Spirit-Guided Relationships: husbands and wives

by Kevin Harris

Colossians 5:21 "and further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." 25 "and you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the Church. He gave up his life for her..." 28 "in the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife." 31 " and the two are united into one."

A wife of noble character is worth more than precious rubies and is a most special relationship. God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone and made a woman from his side. Our wives are so important that we are reminded to love them with the same love Christ did for His Church! What a comparison here, the same love as Christ! But how can this be done ?

First we need to see this as a command. "You must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the Church." A challenge for us to have a love of purity, devotion, dedication, loyalty, servanthood; Christlike love, that comes by being led by the Holy Spirit, and yielding to the Lord.

We are "loving ourselves" when we love our wives. The two become one, a Holy union of God that has no equal in all of His creation. We preach a lot of sermons by the way that we live, and special care must be taken in the way that we treat our wives, God's creation, a part of ourselves, and a Holy Union of God.

Part of the Spirit led life is applying Christ like attitudes in our relationships, loving thru the power of The Holy Spirit. No one could love with the power of Jesus yet we can, and should, love by the Holy Spirit, and thru the Holy Spirit.

....Have you loved your wife today?

Kevin Harris serves as Minister of Benevolence and worship leader at Montclair Tabernacle Church of God in Dumfries, VA and is director of Compassion Ministries International.

...all scriptures from the New Living Translation.

Committed to Him!

by Tony Addinall

Read Psalm 37:1-10

The Oakland Raiders football team has a motto that says: "Commitment to Excellence:"The players on this team embraced this motto. Not only did they embrace this motto in the preparations each player made as part of the team but also the team embodied this motto by becoming the most wining team in football. However, what makes one committed. Are you committed? Have you been accused of being committed?

I. In Psalm 37:5 David wrote to commit thy way unto the Lord. With commitment comes trust.

  A.) Trust in the Lord. Proverbs 3:5-6.

  Trust is with the heart. It is not with our intellect.

  A sure foundation in any commitment starts with trust.

  B.) Trust is solid. Psalm 125:1-2

  A firm foundation.

  A favorite hymn is on Christ the Solid rock I stand

II. Commitment means losing out to your own desires

A.) Dr. King was committed to see an end to racial injustices. He made sacrifices and did nothing out of selfish gain because he knew this movement would cost his life.

B.) Even for Jesus.Luke 22:42-44. It is not always easy to lose out to your own desires

III. Commitment is an endurance race

A.)Hebrew 12:1-3

When we press on to look for the prize as that same team pressed on throughout the season to reach the prize of the Super Bowl.

B.)Phil 3:13-14

Paul towards the end of his life still had the strength to continue to endure. The prize is worth the efforts..

Conclusion: As Christians, we need to remain committed. Commitment takes trust, a selfless attitude and endurance. There may be days when we can*t seem to make it, when even the goal seems to hard to obtain but if we remain committed, the Lord will see us through.

That All May Worship

by Hobert Arp

Just recently I attended a conference on ministry to the disabled. The reason I attended this conference was twofold. 1) I wanted some information on how to implement a ministry to disabled persons in our church. And 2) as the father of a disabled child I also wanted some ideas on how to minister to my own kid.

I was very glad that Pastor and Sister Caruthers could attend also. It gave then a chance to take a glimpse into our world. As they would both tell me later, it was an eye opening experience for them. They got a chance to hear some of the horror stories of parents who were turned away from churches because their children didn*t meet the right standards for their congregation. To be honest, we have experienced a little of that our selves here in our own church, mostly unintentionally, but it still leaves a bad taste behind.

What is it like to be the parent of a child with a severe disability? Our daughter Megan is severely mentally retarded. Though she is nine years old, mentally she is about the level of a one year old. She also has Muscular Dystrophy, which limits her physically as well.

The first thing that the parent of a disabled child deals with is guilt. *What did we do to cause this?*, is the question at the forefront of your thoughts? Especially for the mother, who is so attached to the child.

The next thing that the parents face is fear. *What is going to happen to my child?* for us it was horrible enough to find out Megan had MD. But as we began to realize that she wasn*t developing mentally, a whole new set of guilt and fears began to settle in. When you first find out that you are going to have a child, you begin to build these wonderful dreams for how your child is going to be as it grows up in your home. But for us, we have watched many of those dreams dashed to pieces on the rocks of cold, hard reality. Unless God performs a miracle, I know we*ll never see Megan graduate high school. There will be no college in her future. No drivers license, nor that first job. And I know I*ll never take that walk down the aisle to give her to some young man as a bride. These are just some of the things we have to face.

I could tell you about the almost never ending parade of doctors and hospital visits. Or how we felt the first time we watched the Jerry Lewis Telethon after we learned of her diagnosis of MD. The constant looks and stares at this little girl who doesn*t talk, walk right, makes funny noises, and drools constantly. I could tell you how it feels to know that you will most likely be changing diapers on her for the rest of her life. And the thing we never mention but is always in the back of our minds; what will happen to her when we are gone, if we are not there to take care of her? These are just some of the things we face on our world, the world of a parent of a disabled child.

But unless I seem to be painting a picture of total gloom, I also have to stop and count my blessings as well.

One is the many friends and acquaintances we have made with parents of other disabled children. Most of the parents we*ve met through the county programs have hung in there together with their kids. This is really noteworthy, because on a national average, 80% of parents of severely disabled kids end up separated or divorced. But the ones who have some type of support group or system, tend to hold together better. It really helped Sandra and me to know that we were not alone in our struggles, that we had people who were in the same boat that we were and could share with.

We have also learned not to take her development for granted. Every little thing she learns to do is a big deal to us. My heart aches for the day to just have a simple conversation with her.

We have also learned to trust God on what plans He has for her. Jesus and His disciples came upon a man who was born blind. They asked Jesus whose fault it was that he was in this condition, him or his parents. Jesus* reply was: "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him.*(John 9:3 NLT)

We have certainly seen God at work in Megan*s life. She has done better than anyone ever thought she could. We can only give God the glory for this. We can only trust Him for what He will continue to do for, in, and through her.

Even though there has been much heartache in her disabilities, she has brought much joy into our lives. On the night that she was born, as I went to call my parents and tell them they had a new granddaughter, I saw a man calling his parents. I watched him, voice heavy with sorrow, inform them that their child had died during the delivery. So you see, I can be very grateful to have Megan, disabilities and all. It*s better than not having her at all.

I hope I didn*t come across as angry or judgmental. I just wanted to share a little bit of our world with you, so that maybe you*ll make a little more room in yours for kids, and adults, like Megan. It doesn*t take much, and God will bless you for it.

Is your "Voice" reaching the harvest?

God is doing so many great things at Montclair Tabernacle. He is moving in a way that is preparing us to reach out into the harvest. The harvest is ripe, and we must be willing to face the challenge of doing what it takes to extend the truth to the souls of our community.

Where are you today? Are you in the field, ready to reap? Or are you content to see humanity lost? Those are some pretty serious questions I know, but they are ones that we as Christians must answer individually. All over our city there are people that are waiting for someone just like you to step up to them and offer hope. You are the hand of God extended to those around you. I f the harvest is going to be reaped we must raise our voice and proclaim Him to a lost and dying world.

I am reminded of a line from the musical *One Voice*- Reumah says *all any of us has is one voice*. We have each been given a voice so that we can shout to the nations that Jesus Christ is alive and that He is Lord.

Where is your voice shouting today? Are you using your voice to proclaim the truth of God*s word? Are you allowing God to use you to reach others? Are you ready to reap the HARVEST?

by Brad Lewis

Whoever takes the Son

Around the turn of the century, a certain man began to get involved in appraising and collecting art. As the years went by, and he became better at it, his collection began to grow both in size and value. He got married and had a son, but the boy*s mother shortly afterward, became sick and died, leaving the man with this only child. As the years went on, the man began to teach his son all about collecting art, and together they began to amass a fortune in fine art.

But war soon broke out and the lad felt he needed to go and serve his country, so he joined the army and was sent off to the front. Several months later, the man received a letter from the army that said his son had been killed in battle. The man was heartbroken, and went into seclusion, stricken with grief over his dead son.

On Christmas morning of that year, a young man carrying a package knocked on the door of the man*s house. When the man answered the door, the young man said, *I*m a friend of your son. We served together on the front. In fact, your son saved my life. As I lay wounded on the battlefield, he rushed out under heavy fire, picked me up and carried me back to safety. In fact he did that for several other men before a bullet finally found him. Your son gave his life to save many men; he was a true hero.

The young man opened the package, and inside was a painting he had made of the old man*s son. *It*s no masterpiece like the ones here in your home, but your son was my friend, and I wanted you to have this.

It was true, the painting was no masterpiece, but the old man took the crude painting of his beloved son and placed it above the fireplace, giving it the honored place in his collection.

The following summer the old man took ill, and passed away. According to his will, all his artwork, now worth millions, was to be sold at a public auction. Many art dealers and collectors were present; all waiting with baited breath to bid on these fine pieces of art. The auctioneer came to the podium and asked for the first piece of art to be brought out. The painting of the old man*s son was placed on the easel, and the auctioneer said, * our first piece is open for bidding, who will bid $100.* There was a murmur heard over the crowd. *Why would anyone pay $100 for that worthless thing,* said one fellow. * It looks like something a child would make,* said another. *Take that thing away,* hollered someone from the audience, *Let*s bring out the real paintings.*

Then a man stood up and said, *Sir, I only have $10, but you see, I painted that picture and that young man was my friend. If you will take my bid I would really like to have that picture.*

*Very well,* said the auctioneer, *The bid opens at $10. Going once, Going twice, sold to the gentleman for $10. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our auction for today.*

The crowd was stunned! *What do you mean concluded,* someone shouted, *You haven*t put out any other paintings!*

*Well you see,* said the auctioneer, *The old man stated in his will, that whoever takes the son, gets everything!*

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