Thursday, May 10, 2012

Marriage

Mal 2:15 "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." ESV


 

Wow. There is so much wrapped up in this verse I don't know where to begin. How about God making a husband and wife one? How about all the way back to Genesis 2:24 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast (cling, cleave, stick) to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." One flesh. What does this mean? It means one flesh. It means one body. It means one unit. It means when you split it up it hurts. It injures. It maims. It kills. It destroys. More on that later.


 

"With a portion of the Spirit in their union." It is interesting that the Spirit of God is involved in this. God created this thing called marriage. It was His invention. This is why it is said: "What God has joined together let no man separate." God is the One who created this union. Why? So children could be born who were godly. This is the ideal. This is God's plan for marriage. A man and a woman would come together to become one flesh and the kids that they raise have the character of God.


 

So? So guard yourselves in your spirit. Watch your inner man. Be careful about what you think about, what you dwell on, what you fantasize about, what you stick in your brain because that is where junk starts…and do not be faithless, do not be deceitful to the wife you married when you were young. Be honest. Be open. Be true. Be single focused. Be faithful. Be committed. This is a good word to all of us guys.


 

Now this is where we have screwed up. If only we would listen to what God said. If only we would do what God instructs. If we did, we would have healthy families and a healthy society. But no…we have decided that we know better. We don't emphasize the covenant of marriage. It is more than a contract. It is more than an agreement between two people. It is a solemn vow between three individuals: the man the woman and God. But of course, we have gotten rid of God so why listen to what He says? We have made it easy for people to split up. We have instituted things like no fault divorce and dissolutions. We have downplayed the importance of marriage and no longer think it is wrong to live together before being married. And the result? Godly offspring? No. Instead we have many screwed up kids who have no stability. No compass in their lives. No direction. No foundation. No truth. Sure there are good single parent families but this is not without pain and problems. Just ask them. God wanted to protect us against that and we said: "Shove it." and did our own thing.


 

Studies have shown that the most stable kids are those who grow up in a home where Mom and Dad are together and are committed to one another, where the kids see that they love each other and where the kids are loved. This is God's plan, and it is the best plan because it works. Is it Biblical? Yes. Is it smart? Yes. Does it make sense? Yes. Have we paid attention? No. We are so messed up, so sinful, so self centered that we downplay and dishonor the marriage relationship.


 

And then comes our President yesterday, putting one more nail in the marriage coffin by saying a man can marry a man and a woman can marry a woman…no big deal…just so they love one another. We have screwed marriage up so badly already, he needs to do more? He has. And just like we are living the nightmare of divorce now, years from now we will reap the bitter pill that he wants us to swallow. I feel sorry for my kids and my grandkids. They will have to live in a more messed up society than I face. God help us.


 

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Done for Awhile

Mark 9:50    "Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." ESV


 

I have to confess, this one is hard for me. A group of us were in Chicago for a conference at Harvest Bible Church a little while ago. The conference began with a time of corporate worship and prayer. It was the prayer part that got me. Initially we spent time just praising God for who He is. Then we got into a tough time...confession. When you open yourself up God speaks...and He spoke to me...about this blog. What about this blog? It may be that my motivation is wrong. It may be that recognition is still what I crave. It may be that spiritual pride is creeping in and because of that my salt may have lost its saltiness.


 

As we prayed, I confessed. I told God that I was thankful that He gave me His word. I told Him that I was grateful that He was willing to share truth with me. And I told Him that I just wanted to be used. I want what I write to be effective...I want it to be salty. I want it to impact other people. But He said to me that this was only going to happen is when I get out of the way. The only way that this is going to happen is when I lose my spiritual pride. The only way that this is going to happen is if I shut this down for a while.


 

Yet, I have to journal. My journal has to be thing between me and God. So that is what is going to happen. I will not be posting my journal on the blog on a regular basis for a while...at least until God gives me the freedom to do so. I don't want this to be a source of pride for me. I kind of have to cut it off, pluck it out. (v43-49) When Jesus said this to His guys, He was talking about how serious sin is. Whether it is your hand or your foot of your eye or your blog.


 

So off it comes. I am hoping that it is not something that stays down because I love writing. I love sharing. But right now, for this time I have to do this and just go back to journaling...just me and God.


 

The thing that is reassuring to me is that I don't think that this will stay down. Why not? Because salt has to be distributed to be effective. Salt has to be spread and I am praying that God will make me salty...effective...used.


  


 

 

Friday, May 4, 2012

Receiving Children…Receiving Jesus

Mark 9:37 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." ESV


 

I love little kids…so did Jesus. In fact, in His teaching that the disciples had to become small He used a little child as an example. If you want to become great, if you want to become a real leader it will be revealed in how you treat children. So many times we think that we can schmooze adults. If I want to get ahead, I have to mix it up with the big boys. I have to find the shakers and movers and get to be known.


 

Not in Jesus' economy. The way to become first was to become last. The way to become a leader what to become a servant. And how you treat children is a measuring rod.


 

The key in this verse is the word "receive". It actually means to take by the hand. It means to take up. It means to befriend. It means to receive in hospitality. It means to receive into one's family and educate. Whoever does these things isn't just receiving that child, but they are also receiving Jesus. And they aren't just welcoming Jesus, they are welcoming His Father.


 

And the question I have to ask myself is: "How am I receiving children?" What little kids are in my life now? Sure, my granddaughter, Maddie. But who else? Maybe my neighbor's children, but as I think about it, I really am not involved with many children. What does that say about me? What should I do? How should I change? What may God be leading me to do? Work with kids in my church? Maybe. Mentor a young man? Maybe. Become a big-brother. Maybe.


 

Lord let me listen. I want to welcome You…let me welcome children.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Be a Servant

Mark 9:35 "And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, 'If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.'" ESV


 

While the boys were walking along with Jesus, they had a little discussion. They were trying to figure out who was the greatest. What a bunch of competitive guys. Trying to determine who was the best. Who would be in charge. Who was going to lead. Who knows, maybe this discussion was prompted by Jesus telling them that He was going to die. Well if He is going to die, someone has to take over. Who is it going to be?


 

Enter Jesus. Jesus asks a simple question that He already knew the answer to: "Hey. What were you guys arguing about back there?". Well, not wanting Jesus to know that they were talking about who was going to take over once He was gone, they kept their mouths shut.


 

Time for a lesson. Time to once again listen to God's Son. "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." Last. This is last in time. Last in place. Last in position. Last in rank. Last in worth. Lowest. This stinks. No one likes to be last in anything. I know that when I drive I want to get ahead of other cars. When I stand in line at the grocery store, I want to be first. When I am at Cedar Point I rush to get ahead of other people. When I play games I like to win. This is human nature. This is the source for competition. Jesus said: Get rid of it. Do you want to be first? Be last.


 

Do you want to lead? Be a servant. And not just a servant to some. A servant to all. Be a waiter to all. Serve other people's needs first. This is tough stuff. I know that I am lazy and I like to be waited upon. Jesus said: No more of that. Serve everyone. From the greatest to the least. That is the only way you will become a leader.


 

Leadership. Do we want it? Do we desire it? Do we want to be in charge? Do we want people to look up to us? Do we want people to follow us? Do we want to be decision makers? If so, this is the key. This is the big kahuna. Be last…be a servant of all. Am I listening?


 


 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Be Like John

Mark 9:31 "for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise."" ESV


 

Listen to Him…believe…pray…and now the tip off: "Men are going to grab Me and kill Me, but don't worry, three days later I will come back to life." If the disciples were going to listen to anything, this had to be it. If they were going to grasp any truth, this is one that they had to rely upon. Why? It was the heart of the Gospel. Jesus was going to die. He was telling them ahead of time what was going to happen. He was telling them so that they would not be surprised. He was telling them so that they could have assurance. They needed to listen to Him…they really needed to listen to Him. They needed to hear Him loud and clear and understand that His death was not going to be the end of everything. In fact it was going to be the beginning because He was going to rise three days later.


 

Did they listen? Did they understand? Did they apply this? Well one guy did. John hung in there and stood with Jesus at the cross, but the rest of the guys took off. In fact, two of the guys that were on the mountain with Him earlier, two of the guys that He told that He was going to rise from the dead as they were coming down the mountain, Peter and James, ran. Peter even betrayed Him.


 

Too many times I am like Peter, but I want to be like John. Too many times I do dumb things and say dumb things that may even betray who I claim to be. I don't want that. I want to really listen. I want to really hear. I want to really understand and hang in there, even when things look tough. Even when things are at their bleakest, even when there does not look like there is any hope I need to know that at the end there is life. There is resurrection. There is hope. So hang tough.


 

And when I act like Peter or when I run away I still need to realize the reality of the resurrection, the reality of forgiveness, the reality of starting over.


 

Listen…believe…pray…be like John.