Divorce…It’s Not Unforgivable
I plead for strength and clarity as we come together tonight, Father. May I hear You and share what You would have me to say. Amen.
Luke 16:16-18 (<<click here to read the passage)
In my experience, for a very long time divorce was almost considered an “unforgivable” sin. I remember in my early days as an associate pastor, that if someone were divorced, they could not serve in any leadership position in the church – be it a church board member, a Sunday School teacher, or anything else.
I am glad to say that today, that is no longer the case in many churches.
I want to be very clear here. God intends for marriage to be a permanent commitment. For the most part, I think most couples when they agree to the covenant of marriage, they really are in it for the long haul and are not looking for anything to break that covenant.
I want to sidestep here just a moment and say something about the covenant of marriage. That concept was stressed at the last wedding ceremony Karen and I attended – it is not a contract; it is a covenant and I agree 100%! On a website I looked at, it was stated:
When the Bible mentions a covenant, it’s referring to a strong, solemn agreement between two parties. However, biblical covenants are very different from the kinds of agreements we make nowadays
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- Covenants make two into one.
- Covenants involve promises.
- Covenants involve families and bloodlines.
- Covenants are spiritually charged.
- Covenants are not easily broken.
(These are just a few highlights – click on this link to read more: https://overviewbible.com/covenant/)
Couples are not looking to break that covenant, but things happen. If God is not included in their relationship, it is much more difficult to maintain through all the challenges of life – not impossible but difficult.
Many times, one of the two involved wants out for a multitude of reasons. The other of the two really wants to work to save and strengthen the marriage. But oft times, the one wins out over the other and it’s a done deal.
My study Bible notes said,
Most religious leaders of Jesus’ day permitted a man to divorce his wife for nearly any reason. Jesus’ teaching about divorce went beyond Moses’ (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). Stricter than any of the then-current schools of thought, Jesus’ teachings shocked his hearers (see Matthew 19:10) just as they shake today’s readers. Jesus says in no uncertain terms that marriage is a lifetime commitment. To leave your spouse for another person may be legal, but it is adultery in God’s eyes. As you think about marriage, remember that God intends it to be a permanent commitment. (Life Application Bible New Living Translation)
That is the law but there is not one of us that is not guilty of sin. All of us that ask for our sins to be forgiven has had them forgiven. Yes, divorce is a grievous sin but any sin in our life is. I don’t want to be flippant about it but much to our chagrin, things happen in life…sin happens in life.
What Jesus said about divorce in relation to adultery is most definitely true, but it is not unforgivable. Remember Psalm 103:12,
He has removed our sins as far from us
….as the east is from the west. NLT
Marriage is a serious covenantal agreement between husband and wife and should be solemnly entered into as a lifelong commitment, but nothing can thwart God’s forgiveness. No sin, except rejecting Christ and His offer of salvation, is unforgivable – and that is unforgivable not because He won’t forgive us but because He can’t, if we refuse to ask for it.
Sept 27th, 2020, Sun, 8:05 pm
Let Your Light So Shine
Father, I cannot say “thank you” enough. Your creation, my life, Your protection, and guidance for myself and my loved ones – the attributes of Your love are incalculable! All praise to You, Loving Father!
********
These last few weeks have been difficult ones. We have two family friends who are coming to the ends of their battles with cancer. Both men are members of the church I served as Children’s Pastor several years back. They have also both be employed by Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, one as a professor and one on the administrative end of things.
Both men have impacted countless people with the lives they had lived. And I want to make it very clear that from most people’s perspectives, they have not been movers and shakers from a worldly point of view. No, where they impacted was not just for the here and now…their impact was, is, and will be for eternity.
Their lives have impacted because they are the real deal. They both have pursued their relationship with the Lord with a determined perseverance. And their lives reflected that relationship…that love for their Lord and the love that poured out from them to others because of their intimate relationship with Him.
Truly that is when real impact takes place, when people see Christ in us – in what we say, in how we act…in how we love. When we are Christ to a hurting world, the world responds. When we are genuine, they can’t miss it.
Matthew 5:14-16 proclaims,
“You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven. AMP
I also want to stress that these Christian brothers were by no means solo acts. Their wives shine just as brightly. Their children do, as well.
How we live out our faith matters! It’s not just a crutch. It’s not one more source of social interaction. It’s not just something that we do to make us feel better about ourselves.
Both families have suffered so much throughout this time. But their lights have not dimmed in the least, if anything, they have continued to grow in intensity! Even amid heartache, and pain, and great impending loss, their faith continues to shine…continues to impact.
Lord Jesus, first of all, I would give You praise as You continue to be at the side of each family member, both the patients and their loved ones. And when that moment comes that life on this side of eternity ends, may the torch which they have raised high continue on both in their lives with You and also, that it would be passed on to those who must carry on on this side of eternity. May it become one more way to show love…one more way to impact.
And then, Lord Jesus, may we all learn something from their shining examples. May their living and their dying impact us…may it motivate us, to go and do likewise. Amen.
Sept 24th, 2020, Thurs, 6:02 pm
Unshakable!
Father, I pray for Your peace today. There is so much uncertainty with going back to school 5 days a week and with two family friends fighting for their lives against the unrelenting onslaught of cancer. I’m grateful for Your offer of peace, which exceeds anything we can understand… (Philippians 4:7a) Amen.
Luke 16:16-18 (<<click here to read the passage)
I’ve never experienced an earthquake. According to Wikipedia, Ohio has recorded at least 200 earthquakes since 1776. Most have been small but the largest one in the state occurred on March 9, 1937, and is estimated to have had a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale. It caused enough damage to the local school in Anna, Ohio that it had to be torn down. But that’s nothing compared to the largest one recorded in the world – a 9.5 magnitude quake that struck near Valdivia, Chile on May 22, 1960. This one was so bad it created a tsunami that killed people across the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines!
I know that there are buildings constructed to withstand earthquakes but where would a Joe Schmoe like me go? I’d just pray to live through it!
There is one place we can go where nothing can shake us up and that is God! And it needs to be stressed that everything that comes from God falls into the same category…His word included.
I realize that some do not believe that God’s word is infallible…but I do. I have struggled recently with one of my sources for sermon material. I have totally shelved several in recent weeks and left out portions of others before that, that I felt threw too much doubt on the legitimacy of God’s word. I may not understand it all, but I trust God to stand behind every word He has proclaimed.
In verse 17 Jesus clearly says,
…it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a letter of the Law to fail and become void. AMP
It’s easier for a major earthquake followed by a tsunami to occur than for a single stroke of the letter of the Law to fail and become void! That’s like an apostrophe!
Think about that! God will not let us down! God is not going anywhere! And God has got us in the palm of His hand!
Yes, our bodies are frail. Scripture refers to them as tents (2 Corinthians 5:1) and jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7) and though these fragile containers can be destroyed, nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39) and to be absent from the body is to be with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).
So, with that being said I choose to be in the safest place in all of creation…in the arms of my Father who loves me! If anything wants to get to me, it has to get through Him first! And if that is His will…I’m home!
Sept 23rd, 2020, Wed, 1:07 pm
The Emporer’s New Clothes
There’s a lot pressing on my mind, Father, but I would ask that You would enable me to focus on Your word for this time. Amen.
Luke 16:14-15 (<<click here to read the passage)
When I read these verses, one of the first things to come to mind was Hans Christian Anderson’s story, The Emperor’s New Clothes.
The familiar story is about two swindlers who convince an emperor that they can supply him with magnificent clothes that are invisible to those who are stupid or incompetent. The emperor and his officials seeing empty looms but wanting to avoid being thought of as fools, pretend to see the clothes. Heading off for a procession before the whole city, in his new “attire”, everyone plays along not wanting to appear inept or stupid… until a child blurts out that the emperor is wearing nothing at all!
The Pharisees, hearing Jesus’ teaching on a proper attitude toward money “scoffed at him” for they “dearly loved their money” and honestly, they had the notion that their wealth was a sign of God’s approval. They, like the emperor, thought they were all that, but God is not fooled. They appear to be “holy” and “righteous” and above all the riffraff, but God knew their hearts – they in reality were laid bare before Him.
The Amplified Bible states that their hearts encompassed their thoughts, their desires, and their secrets. Jesus says, “What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.”
Our culture – and for that matter many cultures – place great emphasis on material wealth. But as we spoke of yesterday, the problem arises not necessarily from wealth itself, but when wealth becomes “king” and rules all. And in the process, God is moved off the throne of our hearts to make room for “more important” things.
Many struggle at some point in time with keeping up with the “Joneses”. Everybody else has this, that, or the other thing. They get to enjoy those things and we want to enjoy them, too! It’s only fair! …right? But at what price? What do we give up to “have it all”?
More people than we know are over their heads in debt, so they can get what everybody else has got. At some point in time, we’ve got to draw the line – enough is enough!
For those of us who strive to follow Jesus, our goal must be to invest not in the temporary, “here today and gone tomorrow” wealth but we must strive to invest in the eternal. Possessions don’t even factor in. It’s what we do in our relationships with each other that truly impacts eternity for His Kingdom. And if wealth can help us to accomplish that, fine… but it cannot and should not, be our sole goal.
Lord Jesus, enable us to put wealth in its place. May we use what we have to benefit ourselves and others, but may it always take second place in deference to You. Amen.
Sept 2nd, 2020, Tues, 1:19 pm
Only One King Can Rule
Father may all of Your children cling to You today. May we not have the mentality that we can handle it…because we can’t. Our only hope is to hold tightly to Your hand, then, and only then, can we handle it. Help us to grasp more of Your love each day! Amen.
Luke 16:13 (<<click here to read the passage)
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand devotedly by the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon [that is, your earthly possessions or anything else you trust in and rely on instead of God].” AMP
Now, this is going back pretty far but one of the games we played in Kindergarten was King of the Mountain. We played on top of an embankment and the goal was to hold your position at the top, not allowing anyone else to pull you down or knock you off and replace you.
It may have been a game of my childhood but, Lord, it is something I must decide upon each day of my life, even now. Who, this day, will be the king of my life? There cannot be two kings. Only one king can rule. Will the king of my life be money or possessions or fame or status…or will it be You, Lord?
The world is constantly trying to usurp the throne. It entices me with all kinds of temptations. Pastor and author David Jeremiah said in his book Signs of Life,
“In case you haven’t noticed, the world frontloads its pleasures and back loads its pain. The Christian life sometimes front loads the pain, but it always back loads the pleasure. And I’d definitely rather be moving toward joy than moving away from it. That’s why I’ve chosen to live my life for the Lord and to walk in fellowship sweet.”
Lord, I choose You to be King of my mountain. Everything else will pass away, everything else will let me down, the promises of everything else will come to naught. But You?
[You] alone [are] my rock and my salvation,
My defense and my strong tower; I will not be shaken or disheartened.
Psalm 62:2 AMP
Sept 21st, 2020, Mon, 1:13 pm
(Content first posted Jan 31, 2018, on Morethanuseless.com.)