The Sanctity of Marriage

I can remember my wedding day as if it happened yesterday. It was a beautiful December night, our church was decorated for Christmas. We had all of our family and friends in attendance. Everything from the pre-wedding photos to the bubbles as we left the reception could not have been more perfect. I love to look back at our photo album to remember that special night as my wife and I became one.

The family was created by God and serves the purposes of God. Marriage is a divine institution. Genesis 2:24 says, “A man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife". It was God’s idea and was created for His purposes. Because of this, the government goes beyond its God given responsibility when they try to prohibit or tamper with what God ordained the family to be.

God created marriage to be a picture of Christ and the church. (See Ephesians 5) Marriage is about the Gospel. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice as He laid down His life for the church. A husband must do the same for his wife. Sacrifice is lived out on a daily basis within a healthy marriage. This is Biblical marriage.

Because of this, as Kingdom people, we must cast our vote for the Biblical definition of the family. We cannot vote for gay marriage. It is directly opposed to the instruction of God. It doesn’t mean that God does not love homosexuals and wants to see them restored. This is not hate speech. This is defending the family which is God’s creation.

I have been happily married now for almost twenty years. We are in the process of raising four children together. Marriage certainly has it's highs and lows, but we have learned over the years to deal with struggles. There is no perfect marriage because there are no perfect people. The best way to keep a marriage healthy is by having Jesus at the center and spend consistent time together in prayer.

Decision 2020

Well, we all survived the two weeks of political party conventions. As we read the history books, never has there been such a more contested election as we have this year. It is typical for there to be conflict and drama leading up to an election, but this year has certainly been over the top. It is obvious that the enemy of this world is causing division and pulling people away from biblical values.

As a follower of Christ, God calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. This means that whatever we would rather do, it is imperative that we are willing to sacrifice our personal desires for the sake of what God wants. In many areas of life, what God wants does not make sense, in many cases it is difficult to do. Peer pressure creates challenges. Ultimately, the enemy of our souls comes against us.

As we consider our God-given right to vote, we must do so with the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and vote according to Biblical principles and moral values. In Joshua 5, we read that Joshua was preparing to go to war, and a representative of God's army, an angel, approached Joshua. With some concern, Joshua asked a very practical and strategic question. He basically asked the angel, "Who's side are you on?" As we face this election, we might ask, "Who's side are you on, democrat, republican or independent?" The angel gave one of the most politically insightful principles in all of Scripture when he replied, "Neither, I'm not on your side and I'm not on their side, I'm on God's side." He made it clear that the Lord had not come to take sides. He came to take over.

As we approach the 2020 election, the question is not, "Is God on my side?" The right question is, "Am I on God's side?" Because God does not side with anyone but His own. He promotes His own agenda, the kingdom agenda. God does not look at who is going to win and then join the winning side. The winning side is always the side that chooses to align themselves with God. God does not come to take sides, He comes to take over. So, are you on God's side?

Let's consider what it means to be on God's side this election. Knowing that God's agenda is most important. It is not a specific political party, it is kingdom. Jesus is our ultimate authority. He is our only hope to solve all of our countries problems. There are three practical ways to prepare ourselves for this election.

First of all, as followers of Christ, we must pray. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, "I urge you, that prayers be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority". We must get past our dislike of those in authority and humble ourselves and pray for them. We should not just pray for those who we agree with, God calls us to pray for all. In the context this Scripture was written, the leader in authority was Nero, who hated Christians and persecuted them severely. God calls us to pray.

Second of all, we must vote. Our vote has the potential to be aligned with Jesus' agenda for our world as we consider biblical principles. We are kingdom voters. We vote on kingdom issues. There are a lot of other issues, but they are secondary. But when it comes to voting, we must vote like followers of Christ. The Bible makes it very clear in regards to several key political platforms:
    1) The right to life of unborn children.
    2) The sanctity of marriage.
    3) The freedom of the church.
    4) Racial reconciliation.

I will unpack each of these platforms in subsequent blog posts over the next four weeks. There are obviously other platforms, but these four are clear in Scripture and leave no area for compromise.

Thirdly, as followers of Jesus Christ, we must ultimately put our hope in the King of Kings, Jesus. We cannot put our hope in the current administration or other party's ticket. We put our hope in the administration of our sovereign King Jesus and His Kingdom. Ultimately, no government will stop the kingdom's agenda. The kingdom agenda does not hang in the balance of the democrats, republicans or a third party. The ultimate seat of authority is not in the Oval Office of the White House. The seat of ultimate authority is found at the right hand of the Father and that seat is not up for an election. Jesus has no term limits and He doesn't need to run for re-election. He is seated in the seat of authority now and will be there for all eternity.

God calls us to vote His agenda. We must stand for biblical values or we will suffer the consequences with the unraveling of our country as we know it. As you face this decision, what will you do? When we walk into the polling station on November 3, let us cast our vote for Jesus. When Joshua recognized that God did not show up to take sides, he responded with the only appropriate response, submission. Joshua got on his face before God and submitted to Him. We must do the same. We must humble ourselves, lay aside our personal preferences, our presuppositions, our traditions and ask one question, what side lines up best with God's side?

Your ballot is Jesus' ballot and you are casting it on His behalf. Psalm 33:12 says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord". Are you ready? I'm going to tell you right now who to vote for. (Insert drum roll) Vote for Jesus and His Kingdom!

50 Shades of Gross

Let's face it friends, the moral fabric of our society has been quickly unraveling. What was sacred years ago is now common. When I was in grade school, if I had the urge to see pornography, I would need to find my way to the magazine section of a bookstore or sneak into an rated R movie. Unfortunately, today, filthy images are easily accessible through any device that provides the internet.

God is clear on sexual immorality throughout Scripture. Matthew 5:8 says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." If we want to experience God's manifest presence in our life, we have got to fight for purity. Ephesians 5:3 says, "There should not be a hint of sexual immorality among you." That is pretty clear. God gave us these guardrails, not to make life difficult or impossible, but to keep us on His path of righteous living. Any failure in this area will potentially leave scars that last a lifetime, starting with our relationship with God.

There has been a lot of conversation about this movie, 50 Shades of Grey. I have not seen the movie, read the book or watched the previews. However, I have read enough to know what it's about. The media is going to the wall to promote it. It is hard to avoid. God has created sex to be holy and enjoyed in the context of marriage. This movie presents a message that is far from God's design. It promotes violent sex that might as well be classified as abuse. The vulgarity presented in this movie is downright disgusting.

Our culture is saturated with messages of promiscuity and perversion. This is a great opportunity for the church to be what we are called to be, an extension of Jesus to our community. We are not here to bring condemnation, but to simply warn people of the truth and simply point people to Jesus.

May God give us the courage to win the battle of purity. 

If any of you are struggling in this area, God will meet you there, with His grace, and bring healing and victory. 

Let's take a stand for Jesus and encourage our friends to not see this movie. 

May we be those who, as the Psalmist said, "Ascend the hill of the Lord," because we have clean hands and a pure heart.

The Breakdown of the Family

At the core of every community are the families who live in it and create an environment that we call home.  The family has been the core of any community since the foundation of the world.  In Genesis 2:18, we read that God said, "It is not good for man to be alone."  So what did God do?  He created woman and they started a family.  The family was God's design from the very beginning.

Then, as we read in the early days of Israel's history, God established bedrock principles for the family.  Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  Parents are to first of all love and honor God, and then to train their children to do the same.  The end of the book of Joshua, in chapter 24, Joshua is transitioning out of leadership and he gives the people of Israel one final command, "Choose you this day whom you will serve."  Then he makes a remarkable statement, which should be the mission of every family, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Furthermore, as we look at the teaching of Jesus in the gospels, He makes it very clear that man and woman were designed to enter a marriage covenant for the purpose of starting a family.  Mark 10:6-9 says, “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’  ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  From this passage we learn several truths:  1)  God established marriage.  2) Marriage is between one man and one woman.  3) Marriage is the instrument for starting a new family. 

In addition, as we read in Ephesians, we gain further insight into how a family should function with the man as the leader or head of the family.  Ephesians 5:22-24 says, "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." There are too many homes where the head is missing.

It's sad to look around my neighborhood and see a breakdown of the family.  I see single parent homes, live in boyfriends/girlfriends, children being born out of wed-lock, children being abused, children who are living a rebellious life with no parental authority demanding respect, and this just barely scratches the surface.  Seeing this breakdown, literally breaks my heart.

One of the main factors for this breakdown is because our government has gotten away from Biblical principles.  It all begins as a little leaven creeps into the bread.  As I consider our culture and the breakdown of the family, there are four factors that are contributing to this breakdown.  These four areas in no particular order are: divorce, pornography, abortion, and gay marriage.  Each of these issues lead to the breakdown of families and the breakdown of homes.  Our government has enabled much of these problems.  They have taken what is sacred and holy and made it common.  It has caused the standards of purity and righteousness to be lowered.  In the words of Isaiah, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have each turned our own way."

It's obvious we are living in what the Bible refers to as the last days.  As a follower of Christ, it's easy to get discouraged as we see this decay happening in our culture and certainly as it pertains to the breakdown of the family.  However, it is suppose to happen.  May our discouragement be reversed as we turn our attention to the return of Christ.  The world will get worse and our children and grandchildren will deal with it much worse than us.  However, the return of Christ is our hope!  Until then, may our commitment to Christ grow strong.

I have come to appreciate the words from a little known book in the Bible, Jude 1:17-13, "But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.  But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.  Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."

That last verse is becoming one of my favorites. In my words, "Be merciful to the haters. Save others from the fire of hell." As followers of Jesus Christ, may our lights continue to shine. The only solution to this breakdown of the family is Jesus Christ. May our families grow closer to Jesus and to each other. May we reach out to those families who are in need. May we say, as Joshua did long ago, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Jesus is the answer for the world today. Jesus will keep our families from breakdown.