Sunday at church our wonderful Aire To The Throne sang a couple of worship songs. "God Wants To Hear You Sing" especially moved me. It reminded me that God wants to hear from us in both good times and bad.
Sometimes we thank Him and praise Him for the good things He has provided for us or is working in our lives but when something bad or unfortunate or uncomfortable happens in our lives, we get so wrapped up in that and we neglect turning to God in our need.
Sometimes it's the other way around: we ignore God when things are going well thinking we have it all under control. Then when things turn bad, we turn to Him. In those times, we may not know how to approach Him.
God wants us to keep in contact with Him through prayer and staying in His Word. If we do that in good times and bad, we stay tight with Him and feel comfortable turning to Him in any and all situations. This is as it should be and I suspect it makes God happy.
Perhaps you will join me in praying daily at any time about any thing and spending time in His Word.
Blessings,
Mary
KARACHI, Pakistan – A male Pakistani lawmaker has drawn jeers for proposing a committee to stop the "mental torture" of men by women.
Jam Tamachi Unar suggested the idea Thursday, after the assembly in Sindh province resolved to create a panel to investigate the torture of women in the country's rural areas.
The proposal drew shouts of "Shame!" from female assembly members. Most of the women stormed out of the session, while some of the men laughed.
Unar told The Associated Press that he was only joking but that it's a "bitter truth that the same way women are tortured in rural areas, men are the victims of mental torture in urban neighborhoods."
Violence against women is common in Pakistan, partly thanks to patriarchal attitudes and lax law enforcement.
When I first read this, I laughed out loud. Then I stopped and thought a bit. I believe much (if not all) of Pakistan is Muslim and Islam is pretty well documented as not allowing woman many rights and, in many cases, severely abusing women. So, where in the world does this guy come up with this? I don't have an answer for that BUT, it brought the beginning of man to mind. While God told Adam and Eve NOT to eat of the fruit of a particular tree, the serpent convinced Eve that it was OK. Adam failed to step up and stop her but rather he ate the fruit as well. That sets the scene for the following:
12The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."
13Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14The LORD God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
15And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel."
16To the woman He said,"Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
15And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel."
"I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband, <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
And he will rule over you."
17Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it';
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
19By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return."
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
19By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return."
--Genesis 3:12-19
God punished Adam and Eve. They would now age and suffer all the things that humans suffer today and eventually they would die. Adam would have to work to provide for his family. Eve would experience pain during child birth AND she would have a desire to rule over her husband! God sure knows the worst consequences.
A bit over 2,000 years later God laid out how to make marriage work despite the consequences he levied in Genesis 3.
22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
28So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
30because we are members of His body.
31FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.
--Ephesians 5:22-31
We definitely should be following God's will in marriage today but even many Christians do not follow God's rules. As we walk down a different path than God mandated, it's important to remember that there are always consequences for not being in God's will (read Genesis 3:12-19 again if you don't get that :-)).
I remember back about 12 or 13 years ago (before I really knew God). I was at a wedding and the ceremony used what modern man considers "old fashioned" vows. They included the "love and obey" clause for the wife's vow. I, along with several other women in the row of seats, just looked at each other and quietly tittered. Obey? Boy, that's old fashioned. Who would say that today?
Now that I know God, I know that I would willingly use those words (assuming I ever got married again) IF the man I was marrying was a Godly man who believed in and followed Ephesians 5:25-30. What a glorious marriage that could be!
Back to the Pakistani man/woman situation: I'm guessing that the Pakistani lawmaker was struggling, as many marriages struggle, with not being aware of Genesis 3 and its relief in Ephesians 5.
Blessings,
Mary
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