Proverbs 20:6 asks, “But a faithful man who can find?”
Faithfulness, reliability and truthfulness are such a vital part of manhood. Every man who calls himself a Christian should make every effort to make sure that these virtues are not lacking in his life. One does not have to be a pastor or church leader in order to be a godly man. However, every Christian man who genuinely seeks to be a faithful, reliable, and truthful is certainly on the right track to becoming a real man of God.

Many Christian men have dropped the ball on these godly virtues, especially when it comes to two of our most important roles, that of being a husband and father. They are faithful, reliable, and truthful in their positions or employment because at the end of the week they expect a pay check. It pays them to work hard at these virtues in order to keep their job.

I believe it is even more important to diligently exercise these virtues in our marriage and fatherhood. These roles are foundational to our culture and society. In other words, your marriage and fatherhood is infinitely more important than anything else.

Be encouraged to be faithful to spouse and your family. Colin

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Song of Solomon 8:5 says, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?

I do not think this bride went into the wilderness leaning on the arms of her beloved. Something happened to her in the wilderness that brought about this change. It took a wilderness of trials and testings to find out for sure whether her beloved could be trusted enough to lean upon him.

In the trials of the wilderness, when other women came in contact with her husband, she found that he could be relied upon to be faithful to the covenant he had made with her. In this area of life, his arms were worthy to be leaned upon. In times of sorrow and grief or the loss of a loved one she learned that his arms were there to hold her up. In times of economic hardship, when provision looked bleak, somehow he always found a way to meet the family’s needs. In times of separation through war or occupational demands, she found her beloved’s arms could always be relied upon.

Men, if you are out of work right now, do not sit around waiting for something to turn up. Do not send your wife out to work when her place is at home with the children. Take part-time work yourself. Work a couple of low paid jobs. Do not look to the government. This is a test to see just how dependable your arms really are.

Be encouraged. Colin

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The Song of Solomon says, “His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend.”

A man who is always “down in the mouth” is not easy to live with. I have to constantly take stock of myself in this area. I purposefully make myself say positive things in order to break the cycle of negative thinking and speech. Even though I am generally speaking an optimistic person, it has not just happened. I have become more optimistic by disciplining myself to be this way. The last thing people need around them is someone who is down in the mouth. A wet blanket is not going to make anyone feel comfortable.

The words of Jesus surprised the people for they wondered at the “gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth” (Luke 4:22). They also said, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46). This is what people should be saying about us for we are His representatives, are we not?

By our words alone we can make a big difference to the lives of those who live around us. Marriages do not break up because of positive speech, just the opposite! Many a marriage could be saved if couples would only sweeten up their speech to each other. Surely, there must be something nice to say to your spouse. Then for goodness sake, say it!

Be encouraged to be a positive influence in your home. Colin.

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Song of Solomon 1:3 says, “Because of the savor of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.”

Our heavenly bridegroom, our prototype, is very fragrant indeed. We often worship Christ with the songs…

“His name is as ointment poured forth,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
His name is as ointment poured forth.” And,

“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
There’s just something about that name,
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Like the fragrance after the rain.”

The anointing oil mentioned in Exodus 30:23-33 was made of “chief spices” that were very special and very expensive. This anointing oil was only to be used for holy purposes. In Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18 Jesus declares that this anointing oil is upon Him for the purpose of His ministry.

We should take note that two of these spices were very sweet—sweet cinnamon and sweet calamus. By virtue of the fact that we men are indwelt by the same sweet anointing, this should make a big difference to our every day attitudes. Just as the bride of Christ loves Jesus’ anointed name for all that His name represents, our wives will love us too as we allow this sweet anointing to flow forth from our lives.

When we walk into our home, our fragrant heavenly Bridegroom walks into our home with us. This fragrance represents our godly character and grace. The beautiful attitudes of the Holy Spirit, revealed through the fruit of the Spirit, will fill our home with fragrance.

Be encouraged to release the fragrance. Colin
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