Sunday, September 30, 2007

ADULTERY - The Great Destroyer

I read the following article in a Christian Magazine. It is so true of the world we live in, that I wanted to share it with others. The author’s name was not published, so should they happen upon this, I want to say "thank you" for the warning. I am preserving this article for my children. In writing a column on the home for a Christian paper that is read largely by born-again, conservative Christians, it should seem strange to need to direct our attention to the sin of adultery. However, the sad but true fact is that this sin is running rampant in theologically fundamental circles of our day. Preachers, Sunday school teachers, deacons, and church members in general are ever increasingly falling into this pitfall of destruction for marriage and the home. Therefore, it is important, as a matter of warning and marital preventative maintenance, to sound again the command of God: "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14). It is fitting that the command against adultery immediately follows the command against murder. The act of murder destroys ones life, whereas the act of adultery destroys at least two lives. We should note that the root meaning of the word adultery is "to mar" or "make impure" something that is beautiful. That pure thing God does not want marred is the sanctity of the marriage relationship. God’s command against adultery was intended to be a positive protection so that we might settle for nothing but the best use of sex as a bond between husband and wife. Hebrews 13:4 states both the negative and the positive side together when God declares, "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Sex outside marriage loses its meaning and becomes a gyp. More than that, it brings the judgement of God instead of the blessing of God. Every single person and every married person ought to read and take warning from the words of Proverbs 6:26-27 and 32-33: "For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?...........But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away." Adultery brings the special judgement of God, not only because it violates the plan of God for the marriage union and the beautiful way that physical union pictures the believer’s spiritual union with Christ (Ephesians 5), but because it is a many-sided sin. Adultery is a sin against one’s own self. First Corinthians 6:18 declares, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." Adultery does unparalleled damage to the individual physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You cannot laugh at God’s laws and escape the consequences. One counselor said that the aftermath of adultery is, first, disappointment; second, bewilderment and confusion; third, frustration; fourth, remorse; and finally, guilt that sometimes self-destructs, if not physically, at least emotionally. Adultery is a sin against the home as well as self. Premarital sex often results in marriage role reversals if a couple gets married. The husband feels guilty because of his sin before marriage; thus he becomes passive to indirectly seek his wife’s forgiveness. On the other hand, the wife feels anger and resentment for being defrauded before marriage by her husband, and thus becomes dominant and resists her husband. Adultery is likewise a great sin against the church. Just as the enemies of God blasphemed when David sinned, so it is today when church members fall into this sin and dishonor Christ. Greatest of all, adultery is (as David acknowledged in his prayer of repentance following his sin) a sin against God. David said in Psalm 51:4, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight:........." The recognition of this fact can be a great resource to protect any true believer from this sin. Long ago, a handsome young man named Joseph, while a servant to Potiphar, conquered this temptation by this same realization. Genesis 39:8 declares that Joseph "refused" the propositioning of Potiphar’s beautiful wife. However, Genesis 39:9 reveals the real source behind this refusal was that Joseph saw it as a ".......great wickedness, and sin against God." This is the attitude that is needed today to protect our lives and marriages. May we encourage some who have, earlier in life, fallen into this sin that God can and will forgive this and all other sin if you will but receive the Saviour and ask forgiveness. First John 1:7 says, ".......and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." However, we should also remind you that, though Christ forgave the woman taken in adultery , as recorded in John 8, He also said, "Go and sin no more." Some need to flee tempting situations, associations, and people. The Bible always says to "flee" sensual sin. Let us all remember we cannot reason with lust.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

I AM INVISIBLE

"A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." Psalms 127:1-5 It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the TVLand Channel?" I'm a car or ride to order, "Right around 5:30,please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going . . . she's going . . . she's gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees." In the days ahead I would read - no, devoured - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: (1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. (2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. (3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. (4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become." At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there." As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. God Bless You as you build your Cathedrals! (this story was copied)

Sunday, September 23, 2007

"Daddy, Is It Red?"

"And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them."But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."Mark 10:13 -15 (KJV) I remember when my children were very small, and we had just started the early stages of full-time evangelism. We had a black, full-size van to travel in. It was such a nice van. We had never had anything new before and I fell in love with it. However, just a year or so after we got it it had become necessary that we begin to look for a 5th wheel trailor to live in. Of course, this meant we had to begin the search for a truck that had the power to pull such a thing. The children (who at that time were ages 6, 4, 3, & 18 months) began to pray for a truck. When my four year old daughter, Kaycee, would pray she'd always ask God for a red truck. We had no idea why, as her favorite color was purple, but nonetheless she prayed for a red truck. As the Lord would have it, we got our 5th wheel trailor first. We moved into our trailor but we still did not have a truck to pull it with. We continued to travel in evangelism, in our van, hoping and praying that the Lord would provide us with a means to pull it......soon. We had preacher friends and families all over the United States praying that the Lord would give us a truck, so that we could get going, full-time. Sure enough, about two months after we moved into our trailor we received a call from a car lot in a city about an hours drive from us. They told us that they had just received TWO trucks. Both trucks were capable of meeting our needs. So, we drove to see them. When we saw the first truck, we were pleased with it. It seemed to be what we had prayed for, though it had a few more miles on it than we would have liked, it was within our price range. Before we could say anything the car dealer says, "I've got another one out back. It has less miles on it and it will cost just a little more but with your van as a trade in, I think it will be alright." So, we went out back to see it. As we rounded the corner, there it was. With the sun shining down on it, as if it was the "Shekinah Glory", a Big, Dully Truck, with a Deisel Engine, and it was RED. Tears almost immediately ran down our faces, as we realized what the Lord had done. We couldn't wait to get home and tell the children. When we arrived we began to describe the truck to our parents, who were watching the children for us. The children were excited as they listened to us talk about it. Then, Kaycee came up and tugged on her Daddy's pant leg. He looked down to see what she wanted. In her tiny voice, with her mousey grin, she asked, "Daddy, is it red?" He grabbed her up and hugged her tight and told her "Yes! yes it's red!" From that day on, everywhere we went, Kaycee told people that our truck was red because that's what she asked God for. It seemed quite simple to her. I wonder how many times we have missed out on a blessing from God simply because we lack that "child-like" faith? When Kaycee prayed for a red truck, we thought it was "cute". But she was serious!