Mark 10:7-9 Keeping the Promise

Mark 10:7-9 “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." (NASB)

 It was our anniversary two weeks ago.  We celebrated 31 years of marriage together by first going to CBCC for my daily treatment and then to a very nice dinner.  When the girls in the radiation treatment area saw that my wife was with me this particular visit (she had been before) they asked for the first time if she would like to see what the machine looks like.  I said I thought she would.  They also asked if there was some special reason she was with me this visit and I said it was our anniversary.  And so, as I got on the table and prepared for my treatment someone went out to get Sharon.  She came in and got the nickel tour of the treatment room while they got me in the correct orientation for my session.

 Treatment only takes about two minutes once everything is ready to go.  So, in no time I was done and getting my shoes back on when one of the girls came back in and asked, "How many years?"  I said, "31".  She said, " What is the secret?"

 Well …

 I contemplated my answer and then said, “A Christian marriage.”

 Silence …

 After the awkward moment I supplemented my answer with, “Making a promise and keeping it.”

 Well that met with a little more overt support and discussion about how few could and did actually make and keep commitments or promises these days.

 Since then I’ve had a chance to think more about this encounter and the truth of the situation.  Statistically my first answer may be untrue as we see virtually the same divorce rate occurs among Christians and non-Christians.  So, perhaps that’s just not it.  So, what about my second or follow-up answer around making a promise and keeping it?  Perhaps that is getting closer to the truth.

 I can say that in my marriage we are together today because we have both made a commitment and are very determined to keep the commitment.  Maybe we're both just that stubborn.  We would also very readily confess we are not the easiest people to live with and there are plenty of witnesses to that over the years but we have lived by our promise.

 I believe however it is the promise itself that must be examined in order to fully appreciate its power and perhaps render strength to my original answer.  In the marriage ceremony several questions are asked of the couple with regard to the commitment they are making.  Those questions of commitment or covenant are where the power of a lasting marriage are derived.  Perhaps the power of the promise is not even fully understood at the time but is appreciated after the fact and strengthened with understanding.

 The fact is that the promises made in the marriage ceremony are not simply between the husband and wife but between husband, wife and the Lord.  Sharon and I agree that our promise was not just to one another but to God Himself as well.  In some way making that promise to love honor and cherish all the days of my life was strengthened with the knowledge that it was made not just to my wife but to God.  I know Sharon feels the same way too.

 So the scripture says, "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." I’ll not be the one to argue, disagree, object or rebel.  AMEN!

Psalm 46 - Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There

Psalm 46 To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. [Selah]
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah]
Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. [Selah] (NRSV)

 Guys – we’re the worst offenders in this category.  How often have we had our wife come to us with a story from work or a project she’s working on in a volunteer setting or maybe even with the kids a bit rattled and anxious.  She rambles on excitedly about all the troubles.  What is it that we are doing?  Solving the problem in our mind, perhaps even interrupting her to give her the answer to her “Simple” problem. 

Wrong answer!  She simply needs to download AND you simply need to listen. 
 

You need to really listen, not to solve but to empathize with her.  You need to really understand what she is saying to you.  You also need to understand what she wants.  I know – if we knew what women wanted … Regardless, beyond the immediate topic you need to listen to her to understand whether she is asking for your help or simply expecting your ear.  The solving will come soon enough.

David in his psalm gives us some perspective.  The perspective will help in this situation with our wives and it will also help in our own deep water times of trouble.  The bulk of Psalm 46 reminds us of God’s strength against the assaults that come our way. 

The imagery is fortress like.  “God is our refuge and strength” and “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge”.  Clearly, this God is strong and protective in nature.  The psalm also gives imagery of God’s unique strength with phrases like, “He utters his voice, the earth melts” and “God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved”.

Overall the intent is a reflection on the truth of who God is in His power, protection and strength.  He is in sovereign control over His creation and those upon whom he casts His love within it. 

Here’s a test for you.  Do you love God?  It is a yes or no question.

If the answer is yes there is a verse for you to consider.  (1John 4:19)  “We love because he first loved us”. (NASB)  Scripture tells us that if we love God – it is only because He loved us first.

So, this God who protects those He loves – if you love Him must have loved you first.  Otherwise you would be incapable of loving Him.  Get it?  If you love Him, He loved you first and He protects the ones He loves.

And now – we can come to where David lands in Psalm 46 and perhaps a phrase you have heard before.  “Be still and know that I am God”

When you stop the problem solving.  When you stop the worrying.  When you stop, stop, stop.  You give the Lord a chance to get through all the chatter and grant you the assurance that Psalm 46 gives us in black and white.  AMEN!

Matthew 19:3-9 War on Chicken

Matthew 19:3-9  Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?"  (4)  And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,  (5)  and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'?  (6)  "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."  (7)  They *said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?"  (8)  He *said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.  (9)  "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." (NASB)

So I took some time off this week, the week we would normally be at a lake – Tahoe ideally or Shaver when the gas price is too high to drag everything that far north.  But this year the calendar didn’t work for everyone so we stayed home.  I however had the days booked for vacation and took some time off.  Well, I did a few things around the house and yes I actually did come into work Friday but what I really did was watch the Olympics.  And of course – the War on Chicken!

I frankly had missed the CEO of Chick-fil-A declaring his support for the Biblical view of marriage and his financial support for a couple of organizations that promoted the same.  What I couldn’t miss was the media frenzy over the homosexual marriage supporters bashing this man’s transparency of belief.

On top of that I found it very interesting to find that these folks drew a comparison to Hitler and the KKK for someone standing on biblical principal claiming intolerance not only of homosexuality but marriage of homosexual couples; Intolerance of the “Intolerant”?  Is that what I heard?

Later in the discussion, I’ll not call it a debate – those who heeded the call of Governor Huckabee to support Chick-fil-A by buying lunch were called all sorts of names.  The Bible itself was bashed in several threads I read on Face Book as well.

So, if you’re reading this and you can’t subscribe to the fact the Word of God is the ultimate truth then we have nothing left to discuss.  YOU, may as well tune out now.  For those of you that believe God’s Word is true then stay tuned and we’ll look at what He says about the issue at hand.

First, the Scripture I’ve referred to today was shared by Christ when another group of haters, the Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus.  They asked a “Trick” question about divorce to see if they could stump Him.  They didn’t.  In answering their question for which they did not want to hear the answer, Jesus did give us some real insight into His original and perfect design.

He says, “He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE”.  Referring back to Genesis, Jesus reminds us that the original design of God is one man and one woman.  He goes on and declares what is to happen as humans mature, “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH”.  This is clearly speaking of marriage.  The man, leaves the home in which he grows up and joins together with his wife and the two become one.  The players are equally clear – one man and one woman  just as He “created them from the beginning”.

So, what is the BIG deal Dale?

Christians know and understand that marriage is designed and affirmed by God as a special institution between one man and one woman.  And something supernatural occurs in the marriage union, "So they are no longer two, but one flesh.”  And they are one flesh because of the marriage bond of one woman and one man joined together not of their own doing but by someone else altogether.  Jesus says, ”What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."  So, in His own words, Jesus proclaims the union of a man and woman in marriage of His own doing and His own design.

That’s the BIG deal.

Now, sin is sin and two unregenerate people lusting in their flesh for one another even of the same sex is predictable.  Scripture says this, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” Romans 1:26-27 (NASB)  That was written by Paul nearly two thousand years ago, so should we be surprised that the behavior continues today?  No!

As I said, sin is sin and we’ve all sinned and fall short of God’s holy standard.  This is simply one more example.  The rub is when groups attempt to normalize the behavior.

Take the absurd to illustrate the point.  If a group begins harping on a position advocating sex between six year olds we would be up in arms and of course this is wrong.  But what if this group turned the argument into one of intolerance and said leave the six year olds alone, let them enjoy free love like everyone else and if you don’t you’re intolerant and bigoted just like Hitler and the KKK.  In fact this group wants to legally recognize free love between six year olds and bar any interruption parental or otherwise. 

That’s what is going on here folks.  God’s Word clearly points to His design for marriage, specifically  heterosexual unions in the context of marriage between one man and one woman.  Outside of that there is a sin problem.  While individuals will always fall into sin of every sort, when institutional advocacy for making sin the lawful norm takes place, Christians must speak out.  AMEN!