Christian Family

 Christian Family

August 27, 2025

The teaching on Christian family in Ephesians 5 and 6 have cause quite a bit of controversy in recent years. Part of the problem is when the verses are taken out of context and interpreted as rules to obey rather that fruit to grow. A man who is fully committed to Christ and is full of the love of the Lord, will grow to love his wife. A man who totally comprehends the love of Christ for the church, and thus for himself, will desire to express that same love to his wife. Likewise, his wife will recognize the love of Jesus in her husband and grow to respect and submit to him as she loves and submits to the Lord Jesus. Mutual submission is not a burden but is an act of love when both husband and wife know who they are in the Lord and are obediently walking in the Spirit. In such a marriage, the children will learn to honor their parents as they are taught to love the Lord. The problem comes when we put it all backwards and insist that the women submit to the man before he fully submits to the Lord and before he totally comprehends the love of Christ. Without being full of the Spirit such love and submission is impossible and is burdensome if you try. So the rule is to first love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and then love one another as Christ loves you.

Ephesians 5:22-33

Marriage Like Christ and the Church

22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 6:1-4

Family Relationships

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Father

 Father

August 8, 2025

Ephesians 3:14-19

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christmay dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Yesterday we talked about the importance of fathers in bringing order out of chaos.  But to be a good father, we need to emulate the perfect father; our Heavenly Father. He is the pattern. Here in Ephesians it states that every family derived its name from Him. That is to say that He has a plan and purpose for every family. Wisdom is seeking His plan so that we can be strengthened with power in the inner man. When we find the plan for our family, it will include faith and love. When we find His order, we can push back the chaos. His love surpasses our knowledge, but when we seek Him, He can help us to comprehend the breadth, length, height and depth His love. It is behind me to even explain It properly, but I pray that we, as fathers, can find the wisdom to bring his order and love to our families, that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Grandchildren

 Grandchildren

June 2, 2025

Psalms 103:15-18 (NASB95) 15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer. 17 But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them.

Psalms 128:5-6 (NASB95) 5 The LORD bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6 Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

One of the rewards of a long life is seeing your grandchildren. The Bible calls it a blessing to see your children’s children, and to see them blessed as well. Probably the most important part of your legacy is seeing your children and grandchildren prosper. We pray for them often, but it is a special blessing to spend some time with them and see them enjoy themselves and rejoice in their accomplishments. So peace be upon you, and your children, and your children’s children.

Family

 Family

June 1, 2025

Matthew 12:46-50

Changed Relationships

46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

The problem with a family vacation is family. They are the people that know you best, they know all of your faults and foibles, which can lead to problems. Even Jesus had issues with his family from time to time. In the story in Matthew the implication is that Jesus’ family had come to take him away, “speak with him”, because they thought he was making a spectacle of himself. You know what it means when your mother wants to “speak with you”! Then there was the time when he gave His first sermon at his home synagogue in Nazareth when his closest friends and family tried to throw Him off of a cliff. Talk about rejection! Anyway, sometimes it is those closest to you who resist you the most. 

But in the end, they are also your best supporters. James the brother of Jesus became the bishop of the church in Jerusalem and turned into a pillar of the church once he saw who Jesus really is. And of course, his Mother Mary, stuck with him through everything and was present at the crucifixion, which had to be extremely painful for her to watch. 

Bottom line is that family is your family, and you only get one! You support one another, even as you fight with each other. You all know how brothers fight with one another, but if an outsider picks on one, the others all pitch in to defend him. So cherish your family and do your best to get along and support one another. One day you begin to see them pass away and you don’t want to have regrets about things that you didn’t say that you should have. You want to have good memories of the times you spent together and fond images of places you have gone together. My immediate family is all gone now, but I remember the summers we spent in Colorado visiting family and exploring the mountains with our cousins. Those were good times that built up strong relationships. Now that they are gone I still have those memories to hold on to to know that I had a good family and that I was loved. Much of what I am today is the result of what my mother and father taught me and what my sister and brother-in-law poured into my life. So I am grateful and appreciate the times that I have with my own family now, even when they get on my nerves, they are still my family, and i love them.