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Is there a difference between the thinking of a 20- or 30-something-year-old single male and a 40- or 50-something never-married single male about getting married? I will share some information on that subject in the next article. In the meanwhile, first, view this film clip released by Columbia Pictures in 1955. Then view the conclusion on the “HERS” page. It is quite humorous.

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God created male and female. Genesis 2:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” This is where it all began for humans. Man created first with the woman inside him to be presented to him, at a later time, to be his help. Now I will fast forward.

I have been watching football on television lately, and I ask myself, should women be permitted to compete in the sport along side the men? I think not. I also have been keeping up with the presidential primaries. I ask myself, do I want to see a female run this country? I won’t answer that now, but I will share with you my thoughts for today.

Covet the Unseen

Article by Justin Coleman

Have you ever had a need in your life? Then, found a promise in the bible that addresses that area of your life? Then, prayed and began to believe God for that promise to change that particular area of your life? If you have been walking with the Lord for any length of time you have probably been in this situation many times. You might think of this as the practical side of our spiritual lives. Our wonderful Heavenly Father has given us endless amounts of wisdom and promises in His Word to address every area of life so it’s only natural or practical to take advantage of those promises. We do that by praying and believing for those promises to come to pass in our life. That is how we got saved. According to Romans 10: 9, 10 that “…with your heart you believe…” and “… with your mouth you confess…”. That is how we make Jesus the Lord of our life. That is also how we continue to walk with Him the rest of our lives.

But, what about when we pray and believe God for something that we don’t immediately see manifest in the natural? How do we bridge the gap between praying and experiencing the promises of God? Before we talk about how we can navigate that in between time, let’s consider something that I believe to be a common scenario. Let’s use healing as an example. According to Isaiah 53 and 1 Peter 2:24 (and many other scriptures) healing is a part of the finished work of Christ accomplished forever on the cross. An individual with a disease hears the wonderful truth about Jesus accomplishing healing for them on the cross, just like he paid for their sins. They pray and believe they receive healing. Their body doesn’t feel any different at that moment. They know the Word of God is true and they believe it, but they aren’t seeing any physical change. All too often, when this occurs a person becomes focused on the natural. How does their body feel? Is it getting any better? Is the pain going away? Is my body getting stronger?

They become so focused on how their body is feeling and whether or not it is changing to line up with what the bible says that they completely lose sight of the spiritual reality and become consumed with the physical realm. What can we do instead?

“while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV)

Instead of focusing on what we can see and feel, we should look to or put our focus on the unseen. This verse tells us that the things we can see are temporary. They are changeable. The things which we can’t see (spiritual things) are eternal. They can’t be changed. We tend to move towards something when we put our focus on it. Sports is a great example of this. Hitters in baseball are admonished to stay focused and keep their eye on the ball.

Why? Because wherever they focus their attention will determine whether or not they can hit the ball. The same is true for us spiritually. If we put our focus on the promises of God we will be drawn towards them and our lives will begin to change. If we focus on the problem we will get deeper and deeper into the problem. Abraham is a great example of this.

“who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” – Romans 4:18-19 (NKJV)

Abraham and Sarah were both well past being able to have children, but the bible tells us that he didn’t consider his own body. The present condition of his body didn’t determine how he saw himself. He wasn’t constantly looking at his body to see if the promise was true. He believed. He could see, in his own heart, the promise of being a father of many nations coming true. He focused on the promise. He coveted the unseen.

You might be thinking “Aren’t we told not to covet?”. Yes and no. The Ten Commandments says not to covet your neighbor’s wife. 1 Corinthians 12:31 in KJV says to “covet earnestly the best gifts”. The simplest definition of “covet” is desire. Having desires is neither good nor bad. It is good to desire good things that God wants us to have. It is not good to desire things we aren’t supposed to have.

Instead of looking at our circumstances and being disappointed that they don’t look different, let’s focus on the promise. Let’s put our minds onto the Word of God and meditate on it until we get to the point that we can close our eyes and see ourselves the way the bible says regardless of what things look like in the natural. I believe if we get so focused on thinking about and talking the Word of God instead of putting our attention on circumstances that we will begin to see it as being real in our own hearts no matter what we see with our eyes. When the Word of God becomes so real in your heart that you can rejoice and be full of joy in the face of challenging circumstances then you already have the victory in your heart. So, I encourage you: Don’t get your attention focused on the natural problems you are facing. Put your heart and mind on the Word of God and meditate on it until it becomes so real in your heart that you are bursting with joy. Covet that which is unseen. When you can see it in your heart you will surely see it in your life.

<< Father to the Fatherless

The Father is Seeking >>

In many cases, becoming single due to divorce has left females with joint or full custody of their children, which requires her to be the head of her household instead of being the helper. On another note, there is an increasing number of single females who are professionals, 40 or more years old, and never married. These women have left their father’s house, gone to school, gotten an education, and are now competing with men for the same jobs.

What is a man to do? One guy I spoke with told me a man would let the woman have the authority if she wants it. He will let her take the pressure and responsibility that he would normally assume. The man will then kick back and enjoy life

Once the woman has taken the authority, she has created her own problem. She runs things rather smoothly and to her pleasure. She accomplishes, in her opinion, what needs to be done. The problem then is whatever authority she has taken from the male, she can’t give it back because she has accomplished this her way. She has created for herself a conundrum. Something like a commercial used to run on television: a woman saying, “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never, never, never let you forget you’re a man.” This woman was obviously on drugs. Advice to the ladies, get the wisdom of God involved in all that you do. Be willing to trust your Father.

I have been told in discussions with guys that they have to deal with the fear of rejection all the time when it comes to approaching a female of interest. But, what a man wants, he will surely go after if he wants it bad enough. I’ll give you an example. Last year at my church, we had a 4th of July celebration. It was open to the public. We had concession stands set up in the parking lots. I was a volunteer at the hamburger and hot dog concession. The weather was warm with a little cloud cover. As the clouds passed, it got hot. The line at the hamburger and hotdog concession was very long. It was wrapped in a snake-like fashion. There was at least a 30-45 minute wait to get to the front of the line for food.

As time passed, I noticed a strikingly handsome gentleman in the line. He had maybe five more minutes before he got to me to order his food. I did my best not to stare at him. Being single, I couldn’t afford to give the impression of desperation. I looked at everything but him. I looked at the ground; I looked at the sky. You know the routine, ladies. When he got to the head of the line, he ordered his food and paid for it. Then he leaned over and motioned me to come over so he could tell me something. He whispered in my ear, “I think you are very pretty.” I thanked him and blushed a bit. Then he was gone. (I have to admit that for the rest of that evening, I looked for him to come back to talk with me. He didn’t. Bummer!) Back to my point. This guy didn’t have to tell me that. The situation was not conducive to that. I came away from that, thinking that if a man wants to speak with you, he’ll do it. Ladies, you continue to be your pretty little self; he is made to be the hunter.

Next thought: are women faster and smarter than men are? I think it is unfair and unwise to compare one with the other. Men and women are different. Men have strengths that are given to them by God. We, women, admire that in men. Women also have strengths that God has given them. The challenge is to encourage men to be men and encourage women to be women. How does a single woman running her life by her rules keep her feminine edge? Hmmm. What is being promoted to the male of our species? Are they looking to have a life for them made easy? Have we women decided that we won’t need to be treated as the weaker/softer vessel because some men have, unlike their Father God, abused that “weaker vessel” verse of scripture? (I Peter 3:7, “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them (women) according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”)

The following are questions to be answered.

Have the days of a man offering to open the door for a woman ended?
Is the born-again man no longer willing to pay for the meal on a date? Guys, is it worth asking the Father for His help?
Is the Christian man now expecting to marry so he can have a wife to work, thus increasing his finances?
Are men who would be married seeing themselves as one day becoming the leader of their family?
Has society in this generation treated the male so poorly that they have lost their desire to lead by example?
Have Christian men discovered that their Father God will not only supply their personal financial need but also supply what the man needs to date a female or court her and marry her if it comes to that?

There is a surge of new sitcoms that often paint the picture of men as being incompetent. This could be a ruse of Satan to destroy the order that God has established for the success of his creation. As in the time of Samson and Delilah, God’s man should not give up his strength. Or, as Adam in the garden, our men should not rely on the woman to take the lead in hearing from God.

Jesus was an example of a man’s man, and he imparted to other men what his Father God taught him. Jesus was a leader among men. He knew his assignment from the Father and spent his life carrying it out. Matthew 4:18 and Luke 5:10 tell of the selection of the disciples by Jesus. Some may say that women are equal to men in everything. I disagree. Men have an inherent strength that is God-given. There is a reason God made Adam and then gave him a helpmate.

When God made a covenant with Abraham, He established circumcision of the male, not the female. Genesis 17:10 and 11, “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. “At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, ‘Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.’” The men represented the children of Israel and were circumcised, while the women were spared. God intended men to be the leaders.

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” Also, later, when Joshua led the people out of the wilderness and to the Promised Land, the covenant was continued. Joshua 5:2, He allowed women to be the helpers. Somehow, we as humans have been tricked into minimizing the role the male plays in God’s plan. Yet, God has not changed His plan for the male. At the resurrection at the tomb of Jesus, Mary saw Jesus and was instructed to go tell Jesus’ brethren, John 20:17.

I don’t believe in abuse of any type. I don’t deny that some have taken this to the extreme, “Me Tarzan, you Jane.” However, the redeemed of the Lord, who are following their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, should be able to show the world how men are to lead. As single Christian men, being an example means taking the lead in their finances, in their walk with God, in their role as fathers, and brothers in the Body of Christ.

Thank God for men who are not intimidated by women in business or ministry. Thank God for the man that knows His Father God and makes it his goal to be all that God has called him, as a man, to be on the earth. Thank you, fellows, for being men. We, ladies, appreciate you.