Truth Encounter: Homebuilder.God

In a 1st Century society that actually gave fathers the right to throw away unwanted newborns and to take the life of an adult son if he disobeyed his dad, Paul warned the Christian fathers against provoking and discouraging their kids. Their responsibility was to bring their children up in the Lord by disciplining them with fairness and grace. I believe the Apostle Paul still has the fundamental answer to the rebellion and hatred that is dividing our households today.

It is now considered bigotry to believe that sexual intercourse should be reserved for monogamous marriage relationships and that to engage in sex outside of these safe boundaries is a sin and will produce deadly consequences. Faced with this charge--often set in the arena of "racial conflict"--how should those who have decided to follow Jesus live? We need to let our Heavenly Father teach us through His apostles about this precious gift created and given by our Lord. Let’s listen and learn how to make love without shame.

In the Media Room we learned to connect as we focused on listening to one another, how to work through conflict, and how to allow the Spirit to produce peace under our roofs. Let's continue looking at our check books, our salaries, and our debts, and listen to what our Heavenly Father has to say about home finances.

It’s one of the big three: Anger, Sexual Infidelity, and Fights about Money! These are the culprits that attack our marriages and cause relationships that began with passion and love to end in estrangement and hate. Now, we want to take a look at our check books, our salaries, and our debts, and listen to what our Heavenly Father has to say about home finances.

The Internet lets us talk to people around the world, but are we connecting with our spouses across the room? Communication is built on the term "commune." It’s an old word meaning to share, to associate together. Family researchers have discovered that the way a couple communicates, especially the way they talk and listen when they disagree is the major determinant in whether or not their marriage will survive. Mention the word "communication" and what part of the body do we instantly think of? The mouth. But God’s Word puts the priority on the ear, not the mouth, when it comes to connecting.

What does the mother of your children really want from you? The Apostle Paul knows what a wife and mom needs more than anything else. He tells us that in a Christian marriage the Lord has given the husband the responsibility of captaining the family and the wife is to be his respectful copilot. Responsible leadership that exercises authority with love and self-sacrifice and willing, respectful reverence towards this leadership--these are almost forgotten treasures in today’s marriages. It is time to remember.

In popular media the Apostle Paul is often grouped with the Taliban-burka crowd, but actually he declared the most radical overhaul of marriage relationships anyone has ever stated. He goes to the heart of what both a man and a woman actually need in their marriage and places the whole idea of marriage on a plane that is heavenly. Let’s enter the living room of a marriage and begin by taking a look at what Paul had to say about the role of a husband in Ephesians 5.

"Marriage is a fifty-fifty relationship of mutual companionship with the purpose to enable the positive personal growth of each person to fulfill their life goals and dreams." This is the prevailing cultural definition of marriage. The problem with this definition is that it leaves out the Creator of Marriage and ignores His purpose. Malachi proclaimed that God, our Creator and Father, is the one who defines marriage. Let’s let Malachi answer two questions: Why is it so important to marry someone who joins you in your love for Jesus Christ? and Why does God say that He hates divorce?

Our culture tells us constantly that "It’s all about US!" No! It is all about GOD! He is the One who created us, marriage, and babies. He alone has the right to define marriage. Courts in Massachusetts and San Francisco can make their decrees and believe that they are so progressive as they experiment with the "latest" in alternative life styles. Actually, it’s all old stuff. In fact four hundred years before Jesus the prophet Malachi had to deal with religious leaders who believed they could change God’s directions. Listen to what Malachi has to say about the divine covenant of marriage.