As the Lord, my Boss, has directed, this will be my final post of 2019. Lord willing, my next post will be on January 5, 2020. Thank God for the greatest gift ever given (John 3:16-21; 2 Corinthians 9:15)! Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to all that are in Jesus Christ!
I never tire of hearing the Peanuts character, Linus, give the whole group the true meaning of Christmas by quoting Luke 2:8-14.1 Bottom line: Christ was born at 4-6 B.C. Bethlehem, Israel in fulfillment of God’s prophetic Word to save every Jew first and Gentile thereafter from our sins who would believe on Him (Isaiah 49:1-6, 52:13-53; Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:30-31; Acts 3:11-26; Romans 1:16-17)! Savior-Jesus; a savior is what all of mankind living in this spiritually cold, empty, dark, dead world filled with all manner of evil and increasing lawlessness is looking for at this hour. Thank God, He has already provided His own Son to be the world’s Savior so that we, who have believed in Him, live in the warmth of divine life, fullness of love, joy, peace, light and hope in Him (Ephesians 2:1-7)!
As a divinely called preacher of His “glad tidings” (Romans 10:14-15, NKJV), I also never tire of reminding scoffers in and outside of the churches that the delay in Christ’s return is tied first to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His promised punitive dealings with their descendants according to the flesh, the Jews. For a set time they are under judgment for their sins; not the least of which is rejecting their Anointed Savior-King, Jesus, at His first coming (Hosea 3, 5:8-6:3; Luke 19:41-44, 21:20-24). During this same period in God’s grace and mercy to save, He has given all men that will time to respond to the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) and how glad I am for this since if Christ had come while I was still in my sins, I would have been lost forever (2 Peter 3:1-9).
Thank you, Lord, for saving me from my sins--their guilt, shame and consequences which include the righteous experience of Your coming wrath and condemnation to Hell!
1 Watch the never to be out of date, A Charlie Brown Christmas to hear Linus’ recital; a television classic written and created in 1965 by the now departed, Charles Schulz,
who was unashamedly a Christian.
Once more in 2019 the Lord would have me uphold marriage as He designed it as a first priority to professed Christians who are supposed to be showing the world how it works to His glory (Matthew 5:14-16)!1 But as the world knows all too well, professing Christianity as a “pot” cannot call “the kettle black” on the issue of marriage and divorce. Attempting to obscure the naked reality of the tarnish to Christianity with smooth sounding psychological and sociological explanations that undermine biblical instruction as well as the truth of divine grace in forgiveness does not remove it. Total repentance from the sin of mocking marriage is required throughout professing Christianity!
Oh, or am I now by voicing God’s displeasure as all of His preachers are supposed to do, actually only attempting to destroy someone’s reputation that is guilty? Or is sin still sin as the Bible plainly lays it out no matter who is guilty? Or did Christ come only to die for sin in vain? Or is anyone in the Body of Christ above His Word; possessing a complete pass from guilt just because of who they are and it might make them look bad? Repent those that think so; God shows no partiality and all will reap what they sow no matter who they are (Romans 2:4-11; Galatians 6:7-8)! Let every aspiring strong man and great woman of God who reads this edited 2011 repost answer the Lord’s charge to honor and uphold marriage as He designed it.
Originally Posted November 6, 2011
Not only the strong man, but the great woman of God has a responsibility to uphold the dignity of marriage as an institution from Him. In a day when marriages are ripped apart on the slightest pretext, God’s original design even among many professed Christians is a fading landmark in the rearview mirror of our world’s ever accelerating press toward its own dark, design. Not the so-called stars of entertainment and sports as authorities on the subject, but Jesus Christ the Star of David who is God’s appointed Judge! He has affirmed that marriage is not only of divine origin, but sacred and precious to God until it shall be no more in His plan (Matthew 19:1-6; Luke 20:27-36, 21:33).
Quickie marriages and divorces therefore, are an affront to God and mock marriage as He designed it to be a lifelong relational commitment between a man and woman exclusively. Learn more about the mutual responsibility the aspiring strong man and great woman of God share to honor and treat marriage as holy in living to please the Holy One in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.2
1 Read the March 17-31, 2019 reposts dealing with marriage under the category, The Cause and the April 7, 2019 post, The Glory Of Marital Oneness, under the category,
Glory To God!
2 The book is available in print or digital download formats at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple (digital only).
You can also get the Hard or Soft Cover print versions of the book in the Strong Man Store.
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