If you've missed this series on Respect, find them here.

In this third lesson on respect, let's take a look at respecting our parents.  As I mentioned last week, the first 4 commandments in the 10 commandments dealt with our relationship with God.  The next commandment was, "Honor your father and your mother; that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God has given you."  (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16)  But, as we've looked at before, this was the old law which was given to the Jews.  What does the New Testament say about this?

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."  (Ephesians 6:1-3)

Paul just copied it right out of the Ten Commandments.  This is the only commandment that was taught in the New Testament word for word as it was in the Old Testament scriptures.  With most of the others, the principles were taught, but this one simply commands it, word for word.  I find it interesting that, next in line, after God himself, the Israelites were commanded to honor father and mother.  What is the significance of this?  Why are our parents so important?

I believe it is because God established one man, one woman to be the foundation of the family.  Genesis one and two tells us that God designed the first family.  He made the man (soon-to-be husband and father) first, then the woman (wife and mother-to-be) and the children came later.  The father is to be the leader and the mother to follow behind him, both leading the family where it should go.  It is the family, then, that is the foundation of society.  Think of each family unit as being a stone that builds the wall of society.  If the stone crumbles, the wall will fall.  When there is a disruption of the home, there will follow a disruption in society.

This connection between the family and the home is evidenced in the command itself.  "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."  (Exodus 20:12)  The promise was for the kingdom/society to be able to remain in the land.  The homes had a direct effect upon the society.

This crumbling of society is what has happened to our society in the last 100 years.  Too many divorces and broken homes has caused a crumbling of our society.  Parents are too focused on their own pain and rebuilding of their own lives to be able to teach their children properly.  Their children then, stumble in the darkness, trying to find their way through to some sort of morality.  "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."  (Jeremiah 10:23)  While not impossible for one who has grown up in such a home to be a righteous person, it is difficult for one to rise above their circumstances.

What can we do as mothers to help?

1.  We can do our part to make our families strong.  "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"  (Ephesians 6:10-17)

2.  Give honor to our husbands.  "...and the wife see that she reverence her husband."  (Ephesians 5:33b)  Let your children see that you respect him.  Don't complain to others about your husband, especially in front of your children.  Brag about him and praise him publicly.  Men can quickly lose confidence in themselves and respect for the wife who is nagging and hurtful to him (Proverbs 21:9; 25:24).

3.  Be an example.  How do you treat your parents and your in-laws?  Your children will learn from your actions.  Do you want your children to one day treat you that way?  "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."  (Galatians 6:7)  I think the sowing and reaping passage is better here. MT. would apply to how you treat the children, not your parents.


4.  Teach the younger women.  "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."  (Titus 2:3-5)

5.  Pray for wisdom.  James tells us, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."  (James 1:5)

If you are a single mom, there are still things you can do.  In addition to the above (excluding number 2 maybe), you can avoid speaking of your ex-husband (if divorced) negatively.  Your relationship with him and his family will teach volumes to your children.  Be the example despite your circumstance.  Also, be diligent to attend services and choose an older man - an elder possibly or even the child's own grandparent - who can be a positive influence on your children.  Don't be afraid to ask this man to spend time with your children.  They need to see godly examples of men in their lives.

Next week we'll look at more in the area of respect.

Today I offer you another great lesson on Apologetics by Eddie Parrish at The Truth In Love.

The Inspiration of the Bible
Eddie Parrish
The Truth In Love

Today is lesson 3 of our study of Esther.  Click here for the other lessons on Esther.

    Perhaps you have heard Bill Cosby (at least I believe it was Cosby) explain the way Mother's Day and Father's Day work. It was something like this, If a father has four children, then for Mother's Day He gives each child twenty dollars to get her something. The children put it together ($80) and add some more they have gotten from him in the past and buy mom something really special that puts the gift he gets her to shame. Then Father's Day is coming, the kids ask for money to buy him something. Being the eternal optimist that he is he gives them each $20 with high hopes. They get together put in $2.50 each for a total of $10 and buy a 6-pack of socks and a card. The 2 teenage boys each keep 1 pair of socks, each kid wraps up one pair of socks for him and they lose the card. So he winds up with 4 pairs of $20 socks and the kids get $17.50 each.

    Father's Day is Sunday and it does seem sometimes like fathers get the short end of the stick. On Mother's Day there are lessons preached about how great mothers are (and they are) and how we ought to honor and respect our mothers and the mother of our children (and we should), but then on Father's Day we hear lessons on all the shortcomings of fathers (and we have plenty) and how fathers ought to do better (and we should). It may seem to the father out there that nothing he does is appreciated. Join the club! God is the most underappreciated father there is and it seems that it comes with the territory. If as fathers we want the respect and appreciation that we feel we deserve, let us be the example by giving our Heavenly Father the respect and appreciation He deserves. If our families see this in us they will be more likely to show it to us.

If you haven't been following these lessons you can find them here:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

The Church is a Bride
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."  (Ephesians 5:22-33)

Paul here is teaching about husbands and wives, or is he?  I think he's teaching many things here.  He's teaching how husbands and wives should treat each other, but he's also speaking about a whole lot more.  It is a lesson about a Christian's relationship to Christ.  Let us learn about being a part of the church - the bride of Christ.

1.  Christ gave his life for the church.  I think often we don't realize the whole picture.  We don't think about the specialness of the ekklesia - the church.  Those that chose to obey were called out from the world to be his special people.  We are the members of his body that he died to save!  He loves us and wants a perfect 'wife' (church).  

2.  Brides must be faithful, or they will be 'put away'.  Once I was fortunate to hear a preacher speak about Jewish traditions.  He had grown up a Jew and became a Christian at some point in his life.  From what I can remember, this is what he said about engagement and marriage in the Jewish culture:  Each family had a special cup for 'covenants' with their neighbors.  When a man wanted to marry a woman, he presented the cup with wine in it to the father of his chosen bride.  If the father was willing, he passed the cup to his daughter.  The next step required action from the bride.  If she was willing, she would drink from the cup, signifying her willingness to be his bride.  Then the groom, would return to his father's house to prepare a place for her.  When his father thought that things were ready, the groom would return for his bride.  While the groom was away, the bride had a responsibility to be ready for her groom to return.  She must keep herself pure from being with other men.  She must dress herself properly and be ready at any time for his return.

One example of this practice in the scriptures is in the case of Joseph and Mary. While they were engaged, it became known to Joseph that Mary was pregnant.  He had no idea at the time that she hadn't been with a man, so he was planning to break the engagement (he could have been planning to have her executed) because of what he thought was infidelity (Matthew 1:19).  Under the Law of Moses a woman could be killed for being pregnant and unmarried or simply not a virgin (Deuteronomy 22:13-27). Thankfully it was not infidelity on Mary's part and God told Joseph that she had not been unfaithful to him, saving her from being punished.

When Jesus left this earth, he placed on us some responsibilities.  If we do not meet those responsibilities, we will be put away.
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."  (Matthew 7:21-23)

Which one of these two groups will you be?  Will you do the will of your father and get to go with our groom or will you be put away?

Join us next week for a look at the bride's responsibilities.

My husband is building a multi-faceted website and blog.  Not only is it a place for him to post his own sermons, he also has illustrations for sermons, and lessons from Focal Point.  Not just for preacher's, however, there's content for women, elders, and deacons.  Be sure to check out the verse by verse study through the Bible and the Revelation Quiz for all ages - both are works in progress!  More content is added daily.

Build Your Bible Understanding

Last week we began a series on Respect.  You can find the first article here.

It should go without saying that the first person on the 'respect' list for the Christian is our Creator.  It is only in Him that we "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).  That verse goes on to say that we are His offspring.  The Bible has a whole lot to say about our relationship with Him and we can in no way study it all.  We will just look at a few things.

In the Old Testament, God desired to be their king.  The Law given to the Israelites stressed how they were to treat Him.  The first 4 of the 10 commandments all dealt with how he wanted them to treat Him (Exodus 20:2-11).  These were:  1) to put God first, 2) to not make any image to worship, 3) treat His name with respect or reverence and 4) honor the sabbath day.

That law was given to the Israelites.  For the Christian today, Jesus summed up the first three commandments in this statement:  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."  (Matthew 22:37-38)  This is what we should obey now.  What a difficult command to put into practice in each and every facet of our lives!  The word 'love' there isn't just a warm, fuzzy feeling, it is an action verb.  We should show Him our love each day.  How?  A 'simple' statement reveals it all for the Christian, again spoken by Jesus:  "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  (John 14:15)  Simple to say, harder to do!

Many times in the New Testament, our relationship with God is paralleled with a master/servant relationship.  Jesus told many parables about masters and servants.  These parables reveal how our relationship with God should be.  We must all be servants, but we can choose whether we serve Satan or God (Romans 6:16-18).

As I've said before, there are many passages we could study about our relationship to God.  Isn't that the entire theme of the Bible?  The Bible focuses on the relationship of the creation with the creator.  Let us direct our focus of today's study on specific things a mother should do to model that relationship as an example to her children.

1.  Keep His Commandments!  Children are discerning, they seem to be hunting for our failures.  We need to be diligent to be doing the commands given in the New Testament.  (John 14:15)

2.  Study!  How can we know His commandments unless we study?  "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 
(2 Timothy 2:15)  Do your children see you in Bible study everyday or just during worship with the saints?  Do you read his word to them daily?  If the Old Testament is for our learning (Romans 15:4) then let us learn from Deuteronomy:  "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deuteronomy 6:7)

3.  Respect His word!  When the scripture is being read, are we being attentive?  Many times we teach that we should show respect when someone is praying.  We teach children to be still, to stop walking through the auditorium when a prayer is being led, and to bow our heads during the prayer.  Why do we not show the same respect when His word is read?  The Israelites stood the WHOLE time as the ENTIRE law was being read (Nehemiah 8:5-7, 9:3).  To show respect like that nowadays is unheard of! But it should not be so.

4.  Weave the teaching of His word into your life!  From the time they are little, we should be teaching them that God's word is useful in our lives.  This could be simply saying that the family cat was created by God, to quoting and properly applying scripture to life situations.  How many times are your favorite movies or songs quoted around your house?  Shouldn't God's word be quoted above all?  If we want them to study and apply scripture when they are teens and young adults, then the teaching and training begins as an infant.

5.  Reverence His name!  If we expect our children to honor God we must model that respect by not taking His name in vain and demanding that our children do the same.  Even though this commandment is not taught in the New Testament, Jesus did mention it.  When teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus began His prayer with, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name."  (Matthew 6:9)  God's name should be 'hallowed'.  Dictionary.com defines this word as, "regarded as holy... sacred."  If you are saying things like "OMG" - even in typing - then you aren't regarding His name as holy, but instead treating it as common.

6.  Worship with the saints!  What better place to bring our children than to worship our God!  So many times we let worldly things interfere with our attendance at all the gatherings of the saints.  If we do not put a priority on attending EACH Sunday and Wednesday, then our children will see that respecting and worshiping God is not really important in our lives, but something we do when it is convenient. How sad it is when our children grow up and leave the church because we didn't show the proper attitude and commitment in our attendance!  "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." (Psalms 122:1)  "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."  (Hebrews 10:25) I hope and pray that you apply these principles to your everyday lives.  Join us for next week's Momma Monday as we continue to look at respect.

This is a very good lesson in a series of lessons.  Eddie Parrish hosts the program "The Truth in Love". They have a series on Apologetics.  I hope this lesson, "The Inspiration of the Bible" helps you to affirm your faith in the scriptures of God.

Inspiration of the Bible
Eddie Parrish - The Truth In Love

If you missed lesson one of Exhortations from Esther last week, find it here.