3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

I find it disappointing that Christians put all this stress on leaders! and use God as the judge. Out of their own ignorance, judgement is put on leaders and teachers solely from their own religious minds. 

Jesus paid it all

He has risen indeed. When he said it is finished, he meant it!  No longer do we need to worry about living right.  When we receive Christ into our lives and place our trust in Him, we are forever kept righteous by his grace. When we repent and turn to him for our salvation, he gives us His Spirit who dwells in us.

He has forgiven us once and only once. Our sins of the past, present and future, we're taken care of when he died in our place.  The cross has no power in by itself, only the power of Christ over death gives him authority to forgive us.

Christian stop asking for forgiveness!  But when we sin we have a advocate (1 John 2:1). As Christians we will sin, and feel remorse. This gives us a overwhelming urge to repent and turn our eyes back to Jesus. (Spirit at work within us). Remember who you are in Christ!

Let us not place the cross over the work of Christ!  Place your eyes on Jesus!  Don't nail them to the cross, Don't make it a trophy which at last you'll trade in for a crown.  Fix your eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. The cross is an object, Jesus is the author of our salvation!

Jesus suffered and died a death, he did not deserve.  Jesus never sinned.  Jesus did not need to be "born again". And certainly did not descend into Hell!  If we try to live a righteous life we insult the work Jesus already did for us. There is nothing you or I can do to earn favor. He paid the ransom for you and I.



Thank God for forgiving us!

Praise God for people who have a passion for Christ. How true that we have the freedom and grace to live our lives for the glory of God!  Our standing with God is secure spiritually and no amount of good works can add to that standing. Knowing Christ is only possible by Christ living in us. We can not simply know Christ on our own. Even satan knows and believes who God is, and yet he is still at war with God. It is when we are drawn by the Holy Spirit and we have received, and allowed Christ into our lives that we truly know him. When this occurs we can know that we are Christians by our love one to another.  The greatest commandment of all, is that we Love the Lord our God, and the second greatest command is to love one another.  I think that we always need to be careful, like Paul in Galatians says, that we examine ourselves. It is true that no works will save us, and works are like filthy rags in comparison to his grace and Love for us, but we will by the empowering of the holy spirit produce good works.  If we have no fruit, then the question we should be asking is "Are we branches that are attached to the true vine"? Faith without Works is Dead.  You cannot show faith to non believers without works. Same way with your spirit. Your spirit is only visible to others by your body. Eg.breathing,moving arms etc.  Jesus said that we were going to be his witnesses,  We need our earthly bodies to actually be a witness to non believers.  The bible teaches us how to live, act,treat others,what to stay away from etc.  These are all "works of service".  Is this what saves me?  Of course not, but because I love my God so much and the Holy Spirit is continually working its work in me it moves me to good works. 

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1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.”
If Jesus literally became sin, then his death would seem to have been Just. This goes against all of basic Christian theology. His death would have been deserved!  
Sin is committed by a individual by personal choice. A person cannot be "sinful" by the act of another (Ezek. 18:20)
1 Peter 1:18-19 (NIV). Peter uses the words, "with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect".
Jesus bore our sins in his body as a sacrificial substitute for us. The term sin offering is used numerous times in the OT. In the Hebrew bible this term is simply translated as sin. Jesus became the sin offering for us. This is the sacrificial system in the Old Testament where the Lamb was offered as a substitute to atone for our sins. The Lamb did not bear our sins itself (It was symbolic), but the shed blood of the lamb was offered as a sacrifice for atonement. The Priest laid his hands on the lamb to impute (PUT) our sins onto the lamb (symbolically) and by the shed blood of the lamb, the righteousness of Christ was imputed (CREDITED) to us.
Hebrews 9:26 “He hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” 

Hebrews 9:28 “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” (Sin offering)
1 John 3:5 “He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.”
This says that even though he took away our sins by way of his blood sacrifice for us, there was in Himself no sin. The sacrifice under the law had to be perfect, without spot or blemish, and of course he is God!
Psalms 22:1. My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me. Just before Jesus died Jesus is pointed to the scriptures to validate his mission. Psalms 22 was written a 1000 years before Jesus was crucified, before crucifixion was even practiced. Later in the chapter, we see a very detailed image of what Jesus would endure. He suffered horrifically and he still used scripture to show us his fulfilled mission. 

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"Therefore, being surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, and so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3)

I thought I would share some things that we can learn from this verse. We have all read this countless of times but do we really understand the lesson the Hebrews writer wanted to present. 

Something that is becoming more and more apparent about today's church - today's Christian - is that we are great sprinters, but we are lousy marathoners. Those of you who have watched the movie fast and the furious, our lives are becoming just that. We do no pace ourselves. It is amazing how quickly our enthusiasm leaves us. It is astonishing how fast we grow tired of things. It is astounding how quickly we grow weary of our ministries.

 There is only one race that God has marked out for us - holiness. All through scripture God has always taught us to be Holy as he is Holy. The writer of Hebrews compares our Christian life as that of a marathon. This is not a sprint. 

The bible is full of examples of godly men and women who persevered.  "We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses". Consider Joseph who was sold by his brothers into slavery and waited for God's will in his life to work itself out. or the apostles who persevered. The apostle Paul put it bluntly when he said "follow my example". 1 Corinthians 11:1. This cloud of witnesses who have completed the race are examples that all shout out with us "keep running you can make it". 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, who could have sprinted his way back to Heaven, but his life was far more than a quick fix for our lives. Why do we feel that we should be able to pray ourselves into a life of comfort,wealth,and health?  

So what causes us to loose focus. The writer says to throw of everything that hinders us.  The hinderances he is talking about may not just be sinful things. There may be a relationship, a hobby, a type of music, a type of literature, a form of entertainment, an activity, a habit, that in and of itself is not immoral, but is clearly a hindrance to running the race marked out for God's people. We must "throw off" such things!  The marathoner the writer compares us to stripped down or got naked to run the race. 

What sin entangles us. The sin here in this verse is central in all of us. It's the sin, that entangles all of us. We all struggle with this sin. It's the sin of wanting to run the race the way we want to run it.  Not yielding to what God wants us to do. We want things done fast furious and as easily as possible so we can get back to sitting on our couch. We want to gain the pleasures of the world, and not make the sacrifice.  We want to loose weight, but not work to make that happen. 

 "What does a man profit if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" We are talking about being marathoners in holiness. Is there anything more important than this?!

So when can we stop running this race?  When God says so!  

Did you know that there is only one place in the New Testament where Jesus is revealed standing in the heavenly realm. Every place but this one, He is described as "seated at the right hand of the Father". But, in this one place He is standing. The occasion is Stephen's stoning recorded in the book of Acts; "Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55). Its as if Jesus stood to catch Stephen, hug him and say, "Stephen, you can stop running now. You've finished the race. Victoriously!"

Good marathoners fix their eyes on the finish line and don't stop running until they reach it. Therefore, let us learn from the witnesses, throw off everything that hinders, be done with the sin that so easily entangles, fix our eyes on Jesus (the finish line), and run until He stands to catch us and says, "Okay, stop running now; You've finished the race. Enter into my rest."

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The New Testament does not condemn the use of medicine. We are correct when we say we should pray for healing. This is our God given strength and power that is available to us by the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. I also strongly believe we are not to test The Lord our God. Let me explain. We do not limit God with his sovereign right to heal or not to heal by taking medicine. If we neglect our bodies we can reasonably expect sickness.  God has given us minds to use and by giving God all the glory, we should do everything in our capacity to work on our health. Having said this, It is very important to understand that all this is only a benefit if God in his infinite wisdom agrees with us. How do we agree with him?  By fervent Prayer!  Allowing God to work in our lives, and giving him all the glory. If we stand in front of a bus, we will get run over.........laws of consequence. Taking bad advise by a doctor can cause adverse consequences. Consider what happened after Jesus' deciples saw the transfiguration.  Later when they went down from the mountain the other deciples couldn't figure out why they were not able to remove a evil spirit from a boy. Jesus scolded them and told them that "this kind can only come out by prayer". His followers perhaps started taking their power for granted. Jesus had to remind them that it was still Jesus doing the healing.

I want to share Five examples from the New Testament where I feel medicine is approved. Firstly, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." (Matthew 9:12) A physician is a man trained in the science and study of diseases and the ways to treat or cure them.  Why would Jesus use this example, when he was opposed to medicine?  Secondly, "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  Jesus told this parable in Luke chapter 10. Why did Jesus use this story about a man taking care of a person using "medicine" to illustrate a point?  Thirdly, There is also the instance of what Jesus did to restore sight to a man who was born blind. Christ could just utter a word and the sick person would be healed instantly but on this occasion, what did he do?  He used dirt and mixed it with his spit and applied it to the man's eyes. Then told him to go wash in the pool. John chapter 9. Fourthly Luke was a physician according to Colossians 4:14. And then lastly when Timothy had stomach trouble, Paul tells him not to be content with prayer alone, but to take some wine for his stomach. 1 Timothy 5:23.

In all these cases Jesus could have taught us to simply pray and be healed, but he did not. God wants us to Pray for healing and do what we can with our God given gifts.

So what I am about to share may offend some of you or cause some of you to even dislike me.  I have decided to lay it out here for the benefit of a few who might through their blindness figure out that it may not be too late.  I have noticed by being on facebook for a while that there are those who think it is no big deal to beat their wives!  What kind of man are you?  Those of you that put sports, alcohol, and sex above your wife.  Some of you have not felt the touch of your wife in years, but indulge in partying with a picture, or lusting after women your not man enough to keep, or hang on to. Money will not keep her, and flowers stink from a source whose mind is in the gutter.  What kind of man are you, you who would rather wait for his wife to become more like him, than realize she is a gift from God and it is he who needs to change. What kind of woman will stay with a man whose favorite pastime is self worship.  What kind of women can look at your Facebook account and with pride say, this is my husband!  Let me fill you in. It was a privilege for you for your wife to say "I Do".  And you the one dating your girlfriend, who made you God?  You're nothing!  How dare you degrade a woman with your disgusting actions at so called "socials".  Getting drunk and being a star at your own party!  Shame on you!  What gives you the right to sleep with her, when your not even married?

         Before you respond in your own selfish little world you live in, let me say a few more words.  It might not be too late. Not that you deserve a second chance, but get this straight!  Your wife,girlfriend or any thing else you call her, deserves your Love.  Stop living for yourself and start living for her!  She wants you, not your Castle you can build.  She wants someone who places her above any thing else. Give up your own selfish desires!  And if your fortunate enough to live another day, she might just stay!  And You, yes you who thinks your man enough to sleep with her and she's not even yours, if you want her then move out!  Maybe she will find some hint of a man from how he lives, not who he wants her to be.

    Before you go on crying about how bad I am, and what right I have to post this, listen to this!  The same right you have showing yourself as the real person you are and the women you beat.

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Who are You?

Therefore let us encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13). Struggling with our sinful nature can be overwhelming unless we understand where the true source comes from. How do we “live by the Spirit”, and not just according to our emotions? Many Christians mistake the work of the Holy Spirit as works of the Flesh (good works), coming from the soul. Others mistake conviction of sin as coming from the Holy Spirit and do not recognize the work of Satan in our lives (condemnation). It is important we understand that we are made up of three parts, Body Soul and Spirit. Our body contains the soul, and the Spirit. Our Body will eventually die. Our Soul contains our emotions, such as when we are happy or sad. Much of our pleasure and or feelings that we feel every day, come from the soul. It is from within the soul that we make decisions to either live by the flesh, or live by the Spirit. Living by the Flesh is a selfish way of life that looks to us for fulfillment in life. Out of the Flesh come all kinds of Sin. 1 John 2:16. This is our Sinful Nature. Alternately we can live by the Spirit, as in Galatians 5:16, so I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. As new creations we are meant to live from the core of our being, (our human spirit), where the Holy Spirit dwells. If we choose to set our minds on how God views us, as Righteous, then this will always bring the result of good works. We will be known as Christians by the fruits we produce (fruits of the spirit). If we allow our soul to choose the way of the Flesh, then we are acting like someone we are not. The Holy Spirit will convince us of our Righteousness, and show us who we really are. Discerning the difference between spirit and soul is important so we can better understand our standing with Christ. Our inner spirit remains Righteous in spite of our shortcomings. Remember that we are one with Christ and safely hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3) in this state it is possible to still “Grow” and remain Righteous in Christ. (2Cor 5:21, Hebrews 10:4) and we are seated in Heaven (Eph. 2:6) so whether are soul is reflecting the flesh or reflecting the spirit, we are right with God in Spirit.

What are you waiting for

Sadly most people live like the one who sees nothing. Many of us start our day wondering why we are doing what we are doing.  Where has our time gone.  I am almost 50!  What will happen to me as I age?  And then I see the bumper sticker that says, "Eternity.....Will that be Smoking or Non Smoking.  When we are challenged to this extent, there is a immediate response needed.  We will need to make a choice.  Will it be Door number 1,2,or 3.   We can choose Jesus and Faith,  we can ignore everything and leave it to fate, or we can join satan's demons and resist God.  Most people fall into the "we will just ignore and hope this goes away".  Please do not make this mistake.

Forgive

For most people forgiveness is something we do when the person who has offended no longer is in your company.  Why is it so easy to be angry at someone and so hard to forgive someone?  This morning I look at Jesus who gave us the perfect example of how to forgive.  Jesus was crucified and he had every reason to just think of himself.  I don't deserve this!  This is not my fault! I will get even!  I will forgive, but get out of my face!  You see when he suffered on the cross he could have, and with good reason kept to himself and deal with his misery.  Then as if his time was not worth anything, two others beside him start talking to and about him.  Who knows how much they said, but can't you just imagine them arguing about who Jesus was?  Here Jesus is suffering and these criminals suffering with him, debate about who Jesus is.  Every part of ME would scream out, "Leave me alone".  Why is it so hard  to forgive others who get dirt on our "clean floors".  If this is you and I know this is me, turn to Jesus.  For he not only asked God to "forgive them", the ones who nailed him to the cross, but also forgave the man who asked Jesus to remember him. He took the time from his suffering to look on another who deserved death and forgave him.  "Today you will be with me in paradise".  Brothers and Sisters let us always remember what Jesus did for us today!
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

"He Became Sin?"

I was once again singing this song in church and as always, it bothered me once again.  This verse has been taken out of context over and over again, and Satan is as always trying to undermine who Jesus really is. 1 Peter 2:22 says Jesus was sinless.  He committed no Sin.  John 5:18 says "Jesus was equal to God"  Is someone implying that Jesus became sin on the cross?  1 Peter 2:24 says he bore  our sins in his body as a sacrificial substitute for us.  This is a sacrificial system in the OT where the lamb was offered as a substitute to atone for our sins.  The lamb did not bear our sins itself (It was symbolic), but the shed blood of the lamb was offered as a sacrifice for atonement.  Hebrews 9:26 says "He hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."  The sacrifice needed to be a unblemished spotless innocent lamb. 1Peter 1:9 states "but with the precious blood of the lamb without blemish or defect."  1John 3:5 "He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.  How silly is this idea that Jesus became sin?  First of all in Hebrews 13:8 we read "he is the same yesterday today and Forever"  If we can agree that God is Sinless, and does not change.......how did he become sin?  So...How did he become Sin in 1 Corinthians 5:21?  Ephesians 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.  The blood is the key ingredient, not our sins, or Jesus becoming sin. Isaiah  53:6 "the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of all" the Hebrew word for iniquity is "deed and consequences."  This verse is saying that Jesus paid the consequences for our sins as the blood sacrifice that was accepatable to God.  2 Corinthians 5:21, back to the verse.... The Greek Word here for Sin means "guilt"  Jesus was made guilty for us as our sacrifice and substitute.  Gal 3:13  "having become a curse for us"  Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."  The curse of the Law was its demands that no one could keep.  Jesus did what no man could do for themselves.  His work, not ours, removed the curse upon us because of our disobedience to the law.  He shed his blood as our substitute.  He was made to be guilty in our place.  He paid the price!  How foolish to think a Perfect sinless lamb of God, equal fully to God, a God who never changes, could have become Sin.
 

Your not the Man

From the scripture read in Numbers chapter 1. The script of life has already been written for me. I am not the main character in the story. Jesus is the main character. I do not need to rewrite the script of my life. One of the greatest lies of Satan tries to convince me that I need to write my script. What happens to me when I do this is a lot of times,someone else does the writing. Satan has a need to rewrite my script because God's script is the perfect story for my life. My story is always being hijacked by an enemy who wants to write a depressing ending to the story. All through the Bible we find that God lead his people through their story of life. Sometimes people strayed from their script for their life and needed correcting. Peter chopped off an ear, to change the outcome of Jesus' script. Jesus said "don't do that Peter", and put the ear back on. Changing the script of peter's story and following through on his script, stopped Satan from changing the outcome. I need to realize that Jesus knows who I really am, not who I think I am. I am free from the "work" of writing my story. It is up to me to start living my script, which is to glorify God! I do not get to choose my script. The story of my life isn't cheaply created. The story of my life is mastered by my creator who knows what is best for my life. I do not get to avoid trials and temptations, because they will come. I can prepare for what life throws at me, because I believe God has the perfect ending to my story. If I look to Christ, my Savior,and give up my desire to live and write my own script, he will straighten my path. I am not the director. I am just a reflector so his light can shine back on Him. His word will be a lamp to my feet. Stop being the director and be a Reflector!

New Year. New Beginning. New Hope.

Many people will spend the first few hours of new years, contemplating the past year, and coming up with some new year resolutions to make themselves feel better.  In fact this very act is contrary to what Paul taught us in Philippians 3:13,Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on towards the goal.(NIV). I started thinking about what is so easy for us to take hold of.  We hang on to the past, not just by the memories we have, but also how the year went for us. I often find myself regretting things I did, or did not do.  I look at what could have been, or what should have been.  Base on our shortcomings we make a correction early in the new year and resolve that we will do better in the new year.  But what is the Apostle Paul saying when he says "Forgetting what is Behind"  I believe Jesus always looked ahead.  Our goal in 2012 should not be about changing what we did wrong in 2011, but what will I do for Him in 2012.  I will press on towards the goal, and prize. "My 2012 may very well be nothing 2011 had anything to do about" 

Some one should buy this thing!

HHH parts two and three

Not at all where I was going with last post.......haha .  I kind of got carried away there.  Hockey is on us (second H)  Jayms is playing on Interlake's City Midget Team.  He always amazes us on his ability to overcome.  His determination to be on this team was something to be admired.  It has not been easy as towards the end of tryouts suffered a lower back injury, he has no idea how it started. But sitting out a couple of weeks was really hard for him.  We have been taking him to physio a couple days a week, and he has learned to play with some discomfort in his thigh.  His lower back has improved, but he still needs regular massage therapy to be able to play relatively without pain.  So with the size and speed of the game it is necessary for him to play "smart" . This is how he has gotten here.  So many players can skate and Hit....but have no idea where they are?  Jayms knows the game and understands it better than most.  He is getting a regular shift and plays on the powerplay.  Our team is struggling, and may not win many games this year, and so points are hard to come by, but I am very proud of my Son!

HHH-Part One

Helloween,Hockey and Happiness.  It's been a while since I sat down and blogged.  Not knowing who my readers will be, gives me the responsibility to speak in such a way as to not mislead or direct anyone into a false lifestyle.........LOL  I guess if you disagree with me I have already failed.  I've never been much of a speller, but I think I spelled everything correctly in this blog.  I even corrected spell check to make sure all was accurate.  I was in contact with a certain someBODY that had the boldness to proclaim carving a pumpkin at Helloween was Sin and that we as Christians have sold out to Satan, and his worshipers holiday.  Funny how the most "Sincere and Holy of Perfect knowledge of Truth" make it their "Religion" to play right into the Satanic ritual of Helloween.  Passing judgement on Christians who in their own opinion violate the Religious standards of the Bible.  (having read the Bible a few times......there is no Religious standard!)  Wow! get to the point Dale, and move on.... I guess I have always been uncomfortable with Helloween and for good reason.  If I only look at the evil it can bring out we should avoid it.  However As Christians living in the Light, we can make a difference in reclaiming every day as "the Lord's Day"  Why give this day to Satan. Christians go out and have fun and put Christ into Halloween.  I kind of find this funny as even in worldly standards Halloween is not about Worshiping Satan, but collecting candy.  Not so Funny when good intentioned Christians try to put Hell into Halloween.  We are not of the world, but we are certainly in the world and should show our love towards one another in a positive way and continue to dilute the "HELL IN HALLOWEEN.  Before you jump all over me as if I am a huge supporter of Hallloween.......I am not.  This is a time of year to pray even more for the lost.  This is a time of year The Light needs to shine in the world.  I am not at all saying the we can participate in all the stupid things of Helloween....like Dressing in Devil clothes or being demons and ghosts, or playing with witchcraft "Harry potter", books.  But we can have fun and put some Light in the world. Christian, let's turn this holiday into a Christian holiday!  As members of God's Church, go out and share this Light.

Finding this annoying

More and more grace preachers are attacking the common "sinners prayer". Basically teaching that it overrides the finish work of what Jesus did on the cross. The bible teaches we are to repent and believe in order to be saved. They teach that when little children pray that Jesus come into their heart, that this is putting a condition on their salvation. While it is correct that we repent and believe...it is also true that repentance only takes place when we have changed our hearts. Romans 10:9-10. Also the heart is talked about some 150 times in the new testament. jesus often referred to the condition of one's heart.

Also these preachers need to go back and learn that repentance is not a act of works, but a heart felt changing of ones mind which happens when we first come to faith by believing.

Smoke Dope

IS IT OKAY TO SMOKE DOPE JUST A LITTLE?

Summer almost gone!

Man was it ever cold today! Hard to imagine 30 plus weather only a few days ago.  Well I have been writing about our last 25 years of marriage together, and I realize I still have one more reason we are still married to
write you about.  Honestly.......I can't think of one ....haha  See not as brite as you might think.  How about some negatives to avoid, and making that number 10.  DO NOT ATEMPT THIS IN YOUR MARRIAGE

1)  Cheat on partner

2)  Stop talking to your partner

3)  Emotionally abuse your partner

4)  Keep finances to yourself

5)  Be Boring

How popular is that!

Now if your counting I will skip reason eight and go on to reason nine and ten as to why we are still married.  Maybe if I can bring it out correctly we will discuss number eight later.  This one might bring me some strange looks.  Let's consider the animals for a moment.  Male and Female God created each and every species.  In every specie of animals both male and female have roles that contribute to the success of a union.  I heard that there is a spider whose only means of mating is rape. They hide in the brush and bait females with a food trap, then they literally jump on them and mate.  HOLD ON, don't be jumping to no conclusions.  The point I am making with this harsh reality is that both male and female spiders are content with this arrangement.  Sometimes it is the female that does the hunting and the males lie around doing nothing.  The reality is that both sexes in the animal world live out their existence within their roles.

Gaylene and I have both agreed to do our part to make our marriage work.  We have roles in our relationship that we have simply accepted as to what contributes to a healthy marriage.  Does this mean I only do what I feel is my role.  Absolutely not.  This is what sets humans apart from the animal world. We need to contribute within the agreement of the couple, our roles or parts.  And since we Love our partners, help them in theirs.  I think it is so important to work out what we will bring to the relationship, and to do it with joy, knowing we are pleasing our mates.  Gaylene and I have found that what we bring to the relationship and how we please our mates is what pleases God and so God blesses these marriages.  So reason number nine......Take Joy in pleasing your mate.  Even if you have maintained the yard for years, or made meals forever!  There is a greater lesson here I want to get across. 

There is a story of a man who died and went to heaven to find two signs above two different lines. One sign said: "ALL THOSE MEN WHO HAVE BEEN DOMINATED BY THEIR WIVES, STAND HERE." That line of men seemed to stretch off through the clouds into infinity.

The second sign read: "ALL THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN DOMINATED BY THEIR WIVES, STAND HERE." Underneath the sign stood one man.
He went over to the man, grabbed his arm and said, "What's the secret, how did you do it? That other line has millions of men and you are the only one standing in this line."
The man looked around with a puzzled expression and said, "Why, I am not sure I know. My wife just told me to stand here."

Seriously.......Men be leaders in your marriage. #1 responsibility

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3

responsibility number  2 Love your wife unconditionally.

Ephesians 5:25 reads, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her."

and responsibility number 3  Serve your wife.

John 13: 1-17  According to the New Testament, being head of your wife does not mean being her master, but her servant. Again, Christ is our model for this type of leadership. Jesus did not just talk about serving; He demonstrated it when he washed His disciples' feet.