Shalom Saints,
“Floyd, I am not content with this marriage! When I was growing up, my daddy paid all the bills and managed the checking account. Even though you make the money, I still think a man is supposed to take care of me by at least writing out the checks!”
I am too embarrassed to associate a date with that statement. (The amateur detectives among us will go back to previous blogs and figure out when Floyd and I got married.)
I was serious. The roles of what men and women were supposed to do were so ingrained in me from my previous experiences and immaturity that I was actually emotionally upset and felt like I was being taken advantage of by Floyd.
Now the backstory.
When Floyd and I married, he would go all over town to pay his bills in person. He went to the electric company, phone company, Sears, etc. I even came home one day and the “once a month” insurance man was there collecting a payment. I immediately told the man that if he gave me a payment book that I would see that he got paid and he would no longer have to make house calls. At that time, I also volunteered to open a joint checking account and handle all the bills.
Then…and I am not sure of the exact precipitating event, I realized that I was out of my specified role! I whined and Floyd reluctantly agreed to switch and take on the checkbook writing chore.
Then … I wasn’t happy with the way Floyd wrote in the entries and the amounts he paid on the revolving charge accounts.
Now, I was in a pickle!! How do I reclaim the checkbook writing and save face from all the fuss I made?
First, I apologized to Floyd and we agreed that in our marriage, we should each take on the responsibilities that we did best regardless of what “society or our families” thought we should be doing. Floyd breathed a sigh of relief and I was able to manage the bills and just be happy we had money to pay them instead of worrying about who paid them.
(Comment from Floyd: “You be sure to mention that I was never overdrawn and always had money in the account!”)
My situation came to mind when Arthur talked about how some men believe their role is the ruler of the home and the women should be made to submit. Arthur rebukes this idea when he shares that men and women should voluntarily submit to each other. We all have baggage from the past that we have to let go. This is why learning and doing what Peter says is vital to living a joy filled life.
Summary of the Teaching
It is a critical issue, life or death, that we keep our focus on the author and finisher of our faith, Yeshua our Messiah. We must learn what Yeshua taught and learn what his disciples taught then LIVE IT. Arthur couldn’t emphasize this any stronger then when he said that at NO point can we turn off what the Holy Spirit is teaching us in exchange for man’s religion; one that is only Bible based and not Bible centered. The Bible is our written instruction on how to live, and it is not to be used to justify our self-directed lifestyles. Listen as Arthur tells us how to avoid being deceived:
That was just beginning!!
As the “Message before the Message” continued, Arthur shared some of his personal thoughts about going on the Mission Trip to Nigeria. Even though there are unknown situations that they will face, he is strengthened in his resolve to go knowing that there are souls in Nigeria that are dependent on him and David doing what Yehovah has called them to do. Arthur and David reflected on the leading of the Holy Spirit to get them through several potentially dangerous situations on their mission trip to the Ukraine. They both agreed that it would have been more dangerous to turnaround and go back home, than to go forward in the will of Yehovah.
An extremely valuable lesson to learn is that meditating and reflecting on what we have been through helps us to have strong faith in Yehovah going forward.
Listen as Arthur and David share their experiences and the excitement of the true gospel going around the globe:
Peter was an eyewitness to Yeshua and part of the inner circle of disciples. We can learn much from Peter’s letter on how to apply the word to our daily lives. In Chapter 2, Peter talked about submitting to governmental authorities and he used Yeshua as an example. In Chapter 3, Peter transitions to submitting to authority in the home.
Arthur elaborated on the following in the teaching:
- Examples from the lives of Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Chloe were used to highlight the necessity of being transparent in our lives.
- Men and women were created equal and we both should voluntarily submit to one another.
- “Submit” is only used once in the Torah.
- The Kingdom is gender free.
- He examines our priorities: our outward appearance versus our inner man, and how we spend our time.
Listen as Arthur gives the ladies, also applicable to men, advice on how to prepare for Yehovah to send you an equally-yoked spouse:
Buzz on the Teaching
Reflecting on how Yehovah has helped me through past trials has helped me to build faith that He will continue to help me when new trials appear.
When my resources were low, Yehovah always provided for us the necessities of life that we NEEDED and a lot of what we WANTED.
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. – Psalm 37:25 King James Version
When I had two miscarriages and Floyd and I thought all hope was gone for having children, Yehovah opened the door for us to adopt children, and WITH SIGNS. We brought home our son at 5 months; then the next year, we got our daughter at 10 days old. She had the same birthday as our son, only one year later! Then, they were adopted on the same day!
Floyd’s family had a Reunion tee-shirt made with the words, “He brought me this far, He is not going to leave me now!” HalleluYAH!!
What are your past victories that you reflect on to build faith for your continuing walk with Yehovah?
Until next time… Blessings to You and Yours,
Sharon