Christian Family Services Ministry

10-18-2019 – A Word to the Wise – Human possessiveness is a misplaced sense of ownership. No one in any relationship owns another person. Husband denotes relation- ship, not ownership, wife denotes relationship not ownership, etc. mother brother, sister, friend.

The deepest yearning in every human being is for a “sense of belonging” but it must be fulfilled in God, if it is displaced to a person it brings many forms of unhappiness – one of which is feelings of being owned by another. This makes the happy marriage impossible because it cannot function in the manner God intended, “as one flesh”, a part of each other.

An example might aid in distinguishing  between ownership and being a part of. The arm functions as a part of us – but suppose we tied it behind us – none of the body could function normally. The human being is meant to function in many relationships but  if tied to only one relationship then none will function properly. It will cripple and eventually destroy all relationships.  Possessiveness is a part of jealousy, so now we see the meaning of Song of Solomon 8:6… “jealousy is cruel as the grave:…” and Proverbs 6:34…”jealousy is the rage of  men…” Why rage? Because he imagines he owns another – that something that is his  is being taken from him – when he should realize he is the taker of that which is not his. He has taken that which is God’s. The world denies its ownership by God.  Therefore it attempts to regain its loss by glamorizing the “belonging the possessiveness” of marriage, which in reality was never even suggested by God at all. God meant for a man and woman to function together in harmony as one. Just as the parts of our body function in harmony.

This is the mystery of the “one flesh”. It was to make vivid the harmony and cooperation to exist between them, the togetherness of  cooperation, not of ownership. We do not think of our arms and legs as belonging to  us: but as being a part of us. At this point one might wonder, is anything mine, and if so – what is it? Yes, there is something which is ours: the love, the kindness, consideration given by another to us. Not to own rather to treasure, to hold close to  our heart and warm with our love and our respect, this is ours.

Read Full Post »

10-16-2019 – A Word to the Wise – Suffering comes in many forms. Sometimes in the form of illness; cancer, heart trouble, or a variety of other illness. Perhaps it is in the form of mental illness; anxiety, panic attacks, addictions, or in the form of spiritual attack by the evil one with his demons. It may occur in battle, bullying, assault, even murder.

The prophet Jeremiah suffered at the hands of hostile, religious people. One may read in Jeremiah 38 how he is thrown into a miry pit by his enemies for speaking the truth. It is in this context that the following words are pinned:

He has made my teeth grind on gravel,

and made me cower in ashes;

my soul is bereft of peace;

I suspect at times many of us have known these feeling and the desperation which smother and rips apart the soul. Jeremiah goes on to say:

I have forgotten what happiness is;

so I say, “My endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the LORD.”

Yet, even in the midst of such suffering the next words ought to ring in our hearts

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

It is this idea of hope which must permeate our very soul. Hope in the Lord and His goodness. It is this hope which neutralizes the depression, the anger, fear, which so easily besets us.

If we do this, if we acknowledge the Lord’s goodness then in the words of the prophet:

The LORD is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3 (ESV)

Few scriptures so eloquently encourage the down trodden and bring peace to the soul.

Read Full Post »

10-12-2019 – A Word to the Wise – When is the last time you gave consideration to what the Lord has done for you? Do you think the Lord was impressed by what came to your mind? Or would He be surprised at how little came to mind? See that is the problem, not only do we forget all that He does do, we lose track of when it was, how important his intervention became and more important what the outcome would be without His intervention.

One cure for this problem is to keep a running list which we write down and carry with us. Sort of like a picture we carry with us to remind us of a loved one. He is a loved one is He not?

Read Full Post »

10-2-2019 – A Word to the Wise – Often we find things to complain about; the weather, food, leaders, followers, black, white, yellow, government, male, female. The list of complaints goes on endlessly. We do it almost unconsciously, yea even habitually. I suspect that grumbling is a habit just as bad as heroin, meth, cigarettes, anxiety, or sleep apnea.

The Bible calls this problem by several terms: grumbling, complaining, malice, slander. I like how Moses refers to it simply: “And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes”. (RSV)

It seems to me the more we have the more we complain, and the less we have the more gratitude we experience. This is true of Israel in Moses day, and just as relevant in our day. Scripture, old or new condemns such practices. Whether it’s Moses in Numbers 11:1, or Jesus brother, James, in James 4:11, or even the one chapter of Jude, verse 16.

The only way I know to turn aside this trash talk is to praise perhaps the Eternal Father, Christ Jesus, perhaps the Holy Spirit, and even on occasion our fellow man. Expressions of praise and gratitude ought to pass our lips daily, hourly, and even perhaps minute by minute.

Read Full Post »