Lesson 2--Bill and Annabel's Flesh

We had a great time sharing lunch today at Fuddrucker's. Cindy and I enjoyed watching your little ones. While they did eat, they appeared to be more interested in the games. I especially enjoyed watching little Will Gutierrez. He stood in front of one of those games mesmerized. He would point the pistol toward the screen and periodically yell for himself. He was having a blast! And it did not matter to him that no one had activated the game with a quarter. He thought he was playing the game just like the big boys and girls and he was having a great time...for free. As Bo observed, it will be a sad day when he realizes that you have to put a quarter in the game for it to work. I also enjoyed meeting Kathleen's Mom. It is nice to meet folks for whom we have been praying. It was also great to see each of you who were able to make it. I always enjoy our fellowship time together.

As Craig reported, we have looked at the support materials that are available to accompany the DVD study series called "The Life." Beth passed around a couple of children's books available at the website and I passed around "The Life" Study Guide that accompanied the DVDs. Craig spoke with Karin Peters about the possibility of buying the book, "The Lifetime Guarantee" to accompany our study. We are going to explore the possibility of having the church provide each couple in our class with a copy of this book. We will keep you informed.

TODAY'S LESSON

In today's lesson, we saw both Bill and Annabell share their own personal versions of "the flesh" which weighed them down, enslaved them, and ultimately threatened to destroy their marriage. Even though it appears that many of our flesh patterns may have developed in response to our home environment when we were young children, Bill makes the point that our parents were playing "Lord of the Ring" just like we play "Lord of the Ring." However, our real enemy and the real culprit of our flesh development is satan himself.

One of the freightening things that I saw in today's lesson is the understanding that many of the things we do, the way we say things, the actions we take, and the attitudes we demonstrate could be impacting our kids in a negative way when it comes to the development of their own flesh. While Bill's flesh pattern was based on a need to be a "manly man" and to demonstrate strength and machismo, Annabel described a need to perform well, even a need to be perfect as her own flesh. Both of these flesh patterns worked against their marriage and both individuals fell victims to their own flesh patterns as well as those of their spouse. This destructive pattern drove Bill and Annabel to the brink of divorce.

In Bill and Annabel's story, we see that God used the incompatibility of their flesh to bring them to a place of trusting Him. Annabel shared that she reached the point when she cried out, "God, I can't! You are going to have to." God responded, "Thank you, Annabel. I will do it all for you!" And with this, Annabel began to grasp the truth of Galatians 2:20--that she had been crucified with Christ and that Christ would live His life through her.

Your flesh and my flesh may be different from Bill and Annabel's. However, we all have flesh and we all behave in ways that are fleshly. The sooner we recognize these patterns and the sooner we admit that we simply cannot defeat the enemy, the sooner we are in a position to be delivered from the slavery of sin. We must turn it over to God. He will do it all for us. In addition to freeing us from the terrible bondage of fleshly living, our freedom in our marriages and in our homes is likely to help our own kids to avoid some of the destructive behaviors, attitudes, and emotions that are often based on subtle messages that were received during upbringing. Probably, none of us can avoid passing on some negative thoughts, actions, or attitudes to our children. However, we can minimize such teachings if we are willing to lean on God completely--to be crucified with Him and to allow Him to live through us (Gal. 2:20). Amen.