1 Samuel 1:13
Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk
1 Samuel 1:14
and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
1 Samuel 1:15
“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.
Isaiah 28:7
And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions
Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,
Accept no substitutes. Before Christ, many of us indulged in any number of carnal pleasures in search of a spiritual experience. We were tempted to drunkenness, debauchery, ultimately disaster by the allure of a transcendent experience that would, somehow allow us to escape the bounds of our physical limitations to ascend to some otherworldly existence, if but only for a moment. The verse above, Isaiah 28:7, seems to indicate that that the prophets and priests of ancient Israel were not above imbibing in strong drink as a way to get into the spirit (small ‘s’). In the early church, Paul is warning the new believers at Ephesus not to succumb to the temptation of a temporary ‘high’, but rather, to be filled with the Spirit of God, a prolonged experience with and in the very Presence of God, accessible through the shed blood of Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
And now that you’ve been filled, stay filled… with worship…
Ephesians 5:19
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,
God’s idea of a deep, continual spiritual experience:
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
A life of submission is spiritual.
Ephesians 5:22
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.
1 Peter 3:1
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
Ladies first. Why?
Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
If there is a reason to draw attention to yourself, should not that reason be godliness? New clothes, fancy outfits, make up, hair, you name it.. nothing more beautifully adorns a woman than the Spirit of God. Partnered with a Godly man, she becomes, in most cases, the ‘better half’ of a real power couple. The first example of covenant on the earth was the marriage covenant. Where is there a more powerful agreement than between a husband and wife who are on one accord.
Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Colossians 3:19
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
1 Peter 3:7
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.
If the goal is spirituality, how many of us ‘really spiritual men’ are praying regularly with our wives? Do we recognize that that they are co-heirs with us of the Grace of God? While scripture teaches that there are none given in marriage in Heaven, Peter (above) implies that a husband and wife share in the eternal inheritance in Glory. What does that look like? Fellas, love your wives as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her. If we are blessed with a wife (I am), love her (I do). The Bible tells me that Christ saw me (and you, us) and the thought of us being joined with Him as the Church brought Him joy as He endured the suffering and shame of the cross. Husbands, love your wives like that.
Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Is this even possible? :) As a dad, I must believe that it is and I must repeat it over and over, oftentimes to myself. :) The responsibility is mine’s to train them for obedience to their mother and me first, then to the Lord. After all, the whole point of godly marriages is to produce godly offspring unto the Lord. Did you know that?
Malachi 2:13-15
13 Another thing you do: You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[a] So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
“Be fruitful and multiply”, He commanded them. God seeks to populate the heavens and the earth with godly people. That will be accomplished through the preaching of the Gospel and through the raising of godly children. He desires to expand and mature his Church from generation to generation. With families as the active units within a church, children have a great inheritance awaiting them if their parents will persevere..
Joel 2:28
[ The Day of the LORD ] “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy
Let me close with this: Our kids have work to do. Kingdom work. God intends that blessings flow from generation to generation, that within the inheritance apportioned to you and your wife, that it would be increased as it abounds to your children and grandchildren.
Be encouraged. God is not finished with us yet. Blessings!
.wb
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