Obedience

Ephesians 6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

What does obey mean? Why should we? For how long? Why is this right in the sight of God? Is this a guideline, or command? What happens if we don’t?

The word ‘obey’ is not passive, it requires action. Obey (verb) means to carry out, comply with, submit to, be ruled by, or serve. Jesus showed us perfect obedience while on earth, to his earthly parents, and to God the Father by dying on the cross.

John 2:1-5  On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  (2)  Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  (3)  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."  (4)  And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come."  (5)  His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

He then goes on to comply with his mother’s request. Now why did Jesus obey Mary here? His time had not yet come, as he said, so he had a legitimate reason not to do so.

Colossians 3:20  Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

The question really isn’t, “Will you obey you parents” But, “Will you obey your parents, for God’s sake?” For it pleases the Lord! That is why Jesus obeyed. Jesus did not obey Mary with just eye-service, He obeyed completely. Jesus is our example in all things. His entire life  was an act of obedience towards God the Father!

Now, back to Ephesians 6:1. The first word in this verse, is children. When the Bible refers to children, it means those who under the authority, and care, financially, of their parents. But when are you not a child?

Genesis 2:24  Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

We see here, that when you leave your parents, when you are no longer under the care of your parents, that you are no longer a child. So once you are an adult, your parents no longer have the authority over you that they once had. You no longer have to obey, because you are your own family now. BUT, that does not mean you can dishonor your parents!

Exodus 20:12  "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

1Timothy 5:4  But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

We see in these verses, that there is no age limit for when we can stop honoring our parents.

God was so serious about honoring and obeying parents, that in the Old Testament the children who disobeyed, and were dishonoring, were put to death in order to keep the other children from doing the same.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21  "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them,  (19)  then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,  (20)  and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.'  (21)  Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Leviticus 20:9  For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.

Exodus 21:17  "Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

So please, it is a command from God! Obey your parents!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Gossip

This is an article from our new author for the blog, Savannah Brenyo. Her internet isn't working right now, so I'm posting it for her. As soon as she can she will post an introduction for herself. Here's her post:


"Gossip hurts. It hurts you, it hurts others, and it grieves our Lord. When we talk to one another our conversations must be edifying; Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable if there is any excellence, anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Our words reflect what we think about. 
   When someone in your circle of friends starts to gossip you need to tell them to stop, and if they don't, you need to leave. Never approve or allow gossip in your hearing. Romans 1:29-32 says, "They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know Gods decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." "They are gossips" is put in with "full of murder" and "haters of God." It's a really big deal. We can't become complacent. We can't be okay when someone starts to say things about someone else that is unprofitable. Giving approval of someone else doing it is just as bad as doing it yourself. Gossip happens before you know it and I have found myself hurt and hurting because of it. We have to guard our words, we have to guard our mouths, and we have to guard our hearts. I have hurt friends of mine and it grieves me to a point of tears. I never want to do it again and I pray that God would help me to watch what I say. 
    No person is perfect, but as Christian teens, we need to be striving after being like the One who is. We are Christ's, and because we are His we must crush the sin in our lives. In all areas. Gossip breaks the bond of unity between brethren in the church. That is horrible. We are the Bride of Christ! We should never ever break the bonds of unity to spread just one "juicy tidbit." What can you do to spur your friends away from gossip? Stand tall for Jesus. It may mean, in fact it probably will mean, standing alone. But with Him at our side, "though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, though war arise against me, yet I will be confident." (Psalm 27:3) Standing up to gossip is conquering sin. Let us use our words to heal and to help, not to hurt."

The Necessity of Witnessing

Witnessing to others of Christ’s Gospel has always been a foundational element of Christianity; Jesus’ last words of His ministry on earth were “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). This was Jesus’ final mission to His eleven remaining disciples, and they passed it on to each new convert they brought to Christ. This mission is still the same throughout the millennia, and is why it is so necessary for Christians to regularly witness and share their faith in Jesus Christ with others.

Paul writes in Romans 1:16a, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” He wasn’t kidding; Paul risked his life preaching the Gospel he loved on a daily basis in cities hostile to God’s Word, both Jewish and Gentile. He made three missionary journeys, all the while writing most of the New Testament. He was imprisoned many times, appealed to Caesar for judgement on his “crimes” (Acts 25:10), stoned in Damascus (Acts 9:23-25), and eventually suffered martyrdom in Rome in A.D. 65. Paul saw this mission as serious, worthy of sacrificing his very life for. Can we say we do the same?

Although this responsibility falls on all Christians, most of the responsibility falls on parents of Christian families. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old we will not depart from it.” Parents, are you leading your children, not only in family devotions and sitting in church on Sunday, but out onto the streets of your hometown, sharing with others the hope that is within you? Are you training up your children to be godly warriors, with the knowledge of God’s Word and experience of evangelism, to fight back against ungodly influences ravaging the world?

Every one of Christ’s apostles except John sacrificed everything they had, including themselves, to further His Good News. Presumably near the end of his life, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Think about your day-to-day life, brethren. If you had 10 minutes to live, would you be able to say as Paul said, “I have fought the good fight”? Will you be able to say “I have finished the race”? The walk isn’t meant to be easy; Paul uses the analogies of a “good fight” and “race” for a good reason. The apostles and early Christians lived in a time when sharing your faith was illegal and deserving of death; today, such blessings as first-amendment rights of free speech and assembly protect us. Let us not waste such an opportunity as this. Love the lost enough that you would be willing to stand up and preach in their face the cure for their disease, even when they don’t want to hear it.