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Around the Web (5/10)

May 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

CHEAP eBook Deals of the Day: A Mom After God’s Own Heart (Elizabeth George) – $1.99 (86% off); Disciplines of a Godly Woman (Barbara Hughes) – $4.99 (69% off); Through His Eyes: God’s Perspective on Women in the Bible (Jerram Barrs) – $5.99 (73% off).
Roger Shouse has been drawing some great analogies and applications from weddings these week.
Rhodes Davis puts Jeremiah 29:11—an often misapplied verse of Scripture—back into its proper context.
Ethan Longhenry takes a balanced look at the ever-present danger of “soft” preaching.
Gary Henry reminds us, “Every path leads somewhere. Every action in which we engage — indeed, every thought that we think — takes us one step further down a road that leads to some destination.”

It’s Valentine’s Day, guys. Whether you and your wife exchange gifts or not, could I encourage you to think about three of the most meaningful gifts you could possibly give your wife?

Your eyes. Remember Job’s resolution in Job 31:1?

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”

A dozen roses on Valentine’s Day is nice. But do you know what means more to your wife than roses? Trust. Trust that you won’t use your God-given eyes to embezzle what doesn’t belong to you. Blessed is the wife who trusts that her husband’s gaze is captivated first by God, then by her.

Your body. Remember Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 7:3-4?

The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Chocolate-covered strawberries on Valentine’s Day are sweet. But do you know what means more to your wife than chocolate? Confidence. Confidence that you will use your body in a way that glorifies God and honors her. Blessed is the wife who confidently knows that her husband’s body belongs first to God, then to her.

Your heart. Remember Jesus’ warning in Matthew 5:28?

“I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Diamonds on Valentine’s Day are breathtaking. But do you know what means more to your wife than diamonds? Faith in you. Faith that your heart has been fortified and is being guarded every day, everywhere against sexual temptation. Blessed is the wife who believes because she has been shown that her husband’s heart belongs first to the Lord, then to her.

By all means, let’s make our wives feel special today. But let’s remember that marriage is about so much more than roses, chocolates and diamonds. It’s about trust, confidence and faith in each other. Wound her heart on those fronts, and there aren’t enough roses or chocolates or diamonds in the world to remove the scars that are left.

If you want your wife to exclaim, “My beloved is mine, and I am his” (Song of Solomon 2:16), make it clear by your daily conduct that your eyes, your body and your heart belong first to God, then to her and her alone among the women of this world.

Why Can't We Walk Straight?

December 13, 2010 — 1 Comment

Try this: Put a blindfold on someone, take them to a park or a beach or a meadow and ask them to walk for as long as they can in a straight line. Then watch what happens:

So why, when blindfolded, can’t we walk straight? NPR reports on a variety of experiments conducted over the last 80 years, exploring this human tendency to walk in circles. The report also references a recent study by Jan Souman, a research scientist in Germany, who ran similar experiments in Bienwald Forest…without blindfolds. As the subjects walked, Jan mapped where they went. Here’s a sample of his results.

The two red dots mark the start of several walks. He ran these experiments over a series of several days. His conclusion? Even without blindfolds, humans tend to walk in circles, depending on the weather. When the sky was cloudy and visibility low (blue lines), the walkers (labeled KS, PS and RF) were unable to stay straight and began to turn. When it was sunny (yellow line), the walker (labeled SM) was able to keep a steady and rather lengthy straight line. His conclusion?

Humans, apparently, slip into circles when we can’t see an external focal point, like a mountain top, a sun, a moon. Without a corrective, our insides take over and there’s something inside us that won’t stay straight.

You can read much more about the experiments here. But could I suggest to you that there is a simple spiritual application here as well? We all slip into selfish, sinful circles when we don’t focus on an external point beyond ourselves. Without a divine reference point, our carnal insides take over and there’s something inside us that won’t stay straight.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2, NASB)

Do you want to avoid walking in self-destructive, sinful circles? Focus your gaze on the Son.

In Discipleship blindfold, Christ, circles, eyes, focal point, focus, Hebrews 12, Jesus, NPR, son, walk

"O Be Careful, Little Eyes"

December 29, 2008 — Leave a comment

Take a moment to listen to Job’s words in Job 31:1:

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”

Guys, the odds are overwhelming that at some point today you’ll be presented with the opportunity to “gaze” at a woman to whom you have no rights. Why not start the day out by following Job’s admirable example of integrity? Make up your mind right now:

“I will not allow sinful thoughts to fester in my mind as a result of the inappropriate use of my eyes. I’ve made a covenant, and I plan to stick to it all day long.”

Do that, and at the end of the day, you will not be ashamed.

In Blog eyes, IMAGE, integrity, Job, lust, Men, sexual immorality

"O Be Careful, Little Eyes"

March 31, 2008 — Leave a comment

Cover Your Eyes Take a moment to listen to Job’s words in Job 31:1-4.

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high? Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity? Does not he see my ways and number all my steps?”

While the lessons we can learn from Job’s integrity are in many ways universal, today’s thought is specifically aimed at men.

Guys, the odds are overwhelming that at some point today you will be presented with the opportunity to “gaze” at a woman to whom you have no rights. Why not start the day out by following Job’s admirable example? Make up your mind right now:

“I will not allow sinful thoughts to fester as a result of the inappropriate use of my eyes. I’ve made a covenant, and I plan to stick to it all day long.”

Do that, and at the end of the day, you will not be ashamed.

In Bible, Men Bible, covenant, eyes, Job, lust, Men, pornography, sexual immorality

Archives For eyes

Around the Web (5/10)

The Most Meaningful Gifts a Husband Can Give His Wife

Why Can't We Walk Straight?

"O Be Careful, Little Eyes"

"O Be Careful, Little Eyes"