AS CHRIST LOVED...

Ephesians 5: 26 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Ephesians 5:33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband

With the rising numbers in Dysfunctional marriages, Domestic violence and mariticide, The question has always been, what are we doing wrong? What happens to the vows made during the wedding day and even promises made during courtship? Is it that there is too much expectations that go un met once people settle? Or are we putting our youth under too much pressure to settle until they miss out at the basic principles of marriage only to end up in imbalanced love relationships? What does God say about Love and marriage?

Paul speaking to the Ephesians in Chapter 5:25 says “Husbands, love your wives as Christ Loved the church…” Now, The love of Christ towards the church was unconditional and sacrificial. He gave His life as a ramson for her(Church) sins. The church was not perfect or righteous to receive the love of Christ. Actually, it was in a very sorry state, But either way, He died on the cross for Her. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ Love to the church is an example of how husbands should love their wives. It is the duty of husbands to love their wives Sacrificially with sincere, pure love irrespective of their imperfections and failures. Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.(Vs 28)why? because the  two shall become one.

Ephesians 5:33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself… This one is a command, it is not an option. Husbands must Love their wives just as they Love themselves.

Ephesians 5:26-27 says “to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  This gives the reason as to why Christ Loved the church, to remove guilt and power of sin that leads to death. That He may present her to Himself and prepare the church as the bride of Christ for His second coming and marriage of the lamb. This is the same desire that husbands should have towards their wives, to Love and protect them, to raise generations after them to God’s perfect will, walking together in unity and Love thus conquering the world.

Ephesians 5:23  clearly indicates that  husbands are the leaders in the families.it says “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.”  There are critical roles they need to take :

•  Priest- appearing before God interceding and offering sacrifices on behalf of their families.
• Prophet-Teaching the family God’s word and Communicating His will in their lives.Prophesying over their lives. Speaking what you desire them to become.
•   Provider: Providing for the family financial, physical and emotional needs
•  Protector- Protecting your family from burdens they need not carry, abuse, bad company and wrong doctrines
• Promoter- being their number one fun, building their self-esteem and hence commanding respect over their lives.

When Husbands neglect their leadership role in the family, there must be a crisis.

Now, In Ephesians 5:24 Wives are called to submit to their own husbands in everything as unto the Lord. This is a call to obey their husbands in the same manner the bride of Christ obeys Him. This also entails honoring and respecting their husbands as leaders in the families. Submission is not a sign of weakness or foolishness, it is a sign of strength. Wives should develop an attitude with the intention to have peaceful and fulfilling marriage. Wives were created by God to be suitable helpers in Genesis 2:18.  Wives, Twice, the bible warns  against being quarrelsome: Proverbs 21:9  and Proverbs 25:24  says Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. (the wiseman must have known that wives are capable of being quarrelsome and naggingg or may be had experience due to the many wives he had hehee😀😀😀 ). Submission is a a duty to all wives. Remember, wise woman builds her house (You know Abigael, who was married to a fool?😀 ), but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down, Proverbs 14:1

 Marriage the Lords way: Love and submission are key ingredients. Husbands to Love their wives as Christ loved the Church, wives to submit to their husbands as unto Christ, and Then, submit to one another in reverence to Christ as guided by Ephesians 5:21

Each should play their roles without waiting and watching on the other. Laying down individual pride and ego and going first makes none a weakling but is a sign of determination towards making the marriage work.

Do you Love her as Christ Loves the Church? With her imperfections and shortcomings? 

Do you submit to Him as the head of the family?

Do you submit to one another?

 Laura B Ponders

You can visit my poetry corner.... https://laurabettiepoetry.blogspot.com/

READY?

 

In Luke 11:1, One of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray! And the Lesson begun…

Whenever you pray, he told them… You should say…” Our father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name, Your Kingdom Come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven….”

Before the disciples could ask of their daily bread, Jesus taught them to ask for God’s will. Sounds easy, right? The question is, whenever we ask for God’s will in our lives, are we ready for His response? Do we struggle with prayer items where our desired outcome is not necessarily the will of God? Do we reach a point in prayer as believers and we feel like pleading God’s will to align to our desires?  When we pray for God’s will to be done in our lives, how ready are we?

Jesus in Mathew 26: 39,42 and 44 in a challenging circumstance made this prayer to His Father “My Father if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me, nevertheless, not what I desire but as you will and desire”. This is a clear indication that at times accepting the will of God is not as easy as we say it in prayer. Sometimes it is a place of discomfort and great sacrifice.

Paul, a great servant of the Lord in 2^nd Corinthians 12:7-9 speaks of how he was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him from boasting about the great revelations he received. Just like Jesus, three times he pleaded and begged the Lord that it may depart from him, but the Lord always reminded him that “His grace is sufficient and His (God’s) strength is made perfect in weaknesses.”

 Now to me and you, what if it is God’s will that we tarry in that desert we are in For His own Glory? What if He wants to set us apart before He lifts us to the next level so that no one can share His glory in our lives? What if God says no to that dream Job because He sees the future that you can’t see? What if the healing won’t be coming sooner as you desire? Yes, the word Says that He honors the desires of our hearts, but the there is a place for His will…Does that change who He is? And no, we are not talking about what we go through because of our sins.

Truth is, at times we wake up feeling defeated, frustrated, beaten up and discouraged just because God’s will be prevailed against our desires which is an answered prayer when we asked for God’s will “Let your will be done in our lives”😊😊😊 Brethren regardless of how we feel, one thing is crystal clear, God has a purpose for our lives. He has good things in store for us to have and behold in this present life here on earth. God wants us to live a life of fullness in His will. The psalmist says in Psalms 57:2 “I will cry to God most High, who performs on my behalf and rewards me, who brings to pass His purposes for me and surely completes them (AMP). God’s desire is to fulfil His purpose in our lives, but we have a role to play through the choices we make in the circumstances we find ourselves in.

If we are to live our lives with the desire to fulfil God’s will and purpose in our lives, we have a few guidelines:

      Live a life of prayer- Jesus says ask and it shall be given: let us ask for Wisdom, Grace, Devine guidance and everything that concerns our lives

      Reading the word of God- This is the breath that feeds our spiritual man guiding us on purposeful living

      Mentorship and accountability- having some one in our lives who we look up to and open to. I must confess, this is not east for some of us, but it is very important. Proverbs 11:14 says where there is no guidance people fall, but in abundance of counsellors, there is safety.

       Reflect and retreat-This involves taking time to be alone and still, away from the ups and downs of life. Appraising our lives, taking count of what needs to be worked on, arears of strengths and weaknesses and asking God for direction over our lives. Not only during the beginning of a new year but repeatedly…

Next time in that prayer closet when we ask for God’s will, let us evaluate our selves…are we ready for His answer? Let your will be done Oh LORD!

#Laura B Ponders

 

MOYO WANGU USICHOKE

Have you ever begun doing something with so much psyche and Just when you are about to finish, your heart faints, your energy is drained, and you feel like giving up? Have you ever been in a situation that you have given your whole energy to something, I mean whole of it, mentally, physically, emotionally, financially and it doesn’t seem to work? You get a point and when you are just about to give up…viola…things work out?  Sometimes you have given up only to later realize how close you were to the goal? It could have been a task, a challenge, a journey, an innovation, a discipline you are trying to cultivate, whatever it is! Well, I have done that countless times! You begin something with so much energy only to ‘get tired’ in the midst. 

Well, it is with that in mind that I was thinking about the salvation journey. Back in the days, growing up there was a way the gospel was preached and could cut deep down the soul. Well, I wasn’t born again then but then had the privilege of listening to crusades from the comfort of our home from the nearby market. The Sermons and gospel songs were deep and heaven sounded so real, it felt like Jesus was really coming and there was a sense of urgency to get saved and walk with Christ. I remember when I got baptized and could now partake the Lords table, the teaching was so clear....whoever takes the Lords table in unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. 1^St Corinthians 11:27, well that hasn’t changed as the word of God does not change. Back then I kept a small book that had a record of my sins (wink wink😏😉)  so that I do not forget any of them when going for confession during mass, I was just a young gal who had just finished her catechism, baptized and confirmed and could now confess and partake of the Lords table. This was a very serious affair, I didn’t want to joke around it.

When I gave my life to Christ many years later, the message had not changed. There was urgency and salvation was real. Take a thought too and remember how it was and circumstances in which you gave your life to Christ. Take the journey day by day of events before and after, recount them to date, has the Lord been faithful? Personally, I would say...yes he has been very faithful. How about your zeal to seek and serve Him, is the curve going up, straight or it is going down? how about your giving? Prayer life? Bible study? Basically, how is your energy now compared to when you gave your life to Christ?  Or salvation has become kawaida na umezoea mungu such that everything happens? Testimonies? What happened to them? Or it has become normal? Or you are giving up on waiting upon Christ? Do you feel that the Lord has tarried, and you can move on to your own things and keep the bare minimum? Is salvation still a matter of urgency to you?

There is a song I love sung by New Life choir that was famous when I was growing up. It is named Mapambazuko, It says that we should ensure that our names are written in the book of life, Not just  our specific ministry records. Goes like this….” Hakikisha Jina lako, limeandikwa mbinguni, kwenye kitabu cha uzima ujulikane mbinguni, ndipo kutakuwa furaha ukiihama dunia”  It brings about the reality of life, salvation and heaven.it talks about many things we do that are good but not the main thing like going to church, serving in ministry without giving our life’s to Christ.  It calls us to always take stock of our salvation day after another to ensure we are not missing the mark or dropping out of the way.

Now, back to our salvation journey, do we still have the zeal? Are we still waiting on the lord or we have given up and gone back to our old ways? Are we zealous to keep our testimony or things have become Kawaida? Are we still working out our salvation with fear and trembling? Yes, there are countless reasons to give up, I bet if we sought for them we would have many of them…But Christ is coming for the Church, we should be found ready and waiting we should not be found like the foolish virgins who were waiting for the groom yet did not have oil in their lamps. How does it feel waiting for a whole night for the groom only to be locked outside and miss the party? It is like waiting upon God for years denying ourselves the pleasures of this world only to give up and get locked out when Christ comes. 1^st Corinthians  9:24 urges us to all aim at the prize that we shouldn’t just run for the sake of being in a race. My prayer is that we shall not give up even as we wait for the Lord amidst the challenges of this world. We shall keep our Hope in Christ even as wait upon Him. Let us trust in Him, :Let us put or hope in Christ! Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
 
Am telling this to My heart today , infact I am preaching to my self! You cannot faint,you have to keep moving, you have to keep loving the Lord, you have to keep waiting upon the Lord. You cannot give up! No you have to press on…Moyo wangu usichoke kungojea bwana. Romans 11:22  Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer. Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.

Brethren, God is watching to see us finish the race and finish itwell... Mungu anataka mwisho mwema jinsi tu anafurahia mwanzo mwema. Let us keep the faith and at the end we can look back and say,  just like Paul, in 2^nd Timothy 7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8From now on the crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day— and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

Romans 13:11-12 And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light

Friends, Christ is nearer than when we first believed

Moyo wangu Usichoke.
Nawe Rafiki yangu usichoke.
Tumalize mwendo salama.