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Divorce, Remarriage,
and Adultery
In today's society, a fad that's in the
church as much as it is in the world is to not take the marriage
covenant as seriously as we once did.
It is hard to imagine that anyone in this country has not been touched
by divorce in one way or another.
Marriage is a covenant. Not only a covenant between the man and woman
but a covenant with God.
What the
Bible says about the Marriage Covenant
Motivation for a
Victorious Life
I believe far too many Christians are NOT
living a victorious life in Christ because they have not been given the
tools to use along with their gifts.
Well meaning, but deceived, leaders in many congregations tell their
flock they are not victorious because they don't have enough faith.
Rather than lift them with the Truth of the Gospel and the grace of God,
they condemn the new or struggling believer with their own brand of
Phariseeism.
What the believer needs who is struggling with life's issues are
practical biblical based tools to help them gain balance in their lives
and to move from being a defeated Christian to victorious Christian.
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"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received
or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the
God of peace will be with you." [Phil. 4:8-9] |
The Apostle, Paul, identified for us where
the battleground takes place. It takes place in our thought process.
And, it is that thought process which the devil uses to fill our minds
with false ideas and visions of defeat. Paul says to think on the more
positive things: "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy." These are the things we need to
focus our minds on.
The Message
 The
message that is needed is one of conviction of sin and the fear of God.
Until men and women realize that they have violated God's laws and that
this world is ripening to reap His wrath, they will not see their need
for the forgiveness which Christ bought with His blood. That message
will be increasingly difficult to deliver in the days ahead, but it is
the only one that will prevent "converts" from coming to Christ for the
wrong reasons and thereby being set up to follow the Antichrist when he
appears.
When all is said and done, and your life has come to a close, where will
you spend the
rest of your
eternity?
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Who Is God in Your
Life?
 Either
God is the Creator of the whole man, the whole universe, and all of
reality and existence, or he is the Creator of none of it.
If God is only the Creator of some divided platonic existence which
leads to a tension between the body and the soul, the real world and the
spiritual world, if God is only the Creator of some spiritual little
experiential "praise the Lord" reality, then he is not much of a God.
Indeed, he is not I AM at all.
If our Christian lives are allowed to become something spiritual and
religious as opposed to something real, daily applicable,
understandable, beautiful, verifiable, balanced, sensible, and above all
united, whole, if indeed our Christianity is allowed to become this
waffling spiritual goo that nineteenth-century platonic Christianity
became, then Christianity as truth disappears and instead we only have a
system of vague experiential religious platitudes in its place.
(Franky Schaeffer V, Addicted to Mediocrity (Westchester, IL:
Crossway Books, 1981), pp. 27-28.)
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Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put
darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter
for sweet and sweet for bitter. [Isaiah 5:20] |
We need to be aware of
what's happening!
Throughout church history, there have been
those who have (to use Dwight L. Moody's words) become
"so heavenly minded that they were no earthly
good." They quit their jobs, sold their property, and sat and
waited for Jesus to return. All of them have been embarrassed, of
course, because it is unbiblical to set dates for His coming. It is also
unbiblical to become careless and lazy just because we believe Jesus is
coming soon.
We need to be alert to the possibility of the consummation of events at
any time. That means we are aware of the events unfolding in the world
that shape our destiny. Implied in our alertness, is also readiness. We
need to be preparing ourselves for Christ's return which could happen at
any moment. As we see the time of His return edging closer, we should
intensify our efforts of fulfilling our calling of
preaching the gospel so that others might too be saved.
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Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
A man reaps what he sows. [Galatians 6:7] |
Enemies of Revival
Apathy, complacency, and spiritual
self-satisfaction are the main enemies of revival. We need both a
dynamic concept of mission and also a dynamic concept of life in the
power of the Holy Spirit in order to move effectively in God's will.
More and more power is ours as we seek Him at greater and greater
depths, increasingly submitting to His promptings, and courageously
launching out in obedience to His commands. Our resolution should be (in
Hudson Taylor's words) to "Expect great things
from God and attempt great things for God."
Compromise with the world causes us to loose our focus on what is truly
important. When we become like those people and situations which cause
disunity, we add to the problem rather than help. |
