(Thanks for Perry Noble for the heads up on this one)

Enjoy!

Mike

As I read this letter over and over I kept thinking of men.  Jesus told the church he was proud of their love, their faith, the good stuff they do, and even how they patiently endure the tough stuff life was throwing at them.  Then He hit right between the eyes.  Jesus told them that in spite of all the good stuff, He was troubled by. . .literally, “held it against them”. . .their willingness to accept and follow a false prophetess.  Jesus called this woman “Jezebel.”  Don’t know if that was her real name or a reference to one of the most vile and immoral queens Israel had ever had.  Doesn’t really matter much, either way they got the point.  She was teaching and they were following her down the road of sexual immorality.

So how does this relate to guys, me included?  We trust God, love others, do great things – even in the name of God – and patiently endure the hardships of marriage, rebellious children, layoffs, pay cuts, addictions, and a whole mess of stuff.  Yet, we give in to Satan’s lies about lust, pornography, sexual immorality, adultery, and all kinds of sexual sins.  I’ll be the first to admit that it’s tough being a godly man in today’s world.  But how can we ever be the church – God’s church – when men won’t deal with these ongoing sins?

Listen guys, we have to get over our shame, our guilt, and our pride if we ever hope to face up to these problems in our lives.  They’re real and they are tearing down our lives, our marriages, our families, our communities and having an incredibly negative impact on Jesus’ bride – the church.

Let’s start talking about these struggles.  Let’s begin encouraging and helping one another.  Let’s begin praying for one another.  Your wives deserve it!  Your children deserve it!  Your God deserves it!

Let’s stop being the church at Thyatira.  Let’s stop believing Satan’s lies.  Let’s be the men God designed and desires us to be!

Mike

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” – v. 25

Did you get that? While Jesus was addressing the Pharisees’ accusation that He was casting out demons by the power of Satan, he was also giving us a good word – our families need to be united! They need to be together, going in the same direction. Everyone needs to be working from the same play book. Use whatever metaphor you like, the meaning is the same.

Don’t take this lightly. As I read this verse, my pastor’s words came to mind – “Men, get our house in order.” There needs to be NO divisiveness.

Realistically, guys, you aren’t going to see eye-to-eye with your wives on everything. And that’s OK. . .we’re different. And aren’t you glad we are? But guys, we have to be the leaders of our families. We have to set the tone. . .the expectations. . .the standards for our families. That’s our God appointed assignment. That’s what leaders do. And you are the God appointed leader of your family.

Don’t think divisiveness doesn’t cause problems in the family? Check out Isaac and Rebekah. Here was a family of deceivers who became divisive – eventually they came together – but their deception carried on for generations.

Jesus was right. A household divided against itself cannot stand. Men. . .leaders. . .unite your families. Set the standard. Take responsibility and step up. I promise, you won’t be sorry.

Mike