BEWARE THE DOG!!!!

Ever been to a home where the sign “Beware the Dog!” was posted and you were about to enter the property?  What were you feeling:  uneasy, unsettled, unsure?  Were you wondering what size the dog might be?  Were you wondering the breed?  Were you wondering if it were just a sign put up to keep those with criminal intent away?  Were you wondering if the dog was on a leash or roaming free?

Whatever you were feeling, the sign itself put you on guard, didn’t it?  It had you making a plan of action for whatever may happen.  You were ready to flee or fight off the dog if it came charging.  You knew what tree to climb or what gate to run through and shut behind you.  You knew how you were going to respond to that dog before you ever saw it.

Yet the one dog that brings the most destruction - that is roaming free seeking to wreak havoc on our lives – is the one we pay very little attention to even when the signs are right in front of our faces.

And so this sermon series is designed to show us those signs and to make us aware of this dog’s lures and the means to escape them.  This sermon series is to help us beware that the dog is real.  It will help us to see that the dog’s role is not to protect a piece of property or human life.  It will help us to know how to overcome this dog by being on guard against its tactics for attack.

So what is the name of this dog?  You got it, Satan. 

And we don’t want to be coaxing this dog to come by saying, “Come here boy.  Come here Satan.  Good boy.”  I think that is lesson #1 – Don’t call the dogJ  And we call him by not being on guard and reading the signs.

 

Yet here are some Biblical examples of those who did "call the dog".

Eve got bit by giving into the lure that she could be like God – that she could comprehend good and evil like God does.  Sorry, but that bite has infected us all for thousands of generations.

Cain got bit by giving into the lure of jealousy and anger – that he could rid himself of his nemesis brother Abel by killing him.  That bite cost him his family and his stability – he became a restless wanderer who would always fear for his own life.

 

Abraham got bit by giving into the lure that God couldn’t be trusted – that in order to have a son to carry out the promise of God he had to have relations with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar.  That bite brought him a son, Ishmael, but it created a sibling rivalry that still exists today between the descendants of Ishmael (the Arabs) and the descendants of Isaac (the Jews).  And we wonder why there is such conflict in the Middle East?!

 

And then there is King David.  King David got bit by giving into the lure of lust and desire – that he could have an affair with Bathsheba and no one would know.  That bite cost him about everything - his integrity as a man after God’s heart, his friend Uriah whom he had murdered in battle to cover his sin, his infant son conceived out of the affair who died due to illness, and his kingdom as his son Absalom removed him from the throne and slept with his father’s wives who remained in the palace. 

 

One bite did a ton of damage in the lives of these biblical characters, yet I only highlighted a few of the many examples of those bitten by the Dog Satan.

 

Yet Satan’s bite is still as relevant today as it was then.  And the signs are everywhere.  We have to quit ignoring them.  We have to be on guard.  We have to be willing to put on the armor of God so that when we see the signs we are prepared to be protected from any bite Satan tries to get on us.  And we have to prevent ourselves from being bitten time and time again in the same place.

Ephesians 6: 10 – 18 speaks of putting on the full armor of God, not just part of it, the parts you want, so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes, the devil’s bites.”

 

How do you put on the armor of God?  You stand firm by putting the Belt of Truth around your waist, and placing on the Breastplate of Righteousness.  You fit your feet with the Gospel of Peace, and extinguish the flaming arrows of Satan with the Shield of Faith.  And you put on the Helmet of Salvation and use the Sword of Salvation for fighting.

In other words you are to equip yourself by:  Knowing the truth as given in the Bible, and Living it out.

Often we see the armor of God as only a means of protection against the attacks of Satan.  We see it as a means to fend off the bite, which is true.  But, what we fail to see is that God is preparing us to go on the offensive – to attack Satan and push his forces back.  God would rather have us go hunting than be the one being hunted.  God wants a game plan – a war plan. 

Yet, there are times, even when on the offensive, when we the dog will come out of nowhere to bite us.  In fact, Satan is looking to bite – to lure us into sin - all of the time.  He loves to bite, and many of us have felt his bite.  Some of us are feeling it right now.  The problem is that when we let ourselves get bit; the bite has consequences that last a long time.

 

The bite, sin, doesn’t hurt at first.  In fact the bite makes us feel like it is bringing a fix to the problems – the stress – we have.  It makes us feel happy and relaxed.  But the bite acts like poison – it takes a while to infect the body.  But once it does, the consequence is catastrophe, pain, and eventually death.

 

Basketball players Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant both had adulterous affairs.  Neither one thought they’d get caught.  But Magic admitted publicly that because of his actions, he now has HIV.  And Kobe’s became public because the woman accused him of raping her.  The bite was non painful in the beginning, actually felt good, but once the poison spread, the consequences became a lifetime of pain, distrust, and struggle.

The bite, whether big or small, whether it’s murder or gossip, still has effects on the one bitten as well as those who know him/her.

Right now, Satan is not on a leash or limited to a fenced yard.  No, he is free to roam and is looking to bite.  So, Beware the Dog!  The signs are everywhere.  Start preparing yourself to know the truth (not just that Jesus is Savior) and to begin living it.  Go on the offensive.  And trust that just as Jesus overcame Satan’s attacks, you too will overcome when relying upon Him for your guidance and protection.

Balls of Priority - Work

Here we are – the conclusion to Balls of Priority – looking to discover what God has to say to us about the final ball – work.

And we have learned, and I keep repeating, that if we don’t prioritize faith as the #1 ball, we are assured we will let the other four - family, friends, health, and work –drop at some point.  Faith, which is defined as obeying what God asks us to do, calls us to understand what God desires for the other four. 

And when we do it God’s way, we have success – anyhow, much more success than those who don’t.

Faith shows us that families who desire to do it God’s ways have greater success and greater peace than those who do it on their own.    Faith shows us that friendships, Godly friendships, are critical to our encouragement, our strength, and our resolve to persevere in our faith.  Faith shows us that our bodies are not our own because Jesus paid the price for them.  Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  And so even though we are free to do to our bodies anything we choose, God reminds us that not all things are beneficial for the body – for our health, especially those areas that become addictive or cause someone weaker in the faith to fall into sin.

But now faith is going to show us what God desires for us in our work.

Before jumping into the scripture reading, it is important to note that work, though a rubber ball that will bounce back when dropped, is not minimalized.  Work is very important for our survival in this world.  And it is also one of the greatest tools a Follower of Christ can use to witness of one’s faith.  Work creates mission.

Colossians 3: 22 – 4:1 states, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.  Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.”

The Big Ideas from this passage are:   Work with Integrity; Work for the Lord; and Work has Eternal Consequences.

Now before diving into the Big Ideas God has for us in our work, I want you to understand that Paul was not agreeing with the culture this church was living in, nor was he politically trying to change it.   He believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if lived out in every aspect of life, would bring change:    change to the one living out his/her faith and change to the one seeing this faith lived out.  He was merely saying to the Colossian church, “This is our culture – the fallen culture which has said this is okay – and we are going to live in it as Jesus would have us live in it despite how wrong it may be.”

Paul had already taught the Colossian Church that Jesus, in His crucifixion, showed that fighting injustice with swords was not His desire – Jesus willingly took every bad thing done to Him without fighting back. 

 

Paul wrote, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart, as working for the Lord.”

Work with Integrity

 

Paul was saying, “Jesus wants you to work for Him, but to work for Him you show it through your work for others.  You see if you are working for Jesus, your work will be sincere.  Your work will be done with integrity.  You will not care if your earthly boss sees you working so that you might be praised.  You will be praised because your boss will see the same quality work out of you whether he is watching or not.  Your work should be a witness of your faith.”

 

Then Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.”

 

Work for the Lord
 

Paul makes it very clear, “Your boss is not man.  Your boss is a ‘Jewish Carpenter’.  So no matter what you do, whether work, raising a family, ministry, going to school, being a good steward of God’s resources, sports, cleaning your room, etc., do it for the Lord; and do it well.  Do it well because it is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

 

Work has Eternal Consequences

 

Paul said, “You’re working for the Lord, and He does see everything.  Though you’re not to seek favoritism from your earthly bosses by putting on a show in front of them, you should give them your best effort whether you like them or not.  And then your work will be for the Lord.  Jesus, your real boss, actually will reward you with eternal inheritance, and you might even find yourself being rewarded by your earthly boss because of your integrity and hard work.”

 

Juggling the 5 balls of life is a challenge, but a challenge that can be met by prioritizing them.  And by prioritizing them around our faith, we find what God desires for all of them.

 

God always wants the best for us.  He wants the best for our families.  He wants the best for our friendships.  He wants the best for our health, our bodies.  And He wants the best for our work.

 

And though we are part of a cursed world where everything is not fair, we can have what God desires for us by living as best as we can by obeying His commands and following His life-giving principles.  How about you?  Are you keeping the balls of life in the air?  Are you giving God your best in all of them?  Are you giving God all of yourself?

 

Balls of Priority - Health

Juggling the balls of life, faith, family, friends, health, and work, is difficult at times because they all desire so much of our attention.  But we have learned that if we don’t prioritize faith as the #1 ball, we are assured we will let the other 4 balls drop. 

The faith ball plays such an important role in the success of the other 4.  Without faith, we fail to know what God desires for the family.  Without faith, we fail to see what God desires in friendships.  Without faith, we fail to discover what God desires for health.

Faith shows us that family, when done God’s way, will result in a family that has success and finds peace.  And God’s way is having wives who respect and submit to their husbands, husbands who love their wives as Christ loved the Church, and children who obey their parents. 

Yet the success of the family relies heavily upon the husband because he should be displaying the greatest love ever shown.  Removing the influence of Satan in a relationship, you give me a husband who loves his wife in the same way that Christ loved the church, and you will see wives that willing submit unto the husband’s leadership and children who will obey.

Faith also shows us that friendships, Godly friendships, are critical to our encouragement, our strength, and our resolve to persevere in our faith.  Satan will always try and stop Godly friendships from connecting.  He does this to keep us alone and vulnerable – to keep us weak and open for attack.  And so faith reminds us that if we want to stop from becoming the Devil’s prey, we must seek friendships that will remind us of our relationship with God.

But today, we’re going to look at how faith shows us what God desires for our health.  And though the scripture doesn’t lay out a specific diet or an exercise regiment for all to follow, it does share with us some very important principles regarding what we do with our bodies, which ultimately effects our health.

Though the jest of what Paul expresses in 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20 is about sexual immorality, there are 3 verses that I want us to focus on in regard to our bodies, our health.

Verse 12….. “Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything.”

Paul was making it very clear to the Church by saying, “You have freedom of choice.  So you’re free to drink, to smoke, to get high, to lust, to fornicate, to commit adultery, to overindulge, to beautify your body with what culture says is beautiful - to do whatever you feel like doing whenever you feel like doing it – but not everything you are free to do is beneficial for you and can actually come to control you.  In fact, that’s why God said not to do them in the first place – to protect you from your own selfish desires.”

A couple chapters later, in discussing food that has been sacrificed to idols, he gives us a godly principle that covers over all areas of life:  “Be careful, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak in faith.  For if what you do in your freedom causes someone to fall into sin and wounds his/her faith, then you have sinned against Christ.  Therefore, if what I am free to do causes someone else to sin, then I will deny myself these freedoms so that I will not cause him/her to fall.”

In other words, he was saying this Godly principle, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.”

But freedom in Christ isn’t really free when you consider the costs of what God is asking you to sacrifice.  Freedom in Christ comes with self-denial, yet alleviates me from becoming a slave to the things I so desire to do.  Freedom in Christ improves my health, both mentally and physically.

It all makes sense:  

1. If I never drink, I never have to worry about becoming an alcoholic. 
2. If I never smoke or take a stimulating drug, I never have to worry about being addicted to a substance. 
3. If I deny myself from lusting over sexual desires, my chances of fornicating or committing adultery are reduced drastically. 
4. If I never beautify my body with the means that are out there, then I never become consumed with the idea of wanting more and more.  
5. If I deny myself my freedoms, I never have to worry about causing someone else to fall into sin.

But after Paul addresses freedom, he then reminds the Church in verses 19 & 20 the reason why self-denial is a must:  “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.”

What makes these verses so hard for us to grasp is that we all know the pain and struggles our bodies face; some of it due to the choices we have made and some of it due to the curse of sin handed down from generation to generation.  I know we want to be healthy.  I know we want “6-pack abs” and “buns of steel”.  I know we want our diseases to go away.  I know we want to feel good again.  But, we cannot lose sight that because God gave His best to us in His Son, we are to give our best to Him in honoring Him with our bodies.

We were bought at a price – the price of Jesus Christ crucified.  And because Jesus did this while we were still part of this fallen, cursed world, he paid the ransom to save you and me from our execution day.  

Paul was saying, “Everything is permissible, but you who claim Christ, you who have been given the Holy Spirit, no longer are free to do what you want to do.  Jesus paid for your soul; therefore He is your master.  And Jesus wants you to do only those things that will keep you healthy, your family healthy, and your friends healthy.  Honor God with your body by obeying His commandments.”

And because Jesus paid the price for us we should want to give him our best – our best in everything we do; from what and how we eat, to how we exercise and train, to what we take in and do to our bodies.

You see; our body is not really our body anymore once we accept the ransom paid on our behalf.  We no longer belong to our desires and ourselves.  We now belong to Christ and His desires, which means we pursue the best for our health and body so we can live out our faith to its fullest. 

Balls of Priority - Friends

An anonymous writer wrote:  Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air.  You name them:   work, family, health, friends, and faith, and you’re keeping them all in the air.  You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball.  If you drop it, it will bounce back.  But the other four balls – family, health, friends, and faith – are made of glass.  If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered.  They will never be the same.

 

It’s becoming very clear that all the balls are important, yet faith drives them all.  You take out faith, you become spiritually destitute and find that no other ball can satisfy the void you have in your soul for God – a void that has been felt for countless generations due to man’s rebellion against God as described in the book of Genesis.

 

Yet in the beginning, God created humankind for faith (the ability to choose what God wants = obedience) and relationship; and He also created male and female to create family – to unite as one flesh.   And we learned how our disobedience, our sin, brought on us a curse that still has our faith taking a back seat to other things and our families falling apart.

 

So in the midst of this curse we are looking at how we can fulfill what God destined for humankind from the beginning.  We are looking at how to live sacrificially for God and for others, especially those in our families.  We are looking at how we can keep the balls of life in the air so that we get the most out of all of them.

 

Well, today’ scripture will help us to see the third ball, the Friend ball, and its importance to our faith.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:17 – 3:13 states that Godly friendships strengthen and encourage our faith.  Godly friendships, friendships grounded in relationship to Christ, are friendships that should strengthen and encourage you and me to stay the course in our faith.  They are friendships that inspire us to live more fully for God and less for ourselves.  They are friendships that challenge us to do right when choices are to be made, and to correct us when we do make the wrong choice.  They are friendships that we long to be part of – that feel like family – that bring us joy and hope even with just the thought about meeting together.

 

But Godly Friendships can be stopped from time to time.

 

So what can get in the way of Godly Friendships?  Satan can - “For we wanted to come to you – certainly I, Paul did, again and again – but Satan stopped us.”

 

Why would Satan stop Godly Friendships from coming together?   He relies on weakness to devour his prey.  So if he can keep Godly friends from coming together, he can keep them weak and vulnerable making them more susceptible to his attacks.  If he can stop Godly Friendships from coming together, he knows he can discourage the lone believer, especially in light of the pain, struggle, trial, and persecution he will be bringing into his/her life.

 

But even when Satan can stop the physical connection between Godly Friends, he cannot stop the spiritual connection that exists between them.

 

So why can’t he stop spiritual connections?  He can't stop spiritual connections because Godly Friends pray for one another, they remember how much they enjoy being together, especially when they are apart, and they have the same spirit, the Holy Spirit, living inside them that reminds them that they are in this cause for Christ together.

 

Satan may physically keep you from connecting with those Godly friends of yours, but He cannot stop you from spiritually connecting with them.   He cannot keep you from praying for them.  He cannot keep you from longing to be with them.  He cannot rob you of your joy.   But he can, if you let him:(((

 

The ball of friendship is critical to our faith.  It is critical in that if you only have worldly friends, these friends will not have the desires of the Holy Spirit in mind, and will most likely lead you into temptation.  It is also critical in that if you have Godly friends, these friends will stand by your side encouraging you to stay strong in the Lord.

 

Godly friends help us to grow into spiritual maturity.  Godly friends help us to face all trials and tribulations.  Godly friends help us to stay on the straight and narrow road that leads to life.   And Godly friends must become an important part – a priority - in our faith journey.

 

You see, it’s a choice – a choice between worldly friends, godly friends, or no friends at all.  Which one do you think God desires for the believer, the Follower of Christ?  You are right.  He wants His Children to have Godly friends who can be there for one another to provide encouragement, hope, and accountability.  This in turn will give His Children the courage to befriend those who are not God's Children and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. 

 

Faith, Family, and Friends – all critical in our walk with Christ.  Are you getting your priorities straight? 

Balls of Priority - Family

An anonymous writer wrote:  Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air.  You name them:   work, family, health, friends, and faith, and you’re keeping them all in the air.  You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball.  If you drop it, it will bounce back.  But the other four balls – family, health, friends, and faith – are made of glass.  If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered.  They will never be the same.

 

Weeks ago we started a series on juggling the 5 balls of life, but due to a broken computer screen that was just replaced, I was unable to continue the series on a weekly basis.  So now, I will try to play catchup.

 

With that being said, God shows us in Luke 14 that faith has to be the #1 ball – it is the most fragile making it the most important.  Jesus showed us that faith must be #1 in our lives because it will keep us from dropping the other four.

 

In fact, focusing on faith first helps us to truly prioritize the other 4 – keeping all the balls balanced and in the air.   Focusing on faith helps us to understand what God is looking to see in the other four.

 

So all we have to do is look at Creation to see what God deems most important.

 

First He created humankind in His image to have relationship with them.   He didn’t just create them and leave them to their own.  He came into their presence to commune with them.  He created them for faith.

 

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Him the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’”  Genesis 3: 8-9

 

Second He created male and female to have relationship with one another.  Family was ordained by God from the beginning of time.

 

“But for Adam no suitable helper was found.  So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out of man.’  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.  The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Genesis 2: 20-25

 

God has laid out the dynamics of family – man can define it however he chooses, but God has made it clear through the scripture I just shared the true definition.  But today we’re not going to delve into what makes a family.  We know that family takes on many different forms in this cursed world.  Rather we will be seeing how faith, if treated as the #1 ball, helps make family into what God desires.

 

And whether single or married, young or old, scripture always provides us with principles that can be applied to our lives.

 

Paul's teaching on family in Ephesians 5: 22 – 6: 4 is often taken  out of context.  And when taken out of context you see where the curse of sin is involved.

 

“To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to your children.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’” Genesis 3: 16

 

So on one hand, you have some self-righteous pious men who believe a woman’s sole role is to submit to their authority – that God ordained that they rule over their wives.  So they latch onto verses 22-24 in Ephesians 5.  They use it to keep women in their place.

 

And yet, on the other hand, you have self-righteous irreverent women who believe that men have no headship over them – that women are equal to and even far superior than their male counterparts.  They too latch onto verses 22-24 in Ephesians 5, but to fight against it – to disprove what was written and to live solely for their desires – to defeat the curse.

 

Yet faith, understanding God in the Big Picture, understanding God in context, shows us what God truly desires for the family.  God didn’t desire the curse.  Man chose it through our disobedience.  And so what God is asking His children to do in the face of the curse is to be family the way he destined it to be and live according to the principles He has outlined for all sexes.

 

So God’s Big Idea for us is this:  True Family = Done God’s Way. 

 

In other words, if you want true family, then you got to do it God’s way.  And if you do things God’s way, you’ll get true family.  If you want true family, you have to have faith to understand what God is looking for and then do it His way.

 

You see, the outline of what God had Paul write to the Church – to the believers in Ephesus - was:   Wives submit to your husbands, Husbands love your wives, and Children obey your parents.  But really, it was so much more than that.

 

God puts a “Why” – a reason for doing what He’s asking you to do.  God gives a “Why” because if we will follow His way we will see the fruit of His reward – a family that beats the odds stacked against it in this cursed world.

 

Now before jumping into the “whys”, I want to make these disclaimers:  The word submission is only bad because man has made it bad.  What God established in the beginning was good, and humankind has made a debacle of what true family should look like.  And submission applies to more than just marriage.

 

Now, why should wives submit to their husbands?

 

Everything has an order. 

 

God is saying, “As you submit unto your husbands, you submit unto me.  I am God the Father, Head of all.  Jesus, the Son, submits unto Me and does what I want Him to do.  The Holy Spirit submits unto Me, as well as Jesus, doing what We want Him to do.  The Church is under the submission of Christ who is the Head of the Church.  And the husband, who is the head of the household, is under the submission of Christ.  Therefore, the wife should submit to the husband as this is the order I established.”

 

Submission has its rewards

 

When a wife submits to her husband she is fulfilling God’s plan and will receive His favor.  Not only will she find her joy in the Lord for doing what God desires.  She will also find the favor of her husband who feels lifted up and needed because his wife trusts him to lead.  When a man feels respected and honored by his wife, he will do anything for her.  If she will submit to her husband’s lead, she will be more empowered within the household than the woman who fights her husband to gain that power and equality.

 

Now why should husbands love their wives?

 

Christ sets the example

 

If a husband is a Follower of Christ, he is under the headship of Christ, meaning he is to submit to Christ.  And because Christ so loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, caring for and meeting her needs daily, husbands are to do the same for their wives.

 

Love has its rewards

 

When a husband loves, cares for, meets the needs of his wife, holding no authority over her head, his wife will love him fully and will willingly fall under his headship and submit to his leading.  His wife will trust him because he is doing everything he can to make sure she feels like an equal – which he would die for her if need be.

 

Now, why should children obey their parents?

 

It is a commandment with a promise

 

If children will obey their parents, they will be blessed and enjoy a long life on earth.  This is the promise given.  God established this commandment as one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  In order for order to happen in a home, within a society, children must obey their parents.

 

Obedience has its rewards

 

If children will obey their parents, it means they will be trusted by their parents.  And the more parents trust their children, the more freedom parents will give to their children.  So God makes it clear:  Obey = Freedom.  If children fulfill their natural desire to live for self, they find their freedoms becoming less and less with each disobedient act.

 

If more families were to live as God has directed – were to place their priority on its’ importance and doing it God’s way – we would see families growing in love and connection with one another.  More importantly we would see families growing stronger in their relationship with God who created family.

 

So in conclusion, to keep the balls of life in the air, we’re beginning to see how interconnected they really are.  But the balls of faith and family are rather similar in that God established that if both are to work, He must be central.

 

Juggling the balls of faith and family can and must be done.  But they must be done according to God’s principles.

 

Faith is the #1 Ball.  If it isn’t, all other balls will fall to the ground.  But if it is, then family will become #2.  And the other 3 will fall into line with these two.

 

So the question to conclude today’s message is:  Are you doing family the way God wants it done?  Are children obeying their parents?  Are adults loving and submitting their wills to Christ, who in turn is calling them to love and submit to others, especially their spouses?

 

If not, start.  You won’t be disappointed by the results – the results will come from God.