“Getting Back to Basics”

Husbands

Genesis 2:24

²⁴ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

1 Peter 3:7

⁷ You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

In preparation for marriage, the couple should develop the mindset that the SPOUSE is the number one person in every relationship that they have.  Parents, siblings, children, friends and other family members do not come before the spouse.  Husbands were charged with giving honor to their wives and there are numerous scriptures that instruct husbands to love their wives.  The original text uses agape as the specific form of love that husbands are required to have for their wives.  In order to give a simple definition of agape, it could be explained as having a person’s best interest at heart; regardless of how you may feel about them at any given time. 

Ephesians 5:25 reveals that a husband has a responsibility to sacrifice for his wife spiritually as well as physically.  As the head of the family, the husband is admonished by Colossians 3:19 to avoid dealing with his wife in a harsh manner.  Proverbs 18:22 indicates that if a man is able to find a wife he has found something of value and once he marries her, he receives favor from the Lord.    

A husband’s role should mirror the role that Christ displayed with His disciples.  One characteristic that He exhibited was proper correction.  Jesus lived by a standard and He never allowed his feelings for His followers to prevent Him from correcting them when they were in error.  When James and John desired to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans who refused to welcome Jesus into their village, Jesus quickly addressed and corrected their improper thinking (Luke 9:54). 

Another characteristic that Jesus displayed was that of a protector.  When the Roman soldiers came to arrest Jesus, He allowed Himself to be taken into their custody and instructed them to allow His disciples to freely leave (John 18:3-11). 

American culture has attempted to redefine the role and responsibility of a husband.  God designed men to be the providers for the family.  He never intended for husbands to be stay at home dads while the wife went to work to provide for the family.  Husbands were created and commissioned to be the leaders of the family and the head of household.  As leaders, husbands may delegate certain responsibilities to their wives, but they are never to abdicate their role as leader.  A husband who desires to lead his home in a godly manner will have to violate current day social norms.  He will have to declare, as Joshua did, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”     

 

“Getting Back to Basics”

Introduction

In the game of basketball, Tim Duncan was one of the most notable power forwards of all time.  There are people who have averaged more points per game than him and there are people who have averaged more rebounds per game than him.  Although these individuals may have had superstar moments, all of these people have experienced dry periods in their careers.  Tim Duncan, however, maintained consistency throughout his career.  You never saw him come down the court and do a 360 dunk and you never saw him displaying fancy dribble skills.  What you did observe was him putting the ball in the basket; CONSISTENTLY.  He was even nicknamed the Big Fundamental.  But his continued grip on the basics is what earned him the continued success that he had year after year.  Tim is in a class by himself because he never strayed away from the basics.  He was even teased because he didn’t do ANYTHING fancy, but his record is still undeniable. 

As Christians, it is necessary for us to focus on the basics.  The basics never appear to be flashy but the basics brings success.  We discover what the basics are by studying the word of God.  The world is in the state that it is specifically because of the abandonment of the basics.  The Church is responsible for introducing and teaching people right relationship with God.  We are also responsible for defining the roles of men and women according to the Word of God. 

Many do not believe that men and women should have specific roles nor do they desire to follow any predetermined role that God has established for us.  However, abandoning the roles that God has defined for us have placed men and women in competition with one another.  But, at the end of the day, it is impossible for men and women to be competitors because our roles are vastly different from one another.  The purpose of the differences in roles is to create balance and structure within the family and society.  God did not only create specific roles for us to follow, He also created our bodies to comply with these roles and He created chemicals and hormones to keep us on track with these roles. 

In the upcoming weeks, we will review what the Bible has to teach us concerning the roles and responsibilities of the husband and wife within the family and the effect that those roles have on society at large.

Genesis 1:26-28

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

 

“Hypnotic Influence”

Devices of Influence

The brain is a very intricate part of the body but it is also very fragile.  It has the ability to process data at incredible speeds.  However, it is vulnerable to outside manipulation.  Television, computers, and smartphones are mediums that allow us to view digital images and videos that have a hypnotic effect on our brains.

When we watch television, the images that we view are not solid images.  They are really images that are flashing or refreshing too rapidly for our eyes to detect.  But our brain is affected by what our eyes see.  As we view these images, the left hemisphere of our brain which is our cognitive and analytical side becomes more dormant.  Our left brain is the side that processes information and determines which information to allow in and which information to disregard.  The right side of our brain is more emotional and non-critical.  According to research conducted by Dr. Herbert Krugman, former president of the American Psychological Association, as we watch television, the left hemisphere of our brain decreases in operation and the right hemisphere of our brain doubles its activity rate.  This is considered an extreme neurological anomaly. 

Psycho physiologist Thomas Mulholland has shown thru research that after 30 seconds of watching television, your brain will go into an almost comatose state.  The neo-cortex, which is the midbrain, controls sensory perception, motor commands, spatial reasoning, conscious thought and language.  This part of the brain is shut down and brain activity is transferred to the limbic system, which is our lower brain.  This part of the brain controls emotion, behavior, motivation, long term memory, and olfaction.  Television causes our cognitive thinking to dissipate and allows our emotional thinking to take control.  Longitudinal studies have shown that extended use of our lower brain leads to higher brain atrophy.  Our brain can absorb 1800 pictures a minute and 40,000 pictures while watching a 30 minute program. 

Subliminal messages are messages that are hidden within video files or desktop backgrounds that have the purpose of programming people’s minds.  These messages have the ability to bypass the conscious mind and go directly to the subconscious.

Many times, we are witnesses of crass behavior exhibited by others.  While we may be baffled by the behavior, in many cases, what we are experiencing is a demonstration of what occurs when the left side of your brain or your cognitive side has been disengaged for an extended period of time.  When we do not exercise caution or restraint with the information we allow into our spirits, we open ourselves up to concepts and ideologies that go against the mindset that the Bible teaches us to have.  

In one experiment, 182 West Germans agreed to avoid television for a year with the promise of receiving payment for successfully doing so.  None of them lasted longer than six months.  Each of them exhibited increased anxiety, frustration and depression.  These are the same symptoms of heroin withdrawal.  

Even though certain devices may appear to be innocent or harmless, they can have a deleterious effect on us.  As born again believers in Christ, we have a responsibility to display a changed and different lifestyle than unrepentant individuals.  However, some of our favorite entertainments may interfere with our ability to do so.

Romans 12:2

² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

“Hypnotic Influence”

Introduction

The term hypnosis is defined as inducing a high state of suggestibility, often thinly disguised as relaxation or meditation.  Three methods of introducing hypnosis are repetitive music, voice roll, and room feel.  Here’s a brief description of each one:

In the case of “repetitive music” (most likely with a beat close to the human heart of 45-72 beats per minute), the rhythm along with harmonic progressions relaxes the subconscious mind and opens it up for manipulation.  

A “voice roll” is a patterned, paced style used by hypnotist when inducing a trance.  It is also used by many lawyers, several of whom are highly trained hypnotist, when they desire to entrench a point firmly in the minds of the jurors.  A voice roll can sound as if the speaker was talking to the beat of a metronome or it may sound as though they were emphasizing every word in a monotonous, patterned style.  The words will usually be delivered at the rate of 45-60 beats per minute, maximizing the hypnotic effect.

Lastly, the way a “room feels” is essential to hypnotizing unknowing subjects.  It requires special lighting.  Florescent lights are the best because they aren’t too dim, but aren’t too harsh.  The temperature of the room also plays a role in the process of introducing hypnosis.  It helps to have the room a little cooler than room temperature.  You need to have the unknowing subjects very relaxed, perhaps even close to falling asleep.

People have associated hypnosis with a hypnotist standing on stage swinging a pendulum back and forth repeating the words, “You’re Getting Sleepy.”  The hypnotist then commands the individual to bark like a dog or cluck like a chicken.  This image of hypnosis is given in order to mask the demonic effect of true hypnosis.  Hypnosis is used to enter the subconscious and affect the thinking or actions of an individual. 

The Bible does not support the manipulation of a person’s thinking.  God forbids deception of any kind.  Second Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 14 warns us that even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  God makes us aware of certain practices that go on so that we can use wisdom by avoiding situations that places us in physical or spiritual danger.

2 Corinthians 4:1-4

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.