Commit to Submit

If Dr. Seuss were to write a book about families, it might begin like this... 

"One kid, two kids, three kids, no kids.

Families Big; Families Small
Families Short; Families Tall
Quiet Families; Loud Families
Crazy families; Serious Families" 

Families come in all shapes and sizes and have all kinds of personalities, and all of us who live for Jesus are members of God's Family.

"Lord, make my family beautiful." That’s a prayer I regularly pray. My prayer means that I want each member of my family to love God more than anyone or anything else. I know that if each of us love God like that, we will act more and more like him and our family will increase in His likeness and characteristics of love, grace, peace, honesty, forgiveness, support and joy. 

I believe that God wants all of us to have beautiful families that reflect Him. I believe that God has the power to make and keep each of our families beautiful. And I believe God wants that for our church family too!

One thing that every family member must do to make and keep their family beautiful is submit to one another. The Bible tells says in Ephesians 5:21, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

This is a direct command of Scripture for every believer. If you are a Christian, you are to submit to God with a motivation that comes out of deep respect and honor for Christ and what he has done for you. This kind of submission is a voluntary attitude of giving in. It is not forced. It is acting in a spirit of cooperation with God. Throughout Scripture, the submissive life is taught:

Luke 22:26 "...the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves." 

Romans 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Phil 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourself." 

Bryan Wilkerson in his published sermon entitled "In God We Trust" shared this illustration and application about submission... 

"Taylor University is a Christian college in Indiana. Years ago, they were pleased to learn that an African student, Sam, was going to be enrolling in their school. This was before it was commonplace for international students to come to the U.S. to study. He was a bright young man with great promise, and the school felt honored to have him. When he arrived on campus, the President of the University took him on a tour, showing him all the dorms. When the tour was over, the President asked Sam where he would like to live. The young man replied, 'If there is a room that no one wants, give that room to me.' The President turned away in tears. Over the years he had welcomed thousands of Christian men and women to the campus, and none had ever made such a request"

Can you imagine the impact Christians would have on the world if we all submitted like Sam? What if Christians were to say...

If there's a job that no one wants to do, I'll do that job.

If there's a student that no one wants to eat lunch with, I'll eat with him.

If there's a piece of toast that's burnt, let me take that piece.

If there's a parking space that's far away from the church, I'll park in that space.

If there's a service time that's less convenient for me but better for others, I'll worship at that service.

That's the kind of submission that we are talking about. I like the way The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia sums up submission: "The general attitude that is to mark every Christian in relation to God, to other Christians, and to civil authorities is one of readiness to renounce one's will for the sake of the Others."

Jesus gave up heaven for 33 years and came to earth covered in human flesh. He submitted himself to God's plan to become a human sacrifice to take the punishment for our sins. His submission included betrayal by friends, an unlawful trial by authorities, physical torture, humiliation, and separation from God for a period of time.

Jesus knew that his submission was paving the only possible road for sinful men to find their way to God, and he was willing to do whatever God asked of him to make that possible. When Jesus submitted to God's will in the Garden of Gethsemane and said, "...not my will but thine be done," he was saying, "It’s not about me, Lord. It's totally all about you and what you want."

How many of us have included something like that in our prayers recently? Submission is also how God designed the Christian family and the church to function. It is what sets us apart from the world and the world's "It's all about me" attitude. (Ephesians 5:22- 6:9)

The world teaches people to seek first place; Jesus says that the first shall be last.  The world teaches people that they must purchase the latest and greatest gadget; God teaches us that it is better to give than receive. The world teaches people not to associate with the marginalized; Jesus said, "Whatever you have done for the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."

God designed the family and church to function differently than the world! And we cannot obey God and function like the world. It doesn’t work that way. Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not of this World." (John 19:36)

Christians are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ in every aspect of their lives. In addition, the Bible teaches that submission includes the specific duty of...

Wives submitting to their husband's leadership and wives respecting their husbands.

Of husbands submitting to their wives by loving them with the same tenderness and sacrificial love that Christ showed the church - a love to the death.

Of children submitting to their parents by obeying and honoring them.

Parents submitting to their children by taking the time to train them in the Lord and doing it with the same tenderness, mercy and grace God uses to train us.

Of students submitting to their teachers by respecting them, following their instructions, and working hard on their assignments.

Of teachers submitting to their students by treating them with respect, and not showing favoritism among them.

The body of Christ is made up of different parts. Christ is the head, and each of us is a Holy Spirit-gifted member of the body. The body of Christ consists of teachers, workers, healers, givers, those who show mercy, those who serve, those who preach, leaders, those who prophesy, shepherds and more. Just like our physical body is made up of different parts and all parts are required to work as a team to function well, each part of our church body must submit itself to the other parts of the body to function well. (I Corinthians 12:12-29)

If my brain sends a message to my hand to pick something up, and my hand ignores the message, the work is not accomplished. If my eye tries to start doing the work of my heart, it fails and loses sight of its original function. Have you ever tried to pick something up with your toes? While it is possible to pick some things up with your toes, it takes a lot more time, energy, and concentration to do it. If we as the body of Christ are unwilling to work with one another by submitting to the giftedness that God has given to each of us, we will not accomplish anything for his Kingdom. Submission is the oil that keeps the family and the body of Christ running the way God designed it: in reflection of Him. 

What would a Seuss book about your church family reveal about your level of submission to one another? Submission is not part of our human nature, but it is definitely a mark that the Spirit of God is alive and working in us.

When we commit to submit to one another, we are obeying the Bible, imitating Jesus, and following God's design for our family and church community.

The result is a beautiful family of love, peace, honesty, forgiveness, grace, support and joy. 

When we are not submitting, we're not acting any differently than the world around us and our impact for God is ruined. 

COMMIT TO SUBMIT SURVEY

Ephesians 5:21 

(Directions: Please fill in all the blanks that pertain to you.)

ALL BELIEVERS:  My level of putting the interests of others (without exclusion) above my own interests, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a ______.

CHILDREN:  My level of honor toward my parents and my level of obedience to them, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a ______.

PARENTS:  My level of taking the time to train my children in the Lord and my level of training them with the same tenderness, mercy, and grace God uses to train me, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a ______.

TEACHERS/SUPERVISORS/BOSSES: My level of treating my students/fellow employees/employees with respect and without favoritism, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a ______.

STUDENTS:  My level of following my teacher's instructions and working hard on my assignments, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a ______.

WIVES:  My level of submitting to my husband's headship and my level of respect for him, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a _____.

HUSBANDS:  My level of loving my wife with the same tenderness and sacrificial love that Christ showed to the church, on a scale of 1-10, is a _____. 

As a result of my submission score/scores above, I realize where my commitment to submission stands, and I believe God wants me to...

Written by Major Cheriann Stoops

Asbury Park Corps

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Your Psalm

Ignorance.

By definition it means a lack of knowledge or information.

A source that I have found to be a fountain of knowledge and insight once uttered, "Before I do anything, I ask myself if an idiot would do that. If the answer is yes, I do no do that thing!" - Dwight Schrute of "The Office"

While I don't necessarily condone the use of calling others idiots, I do wholeheartedly believe that the essential idea of this quote is life-altering for the believer. We are a people with a long and eventful history. It's filled with heroic and group highs, yet riddled with individual and community lows. We need not look far to find examples of this, however, I would like to direct your attention to the book of Psalms where we find examples of both in abundance.

The author of many of the Psalms is a man from the people who had a range of emotions not unlike our own. He had urges, fears, troubles and nightmares just as we do today. Apart from all his great accomplishments and exploits, perhaps his greatest gift to us today was his writing.

Sometimes, I like to imagine this people's champion perhaps stepping out on his balcony and bursting into song!  "My gift is my Psalm, and this one's for you!"

No matter who you are, where you are in life or your walk with the Lord, there is a Psalm for you, "...and you can run and tell everybody, that this is your Psalm."

Seriously, there is great theology in the Psalms which encompasses the human dilemma of life, while also reminding us of our victory through God over the world. The most powerful message I gain from the Psalms isn't found in the themes of sin, suffering or faith. No, my hope isn't found in an acrostic or a motif. It's not in chiastic structure or the parallelism of any particular Psalm.

My hope is found in the simple fact that there are more than one Psalm of King David. I don't celebrate his numerous shortcomings, even though I can relate to multiple failures. I celebrate his numerous attempts to get it right. David embodied the "get back up again" attitude that we desperately need today. "Forgive me Lord, and try me one more time..." I love that song because it speaks about me. It speaks about David. It speaks about you.

None of us are perfect. We fall, we lose, we make mistakes. Thanks be to God that we can also learn from them! We can learn from the lessons taught in the Psalms through the lives of others so we no longer have to be ignorant or doomed to repeat them. We don't have to make the same mistakes anymore!

"Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction..." - 1 Corinthians 10:11

Written by Lt. Darell Houseton

Newark Ironbound

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My Six, Three, Seven, or Twelve Point Plan

Have you ever been in a meeting, conference, conversation or any interaction and feel like your head is spinning?

"If you only follow these (5) steps in my book, life will be perfect." Purchase my book and "Have A New Kid By Friday." Simply follow the 'South Beach Diet,' and be slim and trim.  Everyone is telling us how to improve managing our home, kids, workout routines…and the list goes on…and on…I think you get my point.

Information overload can become just that - overload. How do we know where to turn? What is the answer?  

Stop spinning for a moment, and take encouragement from these words found in Paul's letter to the Romans 8:5b (NIV).  

"…but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."

Hear me on this one - being productive, efficient, and focused are not bad things. The trouble comes when our focus is off. Scripture needs to lead the way.     

Listen to it in another version from the Message, and see if this resonates with you:

Romans 8:5 (The Message)

"Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life.  Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them – living and breathing God."

Let us be known as people who "trust God’s action in them" and not simply a person who trusts in a business plan, the latest gadget, app, or 5-step book.

Written by Chip Kelly
Territorial Lay Leader
Development Bureau Director

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