Faith Archive

Doug Rea is the Pastor at Connections in Albany, GA.

That said – let’s get to the one word everyone is waiting for. Men are hoping that I not only say it but emphasize it as well. Women, you’re almost daring me to use the “S” word so you can say, “I KNEW IT! He’s just another chauvinist.” Well, ladies, you are correct – I am going to say submit. But men – you may not love me at all when I get to that word.

Ultimately, it is the role of the wife to demonstrate, in a visible form, the submissive relationship that Christ’s Bride is to have toward Him. It is a choice of her will. Genesis 2:20 teaches us that the woman is to help the man. This can’t be done by pointing out faults or nagging.  Men need to be respected. See Ephesians 5:33. Men are belittled at every sigh, role of the eyes, and smirk. Only by submitting and respecting can the woman help her mate.

No one, including the Apostle Paul who penned the words in Ephesians 5:22, is suggesting that the woman is the lesser partner of the relationship. Just as Jesus was equal with The Father – yet plays a different role, the woman is equal with man but serves a different role. The word “submit” carries the idea of, “placing oneself under another.” It’s a choice.

Submitting would be much easier if your husband loved you as Christ loved His Church…right ladies? If he was the essence of love and of Godliness you would have no trouble submitting and respecting? Imagine your guy always looking for ways to improve his relationship with The Lord. What if he was great with the children and took pleasure in doing his share of the house work. Are flowers and Hallmark cards are a norm for you? If he worked hard, took you traveling (and not just to Ryan’s and the woods), never lost his temper, and preferred snuggling over sex…you’d likely submit.

Sadly, most of us are not “that” guy. Non-the-less it is the role of the wife to submit to the husband. He is the head. Just as the role of the husband is not conditional upon what the wife does or is doing, the wife too is answerable to God for her role in the relationship. No one is suggesting that she allows the husband to drag her off into sin. Nor are you to stand idle if there is a form of abuse in the home. For these things I suggest you get GODLY counsel and get it fast.

The man is the one that God is looking to for leadership in the home. You wives need only to concern yourself with your relationship with Christ and not the husband’s relationship with The Lord.

Relax, grab yourself a latte, and think about it.

“The Role of the Husband” and “Marriage is Heaven on Earth” can be found at www.Douglasrea.com.

Doug Rea is the Pastor at Connections in Albany, GA.

MEN – What if I could give you one word that would prove to your wife that you are completely and unapologetically in love with her…that would resolve every argument between husband and wife…and show the world how loving, kind, and compassionate our Savior is toward us…would that interest you?.

This week’s edition of, “With Your Latte” is a follow-up to an earlier column titled, “Marriage is Heaven on earth.” You can read it at www.DouglasRea.com

MY THESES: It is the role of the husband to demonstrate the unwavering, and sacrificial love that Christ has toward us, His Bride.

The bible states that the, “Husbands (are to), love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27 (see also Revelation 19:7-9 about “the bride”) The ONE WORD I promised you truly represents the manner in which Christ loved His wife?  The word is “DIE” and that’s exactly what Jesus did. Read on before you jump to conclusions.

Jesus ever complained when she, His Bride, was beating him. This woman He came to save insulted Him and pulled out his beard. She whipped him and pressed thorns into His head. When He was at His most vulnerable hour in the Garden – she slept. Later His wife denied ever knowing Him. The Husband Jesus was a lamb before the slaughter for us – His Bride. We punched and smacked Him. Upon His face we spit. And to top of it all off, we, His Bride, nailed Him to a cross and mocked Him until He died.

What has your wife done to you? Abandon you in some way? In His greatest time if need, while hanging on the cross for His bride, she ran out on Him; denying that she even knew him. Cheated on you? Jesus wife was a harlot as well – and often remains so. Hosea illustrated this point well. When we learn to die (sacrificially lay down our lives for our bride), to our own needs, rights, and privileges, both she and the world will see just how much Christ loves us.  It’s a high calling indeed.

The entire life of Jesus was one of sacrifice. He had no aspirations other than the security of you and I – “the bride.” Hunting, fishing, and business came in a distant second to His bride – the church. All personal needs and plans were laid down so that we This Husband of ours, Jesus, will never stop loving us and pursuing a deeper and more intimate love relationship us. It was a choice that he made and it’s not based on our performance.  That’s the picture of a husband by Heaven’s standards. We may never be called to give up our physical being as He was, but  we will  be challenged mentally and emotionally to die – to lay down our life for our bride.

Doug Rea is the Pastor at Connections in Albany, GA. 

My thesis: I believe that “Heaven on Earth” was and is exactly what God intends for marriage. Moreover, I think that the family is a perfect picture of the Godhead and the relationship between man and God.  So for the next few weeks, in 500 words or less, I will attempt to share why and what I believe…so let’s begin.

Heaven colonizes earth: 

This incredible God of the universe shares His love outside of himself in the form of a man. Man, made in the very image of God, is placed in a perfect environment to live forever, to be healthy, and to have all of his needs met. Indeed all was in harmony and unity. .  Adam was everything God desired and vice-versa. Sounds like a perfect relationship

I was always taught that Adam was “incomplete” so God made him a helper.   Now I am more inclined to believe that from God’s vantage point, being alone was not good for Adam. Plus, reproduction was something that Adam may have desired.  Hence He gave him the woman.  I take the position that Adam was in fact complete.  He was the manifestation of God on Earth. That was until God took part of Adam from him. Now what was once a complete being was multiplied into two…”Man + Woman = One.”   Adam was now only a part of his former self without Eve. The woman now carried a part of what was formally Adam. Therefore, left alone, she too was incomplete.

Adam recognized this fact as he awoke. While Adam was in post-op, he took one look at woman and referred to her as (Gen 2:23) “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.”  And where did he get this new divine revelation? I am speculating here but I think to Adam it was obvious.   Eve was like looking into a mirror. Some versions of the bible refer to Eve as a “suitable helper.” Look those to words up in your Hebrew study source. You will find that ”a mirror” was exactly what woman was. (see Gen 2:18)

If I may be so assertive….There is something we need to address here. Note that this wedding is between one man and one woman? I know in our progressive society this concept is old fashioned at best. I submit that marriage is old and it was in fact fashioned by the Creator to demonstrate what Heaven looks like.

The purpose of the family is to give the world visible understanding of the relationship between God and man. More specifically, marriage is to demonstrate the relations between Jesus and His Bride. Just as Father, Son, and Spirit are One, the concept a marriage and family should reflect a mutual love, and equality.  Next Time – “The Role of the Husband”

Doug Rea is the Pastor at Connections in Albany, GA.

Society has become a restless.  Computers and smart phones have given us the world at the click of an icon.  Consequentially, we find ourselves urgently needing to  return every text, to be notified as news breaks, and to update our every move for the world to see.

Indeed, the very technology that should be simplifying our lives has caused us to have a new level of impatience. But restlessness is not limited to the use of electronic devices. Family dinners have been replaced by drive-through meals. On a larger scale, many of us are wondering, “who can best lead our country in 2013 and beyond.”  There is war and civil uprising almost everywhere in the world.  For many, a steady sleep schedule is a myth.

We sit with family and friends…and if we do we dare not unplug ourselves from our electronics long enough to invest into the lives of one another.  For me it’s my phone. I know many people in the Christian community that although they are certainly a believer in Jesus Christ, they find themselves trying to keep up with everything they feel their family, job, church, and their God is expecting of them.

So how do we find rest in such a restless word?  In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at

heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden

I give you is light.”

The yoke mentioned is not the animal harness that was used in the by-gone days of farming.  The “yoke” that Jesus was referring to was a student-teacher relationship that was common in the first century. In this mentoring bond, the student would leave his family for many years to study under an expert teacher of the Old Testament.  Aside from the scripture that the student was made to memorize, the teacher would instruct his disciple in the customs of The Jewish people as well as impart to him a working knowledge of Israel’s history.

Jesus’ statement was one of comparison.  We see this not only in the context of the scripture from Matthew 11 but in other sayings of Jesus that these teachers placed many undue burdens on the people of God, (Matthew 23:2-4).  By offering His yoke, Jesus was inviting them, and us, to allow Him to be a mentor and to learn of His ways. Under His loving care, we would find that His yoke was easy and light.  When Jesus used the term “easy to bear,” He  means that the life He gives “fits properly” or is “good, mild, and pleasant”.  Rest in a restless world comes from learning His ways and doing them.