Tag: men and women

Dwell

2 Chronicles 33-34

Psalm 84

1 Timothy 2

-Devotion by Makenna Cisler (MN)

Key Passage:

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Yahweh of Armies! My soul has longed and has even fainted for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” Psalm 84:1-2 (REV)

Do you long to be in the presence of God? Do you view being in His presence better than anything else in the world?

It can be difficult to find the time in the busyness of life to spend time with God. Whether it’s sports, practice, homework, work, other family member’s activities, or even church events, our lives are constantly full to the brim with a packed calendar and full schedule. Margin is something we write over and utilize to fill the space and time more completely with television, social media, and other numbing time wasters that we coin as “entertainment”. We are left feeling alone, jealous for what others have, regrets, and spiritually empty. Sometimes we don’t even realize how much our souls are longing to be in the courts of God. 

When we reach those moments when the world feels overwhelming with its constant noise, we face two options. The first is to turn the noise up. Picking up our phones to open Tic Tok, Youtube, or Disney+. This numbs the brain and continues the vicious cycle of loneliness, anxiety, and despair. The second option is to turn off the noise by picking up our Bibles and setting aside time to pray both alone and with your church community. If you’re reading this, then you’re already taking the first steps towards seeking the presence of God. 

Psalm 84 displays the beautiful sense of belonging we can find in the presence of God. Seeking God’s presence each day combats loneliness, grants strength to face the world, and helps shield you from wickedness. Have you seen a shift in your life when you have rooted yourself deeply in the presence of God?

2 Chronicles 33 and 34 recount two kings of Judah. The first, Manasseh, did what was evil while the second, Josiah, did what was good. What was the difference between these two kings? The first made temples for Baal and used worldly means to do as he pleased while the second turned the focus back to God. Manasseh led the people away from the presence of God. In those days it was through temples to deities and spiritually evil practices. What in today’s society tries to lead you away from God’s dwelling like Manasseh?

1 Timothy 2 also encourages being in the presence of God. 1 Timothy 2 starts with “Now, above all, I urge you to make petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all people” (1 Tim. 2:1 REV). Paul is encouraging people to pray for not only their needs or their family’s health but for all people. It is not to be used to preach at people saying “may God let billy bob see that he is wrong” it is to pray with thanksgiving and love like “thank you god that billy bob is in my life and you guide our friendship”. Our prayer life should prompt peaceful living rooted in Christ as our mediator. When you pray, what do you normally focus on?

Prayer builds our relationship with God. It’s a precious gift we have that Christ has provided a way for us to communicate with our heavenly Father. The moments of prayer both in quiet solitude and corporate worship, bring us closer to dwelling in God’s presence. 



THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS

This passage might be difficult to understand as it describes how men and women pray and teach. It is one of the most difficult passages in scripture. Regarding 1 Timothy 2:8-10. In this section there is seemingly a difference of how men and women should pray. Men lift their hands without anger or arguing and women dress properly with modesty and devotion to God. That does not mean that men can wear whatever they please and women cannot raise their hands in prayer. Paul addresses issues that occur in churches speaking to issues that prevent our hearts to be fully devoted to God. This passage is encouraging purity in prayer. The examples shared are ones that might be a struggle for either gender. Women, it’s easy to buy into the culture of we can only be beautiful with makeup. That’s not God’s best for you. He doesn’t want you to find your identity in your beauty but in His presence. Men, it’s easy to go along with what the world says. Men should be strong, emotionless, and anger is the only feeling you can show. That’s not God’s best for you! He doesn’t desire you to be emotionally unavailable, straight laced and strong. He calls you to open yourself with emotions stepping outside of the social norms and comfort zones. God is calling both men and women to approach Him with hearts and hands wide open for Him to be the person’s identity and not what the world describes should identify an individual. 

Likewise the final section of 2 Timothy addresses a concern within the church. Since women had no social or political authority or standing, within the Roman empire women found their “power” from money and religion. The temples of Roman goddesses set women into positions where they would lord over men. Instead of being equals, Roman goddess Diana encouraged women to be better humans who were more valuable and had more power than men. There was also a teaching going around in Rome that man was the one to cause sin to enter the world and not the women. This was a big problem that needed to be addressed! Paul writes here to remind women that they are not a better, higher being and that the scripture is not to be used to assert that a woman is a better, higher being. Now this is not to say that women are lesser than men and can never teach. That would go against the fact that all humans are the image of God (Genesis 1:27), that through Christ all are set free from the hierarchy of society (Galatians 3:28), and all are equally gifted (Romans 12:6-8).


To both men and women, do not allow misunderstandings of this scripture to allow either gender to dominate over the other. Instead, allow it to shape your hearts to dwell equally with one another in the presence of God.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

How can we be like Josiah, refocusing ourselves and our churches towards the presence of God?

What are some habits you can work on that help you dwell in the presence of God?

PRAYER TIME

Take time to pray today. Pray for God to use His word to teach and guide your life. Praise Him for His goodness. Ask Him to shape your view and understanding of the world and Scripture. Dwell quietly in His presence to tune yourself to the holy spirit, which He has so gifted you to provide understanding and guidance within your life. 

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A Hot Topic

1 Peter 3

Sunday, October 9, 2022

Gender is a hot topic these days. We live in a society where there is much flexibility in how someone chooses to live their life, irrespective of cultural norms or the directives of our creator (let’s stick to what Peter writes about in his letter). Misogyny and radical feminism are two ways in which humans have messed up what was designed to be a tremendous blessing from God.

There is a lot to unpack here as Peter begins by addressing wives. In reading the text and then looking at commentaries it appears that foremost in Peter’s mind is a woman who has come to a saving faith in Jesus but is married to a man who does not share that faith (though we can gain something from this even if we’re not in that demographic).

The way that societies functioned, specifically the society that Peter would be writing to, did not offer much in the way of opportunity for a woman to exert influence over her husband. Her options may be quite limited in what her husband allowed her to do or permitted her to go. Where a husband and father who came to faith would be expected (even simply allowed) to bring his family along with him to religious functions, the same could not be said for the wife.

So how is a woman to minister to her unbelieving husband? How does she influence him intentionally in a way to bring him into the body of Christ? Nagging is probably not the most effective way to do this, in fact it might have the opposite effect; rather, the solution that Peter proposes is to allow the gospel of Jesus (i.e., the gospel of the Kingdom) to radically influence your way of living. Being salt and light (Matthew 5:13-14) is not just something that you are to be for people whom you may be unfamiliar with, even more importantly it is something you are to be with those who you are most intimate with. Living a life that bears the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22) and exemplifies Jesus’ beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11; Luke 6:20-26) will make you a more desirable (and influential) person.

Obviously, there is no way to guarantee that an unbelieving spouse will come to faith, but by being holistically attractive (not just externally, but internally as well) you will have a far better chance to influence them than if you were to try to get by on physical attraction (I don’t even know how that would really work) but be ugly on the inside.  

Peter addresses the ladies in verses 1-6, but he shifts gears in verse 7 and speaks to husbands. He says to “live with your wives in an understanding way” (ESV), literally living with her “according to knowledge” as opposed to living with her in “sheer thoughtlessness” as the Expositor’s Bible Commentary puts it. I can speak from experience, it is very easy to do what I want and expect my wife to pick up the slack, but that is not the way that Peter instructs husbands to operate. Instead of living in a way that could breed resentment and other problems (infidelity?), husbands are commanded to live in a thoughtful way.

Husbands are instructed to honor their wives as “the weaker vessel.” Huh? What does that mean? There are different ways to look at this… Societally women were weaker (we’ve already considered the lack of influence), typically women are weaker in physical strength (I can think of a few ladies that could probably wipe the floor with their husbands in a fight), and sometimes women are more emotionally fragile (have a wider range of feelings?) than men. The word for weaker (ἀσθενεστέρῳ) can be translated with lots of nuance, but one big take away from this is that women are not inferior to men. Whatever Peter is getting at with the idea of the wife being a weaker vessel, something is very clear: we are co-heirs of all the benefits that come with accepting Jesus and believing in the kingdom message. As objects of God’s salvation there is no distinction between male and female, just as there is no distinction between Jew or Greek. While husbands and wives may be called to different roles in their relationship and even in their roles in the church, this is not because of a lack of capability, this is the function that God has laid out. Husbands and wives are to minister to one another and to minister to others. We can use our marriages as an example and an opportunity in ministry. Authentic Christianity has done more to liberate women from misogyny and oppression than any other organization ever has; that being said, it has not changed the fact that men and women are different. We have equality in standing before God, we have equality in salvation, we ought to have equality in rights, but we are still different and that is a blessing. As the church is a body with many parts, the one flesh that we become in marriage takes into account our uniqueness as individuals and the differences in our physiology. We are to be reliant on one another (do not read as co-dependency), and we are responsible to one another to meet the needs that we have as image bearers of God and the uniqueness that we have as men and women.

-J.J. Fletcher

Action/Reflection:

To those of us who are married: We should evaluate where we are at in living as Peter instructs. Hopefully you are married to a fellow believer who you can discuss this passage with and commit to one another to implement these tactics in your union. If married to a non-believer, behave in a way that is intentional in living the gospel out to them.

To those of you who are engaged or hope to be married one day: Look for a spouse who takes scripture seriously and is willing to change their behavior to conform to what scripture dictates, both in their life as an individual and the way that they approach relationships.

For those of you who are called to a life of singleness (or just end up that way) or those of you who know someone who fits that description: I believe that the behaviors that the relational and internal things that Peter speaks of here will be beneficial in building authentic relationships that help navigate the potential challenges that a life of singleness may bring.

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