Monday, May 29, 2017
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
A Women, A Wife, A Mother-Rev.M.D.Rogers
When God created Eve, she was created with the purpose of making a
positive difference in the world. Without the presence of Eve as a
separate identity, even though all was perfect in the world, God was
able to say "something here is not good." There was Adam, the
perfect man, and yet he was missing something that was good. The
good he was missing was Eve. Everything alive had been made from the
dust of the earth, but God desired to take creation to another
level. He wanted a fantastic product, so God used some complicated
parts to begin.
• He put Adam to sleep and took a rib and some flesh from him
and started working on Eve
• While Adam was yet asleep, God and Eve had some time
together as God prepared her for this historic meeting
• It would be great to know what all God told Eve about Adam
while he was sleeping.
There are "Three Things" I see in this text. First, God created
a "Woman." Eve had been created for Glory and Honor . There was
something special about woman from the very beginning of creation.
Adam knew instinctively that He was to honor this woman. In Hebrew,
the word for man is "Ish" and the word for woman is "Isshah." Adam
recognized Eve to be on his level and that honor was due to her.
That same honor has been due to all of Eve's descendants because
every woman has been created for glory and honor. There is a beauty
all about yourself as a woman, because you were created in God's
image with the purpose of bringing good into the life of others.
The first book of the Bible reveals wonder upon wonder to those who
seek to know more about its many Treasures. But none is more
intriguing to learn more about than the Woman God created. She was
complete, perfect. She is the only woman ever to be created and not
born. So when God took from Adam's side the first thing he created
was woman.
Not only did God create Woman when He took from Adam's side. God also
created a "Wife." Eve was created to be more than a Woman. She was
also designed to be a Wife – a helpmate to Adam. Here is a
newsflash for the brethren – being a helpmate does not mean you are
beneath someone else. At times a Wife may be the stronger one, but
at other times a Wife may be the weaker one. There will be other
times you are on the exact same level. Eve was a Help - suitable for
Adam. That means she could rise to whatever level of help Adam
needed for the situation. A Wife has always had a great ability to
endure pain and hardship because of the strength God placed within
her. The word Helpmate expresses the notion of complementarities.
The wife is a helper matching or corresponding to her husband. She
is suitable for him. Together they make a perfect pair because they
are both designed by God to complement each other – to form a
perfect whole – a harmonious team. The man and the woman are
different; yet these differences are designed by God to compliment
each other, to work together in such a manner as to make them
stronger and more effective together than if they were apart.
Recall with me that I mentioned at the outset that there are three things
that I find in the text. We have discovered that God took from
Adam's side and created (1) Woman (2) Wife. The third thing that
God created was a "Mother." So God took from man's side and created
a Woman, Wife and a Mother. I fully understand that not all women
are mothers, but all mothers are women. I am reminded of the
words that Paul spoke about Brother Timothy. II TIMOTHY 1:5 "WHEN
I CALL TO REMEMBRANCE THE UNFEIGNED FAITH THAT IS IN THEE, WHICH
DWELT FIRST IN THY GRANDMOTHER LOIS, AND THY MOTHER EUNICE; AND I AM
PERSUADED THAT IN THEE ALSO." I imagine Timothy, as he was growing
up, made all the same mistakes that our own children (and we
ourselves) made. I can imagine that he went through his rebellious
stage, that he spent time experimenting in the world, that he
perhaps went out "with the boys" and did all the wrong things. Yet
his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice planted the seeds of the
Gospel in his heart by teaching him from the time he was a child.
They shared with him a love of the Scriptures. Later on in his life
when Paul led him to Christ, this foundation laid by his godly
mother and grandmother came into play.
positive difference in the world. Without the presence of Eve as a
separate identity, even though all was perfect in the world, God was
able to say "something here is not good." There was Adam, the
perfect man, and yet he was missing something that was good. The
good he was missing was Eve. Everything alive had been made from the
dust of the earth, but God desired to take creation to another
level. He wanted a fantastic product, so God used some complicated
parts to begin.
• He put Adam to sleep and took a rib and some flesh from him
and started working on Eve
• While Adam was yet asleep, God and Eve had some time
together as God prepared her for this historic meeting
• It would be great to know what all God told Eve about Adam
while he was sleeping.
There are "Three Things" I see in this text. First, God created
a "Woman." Eve had been created for Glory and Honor . There was
something special about woman from the very beginning of creation.
Adam knew instinctively that He was to honor this woman. In Hebrew,
the word for man is "Ish" and the word for woman is "Isshah." Adam
recognized Eve to be on his level and that honor was due to her.
That same honor has been due to all of Eve's descendants because
every woman has been created for glory and honor. There is a beauty
all about yourself as a woman, because you were created in God's
image with the purpose of bringing good into the life of others.
The first book of the Bible reveals wonder upon wonder to those who
seek to know more about its many Treasures. But none is more
intriguing to learn more about than the Woman God created. She was
complete, perfect. She is the only woman ever to be created and not
born. So when God took from Adam's side the first thing he created
was woman.
Not only did God create Woman when He took from Adam's side. God also
created a "Wife." Eve was created to be more than a Woman. She was
also designed to be a Wife – a helpmate to Adam. Here is a
newsflash for the brethren – being a helpmate does not mean you are
beneath someone else. At times a Wife may be the stronger one, but
at other times a Wife may be the weaker one. There will be other
times you are on the exact same level. Eve was a Help - suitable for
Adam. That means she could rise to whatever level of help Adam
needed for the situation. A Wife has always had a great ability to
endure pain and hardship because of the strength God placed within
her. The word Helpmate expresses the notion of complementarities.
The wife is a helper matching or corresponding to her husband. She
is suitable for him. Together they make a perfect pair because they
are both designed by God to complement each other – to form a
perfect whole – a harmonious team. The man and the woman are
different; yet these differences are designed by God to compliment
each other, to work together in such a manner as to make them
stronger and more effective together than if they were apart.
Recall with me that I mentioned at the outset that there are three things
that I find in the text. We have discovered that God took from
Adam's side and created (1) Woman (2) Wife. The third thing that
God created was a "Mother." So God took from man's side and created
a Woman, Wife and a Mother. I fully understand that not all women
are mothers, but all mothers are women. I am reminded of the
words that Paul spoke about Brother Timothy. II TIMOTHY 1:5 "WHEN
I CALL TO REMEMBRANCE THE UNFEIGNED FAITH THAT IS IN THEE, WHICH
DWELT FIRST IN THY GRANDMOTHER LOIS, AND THY MOTHER EUNICE; AND I AM
PERSUADED THAT IN THEE ALSO." I imagine Timothy, as he was growing
up, made all the same mistakes that our own children (and we
ourselves) made. I can imagine that he went through his rebellious
stage, that he spent time experimenting in the world, that he
perhaps went out "with the boys" and did all the wrong things. Yet
his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice planted the seeds of the
Gospel in his heart by teaching him from the time he was a child.
They shared with him a love of the Scriptures. Later on in his life
when Paul led him to Christ, this foundation laid by his godly
mother and grandmother came into play.
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
"Ye shall Be Judged"-Rev.M.D.Rogers
Matthew 7:1-15
Based on the integral teaching of the Bible, I do not believe Our Lord is telling us that we must not use our common sense and discernment to get an idea about the behavior and attitudes of other people. Instead, I think that he is exhorting us not to unjustly apply rules to other people, because what we do to others we could have done unto us.
This is the interpretation that can be drawn from phrases like "…with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged " and "…considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye "
If we read a little further in verses 15-20 we see that Jesus himself exhorts us to judge who is a false prophet. If this is what the Lord says after having said "Judge not, that ye be not judged ", it is evident that he is not trying to paralyze our adequate discernment.
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree
bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into
the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." ( Matt 7: 15-20 )
It is evident that the Lord is telling us to try to distinguish between who is a false prophet and who is not. To get to such a conclusion it is necessary for us to judge. We have to judge who is a good tree; we have to judge who is a bad tree; we have to judge what are good fruits. Therefore, it is not that kind of judgment that the Lord is forbidding us.
Should Matthew 7:1-5 be a total prohibition of judging anything or anyone, this would cause us to have a mental paralysis. If we see a bully beating a little old lady to death with a club, we could not say that he is a scoundrel, because we would be judging this person.
If this really was Jesus' command then, even the pastoral institution could not exist, because telling someone to believe in Christ in order to be saved means that the pastor judged that he is not saved. The job of a pastor implies to watch out for the souls, and tell them when they are sinning; and this action involves judging. If the pastor and deacons see a member doing something that is out of order, they could not dare to tell him anything, because he would reply: "do not judge that you be not judged". Jesus did not put pastors in a position where they would be constantly afraid of committing this farfetched "sin of judging". Also, when a Christian preaches the gospel to a person, this Christian must be "judging", because he is thinking that the person is not saved, and therefore, he is committing the bizarre "sin of judging". Jesus did not put Christians on the verge of sinning by means of "judging" that a person is not saved. To think that is wrong. That interpretation is ludicrous.
Even the first Christians did not have this attitude of "not judging any thing". We can see this in Acts 16:15 where Lydia compelled Paul to judge her. Also, in I Co 2:15, where Paul himself says that a spiritual man judges all things. Or, in I Co 5: 3, where Paul says that he judges, and with a judgment of punishment. Again, in I Co 5: 12-13, where we can see how Christians judged other Christians. Or, in I Co 6:1, where we see that saints did judge, and not only that, but in verse 4 it says that it was the duty of Christians to judge their brethren. We see the same thing in I Co 10:15 and 11:13 where Paul asked the brethren to judge what he was saying. And finally we have I Co 14: 29, where it is evident that the brethren should judge what the prophets say during church services.
As we can see, our first brethren, who were closer to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, did not have that extremist attitude of not judging. Those who hold fast to this erroneous interpretation have one of two reasons: 1) They do not fully understand this teaching of Jesus, or 2) They do not want anybody to rebuke them for their sins in or out of the church.
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