ago. Repent from all evil ways, and choose to be transformed by the love of God and His Word.
Prayer
Father, I humbly present myself as one who has chosen to turn away from their sinful ways. Thank you for your patience, O Lord, and for never going back on your promises. Were it not for your forgiveness, O Father, I don’t know where I would be. I humble myself before you, O Lord, and pray that I abide in you and nothing else. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Inspiration
Paul gives thanks to God the Father (verse 12) for delivering us from the power of darkness and moving us into the realm of light, which is the Kingdom of Christ and of God. The kingdom will come to the earth in an outward form in the thousand-year reign of Christ and then in his everlasting reign in the New Heaven and New Earth. But even now it is here in a “hidden” sense in the form of the subjects of King Jesus (his Church) being present. Satan’s kingdom also is here in this world, and it is a kingdom of darkness and sin. Only God’s power could overcome the “power of darkness” and make us children of light.
Prayer
We give thanks to you, O Father, along with Paul for transferring us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. You have made us to be a light to the world, insofar as your light is in us and shines out from us. Help us to walk as children of light and to overcome the surrounding darkness of this present age.
How good is your vision? Can you see accurately up to 20 feet? Maybe even 50 feet? Only about 35 percent of all adults have 20/20 vision without correction, but maybe you are among the fortunate, better-than-average group. Even so, can you see into the future? What about into the hearts of your friends? Are you able to see every possible outcome of any given choice?
When we consider the limitations of our vision, no matter who we are, we come to realize what an incredible privilege is offered to us, by God Himself. He promises to instruct and inform us of the correct paths to take in life, using — not our finite and limited vision — but his perfect, all-seeing, all-knowing eye as our guide. The One who knows all ends offers to lead us to the perfect destination for each of us!
Knowing that each of us faces a myriad of hair-pulling, gut-wrenching decisions at different times in our lives-and recognizing that even the smallest decisions can have big ramifications for our lives-what an amazing gift this is! And, yet, so many of us prefer to stumble blindly through the deadly obstacle course of this world, setting our own course and choosing our own turns, just so that we can say, “I did it my way.”
If you are wrestling today with difficult decisions, know that God’s perfect wisdom and vision is available to you — it is only a prayer away. When we go to God, asking his help and looking into his Word for direction, he gives us this guarantee: I will lead you where you need to go, guiding you with my eye.
The instruction for children that Paul gives here is two-fold. Children, first, are to obey their parents. It does not matter whether they agree with them, understand their rules, or see their individual flaws. Children are to obey their parents promptly, cheerfully, and completely — as long as they are not being asked to disobey God’s clear commands (“obey…in the Lord”).
In addition, however, every child is to honor his or her father and mother. It is not enough, then, to simply take out the trash, make the bed, or clean the room — if all the while the child is grumbling to himself, or complaining about her parents to her friends. Honoring one’s parents means respecting the position of authority that they have over you, as their child, and showing that respect in your actions and words.
Parents, you have an obligation to teach this part of the Bible to your children, as much as any other portion of Scripture. Your children should know that God requires obedience and honor from them, toward you, for his glory. Being just your child’s “friend”, rather than their parent, is not an option God gives us.
Of course, if children are to obey their earth-bound parents, and honor them with their actions and words, how much more should every child of God honor and obey our Father in heaven? Do we submit to him promptly, cheerfully, and completely? Do we revere him in all we do and say? It is right, it is appropriate, that we honor and obey our heavenly Father, in public and in private.
There are many of Jesus’ instructions that we show by our actions we have not fully comprehended or considered — or even believed.
He exhorts us “take no thought for tomorrow” and yet we worry ourselves to death. He promises “my yoke is easy” and yet we prefer to labor under our own. He says, “If you love me, keep my commandments” and yet we ever strive to separate the two. He warns “you cannot serve God and money” and yet we always try to join the two.
But perhaps the revelation which is most widely ignored is this: if you do anything for the least of Jesus’ brethren, it is as if you have done it to Jesus. Do you live like that is true?
Have you visited dingy, smelly nursing homes; given to foreign evangelism; reached out to broken addicts; taught your children the Bible — all as if you were doing it to Jesus? So often we hurry by the hurting faces of Jesus’ brothers and sisters because we consider them beneath us. And yet King Jesus says, “you have done it to me.”
Did you wake up this morning with the realization that today you could do something to minister directly to Jesus? Let that revelation sink in. Live like you take Jesus’ statement seriously. Help the hurting, dust the furniture, teach the Bible, give to the needy, encourage the downcast just the way you would if Jesus was the One you were encountering today. Because he is.
Although doubtless the instruction that immediately captures our attention (and gets all the press) is the command for wives to be subject to their husbands, this is not actually the main thrust of Paul’s message here. Reiterating his primary focus, in verse 32, Paul says, “I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
The primary point that Paul would have us take to heart — which will, it is true, have inevitable implications for marital relations — is that marriage is a picture of Christ’s communion with his church. The husband’s selfless, sacrificial love for his wife is only a shadow of Christ’s love for his church. No husband will ever love, or sanctify, or edify his wife as perfectly as Christ loves and sanctifies and edifies his church. What a beautiful reminder!
And, yet, that is not the only implication that flows out of Paul’s instruction. What is to be our attitude toward our beloved Savior? Not just reciprocal love, not only warm appreciation — but also submission. As members in the body of Christ, we are to recognize that Christ is our head, that he has authority over us.
This means that whatever he requires of us, whatever he speaks to us from his Word, we must be willing to do. Loving one another (John 13:35), forgiving and forbearing one another (Ephesians 4:32), visiting and caring for one another (James 1:27) — these must flow, ultimately, out of our joyful submission to our perfect head Jesus Christ. Is there someone you have refused to forgive? Are there needy in your church that have not been cared for? Are there some personalities in your congregation that rub you the wrong way?
Paul’s simple reply is “the church is subject to Christ.” That is all we need know. For Christ’s sake — in submission to Christ’s authority — we must forgive, and love, and minister to our brothers and sisters in the church.
Where do we find the strength for this grueling, often disheartening, many-obstacled race that is the Christian life? It is only found in fixing our gaze upon the God-man. Only as we look to Jesus do we find the persevering grace to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint.
Duty, without the beatific sight of Christ firmly focused before our eyes, will be nothing more than drudgery. On the other hand, to truly see Christ is to be transformed by the sight. There is no such thing as looking at Jesus and not being changed.
Do you struggle with personal purity? Look to Jesus, and be reminded of the superior pleasure of your perfect Savior. Are you wrestling with grief? Look to Jesus, and be comforted by the sovereign goodness of your God. Have you given into temptation? Look to Jesus, and see the forgiveness that pours from those cross wounds.
Only an unclouded, Bible-grounded view of Jesus can inspire us to faith, and give us the strength that we will need for faithful living. Fear of hell, fondness for family, love of fellowship, or hope of heaven — none of these are strong enough to build a joyful, persevering, self-sacrificing, Christ-exalting life upon.
Conversely, if we see our determination lagging or our strength diminishing, this is a certain indicator that our gaze has dropped, that our eyes are not fixed upon Jesus as they ought to be. As hymnwriter Helen Lemmel exhorts:
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”
Tony Evans is one of the most influential church leaders of our time and has been studying and preaching the Gospel for over 50 years. He is senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX and founder of The Urban Alternative, a ministry which promotes a kingdom agenda philosophy designed to enable people to live all of life underneath the comprehensive rule of God. The insights in this commentary will help explain God’s Word in a fresh way. Applying these truths will empower readers to have transformed lives that then transfer the values of the kingdom of God to others.
The Tony Evans Bible Commentary includes
An introduction to each Bible book followed by passage-by-passage exposition of the entire Bible by Dr. Tony Evans
A special front matter section with introductory resources
Special back matter / key definitions
Theological and doctrinal charts
Concordance
Two Bible reading plans
Save 56%Tony Evans Bible Commentary
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Food for the Soul 