(Please do not read this as a complaint towards men, but as my personal challenge to you.)
I see it on a lot of men�s profiles that they want a woman like the one in Proverbs 31, a woman with a �quiet spirit�, or quoting the description of a wife�s duties in Ephesians 5:22-24. There is so much of �here is what I want,� and almost none of �this is what I am�, be it by Biblical or shallow standards. I have gotten first messages that have been like interrogations, IM chats that are one-sided interviews, complaints that he just cannot find a good woman.
But what about you, brothers, potential husbands and fathers? Being the head of the body does not give you a position of power, but a responsibility for righteousness.
There is no perfect woman, but will you still �present her to [yourself] as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless�? (Eph.) �A loving doe, a graceful deer�? (Proverbs 5:19) Beauty is fleeting, but will her body �satisfy you always,� and will you �ever be captivated by her love�? (Prov. 5:19)
What of your responsibilities listed around the scriptures you love to quote?
�Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.� (Ephesians 5:21)
revelations 22:18-19 18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
ya just dont go round addin to or takin away from the word of GOD. when quoting scripture, quote the scripture as it reads .. make your points by summarizing, if needed.. that is my belief.
It is encouraging to see women of GOD not lowering there standards of whats expected of men...To see you women standing on the Word Of GOD , expecting out of men Christ-Like leadership and the love of Christ in the commitment.....
I really don't know if there is an ideal Husband or an ideal wife, The best people in the Bible did the worst of things, Rahab was a prostitute, Sarah lied, Rebecca lied and cheated, Eve fell into temptation, Mary, one of Jesus's favorite, had a bad background, The woman in samaria who Jesus met at the well, had 5 husbands.. and the list goes on. And the same about men, David (we know what he did), Abraham lied to the king, Moses did not trust God so he could not see the Holy land, Paul was a persecutor, Peter was overenthusiastic.. etc etc. But these are the very men and woman God chose?
So when a woman says she expects an ideal husband, or when a man says he wants a proverbs 31 woman, first we have to examine ourselves, are we any close to the standards that God has set for us? If we are not, then what should we expect? And then Jesus says, that he is to be our first love, and that husband and wife and whoever should be second, so if Jesus is our first love, we will know that we did not deserve any of his love. When we see ourselves more in the light of God we see how bad we are. So once we know we are bad, and Jesus love for us was undeserved, I don't think we would be able to expect someone perfect, because we are nothing but a fallen sinner, and however good a person looks from the outside, they also are nothing but a fallen sinner. So if our expectations of our partner are high and we feel that we want someone who is never going to disappoint us at all, think again? How many times have you disappointed the Lord, even in one day? And if all of us are like that is there anyone who is perfect? But by God's grace we can learn to love other imperfect people like ourselves and learn to forgive their mistakes just the way Christ forgave our mistakes..
I don't know if this is even an answer to the question, but what I'm trying to get at is that when we marry someone, we should not expect that that person is going to never make us sad or hurt us, but that will happen and we should already be ready to forgive them no matter what they do.
Cattleman- I agree with your response to the other guy on changing the Word of God, but I would like to mention that Revelation 22:18-19 is referring to the Book of Revelation, not the whole Bible...
I loveeeeeee this (these) forums! Underscores my theory that God loves variety! He has 'given birth' to all kinds of children, hasn�t he? Look at this datingforfree �church� alone :-)
We see the conflict even as early as Paul vs. Peter. he he he! What I have learnt in my little 24 years (will be 25 this xmas eve) being born again is to respect others. Yes, stand for the truth but value 'diversity' in Christ. I am not saying Jesus is an equal opportunity employer (I am of African descent, but thanks to Christ's giftedness, NEVER have I needed affirmative action, so pls, don�t bother thinking that route) BUT Jesus is an equal opportunity LOVER! LOVE is the greatest commandment, brethren. That�s the standard for EVERY gray area of scripture.
Romans 15:1. The true strength of spiritual maturity is in bearing the shortcomings of the weak in a humble manner. Its so easy to fall into spiritual arrogance in a quest to correct or defend your position (both the �strong� and the �weak�). This causes offense. I am often guilty of this myself and have to rely on God�s Holy Spirit to help me.
While I believe 100% in the authenticity and completeness of Scripture, I am careful to most importantly tune into God�s Holy Spirit for the silent/gray areas. Remember, the Pharisees were justified to hold fast the Torah. But hey, they missed it! A new order had come. An order of GRACE and LIBERTY in Christ. Healing was not just OK on the Sabbath, it was THE right thing!
I think that is the issue - misuse of LIBERTY and GRACE. It�s a fine line to tread between legalism and liberalism to sin. God help us all! We aint got much of a choice, we have to live 24/7 tuned to his frequency to know His heart in all things!
Reading these posts, I wonder how many of us (myself inclusive) would have fallen into the same pit as the Pharisees. Trying to please God, but missing the new order! Yeah, you may say: Didn�t they have Prophet Isaiah�s teaching? They sure did! But it didn�t mean that to them. This Jesus that they saw ain�t like no Jesus that was described!
I have been on both sides of this coin and as I read the posts, I could hear myself in both �sides�. I have been a legalist before � for a longggggg time. I wouldn�t even wear pants � it�s for men and the Bible says women must not dress in men�s clothing. No perms, no hair styling. Scripture says our ornament should be of the heart, right? Also, no fellowship (I mean ZERO) with unbelievers. Do not be unequally yoked. Guess where that got me? Yeah, you guessed right � legalism and spiritual pride. But you know, pride is pride. It cost Lucifer his position!
Again, I know the Bible is 100% complete and authentic but please, let us test every Spirit and respect each other�s views in Christ. I am not saying love the anti Christ Spirit but love one another. God is humorous you know. Who knows? Maybe ye �tongue talking�, �demon chasing�, �hell blasting� brethren will end up in heaven sharing neighborhoods with Lutheran (or whatever the most conservative denomination happens to be). No offense to any denomination just stating fact.
If you�ve read this far, wow, �am impressed!!! I owe you one ;-)
PS: I mourned MJ because I think he sang a highly inspired song when he did �We are the world�. Off on some of the lyrics but still inspired.
PS: Pls I do know that Jesus is the ONLY begotten son of God. But I insist - God has �given birth� to all kinds of us! Just look at the forums!
Dear Ole Cattle and Others, I found the time:peace:
Truth is more basic than meaning, and meaning is more basic than words, and words are used to �communicate� and �allude� to the underlying meaning that exists within the context of scripture as a �whole�. The physical (actual words) in light of the spiritual (the meaning).
That is why it is the Holy �Spirit�, which leads us into all truth, including the truth found in scripture. You cannot simply read scripture and always understand it. A person must be led by the Holy Spirit while reading scripture, which leads them into the �spiritual truth� of what scripture is saying � its meaning, which is often times �implied�.
I have not added or taken away from the �meaning� that already exists in God's word, but when people are not careful in their interpretation of scripture, they themselves misinterpret (add/ take away) much of the meaning that exists, which can hinder their ability and motivation to �teach� thoughtfully when thoughtful questions arise - like the Pharisees who crucified Christ. Instead of teaching, they are automatically forced by lack of truth to offer their personal opinions, correction and criticism along with various scriptures, which they quote. Three things, which are unable to bring unity amongst believers individually, in marriages, in the church or in the discipleship of the nations. Hence the state of �sin management� running ramped through the church today, instead of coming to know the truth, and by knowing the truth, being set free.
What I did with the passage from Proverbs 31 is done from the pulpit every Sunday all over the world. The fact that I wrote my own personal thoughts out for this forum doesn�t make it any different. Explaining existing truth through writing is not an attempt to change scripture just because it is not your preferred style. That is only an �opinion� which someone may �choose� to have based entirely upon their own understanding and thoughtfulness and nothing more. And opinions say nothing of the intentions of another.
What I wrote has given many the opportunity to view a beautiful meaning, which already exists within Proverbs 31. And not that I couldn�t be wrong, because I certainly could, but just to put your opinion into context, my position on this passage has been examined by dozens of churches, ministries and hundreds of others already, and no one else has accused me of attempting to add or take away from the �meaning� which already exists within Proverbs 31. It is also in alignment with Historical Christianity to interpret the physical (words) in light of the spiritual (meaning).
Appearance (even words) is seldom reality.:goofball:
Revelation 22: 18-19, Rightly interpreted says that God's special revelation, which includes scripture and prophecy (prophecy in the sense of new revelation) is complete, and that no one is to add to the "meaning" of God's word or take away from the "meaning" that is already there and complete.
