I’ve been holding on to a video for a couple weeks that I wanted to write an article about, but time is a precious commodity… I’ll let this speak for itself.
Here is a secular, female divorce attorney who specializes in defending fathers. She has a fantastic grip on the importance of fathers and has made a real difference in the lives of thousands of children who still have close access to their fathers!
Continue reading “Are fathers really that important?”Common culture tends to believe that an orphan is a child that has no parents, i.e., father or mother, but is this Biblical?
In exploring this topic, the first consideration one should have is, ‘to whom do the children belong?’ Again, common culture tends to believe that children are jointly the possession of father and mother, but, is this Biblical?
In fact, when one understands proper Biblical authority structure, it becomes evident that Continue reading “‘Orphan,’ according to Scripture…”
Foundational to any culture or civilization is the family. As the family goes, so goes the civilization.
The family has been under assault in western civilization for decades and the crumbling effects are being felt as the whole of culture teeters on the brink of collapse. Rescue and recovery is not quick or easy, but those who are concerned, will seek to understand and begin to utilize the blueprint given in Scripture that is the only way to rebuild the foundation.
Over the last several years, the authors of this blog have been studying and understanding all facets of what the Blueprint says, concerning family, its several parts and how it is to function. There is one verse in the Blueprint that serves as a cornerstone for rebuilding the foundation.
But I want you to understand that Messiah is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Messiah.
1 Corinthians 11:3
By this we can clearly see that God has order and from that order we see that man and woman have roles. This blog, 11:3 Restoration, is about the foundation and is based on this cornerstone guideline.
Welcome to this journey. Walk with us as we begin exploring and diving into the many aspects of what Scripture, the Blueprint, has to say about the foundation of family and it’s parts – man, woman, and child.
Honor and shame are concepts almost completely lost on western culture. We watch memes, gifs and video clips of foibles and disasters that befall others and consider it humorous to mock and laugh at their misfortune. We even encourage and rejoice in the sin and shame inducing behavior of others while entirely ignoring our own reproach for things Scripture considers abhorrent. Our culture ignores widows and orphans, glorifies divorce, practices all manner of sexual deviance, encourages abortion and we are generally irresponsible toward all but self.
In fact, like a man with no sense of smell, we have become a people entirely unaware of our own stench or that of those around us. Like pigs, we wallow in our filth and think it okay, maybe even funny. We glorify our stench.
As I have been studying Scripture regarding the two houses of Israel, God’s relationship with each house and His use of the relationship between man and woman to image Himself and His people, I have become increasingly aware of how very wretched we are on so many levels, and, how wrong is our theology.
One of the deep concepts that God refers to over and over is that of shame and reproach, so I had to begin to search out why God uses this concept and what we need to understand in both the spiritual and the physical dimension. Foundationally, there are several basic concepts that must be understood. If these are new to you, I recommend reading and processing the links to gain understanding and insight.
Continue reading “Shame, Reproach and the Image of Marriage”As explained in the introduction to this series, the most basic building block for the restoration of all Israel is the family. To begin understanding how this basic building block is supposed to work, we need to begin to understand the creation order, and for that, we begin in the writings of Paul.
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. [7] For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. [8] For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; [9] for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. [10] Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
1 Corinthians 11:3,7-10 NASB
We know that Paul upheld Torah so have you ever wondered where Paul is getting this from? I think we do this passage and ourselves a disservice when we only focus on the literal head covering debate. Paul is using a physical example to teach some very important spiritual truths. He is clearly teaching headship and authority structure and he references creation so we should be able to pick up on what he is talking about if we go back to Genesis.
Recently, I happened across a Bethany Christian Services magazine and was reading a couple articles about adoption, and no, that is not something we are considering at this time. But, a point in one of the articles prompted some thought about family unity and division.
A short conversation this morning in the comments section of another blog connected the thoughts to the One Law v. Two Law debates/discussions I have had before!
A much debated subject in the Messianic movement is whether the Torah is just for the Jews, or is it the revelation of righteousness for all mankind. We’ve looked at this topic multiple times from various angles, a list of links below, but here is another thought: ‘How to Divide a Family…’ Simple, have different standards and rewards for the adopted children as you have for the natural born.
Seriously, think about it! If you had a child and then you adopted another child, would it not cause bitterness, anger, jealousy, resentment and myriad other sins if you treated the two radically differently in terms of rules and expectations? Continue reading “How to Divide a Family… A Thought.”
11:3 Restoration 