The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves
I hope all the mothers out there had a great mother's day. I wrote a thank you to God for the mothers in my life. It is called 'Many Mothers". I hope you enjoy it.
The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves
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An extra-biblical writing states, "You 'know' one woman, you know them all. You 'know' many women, you know none".
We live in the "hook-up" culture where sexual unbridaled behavior is the norm. It is sad that many don't understand and may never know what true love is, what it means to biblical "know" a love of your life. I have known two loves. My first wife of 15 years passed about 5 years ago. And my wife now has been my love for 3 and 1/2 years. How blessed I am to know what real love really is. Thank you God for keeping me humble before You. The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves Hello everyone
I wanted to share an e-mail my boss sent out to our work staff. In it he, basically, shares how important it is to have Christ shared to others. God has been a wonderful blessing to me and my family. I am happy to glorify God through the kind words of another. Thanks Nathan. Yesterday at Greenlawn church there was an unusual event. The sermon was on testimony and witnessing. After a brief introduction many Greenlawn elders came forward with prepared cardboard signs. Each sign held by each elder [. . .] had their sins or struggles written on one side. They presented this to the audience in silence one at a time from the center podium. Then they flipped the sign over and written there was the change God had done in their lives. For me, it was a powerful example. The preacher then asked everyone in the pews to pull out a comment card and do what the elders had done. We were to write struggles and what God had done on opposite sides of the card. We were supposed to do it right then and the service paused for five minutes. Some of the girls in cottage [. . .] and John and Crystal Reeves sat behind my family and I during the service. I had kept on eye on the teen girls, as always, and noticed that, as always, they were drawing pictures and reading books and writing notes. One was studying her softball playbook. They do this respectfully, but generally unaware of the sermon. They are teenagers. However . . . apparently the elders action got their attention. I was able to read one of the girls notes afterward, offered freely. On the "Struggles" side of the note it said 'don't live with parents'. On the "What God has done" side it said 'God gave me two godly foster parents who love me'. In case anyone forgot, what we do here matters greatly. We do it in the shadows it seems, and get very few pats on the back or big awards or recognition. Jesus tells us "Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." I have a hunch that the secret rewards will be worth the wait. "Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him " (Genesis 4:8).
Hmmm? Are you a Cain or are you an Abel? How does God see you in your relationships with your . . . ? The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves "For I (God) have chosen him (Abraham), that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him" (Genesis 18:19).
My son, who is 8, and I are going on a cub scouting trip this weekend. I, myself, followed the tradition of my dad who also went through the scouting experience. It is a good program for boys and I recommend it. I am glad my boy enjoys being outside and learning new things. I want to be a part of his life and help him as he grows. Is this something God expects from every dad? How involved should parents, especially dads, be involved in their children's lives? Abraham was also expected to be involved in his family's lives. Why? Because God knew he (Abraham/dad) would naturally have an impact, whether good or bad, on the future development of his children. Did Abraham play with his kids? I am sure he did. Did Abraham discipline his children? Hopefully. Did he show his family the love he had for his wife? I believe so. How much more important then did he take the responsibility of teaching his family about the love of God through "the ways of the Lord"? It was imperative. Should fathers/parents today be any less involved in teaching and loving their children in the "ways of the Lord"? Absolutely not. Please recognize your task and be about parenting your children in the Lord. The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves "Someone told him (Jesus), 'Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.' But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' And pointing to his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother'" (Matthew 12:47-50).
A proper relationship with Jesus is important; at least, it is important to Jesus. First, He distinguishes between a physical heratige and spiritual heratige by stating that blood relationship is not what counts; rather, love, dedication, and an obedient faith to the heavenly Father (cf. Romans; Galatians; 1 John). Second, the spiritual relationship with Jesus is not just based on a "blind" following and meaningless repitition. (Jesus doesn't want a "blind faith"). He pointed to His disciples. A disciple is a follower. A learner in the true sense. They are those who choose to follow by free will. They continue to learn, grow, and produce fruit of righteousness. A person of relationship with Jesus (and God) are those who "does the will of my (Jesus') Father in heaven" (Matthew 12:50). Other passages in Scripture teach that this obedience is not one that attempts to earn their salvation (Romans; Galatians). It is a faith that lives a life worthy of the gospel of Christ; i.e., because one desires to wholeheartedly live for Him because of His love that He has already given. Are you in a relationship with God? The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves Ephesians 5.
I love my wife. She is truly a godly partner in life. She is kind and thoughtful. She seeks to fulfill who and what she was made to be by God - not man. My wife doesn't stive for equal rights. Why would she want to lower her standards. I thank God every day that He blessed me with a woman I DON'T DESERVE. I will accept this beautiful and godly gift under one condition. The condition is . . . that the love of Christ is superior in every way. Jesus is my primary relationship in every relationship. How I treat my wife, as well as all people, must be and remain secondary. The awesome thing about this understanding is that I don't seek to treat people based on how they treat me; rather, how I understand and relate to my primary relationship - Jesus. (cf. Love and Respect) The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves |
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