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“Let Me Be A Woman” – The Biblical Woman
For years Christian women have been allowing the world to dictate to them what true “womanhood” is through the medium of TV, magazines and Hollywood. Through these ungodly means our minds have been ingrained with the world’s teachings on how to act and dress, what we are to like and dislike, how to treat our husbands and children, and in general, how to live our day to day lives. So, what is the fruit of this independent age? Well, we have the highest divorce rate the world has ever seen, disobedient and rebellious children, immodesty, homosexuality, and immorality just to name a few examples. The churches have become filled, as 1 Peter 2:14 says, with people “that cannot cease from sin.” Instead of Christians being a light in the world, we have let the world dim our light. Where women were once strong they are now weak and unable to “cope” with problems and difficulties without the worldly counsel of psychologists.
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Whatever Happened To Christian Modesty?
Read More1 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
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SOME QUOTES ON MOTHERHOOD
“Oh! there is an enduring tenderness in the love of a mother to her son that transcends all other affections of the heart. It is neither to be chilled by selfishness, nor daunted by danger, nor weakened by worthlessness, nor stifled by ingratitude…She will glory in his fame and exult in his prosperity; and if misfortune overtake him, he will be dearer to her from misfortune; and if disgrace settle upon his name, she will still love and cherish him in spite of his disgrace…Alas! how little do we appreciate a mother’s tenderness while living. How heedless are we in youth of all her anxieties and kindness? But when she is dead and gone, when the cares and coldness of the world come withering to our hearts, when we experience how hard it is to find true sympathy, how few to love us for ourselves, how few will befriend us in misfortune, then it is that we think of the mother we have lost.” (“The Royal Path Of Life,” 1882)
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A WIFE’S OBEDIENCE TO HER HUSBAND (By Ebbye Faust)
A WIFE’S OBEDIENCE TO HER HUSBAND (By Ebbye Faust) As a pastor’s wife, one of my largest areas of counsel to women is the subject of obedience to their husbands. We can all see the Scriptures in the Bible commanding wifely obedience, but some women have a very difficult time putting their knowledge into practice. Obedience hardly ever feels easy, especially for women raised in feminist saturated America! We are trained throughout childhood in public schools to believe that the only differences between men and women are biological. “What right does any man have to tell me what to do, as if I am unable to think for myself and make my own decisions!” That was definitely my own thinking as a young feminist. After I was saved, verses in the Bible requiring obedience troubled me. I had a desire to serve the Lord, but since I wasn’t married anyway, I just put those verses to the side and determined never to marry (I certainly didn’t want to be a pastors wife!). But the Lord, thankfully, had other plans for me. He has brought me down many paths since then, and I know that the only way to truly be happy in marriage is through a sincere obedience to my husband. Colossians 3:18 says “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.” Women of God, you cannot have a joyful relationship with the Lord without obeying this verse. Many women wonder why they feel as dry as a desert when it comes to religious feelings. When they pray they feel as if their words are bouncing off of the ceiling and not raising up to the ears of God. When you resist the authority of your husband, you are resisting the Spirit of God. Why would the Lord bless you with the closeness of His presence when you are stepping out of His ordained order for your life? Jesus says that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all that you are (Matt. 22:37). Jesus also says in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” And one of His commandments is found in Col. 3:18, as well as in other verses. Obedience to your husband has nothing to do with the fact that you are able to make your own decisions. It has to do with the way that God has chosen to run a Christian family. When you decide not to follow your husband’s leading, you are stepping out of God’s will. God has equipped your husband with the special ability to lead your family, and so He speaks to him differently than the way He teaches you. The Lord, if you will let Him, will give you the special grace to follow. It is not something that is demeaning to you; it is a glory. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 3:4 that this type of spirit is very treasured to God. As Christian women, what is beautiful to God should be beautiful to us. Don’t buy into the world’s lie which tells you that if you aren’t “the boss” than you are “oppressed”! God wants to use Christian women to be a light to the world, and He wants them to be separate from the world. What is strange is that I really don’t see many strong Christian women leading others into true Biblical holiness. Too many seem to be interested in keeping up with Cosmo and following every latest worldly thing while their family life is in shambles. Instead of being witnesses for Jesus, their neighbors see them as examples of what not to be like, with broken homes, unhappy husbands (or ex-husbands!) and disobedient worldly children. Ladies, this type of weak Christianity isn’t going to lead many people to the Lord. If the world sees you as contentious, angry, and always unhappy, they certainly aren’t going to want to be like you. If they see a woman who loves the Lord, is always joyful and rejoicing, and has a blameless family life, they may desire the hope that you have and not consider you one of those Christian hypocrites they have always heard about. As I said before, submitting yourself to your husband is far from easy. But it is interesting that the verse in Colossians just before the commandment to submit to your husband says “17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” When you put on the shield of faith in the Lord, and decide to follow Him, it will be much easier to obey your husband. It is a joy to know that the Lord is pleased with you. Many women are so afraid to give up control that they are willing to sacrifice their relationship with God, and in turn, their relationship to their husband. If you know that your home life is far from ideal, please get alone with the Lord today, and renew your relationship with Him. Make a commitment to submit yourself to your husband, and see if there isn’t a radical difference in you.
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DROPS OF CONTENTION (By Ebbye Faust)
DROPS OF CONTENTION (By Ebbye Faust) Proverbs 27:15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. There is nothing that will sap joy out of a marriage faster than contention. Though men are not free from this sin, women are well-known for it. Proverbs tells us that if you are a contentious woman, your husband will be much happier away from you than with you! Women have the unique ability to cause their homes to be places of refreshment and peace, or places of strife and contention. Regardless of your husbands personal sins, the Bible exhorts you to be full of the Spirit, peacemakers, obedient, kind and gentle. These attributes cannot coexist with a contentious spirit. What do I mean by the word contention? All women understand it well. It is the mean-spirited retort to a husband’s question. It is a refusal to do even the smallest task asked of you without some bitter comment. It is the many “punishments” you inflict him with when you refuse to talk to him, ignore him, and refuse eye contact when he goes against your will or has made you angry. Many women love to withhold the “marriage bed” to make him suffer for his wrongdoing. Contention is also the refusal to walk under his headship in obedience to him. A contentious woman always has a reason for why she doesn’t obey her husband, such as “it is unreasonable,” “I don’t want to” or “I will do what I want to do.” I see so many women who walk around with frowning, angry faces. We have all been around the type of woman that is never happy (maybe you fall into this category!), and is always complaining and bitter. Someone (usually her husband) is constantly doing her wrong, or hurting her feelings, or making her angry. She is always angry with someone for offending her. The Bible calls this contention also. When a woman gets like this, she needs to get back the joy of the Lord, and to begin to serve and love her husband and others as much as she serves and loves herself. She must choose not to be so easily offended with those around her, and walk in a spirit of forgiveness and kindness. I must admit that I feel sorry for Christian women today. We have the world against us, and unless we keep our hearts with all diligence (Prov.4:23) and do all that is within our power to separate from the world, we will be fighting a loosing battle. Society is painted with such a strong feminist influence, that a woman cannot go anywhere without her armor on. Even when going to the grocery store, she is going to have to fight the “Cosmo girl” image. And going to the mall is like walking into a nightmare. If she watches TV or movies I will dare say that she will not walk away unharmed. Let’s face it, the “entertainment” that is put out today is not trying to influence you to reverence your husband, or to be gentle and kind. What you will see is a sassy girl (without much in the way of clothes upon herself to insure she keeps the man’s interest) constantly shooting forth a quick and sarcastic remark that puts her man in his place, which is, having him always under her control. She is certainly not going to be sweet, gentle or meek. Her main goal in life is to please herself, and nobody is going to get in her way without severe punishment. There is no way in the world that I would allow my two daughters to be influenced by this type of woman! She is far from the Lord’s ideal of a godly woman. We must diligently search the Scriptures to find out how the Lord wants us to be. Most likely it will go against what we naturally would like to be, and it will certainly go against Hollywood! Modern women cannot stand to be told what to do. If her husband even tries to use his God-given authority to direct his home, immediately sparks of contention begin to fly. Many husbands are simply unwilling to deal with their wives when they get like this, so he becomes passive so as never to cross her will (many parents do the same thing; they know their children will have a fit if they tell them to do something, so they just let them do what they want). Others will roll up their sleeves and fight for their authority to be maintained in the home. Neither the husband or wife in either situation are happy or fulfilled. They become more and more miserable until they are often tempted to find an excuse to end the marriage. I have actually heard women say that they desired for their husbands to be more of a leader in their home, yet I would watch them when their husbands would finally muster up the courage to direct them. What would follow would be nothing short of insanity. The wife would refuse to be led. She just liked the idea of having a Biblical Christian home as a beautiful passing thought. It was not something she truly wanted to be put into practice – unless her husband learned to lead her in things that she wanted to do anyway (no self denial for her, thank you!). Christian women have to realize that we have been called out of the world to serve the Lord, not ourselves. We must seek to be holy, full of the Spirit, full of joy, and an encouragement to everyone around us! We must not be bitter, whining or self seeking. The fastest way to have a miserable discontented husband is to be a contentious wife. You are the only wife he has! He can only learn to live with it, stay away from you as much as possible, or fall into sin and seek to replace you. But the Lord wants us to repent of our contentions and commit ourselves to following Him in all things. This is the only way your marriage will be truly blessed!
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