Titus 2 Men And Women

Stand
by Denise Lower

I would like to add a disclaimer before you read this.  I am in NO way advising that a woman stay with a man who is physically abusing her or her children. As a former Victim Advocate for the judiciary system, and a charter member of a Domestic Violence Task Force, I have seen and counseled many women in violent situations.  If there is physical abuse, my advice to MOST women is to seek safe shelter until the violence issues can be dealt with both individually and together.  Husbands are to reflect God's character to their families.  I do not read in the Bible where God wants us to see Him as abusive.

(Taken from a journal entry of Feb. 6^th, 2001)

The Bible says in Eph. 6:13b........."and having done ALL, to STAND" (emphasis mine).

 Webster’s New World Dictionary defines to STAND as: to remain unchanged, to make resistance.

 Well, it is 5:00am Tuesday morning, and God has had me up since 4:00am thinking about the things that have occurred in my marriage the past few weeks. I also have been burdened about another marriage that I know is having troubles, but to which the wife has responded in much the same way I have. A mutual friend made a comment about both of us just yesterday. She said, "I don’t know how you both do it, you both are so strong"

Are we strong or are we crazy? I know some people think we are crazy. I believe we are acting on a principal found in this scripture (Eph. 6:13b), "and having done all, to STAND". I must confess, I have NOT done a good job remaining unchanged, but I certainly have made resistance to that slimy beast, Satan. When my human flesh has grown tired of the battle, I must look at the requirements listed in an entire set of scriptures found in Eph 5:1 through Eph. 6:24. I must put on the WHOLE armour of God. I must have my loins girded with the truth..  Do I read my Bible often enough to be CLOTHED (girded) in truth? Do I go to church often enough to get fed Gods’ word, which would put God’s word IN me? Ps. 119:11"Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee". Are my feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace? Am I ready to GO anywhere and tell the gospel, does everywhere I walk reflect God’s gospel of peace?? Do I have the shield of faith, which can deflect those darts that Satan sends out? If I don’t BELIEVE that God can help me, Satan has won. Am I truly saved and is that my helmet? Do I use God’s sword daily? Do I pray ALWAYS, humbly asking my God for help? Do I perservere; keep on and on asking, for my self and others?

John R. Rice has explained in his book about prayer, that prayer is ASKING. I do not think for one minute that he means just asking for things for ourselves, but he means to petition the great Lord of the Universe for requests for other people. Intercessory prayer is a precious thing. You hear about answers to prayer from people who have prayed for unsaved loved ones of literally YEARS before they come to a saving knowledge of God’s love and grace. God is not on our time schedule.

I do not forget that these verses of scripture regarding warfare come right on the heels of Paul’s discourse on husbands and wives, or on the proper order of behavior of leaders and followers. I have been taught that just because there are chapter breaks in the Bible now, there were not those breaks in the original, they were put there so we could look up things easier.

 I have been taught that marriage was such an important institution in the Bible, that God not only ordained that institution FIRST, but He gave very specific instructions as to how to HAVE a marriage. Seems that being prepared for warfare is one of the parts of having a marriage.

One of those VERY important ingredients of marriage is to realize that the devil WILL fight against it, because it is a picture of Christ and the Church. What better way to discredit Christ and his Church than to take the human picture of that institution and make it cheap and gaudy and totally unimportant? We should NOT make a break in reading from Eph. 5:1 to Eph 6:24. If you read it that way, you get a total picture not only of marriage, but the entire Christian life. There is really NO WAY you can separate the great mystery of Christ (marriage) from wrestling against the rulers of darkness of this world.

If we read it this way, I believe we will know better how to fight for our marriages, especially those of us who do not have the "perfect marriage". And those of you who think you do have the "perfect marriage","....take heed, lest ye fall" I Cor. 10:12b

I’ve said all that to say this; God’s word tells us that when we have done everything we think we could possibly do, when we have exhausted every resource, when we have talked to counselors, when we have counseled with our pastor, after we have talked to attorneys and completely given up hope, we are supposed to STAND, that is; to remain unchanged and to make resistance. I believe we are to make resistance to the Devil. We CANNOT give up.

Reflecting on this word STAND...It seems to me to be one of the qualities of God, remaining unchanged. What better way to give back to the Saviour who sent His only Son to die for us?

Now the natural question is, how do you stand when things seem impossible?? The answer is simply this: by following the strategy for WAR outlined in Eph.6:10-18. Don’t you feel beat up? Don’t you feel like you’ve been on the front lines all by yourself? Well, maybe you have...why don’t you give God’s way a try? I sure would not want to go to war without the proper gear, or with only PART of it. I am SURE that is why Paul said to put on the WHOLE armor of God....WHY?? So that we would be able to STAND against the wiles of the devil. How simple is that? And yet time after time, we try to fight in our OWN strength, with our own puny little human reasoning. I don’t know about you, but I think I would rather have the strategy of an omniscient God than that of myself...........and His strategy plans are right there in His Book.

What I’ve learned here, most importantly, is that AFTER we’ve done ALL that God has commanded us to do, we are supposed to STAND. NOT run, NOT cry, NOT walk out, NOT hide, NOT complain, NOT surrender...........STAND.

When I was a little girl, our mother used to make us practice sitting still and having quiet time. No T.V., no radio, no walking around, just sitting still, reading sometimes. I’m sure she could have done the same thing with us standing, but the result was the same. I learned in my inner soul to be calm. To not have to constantly be busy doing something, anything, to fill the time.   

Maybe that is part of what prevents some of us from getting the victory over our problems. We do not know how to hold still. Many of us have been told to put on good preaching tapes, to put on good music, and ladies, there is NOTHING WRONG with doing that, but sometimes, God just wants us to muse or meditate on His word. We see the word meditate used only in the Old Testament and the word think used throughout the entire Bible, yet how can we think or meditate if there is no quiet? Why would God put a word in the Bible and ask us to do these things, (Phil.4:8b...."if there be any virture, if there be any praise, THINK on these things", if he did not intend for us to do it?   

 So ladies, if there is a trial in your life, why not turn everything off and find a quiet place and let the words of God YOU read this morning, or recently, turn over and over in your mind? Preaching tapes are excellent tools, in their place, but they are SOMEONE ELSE’S words, someone else’s thoughts and opinions of what God has told that person.....then relating it to YOU as to what you should or shouldn’t do. Music tapes are lovely and refreshing and sometimes just what we need, but "The word of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever" Psalm 12: 6-7. Wouldn’t you rather have the pure words of God as advice than the recycled words of someone else’s opinion?

I think of these pure words.... "Be still and know that I am God"Ps 46:10 or I Kings 19:12, "and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice" We do not know how to give things time. If something doesn’t work out for us in today’s society, we immediately think we have to "fix" it. And fix it RIGHT NOW, there may not be enough time tomorrow.........God’s timing is not our timing. I can’t imagine God rushing into anything, yet we as His children rush into everything..... Marriage, careers, purchasing homes, having children, then we blame God when they don’t turn out the way we want them to....... It’s like we’re trying to hurry up and get done with life, are we trying to hurry death?

I think of myself and my friend, both of us having marriages that would challenge old Sol himself. I think of our STAND. Boy, the past few days I have wanted to RUN.......it just seems so much easier. I think of my friend, whose problems are different than mine, but have the same results......she has RUN in the past, just like I have, but from something deep inside us, we have returned to remain . I believe that something is our STAND. Something that God has given us. A belief somewhere deep, deep inside us that God is still with us, still loves us, still cares. A belief that God WILL honor obedience, that His way is the right way, and then we get the old Book out and read again where, after having DONE (action word) everything, running, hiding, avoiding, talking, etc., etc., that we are just supposed to STAND.....to remain unchanged, to make resistance. How do you make resistance against the wiles of the devil? Read Eph 6:10-18. Not once there does He say to quit, to give up, to turn back, or to move to the side. He simply tells us to STAND.

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