PAYING ATTENTION TO GOD

Today Mark and I have a relatively quiet home compared to 29 years ago.

But, one thing has remained consistent during all these years—our serious desire to glorify God by living as He has given instructions in His word.

Our natural inclinations cannot lead us to a flourishing life. And when we ignore or take lightly God’s directions about life we contribute to the destruction of our own life and that of our family. That is why we must take seriously what God says in His word just as Moses told the Israelites that following God’s instructions should be their life. Is this how we view the incredible Word of God?

Having spent a couple of weeks studying the core of any family—the husband-wife relationship, this week our Ladies Bible Study will begin looking at the role of parents, children, and discipline; particularly as viewed from Proverbs. Please don’t excuse yourself from our time together because you don’t currently have children in your home. Our study will have pertinent information for every woman to have as part of her understanding of God’s plan for us. Surely you know someone you can encourage with what we will be learning, or someone you can bring along that could use some help.

Please study the first 3 days of Lesson 9—The Family II—Parents, Children, and Discipline for this week’s class.

IS GOD THE ONE I HONOR, OR MYSELF?

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! (Psalms 115:1)

How often throughout a normal day do we consciously think about God being seen as wonderful in our lives? How apparent is our submission to God rather than our honoring of our own desires? I’m thinking that wrong choices in our lives would not happen except that we ignore the incredible majesty of God for our own “good” ideas. Have you ever seen a two year old think they have a better idea than their parent? Oh yes! No matter how clever we think we are we never have a better idea than God. Until we totally embrace the idea of God’s superiority in everything, we will struggle with sin. To God be all glory!

Plan to have Days 4 and 5 of Chapter 8 ready to discuss this Thursday morning at Ladies Bible Study. Also, if you didn’t get to hear Enriko’s message from Sunday morning on “Glory-giver,” take the time to watch it on Livestream before Thursday morning.

GOD'S PERFECT INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARRIAGE

This is Mark and me celebrating 50 years of God’s goodness in our marriage.

Proverbs 12:4 “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.” While studying about marriage this week I have been highly interested in how the medical world has confirmed exactly what God said thousands of years ago about the important role of a wife. A study from just last year, “finds that a stressful marriage may be unhealthy, especially for men. In fact, for some people it may be as bad as smoking. They found a conflict-filled relationship harms the body in many ways. People in a stressful relationship can have damaging inflammation, extreme changes in appetite and increased levels of stress hormones. All these conditions can negatively affect many systems -- from heart function to how the body is able to fight diseases.” Wow, that is pretty impressive! It sounds like we had better pay attention to what God says about marriage and make it real in our lives. Wives have a great responsibility for the peace and beauty of a marriage relationship; honoring and respecting God is our first step toward a happy marriage.

This Thursday morning we will look in detail at what Proverbs has to say about marriage and particularly about a good marriage. This study is not just for married women. There is great benefit in all women knowing God’s plan for marriage in order to be a help to a friend and to understand better the relationship of the church to Christ. So, plan to join us the Thursday morning at 9:30 at DBC. Our dear babysitters will be there (as they are every week) to care for your little ones.