Heart Reflections Live
Monday, November 05, 2007
To Speak Evil of No Man...
Titus 3:1-7 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
I was reading this the other morning and it came to me how easy it can be to "speak evil of men", even when we try hard to guard ourselves against gossip. It can come in such a way of discussing a fellow Christian's sad situation with your spouse, when someone has hurt them. In our empathy for our hurt Christian friend, we can find ourselves speaking evil as such of the person who hurt them. Another easy way to fall into this, is around election time. We are called to pray for all those in authority- not just the one's we like, and while obviously we will all favour one leader over another, we need to be very careful how we speak of the one or ones we hope don't get elected to power.
Someone once said, "There, but for the grace of God go I". We need to remember this and how priveledged we are to be saved by the grace of God. Some people aren't there yet, or maybe they are, and have backslidden. God may be ministering into their lives in ways we don't know about yet.
If in doubt, remember Thumper the Rabbit's famous quote from "Bambi" - "If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nuthin' at all." We would do well to remember this...
Labels: bible application, Christian Witness, God's standards, godly living, Quote
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
A Wife's Ten Commandments
1. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; and you shall love your husband as yourself.
2. You shall not make your husband into an idol, but you shall love, honour, respect and submit to him as unto the Lord.
3. You shall not take your husband's name in vain, through gossip, slander, criticism, complaint or mockery; but you shall bless him both privately & publicly.
4. You shall work heartily as unto the Lord and as directed by Him and your husband, not by your own ideas of what should be done. You shall not be so busy working however, that you neglect to get alone with God everyday. During this quiet time, you shall pray diligently for your husband. You shall also be willing to put aside work and to "play" when your husband asks you.
5. You shall honour your mother and father, but you shall not elevate their position or opinions above your husband's.
6. You shall not resent, revile, or hate your husband, but you shall grant him grace, forgiveness and mercy.
7. You shall not commit adultery, nor shall you think lustfully toward another man; but you shall thank God for your husband and be pleased with him.
8. You shall not steal from your husband. You shall not steal his marriage by threats of divorce. You shall not steal his wife by leaving him alone all the time. You shall not steal his spiritual leadership by taking control. You shall not steal his time by making unnecessary demands on him. You shall not steal his joy by complaining or moping. You shall not steal his peace by endless nagging. You shall not steal glances from other men by wearing provacative clothes and causing them to stumble. This defrauds your husband of an honourable wife, the other man of pure thoughts, and the man's wife of her husband's faithfulness.
9. You shall not lie to your husband, but you shall speak the truth in love. You shall also practice a quiet and gentle spirit.
10. You shall not covet another woman's husband, her children, her friends, her house, her decorating style, her garden, her looks, her wardrobe, her possessions, her talents and gifts, her ministry, or any other thing that is hers; but you shall be content with all God has given you.
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
Labels: bible application, godly wives
