Storms Will Come

To followers of Christ and to those who don't,  "happily ever after" will never happen in this world.  Believing and obeying Christ will bring blessings, but there will also still be pain and hardships as "His will be done."  Case in point.....Paul, author of much of the New Testament.

After his miraculous conversion in Damascus, Paul did not get the girl, run a successful tent-making business, and raise kids that came every Sunday after church for family dinner.  Throughout Acts, Paul finds himself traveling the Roman empire sharing the news of Jesus primarily to gentiles, being pursued and persecuted primarily by his fellow Jews, and spending a great deal of time chained up in prisons.  These were difficult, but very ordinary (non-miraculous) circumstances that God used to spread His unstoppable gospel message.

In Acts 25-26, Paul was arrested for telling Jews about Jesus, accused by the Pharisees (of which Paul once was) of blasphemy, and spared execution since the Roman leadership found that he had committed nothing deserving death.  Paul would have been freed by the Romans if he had not demanded a trial before Caesar for which he was entitled since he was a Roman citizen.  Acts 26: 31-32 And when they had gone out, they began talking to one another saying, "This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment.  And (King) Agrippa said to (Governor) Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

God had told Paul after his initial beating and arrest that he would be needed in Rome to testify to the truth.  Acts 23:11 But on the following night, the Lord stood near him and said, "Be courageous!  For as you have testified to the truth about Me in Jerusalem so you must testify in Rome also."  Using his "Roman citizen" card was Paul's way to get to Rome!  God is sovereign, but man is responsible for putting His plan in action.

Acts 27-28 details the horrendous ship ride/ship wreck.  As my Bible Study Fellowship study of Acts  points out, there were four anchors, all starting with "P" that saved Paul and the crew, and got Paul to Rome.

1.  God was present in the storm.  After setting sail for Rome, the storms swooped in, much cargo was thrown overboard, and God spoke to Paul.  Acts 27:21-25 When many had lost their appetites, Paul then stood among them and said, "Men, you should have followed my advise and not have set sail from Crete, and thereby spared yourselves this damage and loss  And yet now I urge you to keep up with courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.  For this very night an angel of God to whom I belong, whom I also serve came to me, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has graciously granted you all those who are sailing with you.' Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island."  God may not speak directly to us as we go through our storms, but we have access to His Holy Word, which assures us that....

2.  We are God's possession.  Believers belong to God, and He will guide and protect us through our storm filled human lives.  The price was very high, the blood of Jesus, but believers are bought, paid for, and will always belong to God.  It says so right in Acts 27:23 and is worth repeating....For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I serve, came to me.

3.  God keeps all of His promises.  As God promised, the ship did eventually ran aground and broke apart, and all 276 people on board did survive. God uses His beloved human possessions to fulfill His promises in ordinary human ways so that His gospel news spreads.  Paul's responsibility was to do his part and make this happen as Luke, who was one of the 276 reports.  Acts 27:27-32  But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land.  And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms.  Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.  But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship's (life) boat into the sea, on the pretense that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers "Unless these men remain on the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved."  Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it fall away.

Paul didn't get angry with the buffoons trying to jump ship, but continued on with ordinary human encouragement needed to fulfill God's promise.  Acts 27:33-36  Until the day was about to dawn, Paul kept encouraging them all to take some food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken in nothing.  Therefore, I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your survival, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish  Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, and he broke it and began to eat.

The centurion who was in charge of prisoner Paul also did his human part to fulfill God's promise, perhaps unknowingly.  Acts 27:41-44  But they struck a reef where two seas met and ran the ship aground; and the prow struck firmly and remained immovable, while the stern started to break up due to the force of the waves.  The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from accomplishing their intention, and commanded that those who could swim were to jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest were to follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship.  And so it happened that they all were brough safely to land.

4. God has a purpose for all of our storms.  But it is so hard to understand why we must suffer!  Why not just calm the seas for Paul and crew to have a smooth ride to Rome, God?  God strengthened Paul's faith by upholding his promise that all would be saved.  And although a number is not provided, it is not hard to fathom that some of the 274 survivors (Luke was already a believer) came to believe in Paul's God. The way the centurion behaved indicates a convert!  This would not have happened in a "smooth sail".

Paul's misfortunes that God uses for His purpose continues in Acts. 28.  Acts 28:1-6  When they had been brought safely through then we found out that the island was called Malta.  The natives showed us extraordinary kindness, for they kindled a fire and took us all in because of the rain that had started and because of the cold.  But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand  When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, "Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live."  However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.  Now they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly fall down dead  But after they had waited a long time and seen nothing unusual happen to him they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

Paul remained on Malta for three months, healing people both physically and spiritually.  Acts 28:7-10  Now in the neighboring parts of that place were land belonging to the leading man of the island named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us warmly for three days.  And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with a recurring fever and dysentery  Paul went in to see him and after he prayed he laid his hands on him and healed him.  After this happened the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being cured,  They also showed us many honors and when we were about to set sail they supplied us with everything we needed.  

Human Paul offered ordinary prayer, God used him to heal miraculously, and Paul made it the rest of the way to Rome without further duress.

God so Loves His Men and Women

Nothing sparks a biblical debate like "the role of women."  Here are a few things I found helpful in this discussion.  Short answer - God made us all different to accomplish His plan.  Some of us are men, some women, some bankers, some dieticians.  If we all recognize our God given talents and responsibilities, God is glorified, and life's blessings are more prevalent and recognizable. 

 In regards to marriage and children, one person can not usually take care of the house, the children, and the income source without there being some stress.  Division of labor issues can be beautifully resolved if the overarch is spouses loving each other like Christ loves them - with compassion, mercy, forgiveness, respect and selflessness.

1.  Helpers are required to make things work perfectly.

In the opening chapters of the bible God distinguished between His plan for man and His plan for woman. Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make him a helper."  In the Hebrew text, "helper" is "ezer".  We see this same word used in Psalms to describe God himself.  Psalms 115: 9-11  Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help (ezer) and their shield.  House of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help (ezer) and their shield.  You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help (ezer) and their shield.  God as our Helper certainly does not mean we are over God, but that we are dependent on Him for helping us succeed.  The same role of "helper" applies in the Genesis text regarding women.  The only thing God declared as "not good" was the man being alone.  To be "good", man would need a woman to help him succeed in accomplishing God's work.

2.  Jesus was without prejudice and elevated the status of women.

Young Mary was the first human entrusted with the news that Jews had been waiting to hear for thousands of years. The long-awaited Messiah was on the way!  Luke 1:30-33  And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

Over these same thousands of years, men treated women as second class citizens. But Jesus loved every human being regardless of race, occupation or gender.  John 11:5  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 

As part of God's perfect plan, a group of women were the first humans to learn of Jesus' resurrection.  Luke 24:4-7  While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in gleaming clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?  He is not here, He has risen.  Normally the presence of a woman was not even worth noting, but not so when it comes to Jesus.  Luke 24:10  Now these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

The disciples did not learn the value of women from their culture, but from Jesus who treated women with the same love and respect He treated men.   Jesus valued female companionship, prayers, service, financial resources, testimony and witness.  He listened to women, while also teaching and ministering to their needs.  This mindset flowed down to all believers as Paul reminds us in Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

3.  Husbands and wives do have different, equally important family roles  

No doubt, God loves males and females equally, but scripture assigns different roles to each so that God's work is done.  The husband is to be the family leader.  1 Corinthians 11:3  But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.  So many trigger words, but lets be clear about what this is and is not saying.  

We are all to obey God first.  Men are to follow God, always striving to be more like Jesus .  If this is not happening and a man is living according to the world, not scripture, the rest of the verse is negated.  By following a husband who is following God, a woman is also following God.  And a woman is to know scripture herself so that she recognizes a Godly man.  

A husband's leadership should NOT be superior, domineering or patronizing, because that is not how God leads us.  As is often read at Christian weddings and pertains to both the bride and the groom, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7  Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.  It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Here is where the problems begin.....Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.  But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. This does not mean, wife, bow down to your husband as if he is a king every time he walks in the door.  Read the very next verse.  Ephesians 5:25 Husband, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.  Christ loved the church with grace, mercy, forgiveness and respect.  Husbands are to cherish their wives and put them first, just like Christ put us all first as he headed to the cross.

How loving and harmonious would our families be if we lived out Colossians 3:18-21?  Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.  Husbands, love your wives and do not become bitter against them.  Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.  Fathers, do not antagonize your children, so that they will not become discouraged.  The key to this all is "fitting to the Lord" and "pleasing to the Lord".  If any family member is not living in accordance with Christ, all are impacted, always in a negative way.

So who should stay home with the kids?  I remember my daughter saying that "mom is the boss" because she saw me making all of the daily decisions as I was around the most while dad was at work.  What would be the problem if the roles were reversed and dad stayed home and was the obvious leader of the family?  

Lets go to the bible.  Proverbs 31 is an entire chapter describing a worthy woman.  Proverbs 31: 15-16  And she rises while it is still night and gives food to her household, and portions to her attendants.  She considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.  An industrious woman is worthy both at home and making a living in the world.  Then there is Titus 2:3-5  Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.  Bottom line, while it may not be necessary to be strictly a stay-at-home mom, God does place a priority on a woman overseeing her household.

4.  Men "leading" and women "helping" roles are required only for marriage and church leadership.

The two most important things to Jesus here on Earth are His church and our families in that order (see 10 commandments).  This is why He made very clear in the bible that men were to lead both, and women were to nurture both so that both the Church and its families could thrive.  Our jobs, our health, our homeland etc. are also important and should have out attention, but God and family come first.

We have gone over women's family responsibilities.  The only roles women cannot fill in the church are ones that involve teaching or exercising authority over men.  1 Timothy 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.  This is not because our men say so, but because our God, through Paul, says so, and both men and women need to listen to our God.  Women can be worship leaders, youth ministers, children's choir directors, any role that does not exercise authority over man.  

How many eyes are rolling?  Mine have!  At my Presbyterian church in NJ (which allowed female elders by the way) I coordinated our "new member" class.  We always asked people to provide their testimonies if they felt comfortable doing so.  One man tearfully shared that he had his "come to faith" moment listening to the leader in his bible study class.  This leader was our associate pastor - A FEMALE!  I will never say that this is not biblical or wrong as it glorifies God!  God will use what is available to accomplish His Kingdom work.  And in this case you had an open heart listening to a faith filled expert in the bible and the Holy Spirit entered in.

In Acts 18 we learn about Apollos, an educated Jew who knew the Old Testament.  He also believed in Jesus, but knew only about repentance from the baptism of John, and taught nothing about the Holy Spirit and salvation.  Acts 18:26  But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him (Apollos), they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him. It is in the bible - God used Priscilla and her husband Aquila to teach a man!  Another instance where God sees an opportunity for a faith-filled woman to introduce the Holy Spirit.

There are no biblical leadership limits for the rest of life!  Ladies be encouraged to lead companies, run for office, open businesses etc.  Just run it like Jesus would!

5.  What men and women tend to value tracks with God's biblical outline.

For years studies have shown that overall, women feel love when they are cherished - cared for, treated tenderly, listened to, and protected.  And men feel love when they are respected - admired, having opinions that are sought and valued, and followed as leaders.  Of course women also want to be respected, and men also want to be cherished, but in general, genders do value each characteristic differently.  

These preferences support God's design and plan for us.  Father's guide children on how to live respectfully in God's eyes.  And mom's mentor children on how to show mercy and grace.  Proverbs 1:8-9  Listen, my son, to your father's instruction, And do not ignore your mother's teaching: For they are a graceful wreath for your head and necklaces for your neck.  Respect and love should be taught by both parents.  But the different genders seem to have different God given expertise.

Men typically would rather admit "you were right" versus confessing "I am wrong."  Remember the Fonz on "Happy Days"?  He was "wwww...rrrrrr....ong" when he made a mistake as it was so hard for him to spit it out!  You can understand tensions in relationships, since women would rather hear "I am sorry", versus "You are right."  "I am sorry" shows mercy.  "You are right" shows respect.

Bottom line....we are all to live our life glorifying God and the blessings will be countless when we do so.  To avoid a chaotic home, income is needed to provide resources, children need to be cared for, and a house needs to be maintained.  God outlined His plan in Scripture, and designed mankind/womankind to help avoid this chaos. Most single parents will tell you doing this all on your own is overwhelming.  

Many God loving/God fearing husband/wife teams struggle maintaining a balanced home when evils of the world take over - health, loss of job, extra marital affairs.  A husband and wife team, loving and following God in an imperfect world, is the best match to lead a family to glorify God.  When reading scripture, we are provided the recipe for how to glorify God.  How we cut the cookies will vary, but as long as we stick to the recipe, they will be delicious.