Part 2: Gospel, The Kingdom of God breaking through

Part 2: Gospel, The Kingdom of God breaking through

Gospel, The Kingdom of God breaking through

Questions:

In Deuteronomy 15:11, God states that the poor will never cease from the land, what did this indicate about the “Promised Land”?

Reading:

In Isaiah, we read this passage -

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; 
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,”

--Isaiah 61:1,2a

There is something significant to all the passages in Deuteronomy 15:11 and the rest of the Old Testament that reveals a gut wrenching, heartfelt concern for the poor and a concern on how God’s people respond and love those who are in poverty. God in these passages is not only concerned with the poor, but His heart and love for the poor reveal something much deeper and much more pervasive.  And even though Israel was coming into the Promised Land in Deuteronomy 15:11, this was not God’s ultimate plan. The fact that the needy and the poor would not cease in the land was an indication of that this was not the fulfillment, but pointed to the fact that God had something more ultimate in mind. . . . Israel was a shadow of a Kingdom that would break in to our world through the preaching of the Gospel Jesus Christ.

It’s no coincidence that this passage in Isaiah 61 was read by Jesus as He was beginning His ministry.  Another passage in Isaiah 55, cries out,

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.”

--Isaiah 55:1

In the real world, it is not just a few who are poor; we all are poor, and not only poor but utterly destitute and wretched, ugly and depraved, enslaved and rebellious, blind, broken, and needy. Romans 3 shows us that none of us escape this poverty -

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
 ¹¹ there is no one who understands;
   there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
   they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
   not even one.”
¹³ “Their throats are open graves;
   their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
 ¹⁴ “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
 ¹⁶ ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.”
 ¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

                God has ordained that there be poor, destitute, and orphans in the land, because all of us are poor and destitute in our sin. The poor are a picture of who we are, in a small sense, for our poverty and destitution is far greater than any physical need and even goes into the depths of hell, for in our sin, we are separated from communion with God. In Christ’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man cries out from Hades, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.” This rich man in this parable experienced poverty, unheard of in this life. And this is our poverty without Christ. A spiritual poverty that is very real.

All the scriptures in the Old Testament about reaching out to the poor and needy in the land and the passion we see in the heart of God towards the poor, demonstrated a need for something more than the nation of Israel, something greater than the “Promised Land”. And these commands of God to love the poor, demonstrated that one day God, himself, would with open hands give himself to poor sinners. God’s passion for the poor comes from His deep seated passion for the Gospel. God was pointing Israel to the future when a greater Kingdom would come through the preaching of the Gospel and the true needs of the poor (us) would be met.

And the Kingdom has come. In ministering to poor, we get a glimpse of the greater story of Christ’s work to redeem us. Christ radically saved the spiritually poor through the power of the Gospel. He being rich lowered himself, and came into our world, becoming poor. He engaged us and gave himself, even to death on the cross, that we might be rich in Christ.  Christ came for the lost, the poor, the broken, and for sinners. And not only were we poor, but we were also enemies and rebels, fools and mad, loving the ways of this world more than God. And yet He loved us first, and He came for us. When we love the poor, we are demonstrating the Gospel in a very tangible way.

Scripture reading:

Read these verses and discuss what they mean to you and in regards to ministering to the poor.

Colossians 1:21-22

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

Romans 5:6-11

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 8:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Questions:

How do the poor and downtrodden relate to the Kingdom of God breaking through? What picture do we get of the Gospel?

How does the gospel play a part in the poverty?

How does ministry to the poor display the Gospel?

How does this apply to the undeserving poor, who are there on their own fault?

Resources:

A Conversation: Tim Keller, John Piper, D.A. Carson (1 of 6) 

Stained Glass Masquerade – Casting Crowns

How Jesus did Fresh – Initiative 5

Part 1: God has ordained that there be the poor

Part 1: God has ordained that there be the poor

Definition of the Poor

                Don’t think of the poor as just those who have little. In the scripture the idea of the poor can be extend to the orphan, the widow, the sojourner, the broken and destitute, someone taken advantage of, the low paid worker, etc. Basically it involves social justice. So as you read this don’t just think of the person who is in financial straits, but think deeper to those in need of the gifts God has placed in the church, people God has placed in your life who need you to intervene on their behalf and whom you need to be a part of your life.

God has ordained that there would be the poor

Questions:

Why do you think there are poor in this world?

Can we get rid of poverty?

What does the fact that there are poor in this world mean?

Reading:

“For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You will freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’”

--Deuteronomy 15:11

                God is about to take his people, Israel, into the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land and a nation that was supposed to represent God’s Kingdom breaking through on earth, and they are told something startling and seemingly out of place, “the poor will never cease to be in the land.” Why in this nation that is called the Promised Land, and is supposed to represent the best of all nations, are they told there would always be poor in their land? This promise is given with no condition on whether or not they followed the Lord or not. It was to be. God in His providence and mercy ordained that in this great nation there would be poor. The scripture show that God has an intimate concern for the poor. So what is God doing here? Why is this so? Let’s explore this. . . .

Scripture reading:

Read these verses and discuss what they mean to you and in regards to ministering to the poor.

Matthew 26:11

For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

Proverbs 19:17

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

Matthew 25:41-46

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Questions:

Do you believe that God has ordained that there will always be the needy and the poor in the land?

What do you think God is doing here, when He tells Israel that “the poor will never cease to be in the land”?

God's Vision for the Family

          God’s vision for the family is part of the story of mankind. It began at creation and was set out to as a reflection of the image of God and the story of the Gospel, and God’s establishment of a Kingdom with a people, place, and king. God’s vision for the family reflects this purpose, and it began when God created Adam . . . .

After God (the King) made a garden (the place) and then created man (the people) and placed him in it. And before he had made the woman, he immediately gave him a task and a vision. . .

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

God had given Adam a purpose, a work, and a vision to accomplish in establishing the Kingdom. God was the Author and the King of Adam’s vocation. Adam did not set his own agenda. Adam looked to God for his vision and purpose. However God knew Adam couldn’t accomplish this vision alone; dominion of the earth could not be accomplished by one man. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone”. And so God brought the animals before Adam in order to see if a helper could be found to accompany Adam in his task. Yet Adam did not find a helper fit for him among the creatures God had made. . . .

So God put Adam to sleep and created a helper that was fit . . . a woman, someone who was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. And when Adam saw the woman that God had brought him, he cried out in joy,

                “This at last is bone of my bones

                                and flesh of my flesh;

                she shall be called Woman,

                                because she was taken out of Man.”

(Genesis 2:23 ESV)

Finally, after all his searching, he “at last” found someone above all the others who was a helper fit to accomplish God’s vision and purpose for mankind. Among all the creatures there was none to be cherished by the man more than the woman. In bringing the animals before Adam, first, God demonstrated that Adam was to love and cherish his wife above all others. That is why it is said,

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24 ESV)

From the very beginning, God intended that the wife would be cherished and held fast by her husband. We see this vision for the family, later, as Paul and Peter both look back to God’s purposes for marriage and have as their core exhortation to husbands . . . love, value, and cherish your wives. God states, “she is your companion and your wife by covenant” (Malachi 2:14b ESV). Husbands, your wives are to be cherished, are to be held close, and to be your companion by God’s purpose, design, and covenant. If a man does not love his wife, the man is in rebellion against God. The wife is the husband’s companion in pursuing God’s Kingdom.

God had given Adam a task and vision he could not accomplish alone. And for this reason God made the woman. After presenting the woman to Adam and bring them together, God blessed them both, added to Adam’s vision and purpose, and gave it to them both, commanding them to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion . . . .” The woman was created as a helper fit to help Adam to accomplish this command and the work God had given her husband, Adam, in establishing the Kingdom. Without her it would not have been possible. This too was God’s vision for the family from the beginning. And again later, we see Paul and Peter also echoing this vision as they both exhort wives to submit to and respecting their husbands. Proverbs 31 words it this way,

                 An excellent wife who can find?

                                She is far more precious than jewels.

                The heart of her husband trusts in her,

                                and he will have no lack of gain.

                She does him good, and not harm,

                                all the days of her life.

                (Proverbs 31:10-12 ESV)

“The heart of her husband trusts in her . . .” This at last is a helper fit for man to be a co-heir, a partner, someone who will support Adam in pursuing God’s vision. “She is far more precious than jewels.”

                So the man is to love and cherish his wife. The wife is to respect and support her husband. And through this, they are to partner in accomplishing God’s vision. We see this outlined by Paul, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” Understand this . . . no one is allowed their own vision, except for God. The wife does not have her own vision, nor does the husband. But each have their roles in accomplishing God’s vision for the family. That is why as I have been writing I keep referring to God’s vision. This is important. The purpose of mankind is not to pursue its own glory, but to pursue the Glory of God. No one is allowed to have their own vision, and to do so is rebellion. The husband is not allowed to set his own vision for the family, nor is the wife allowed to have her own vision for the family; both are to pursue God’s vision together. The scripture teaches “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25 ESV). Keeping this in mind, let us look at the roles for the husband and wife further . . .

Man was created first. Adam also named the woman. These were both signs of his authority. From the beginning the husband was created to lead and to be the head of his wife. The husband’s headship was not an afterthought. Paul makes this clear in 1 Timothy 2, when he appeals to this as the reason for man’s authority in the church. Paul also refers to this fact elsewhere, “For man was not made from woman, but woman from man” (1 Corinthians 11:8 ESV). The woman was given to the man because he could not accomplish God’s vision without her. Adam needed his wife to succeed. Her support for God’s vision was essential. It was part of God’s design to accomplish the vision God had for mankind. And after God had presented the woman to the man, God “saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31 ESV). The roles God had established between the man and the woman were beautiful, breath taking, splendid, grand, pleasurable, and life giving.

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The role God had given the woman at the beginning was intensely beautiful and imperishable. She is to be a support and help-meet to her husband. The scripture says that the head of the woman is the man. The wife is to look to her husband for instruction and value his leadership and direction. God gave Adam his commandment, before He made the woman. Adam was to speak God’s word’s to his wife. Paul describes how wives are to be cleansed and sanctified by their husbands through the washing of the word (Ephesians 5:26). Apart from God and the scripture, the husband should be the first and primary source of sanctification and teaching for the wife. This is one of the reasons why Paul states in 1 Corinthians 14, “If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home” (ESV). The wife is to look to her husband in this, because he needs her. Her thoughts and concerns are precious, and as she comes to him as her head, he also is sanctified and grows in the Lord. He becomes more like Christ as she displays the beauty of the glory of God, through her submission. 1 Peter 3 shows that the wife’s submissive behavior is the most influential thing on a man’s heart. A wife has the strength to build her home. As she comes to her husband and submits to him, God’s vision for the family is strengthened.

Peter discusses the sanctifying power of a godly woman and how her beauty can even change the heart of a hard, calloused, and ungodly man (1 Peter 3).  Peter describes a beautiful woman as one who is precious, valuable, needed, and cherished both to the husband and to God. He states, “but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.” Therefore, beauty for a woman is having a gentle and quiet spirit. And this “gentle and quiet spirit” is displayed by the wife’s submission and obedience to her husband, by looking to him as her head and lord. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul states, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”

Obedience and submission to the husband, is the calling of God for the wife. Her vision should be caught up in supporting her husband’s vision. “A virtuous and worthy wife [earnest and strong in character] is a crowning joy to her husband” (Proverbs 14:2, Amplified). The bible describes her as noble and strong. This is not the world’s idea of submission. It is a submission and obedience that come from the inner beauty of a woman who knows her God and intimately pursues His glory.  The Proverbs 31 woman is a woman of ingenuity, intelligence, wisdom, strength, and ability. She has the full trust of her husband. “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.” Like Joseph, her husband does not need to concern himself with anything under her care. “She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” He knows she will support him and his leadership in the vision God has given them as a family. She is his partner and companion. She is his primary support and council. No one, no man or woman, is better suited to help him pursue God. In Proverbs 31, it states, “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land” (ESV). This is not a description of the husband, but a description of what the wife has accomplished. Because of her support for her husband, he is known and respected and influential. He couldn’t accomplish this without her. God said, “it is not good for the man to be alone . . . .” The scripture states, “The wisest of women builds her house . . .” (Proverbs 14:1a, ESV). A woman partners with her husband to establish the home. And she can also tear it down in foolishness. The wife has a lot of influence in establishing or tearing down God’s vision for the family. The husband is not meant to do it without her. He desperately needs his wife as a coheir and partner in the Kingdom.

Paul writes in Titus, “Older women, . . . They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” The idea of submission comes from God’s word which means it comes from the very heart of God. He established the role of the wife at creation, and sustained it in the scripture. God established the role of the wife, for God has a bigger vision – the Gospel story of Christ and the Church. Paul states that the relationship between a husband and wife is an image of Christ and the church, a husband or a wife who fail to display their end of that image, are failing to display the Gospel in their lives to themselves and to others, and the Gospel and the word of God is at risk of being reviled. A Godly woman submits to her husband because she has a deep understanding of the Gospel and the power of the Kingdom of God. She has a love for God’s word and trusts her Father. The strongest influence a woman has on her husband is her submission. It is imposing and powerful, not weak. It is the strongest power to turn the heart of a hardhearted calloused man to God. If this kind of man is going to change, the strongest influence is the “quiet and gentle spirit” of a godly wife. And if this is the case for an ungodly man, how much more so is this the case for the godly husband. A godly woman is full of strength and influence and the wisest of them will use that strength to support her husband and build her home.

Submission is valuing who God has made her husband. He can’t do this without her . . . He desperately needs her. She is to look to him because he can’t get it done without her

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When mankind sinned the relational purpose of God for the husband and wife became corrupted. Sin brought curses on mankind, one of those being . . . “[Wife,] Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16 ESV) Corruption entered the relationship between husband and wife. The wife’s desire was no longer to serve her husband, but instead was to devour her husband and thus corrupting her husband. And the man’s sinful response to this affront would be to crush his wife and to neglect loving and cherishing his wife, and thus destroying her. We see this same type of wording in Genesis 4, when God speaks to Cain, “sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” In the Hebrew these two passages are identical. Sin desires to overtake devour Cain, but Cain proper response is to crush and put to death sin. And it is in the fall, where both the husband and the wife, because of sin, decided to take up and pursue their own vision and purpose instead of God’s. Sin corrupted the love the husband had for his wife; he no longer cherished her like he should. And the wife no longer supported and submitted to her husband, like she should. God’s vision for the family was corrupted because of sin, pride, selfishness, argumentative spirits, harshness, and more took its place.

It is not God’s design for a man to crush his wife. Nor is he a dictator. He is to portray Christ in His headship. And he is to be under Christ’s headship.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” (Ephesians 5)

God’s design for man from the beginning was to shepherd his family in the way of the Lord. Man was made to be the head of the family. When mankind sinned God address Adam, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife . . . .” Adam put his wife’s vision above God’s vision. Adam failed as the head of his family by failing to submit and obey to his Head and Lord. He is to lead and protect his family under the vision of God. The man is not allowed to lead by his own interests, desires or whims or the desires of others.  The husband is not allowed to have his own vision, but has the duty of establishing the vision of God for his family, by presenting the Word and the Gospel. The scripture calls husbands to love, cherish, lay down their lives, and lead as Christ does the church. This is a high calling, and is accomplished as the husband lays himself down underneath the headship of Christ. The husband’s first allegiance is to Christ. And through that allegiance to Christ, a husband can love his wife.

The scriptures paint a beautiful picture of the enduring passion and enveloping love of a husband for his wife. The husband is commanded to love his wife in the most intense and sacrificial way, with a love that represents Christ’s love for His church, His beloved. God has commanded husbands to sanctify their wives through loving her, by giving up of themselves for her, and gently washing her with the word. Husbands, this is a romantic picture of love. Imagine the physical picture of this and do this with you words, emotions, and actions toward your wife. There is nothing more romantic. This love is not weak, for the husband’s love comes from the strength of Christ. It is a love that has amazing strength and integrity to it that does not compromise on God’s heart for her, while still being full of tenderness. The husband is to live with his wife in an understanding way learning how to cherish and nourish her as his own body. Our words and actions should build her up, not tear her down. The husband is to love his wife, by shepherding his family towards the love of Christ, not himself. It is a love that firmly calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. And a husband must follow Jesus to be the husbands his wife needs.

Just as Christ's love is effectual in sanctifying our hearts, the husband’s love through Christ will be the most powerful instrument in changing his wife and helping her to grow in Christ. Even if she is an ungodly woman, this is the story of Hosea and this is the story of Christ and His church. So whether or not she is godly or not, the husband is to passionately love his wife, knowing that this love is effectual. And even if she does not change, the husband’s head is Christ, and he is to be faithful to the covenant that has been made between him and his wife, through Christ.

The scripture describes wives as “cherished”, “delight of your eyes”, “beloved”, “praised”, “more precious than jewels”, and “favor of the LORD”. We are to love our wives above all others and hold fast to her.  In Malachi God says that she is the husband’s companion by covenant. 1 Peter 3 states that she is our co-heir. And husbands are to treat their wives as such. The Lord states that he is a witness between the husband and how he treats his wife, and will not listen to a man who does not cherish his wife

“You cover the LORD's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant”.

(Malachi 2:13-14 ESV)

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7, ESV)

God expects the husband to cherish his wife. And if he does not, his prayers will not be heard. This is sobering. The wife has been given to the husband by God. The husband should not reject or treat this gift with disregard. If he does so it is an affront to God. She is your companion, cherished one, beloved by covenant. But this is the joy that God has given husbands, to portray the love of Christ for His bride. And it is exciting, because just as God has given you your wife, He also has established the covenant between you and your wife and made you her husband. The covenant is made by God and is fulfilled through Christ. A husband leads and loves his family on his knees. And God is faithful and will efficaciously work through a man who sincerely comes to him. And he says, “Come all who are weary.” It in the work of Christ and under the headship of Christ, that a man is able to lead. A Godly man is a man who presses into the gospel.

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“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church”. (Ephesians 5)

The relationship between a husband and wife represents Christ and the church. It is a portrayal of the cosmic story of the Gospel. How we treat our spouses reflects on this image. This story was set at the beginning when the first man and woman were created. And we have the pleasure of participating in that story in our marriages. We can have faith to believe in the beauty, the wonder, and the romance of the story or we can go our own way. But it is under the vision of God for the family that we find true romance and become participants in something greater than ourselves.

Church's response to divorce

The scripture is very hard on divorce. God understands the destructive power it has. When you take the image of Christ and the church and destroy it, devastation will occur. And in his love for us, God is hard on divorce in order to protect us. And we can’t be light with it. The Bible teaches that in most cases, excommunication is required for the offending party. And if we love the person, we need to follow through with church discipline and strong teaching. However, in my heart, my primary blame for divorce is not with those couples who get a divorce, for them my heart is broken. I believe the primary promoter of divorce in the church is often the church (at least in general). There are some churches that do an amazing job in this area, but in general the church is not teaching enough on how divorce is an affront to the Gospel. And in general, the church has lost a proper fear of God when it comes to divorce. And more importantly the church is not being gospel oriented in meeting the needs of those struggling in marriage. Marriage is hard. There must be church discipline, but if you sit in judgment on those who are going through a divorce, be aware, you are sitting in judgment because you don’t understand your own heart. Staying married is difficult. As a church we should have compassion on marriages that are struggling. The church should be a place where a couple can come, be honest with where they are at, and say, “We don't want to stay married. We don’t see any other way out, but divorce” and be surrounded by people who will run to them with open arms, love them, and say, “You are right, you cannot do it, but this is what the Gospel is for, and we are here for you and will love you through this”. We must be hard on divorce, in love, the scripture demands it. But it also demands that we take the plank out of our own eyes, that we don’t sit in judgment, and that we strongly present the Gospel in these situations. We walk alongside them, and we pray for God to deliver them. The scripture calls us to compassion and charity. The church should be a place where the struggling, the weary, the broken, and the downtrodden are met with the Gospel. God is Holy and God is patient with us. With divorce we must have a proper fear of God, a fear that does not allow us to back down on the horridness of divorce and a fear that drives us to compassion for those who are struggling, because except for the grace of God, I also would be going down a horrible path. If divorce is prevalent in the church, it is because as a church we need to understand the Gospel more and the fear and amazing love that come with it.

Divorce is rebellion

    But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
    (Mark 10:6-9 ESV)

Jesus taught that it is God who brings together a husband and a wife in marriage. It was that way from the beginning and continues to be the case, today. God has joined them together and made them one.

When we divorce we are telling the LORD, this spouse you have given me, I reject. I reject your work in my life and my marriage. Divorce is an act of rebellion against God. God hates divorce.

Marriage can be hard and we may suffer difficulties and heartache. However, God wants to walk with you through these difficulties in your marriage. He wants you to come to Him and be embraced by Him. Divorce is rejecting God's embrace and solving your heartache on your own. You may be weeping and crying out to the Lord, but refusing to do it His way.

"You cover the LORD's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

(Malachi 2:13-16 ESV)

Divorce is rebellion against an Almighty God.So guard your heart and do not be faithless. God's way is not always easy, but it is coming to the embrace of a God who loves you.

For those who have rebelled through divorce. God's arms are open wide, there is forgiveness for rebellion. Reject your rebellion and come into His embrace and submit to His love and His way.

Shades of grey

You say that you see things in shades of grey and not in black and whites . . . you have missed the point.

Well, the Kingdom of God is in vivid colors. . .

It is other. It is Holy. It is commanding. It causes you to tremble and engages the whole of who you are. It cuts soul and spirit and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

And the Door of the Kingdom is open to those who surrender and come through faith in the worth and work of Jesus Christ.

The fear of the LORD is the begining of wisdom

The man who thinks he can carry on his business life, or his political life, or his social life, without God is to that extent an irreligious person. The teacher who thinks that his relation to God does not affect his teaching of chemistry, or his interpretation of European history, is to that extent an irreligious person. The consistent Christian will realize that his religion is the ruling principle of all his life, and that there is nothing in life which can be isolated from his relation to God. - Johannes Geerhardus Vos

Strength of a woman

"Every woman, whether rich or poor, married or single, has a circle of influence within which, according to her character, she is exerting a certain amount of power for good or harm. Every woman by her virtue or her vice, by her wisdom or her folly, by her dignity or her levity is adding something to our national elevation or degradation." —John Angell James

Cultural Health tips

I like this just because its a doctor looking at the the culture around him and engaging it.

God's love sanctifies us by Jason Gray

"...very much" 2011 by Doug Phillips

"...very much" 2011 from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

A quarrelsome wife

When a man has a wife who is constantly crushing his thoughts, ideas, vision, it starts to destroy the man. There is a place for healthy constructive and appropriate edification. A man thrives on that and often welcomes it from his wife, “rebuke a wise man and he will love you” (Proverbs 9:8b). Godly men thrive on godly edification from their wives. They love it. A quarrelsome wife, however; is quick to find fault with her husband’s ideas, no matter how good they are. She is critical of his thoughts without truly listening to what they are. She assumes false motives from her husband, no matter how noble they are. No matter how much knowledge he has on a subject, she treats him as if he knows very little. She doesn’t trust in his leadership, and is only happy when she is leading.

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.  –Proverbs 21:9

A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; --Proverbs 27:15

It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.  – Proverbs 21:19

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. –Proverbs 25:24

A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife's quarreling is a continual dripping of rain. –Proverbs 19:13

 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." Eph. 4:29

There are many wives who just don’t realize that they are being the foolish woman. They are just not aware. And it is not intentional. This is a link to an article that talks about some practical ideas for learning to be a woman who supports her husband.

practical ideas for supporting your husbands vision



       

John Piper - The Gospel Saves Kids

How "The Pill" works as an Abortifacient

I am not supporting the site for this video (I just don't know anything about them) or natural family planing. But I do think this video does a good job at explaining the abortive nature of oral contraceptives.

Continuum

We often think in continuums and God, He is often not even on the continuum. For He is completely other. He is Holy.

Divided the Movie

http://dividedthemovie.com/

Official Divided the Movie (HD Version) from NCFIC on Vimeo.

"Love Me" By: JJ Heller Music Video *Amateur*

some proverbs on speach

With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense.

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

The Incalculable Impact of One Woman

True Womanhood Looks Like Christ

Voddie Baucham Talks about homeschooling our children

Jesus challenges culture

Jesus challenged the culture of his day. He will challenge your culture as well.

God will give us more than we can handle

There is a saying, "God will not give you more than we can handle". This is not true. The fact is He will. But God will not give us anything He can't handle.

Created in the image of God . . .

“It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” -- Galatians 3:1

God has called us to be image bearers of God. That’s what we were created for. It is easy to think, I need to be “holy” so I can portray God’s image. History or His story has another take on portraying the image of God. The pinnacle point in history where the greatest portrayal God took place was at the cross in Jesus.  As we bear God’s image in our own lives, it’s not an outward holiness that is the greatest portrayal of God, but Christ being portrayed as crucified in our lives that is at the pinnacle of our being made in the image of God. As the Gospel permeates us and Christ becomes great we fulfill what we were created to be, image bearers of God.

False Motives

Some people will neglect doing good, because what prompted that good was a false motive. I have learned to thank God for using the false motive to remind me to do good. I will do the good and ask him to work on my heart so that my motivations are good as well.

You see, it is not about me or my motives, I am saved by grace. And it is grace, because my motives will never be right. If you are obsessed by being perfect, your trying to save yourself, it is a self-righteousness, and no gospel. The Gospel has faith in the work of Christ, not ones own works. We make much of Christ, not ourselves. It is about the Gospel and glorifying Christ.

I fight vigilantly against false motives, and I do plead fervently with God for pure motives, they are sweet, but my hope is not in them.

The realist

If a man sees and experiences the world, unafraid of the darkest places, and knows that God is on His throne, believes the promises of God, and sees the beauty, joy and wonder of God. Is this man a dreamer or the true realist -- Hebrews 11.

Joy from Christ, not your performance - Paul Washer

Preaching the Gospel through God's love for us

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

                                                                                             -- 1 John 3:16,17

The Gospel is commanding. It takes dominion in our lives changing our hearts and our minds, conforming us into the image of Christ. We preach the Gospel, because God has ordained the preaching of the Gospel as a means of His grace. And he has established that His Gospel will be preached through those in the church, us. But even though God has ordained this, it is not mechanical. John doesn’t just say, we obey and do what is right. John says that we love. We love to preach the Gospel. And we love others. So where does this love come from?

John lays out the heart of the believer and where our motivation comes from to love the lost– the work of Christ in our own lives – “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” When we get this, when we get the depths of Jesus’ love for us, our hearts will be moved to love others. John demonstrates an integral connection between being loved by God and walking in the truth of the Gospel and the outward expression of the Gospel’s work in loving others.  Our motivation for ministry to others comes from the security of the redemption we have in work of Christ.

 I like the words of Jeremy Riddle’s song, Sweetly Broken -

At the cross you beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees
And I am
Lost for words so lost in love
I am sweetly broken holy surrender

 As we are beckoned to Christ, we are “sweetly broken” and able to walk in “holy surrender”. It is no longer a work. It is trusting in the work of Christ, having faith in His work, laying all that we are down, and allowing His work to change us. In the Gospel, God boldly works in us through sanctification, with all certainty and determination to continue to grow in our hearts love for others. We are God's handiwork. This is why John states that loving others must happen if we are in the Gospel. He says this because the Gospel is not weak, the work of Jesus is not weak, but certain to work love into our hearts. So this love that we have growing in our hearts for others is a work of God and not our own. And God is not thwarted  . . . . 

This fact gives me much encouragement, when I don’t feel capable of evangelizing or loving others or even don’t feel like loving others. God is at work in me and He will accomplish it, because it is about His work, not mine. And even when I have those times I don’t want to love others, I know He is at work in me. 

Here is the deal; we are motivated not through looking at ourselves and working to muster up a love in ourselves. We are motivated, because He first loved us. He loves us! Do you get that? Let me repeat that. He loves us! He loves us so much that He brings us into His love for others. God has chosen the Gospel as the means for this love to be made manifest. And as we come to trust the Gospel, not just that He saves us from God’s wrath, but that God also brings us into His Kingdom and conforms us into the image of Christ; we will discover that love is growing in our hearts. We don’t look to ourselves; we come and look to Christ, believing in His work. 

And as we step out in these truths knowing it is not about whether or not we fail, because God’s work does not fail. God has determined to do a good work in us, because He deeply loves us. . . . Paul says that all things are "Yes" in Christ.

This is the power of the Gospel as it sanctifies our hearts and conforms us into the image of Christ. The more we see the magnificence and grandeur of what Christ has done for us and grow in our understanding of the Gospel in our own lives, the more passion we will have as God takes us into His story and uses us to reach out to others and bring them into this love.