Crossroad Online
Fresh Baked Bread
Hi, this is Pastor Ken, I want to welcome you to my Thoughts on a Thursday Podcast where I take some regular occurrence or personal story from my life and connect it to a scriptural truth. So here are my thoughts on this Thursday, June 22nd, 2023…Fresh Baked Bread
When I was a teenager my mom spent one entire day, literally from right after breakfast until the evening mealtime, baking for the week ahead. With three boys as well as her and dad, our family went through about 8 loaves of bread a week along with various other baked goods. She would make homemade English muffins, cookies, cakes, rolls…whatever we needed along with the constant of 8 loaves of fresh bread. With seven days in a week, and the family consuming one loaf a day, the 8th had a special purpose. On baking day, the last items to take their turn in the oven always included that special 8th loaf. That loaf was a blessing. The delicious smell of the house on baking day was phenomenal! The entire house smelled of freshly baked bread and cookies and anything else on mom’s culinary to-do list. Experiencing that aroma without being able to sample its tasty goodness would have been akin to cruel and unusual punishment. Because of that, mom always baked the 8th loaf. We all knew that on that particular day of the week, whatever we had for dinner would be accompanied by a warm delicious loaf of fresh baked bread. Now it is my wife Lynn who on most weeks’ labors in our kitchen to produce homemade bread for the two of us. The old family tradition still stands. On baking day, we enjoy warm freshly baked bread with dinner…what a blessing indeed!
This is the bread we ask for when we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”. It is the sustenance for our physical bodies. We need all kinds of various nutrients for our continued health, but I understand that if the flour were ground from whole grains a very basic diet of bread and water would likely sustain life for a very long time…perhaps indefinitely. Certainly we know that the Israelite people survived for the better part of 40 years in the wilderness eating only manna, the bread that fell each day from heaven. The fact that the bible tells us that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1-2) is reason enough to look to God for our daily provision. We absolutely should do as Jesus taught His disciples to do and pray each day that God will supply our needs out of His great love and the abundance of His incredible wealth.
Jesus had some other things to say about bread though, that were equally, if not more important. The first comes from the gospel of Matthew. There in chapter 4 we read of Jesus during His own wilderness experience He was led into by the Holy Spirit. (vs. 1) Jesus chose to use His time there fasting and spending it close to God the Father. After 40 days of fasting the bible tells us that Jesus was very hungry, and that is when the devil came to tempt Him. Satan suggested that since Jesus was the Son of God, He should turn the stones into bread. This is interesting to me on several levels. First, Satan came to tempt Jesus when He knew would be most vulnerable. Second, Satan knew that it was Jesus who had created the stones, and was therefore tempting Him with His own creative license. What I mean by that is that I think the devil was saying, “Look, you are the one who made the stone, so if you are hungry, is it not within your authority to re-purpose your creation of a stone and now turn it into a loaf of bread?” Jesus however, quoting scripture, pointed out in His answer that to do so at the whim of Satan, would be to submit to Satan’s authority, and that was exactly what Satan desired. He wanted Jesus to worship him. Jesus knew He was in the wilderness at the behest of God’s Holy Spirit, and should only ever submit to the authority of God. He answered and said, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”. (Vs. 4) This was a reference to Deuteronomy 8:1-3. There Moses reminded the people of Israel that they had received the commandments of the Lord directly from God and it was those very commandments that would be their strength and sustenance, not simply bread. Moses pointed out that this is why God had provided manna during their wilderness experience. He gave them a bread that was unlike any they had ever known or anyone had ever seen before. God did this so that they could identify that it was He and He alone who was providing for them. In light of His provision, God hoped they would understand that it really is only from every word that comes out of God’s mouth, whether a word of instruction, or a word of provision, that we exist. Acts 17:28 says For in Him we live, and move, and have our being…
In the Gospel of John chapter 6 we read of another time Jesus spoke about the bread from heaven. At the beginning of that chapter we find the account of Jesus feeding the 5000, where He fed 5000 men along with additional women and children. That passage goes on to record that Jesus began that occasion with just 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish and yet…He divided it up to feed what many estimate to be a crowd of 12,000-15,000 people! The next day those same people found Him and His disciples again and Jesus knowing that they were only looking for Him so He would possibly feed them again, He said this to them. “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:32-35) Just a moment later He told them again, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” (John 6:47-51)
God is our supplier…end of story. From His great abundance God gives us everything including the bread on our tables, and we should be very grateful for it. Jesus taught us to ask for His provision each day. In the wilderness, God provided for His people even when they were walking out the consequences of their own sin. Every day He spoke into existence the manna that would fall from the sky and came to be known to them as the bread of Heaven. However, physical bread will only get you so far. Each day you need more or eventually you will die. And so, God sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ to carry the consequences of all of our sin. In doing that He was providing for us the spiritual provision we needed to live with Him for eternity. Because of that Jesus could in fact say that He was the true bread of Heaven. If we will take Him into our lives and accept that His death pays the price for our sin, we can “Eat of Him” and never die.
I love it when I arrive at home after a day at work and can smell from the driveway that it has been baking day. I know from the wonderful aroma that I am going to get to enjoy warm, fresh baked bread with my dinner. I am absolutely grateful for my wife’s labor of love on those special days, and the blessing I am about to receive. However, even warm, freshly baked bread doesn’t begin to compare to the blessing of having received the Bread of Heaven, Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, my Lord and Sweet, Sweet Savior, into my life!
So now, Thanking God daily for His provision for your greatest need, freedom from your sin through the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus …Go be Awesome!
Running On Reserve
Hi, this is Pastor Ken, I want to welcome you to my Thoughts on a Thursday Podcast where I take some regular occurrence or personal story from my life and connect it to a scriptural truth. So here are my thoughts on this Thursday, June 15th 2023…Running On Reserve
Yesterday morning, I was driving to work on my motorcycle which is far and away my preferred mode of transportation this time of year. As I left the driveway I failed to look down at the dash on the fairing and after a night’s sleep had completely forgotten the low position of the gas gauge the day before. I can assure you that will never happen again!
I was riding along enjoying the warm morning air and the sights, and smells of the countryside when all of the sudden…the engine seemed to be losing power. It stuttered, then spit once or twice and finally gave a cough that was intended to inform me I was not going any further on that motorcycle, under those conditions. At first I thought there was something mechanically wrong with the bike…then I realized it wasn’t that at all…it was completely out of gas.
I shifted the motorcycle into neutral so that I could coast as far as possible. The church where I work was in sight, so whatever coasting I might be able to do would make walking (or worse yet) pushing the heavy motorcycle less tedious. As I rolled along the shoulder of the road without power I remembered that motorcycles have a unique feature that was designed for just such an occasion. The fuel valve under a motorcycle’s gas tank features three positions; on – off – and reserve. By rotating the valve 180 degrees from the on position it allows the fuel in the bottom of the tank to be used allowing one who has run out of gas to drive a short distance to a station to fill the tank. Remembering that, I stopped, flipped the valve in the appropriate direction, and in a few seconds had the engine roaring back to life, and I rode the rest of the way to work. I can promise you the next stop when I left there at the end of the day, was the gas station!
The experience reminded me of another that had actually happened earlier that very morning. When My alarm clock sounded and I woke up I was still tired and wanted to lay there just a few extra minutes. Some mornings I just don’t pop out of bed like I did each day in my younger years. I reasoned that it would be alright if I lay there a few extra minutes. However, I don’t get up hours before I have to leave in the morning, I never have. Since I was a teenager, I have set my alarm each day leaving just enough time to get out of bed, do the necessary things to make myself presentable, and walk out the door. I will readily admit though that the amount of time needed to accomplish the same list of things has become increasingly longer the older I have gotten. What was at one time 15 minutes has become an hour and likely will be a few hours before it I go to heaven which I understand to be timeless…so it won’t matter there.
Contemplating laying there for a few extra minutes would necessitate something else be omitted from my morning routine. The dogs were still going to want to eat, and go outside, my appearance would still need the allotted time for dressing and hygiene…so, I figured it might mean less time with my bible in my lap having my devotions. I am a pastor after all…I can read the bible at work and nobody thinks I am doing something I shouldn’t. As I admitted, I wanted to lay there; but a cold dog’s nose nudging me from beside the bed, the strong sense of responsibility instilled by my parents, and a deep love for my Savior caused my head to rise, my body to sit up, and my feet to hit the floor.
I will admit the time I now spend with the Lord each morning has not always been the case. However, in the past 15 years or so, I have come to understand how critical it is for me to do that. It is, simply put, as important to me and my ability to function as God wants me to, as gasoline is to the smooth operation of my motorcycle. The tank on my motorcycle is of a capacity that will allow me to ride to work several days without a fill-up. Not so with my spiritual one, that needs to be refilled every day because as an imperfect vessel, I leak. I need the refreshed input of the Holy Spirit to fill me new each morning. I need to refocus my mind on my Lord regularly…and by regularly I mean daily, if I want to consider things with the mind of Christ.
Isaiah 26:3 in the New King James Version says You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. There are too many variables in our lives everyday to risk making decisions about; what to do, where to go, who to interact with and how to do that correctly, without considering what Christ would have us do in each of those situations. In fact, the sheer number of decisions we are faced with daily can rob us of a peaceful existence. This scripture tells us that God desires for us to live in perfect peace…no matter what may come our way. It also gives the formula for obtaining that kind of peace. This passage says that perfect peace is a state of being, given to all who have directed their minds and thoughts to what their Lord desires of, and for them. I can’t speak for you, but in my case a What Would Jesus Do? bracelet isn’t going to cut it as I make all those decisions each day. I often wonder…without reading and studying the Word of God, how are we supposed to know what the Word would do? The Apostle John wrote of Jesus In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. John 1:1-4 If Jesus is the Word…and He is, how do we determine what Jesus would do, if we don’t know what the Word says?
Isaiah 26:3 goes on to say that those whose minds are stayed on Him, or in other words those who are continuously in His Word, do so because they have put their trust in Him. There is an important reverse truth here that I don’t think we can afford to ignore. Those who put their trust in Him…allow their minds to be turned toward His words and His thoughts. To put it simply and personally, If I don’t fill my spiritual tank with His word each and every day, when I make decisions they will be illustrative of my thoughts, which will clearly indicate it is me I trust. Think about it, if we trust someone, we follow their lead. If instead we do what we think best, it clearly means we trust ourselves more than we trust them. I have to go to God’s word each day to see His leading. You just can’t follow what you don’t care to look at.
I might be able to fill my motorcycle tank once a week, but not so for my spiritual one. As I admitted earlier, that particular tank has to be refilled each and every day. That isn’t simply a personal assessment…it’s true for all of us. How can I say that? Because Jesus said it. In John 8:31&32 He said to those who believe in Him… and that includes you and me…“If you abide in my word you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. The keyword here is abide. To abide means to live in, just like we abide in our homes. We live every day, so to abide in God’s Word, to abide in Christ, is to live in it every day. If you want to live but only take a breath once a week…it wouldn’t be enough and you would die…even if you took that breath on Sundays. You just can’t run that far on reserve.
Psalm 1:2-3 in the New Living Translation says [Blessed are] they [that] delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
So now, delighting in the Law of the Lord, living in his word every day and enjoying the peace that comes from trusting Him…Go Be Awesome!
Lover’s Leap
Hi, this is Pastor Ken, I want to welcome you to my Thoughts on a Thursday Podcast where I take some regular occurrence or personal story from my life and connect it to scriptural truth. So here are my thoughts on this Thursday, June 8th, 2023…Lover’s Leap
Each summer my wife and I vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwestern Virginia. There is simply no other place on the planet that captivates us like those particular hills. One of our favorite activities when we are there is to climb onto my motorcycle and ride. There are oh so many places to ride in those hills, and to say that the views are great would be a gross understatement. There are places you can ride there that offer vistas that normally require an airplane to appreciate, but on some of those winding roads, they simply POP out of nowhere as you exit wooded spaces and round some random curve.
There is one ride we have not taken in a few years that I hope to enjoy later this summer. It begins on a winding two-lane road headed east out of the small town of Floyd. Route 8 climbs through gentle curves and farmland until it reaches its peak elevation as it crosses under the famed Blue Ridge Parkway. As the road descends, the views disappear as it makes its way down through the wooded landscape. There the road has a special benefit. The curves and switchbacks become so steep and sharp that you can nearly check to see if your own tail lights are working. That road finally intersects with Route 58 which climbs to the top of a mountain where some of the longest-range views in the area can be seen. The place at the top is known as Lover’s leap, and the side of the mountain drops off hundreds of feet but reveals a 40 or 50-mile view. There is a narrow shoulder alongside the road there where people impulsively stop to take some amazing photographs.
While we are there we will stare in silence for a while, as does everyone who sees it, especially for the first time. The view is mostly of wooded mountainsides, and distant ridges rising and falling along the horizon. Along some of the closer hillsides, farms, and fields dot the landscape, and one can’t help but try to see activity even if from such a distance. The hillsides in the foreground are green with trees but each ridge becomes a lighter shade of blue the farther away you look. It is the amazing, breathtaking, yet quintessential Blue Ridge Mountain view.
While my wife and I Stand taking in the astounding sight, there will be several passages from God’s word that will undoubtedly flood my thoughts. Allow me to share some of them with you now.
I’ll begin with the obvious one. Genesis 1:1 says, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. When I look at those beautiful mountain ranges I often think of the fact that it was God who placed them there, and the fact that they have been standing right where they are now since the day that God formed them with a word. That brings to my mind Hebrews 11:3, By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Man’s science no longer allows for this truth to go unchallenged. Those who don’t want to recognize God as supreme try to tell us that a large explosion (though they never say what caused the explosion) was the catalyst of all that we can see, hear, smell, touch and taste. Those fools…I mean scientists want us to believe that the world existed millions of years before those gorgeous blue ridges ever came to rise up from flat terrain because of shifts in the tectonic plates under the earth’s crust. Ridiculous! I may not be a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon, but I know nothing comes to be without being energized by some pre-existing source of power. Psalm 90:2 tells me what the creative power was. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Jeremiah 32:17 exclaims, Ah Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Additionally, as I survey the expanse of the overlook at lover’s leap I will consider that it was all created by a word, and I will be unable to avoid considering just who it was that spoke such an incredible word. John 1:1-2 says that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. Psalm 33:6 says, By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. Furthermore, Colossians 1:16 proclaims For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…all things were created through Him and for Him.
As I allow my eyes to scan the first through the valleys below and then upward to the far reaching ridges of blue mountain tops beyond, my thoughts will go to the words penned by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:6 – Yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. Eventually, my thoughts will settle on two scriptures from the book of Revelation. First, Revelation 4:11 says “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created”. And second, Revelation 22:13 where Jesus the one who created everything including that incredible view, says of Himself, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last”.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth is according to His own unfallable word…Love. Therefore, Love created the heavens and the earth. Love created the mountains and the valleys, love created it all. So as I get to, Lord willing, stand on that particular mountain top later this year and look out over those particular ridgelines painted in various shades of blue…I will acknowledge…it truly is Lover’s leap.
So now, …standing in awe of all of the marvelous creations of God and His handiwork, be thankful and give Him praise for all He has lovingly done, and…Go be Awesome!
Marriage & Divorce Vol. 8
Hi, this is Pastor Ken thanks for joining me once again for the Monday Marriage Message where we search God’s instructions to experience a highly successful marriage.
We are continuing with our study of Marriage and Divorce from a biblical view utilizing a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees recorded for us in Matthew chapter 19 and Mark chapter 10. This will be the 8th episode in this series. We began by dissecting the first part of the conversation I referenced a moment ago. Then I spent two sessions looking at the portion of the law (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) that the Pharisees misinterpreted to support their position that they ought to be free to divorce. I shared with you last time several of the reasons I believe their reading of that particular scripture was in fact an intentional misinterpretation. Today I would like to look at another passage from the book of Malachi that I believe goes to further reinforce that their interpretation was severely flawed.
Let’s begin by reading that passage. Malachi 2:10-16 in the New King James Version reads as follows:
10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another By profaning the covenant of the fathers? 11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned The Lord’s holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob The man who does this, being awake and aware, Yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts! 13 And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. 14 Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore, take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. 16 “For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
This scripture passage contains one of the most well-known concepts contained in all the Bible concerning divorce. ‘God hates divorce’ found in verse 16. While this concept is most certainly rooted in truth there are several things that I feel important to point out to broaden our understanding of this passage, and how it relates to the others we have been studying.
The passage begins in verse 10 speaking about something that seemingly has little to do with marriage or divorce, so why include it in our study? As you will recall, I’ve made the case many times that the relationship between God and mankind and the marital relationship between husband and wife is the “Great Analogy”. This scriptural analogy is used by God far and away more than any other to describe the relationship He desires to have with us. Verses 10 and 11 of this passage are just such an analogy.
10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another By profaning the covenant of the fathers? 11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned The Lord’s holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god. To fully understand the analogy, we need to first better understand the meaning of the Hebrew word we translate into English as “Treacherously” The translation is correct but our contemporary understanding of the word has come to mean to treat someone dangerously or with malice. The actual definition is to be maliciously unfaithful and to treat someone deceitfully.
God was pointing out that the relationship He had previously enjoyed with Judah was now greatly damaged. He said that Judah had been unfaithful to Him by loving another, and in fact that Judah was acting as if it had divorced God and was married or joined to another. He said that an abomination (meaning intermarriage with idolaters in this context), had been committed ruining the sacredness of the union between God and Judah. However, just as it is in the book of Hosea, the unfaithful are God’s people and never God Himself. God says that He is married to the backslider. (Jeremiah 3:14) God is true to His word and remains faithful to His covenants with His people even if His people do not remain faithful to Him.
The second section of this passage, verses 12 and 13 are God’s complaint against His people and the consequences of their treacherous actions toward Him. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob The man who does this, being awake and aware, Yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts! 13 And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Here God makes the point that it is unreasonable for an unfaithful spouse who deals treacherously to expect that they would continue to receive favor from their offended spouse. God points out to His people that they have been unfaithful to Him and yet they continue to come before Him asking for His favor, and He has grown weary of their disingenuous attitudes. As a result, God told the people that though He had not abandoned them, he was no longer accepting their hypocritical offerings or listening to their insincere prayers.
The people responded by asking God what they had done to illustrate a disingenuous mindset toward Him. His response: 14 …Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant. Now the analogy turns to the reality of their own marriages. God tells His people that the condition of their marital relationships is all the proof He needs that they do not honor Him. This is a striking revelation for us. According to this scripture, we cannot make the claim that we have a good relationship with God if we do not have a good relationship with our spouse. God does not consider our marriages ancillary to our walk with Him. His word clearly indicates that the two are interconnected with the greatest of congruency.
God goes on to point out the fact that it is He who created our marriages by taking two and making of them one. Additionally, He speaks of His position in those marriages as much more than simply the one who fashioned them. He clarified that He has always intended to be an integral part of each of our marriages. 15 But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. Here in verse 15 God asks some critical questions. Did He not make them one? Is God not the creator of our marriages? Furthermore, He pointed out that as a part of the formation of our marriages He made a personal investment by joining us with a remnant of His Spirit. Throughout the Old Testament when God would leave a remnant of His people existing it was always for one and only one purpose…to be able to reestablish godliness. Here it is no different. In this context the original word remnant means a residue. God is essentially saying that as the holy and perfect creator of marriage, all marriages contain a residue of its Creator’s goodness. His intent is that the residue or remnant of His Spirit will encourage that marriage to seek what is godly and reject what is not. God then asks, “And why one”? in other words “Why do I marry People”? He answers Himself…“For godly offspring”. In the context of this verse, godly offspring does not mean children but rather moral quality. God was expressly saying that He takes two and makes them one with a remnant of His Spirit so that they can act as one in godly ways, reflecting His character (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, God says clearly, listen to your spirit as to how to correctly interact with your spouse so that your marriage can fulfill all of its full God-given potential.
With that understanding we can now better interpret what God meant when He made the declaration many know from Malachi 2:16 16 “For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.”
God does indeed state with absolute clarity that He hates divorce. The meaning of this term hates divorce means that it goes against His ways and His will. Literally in this verse it means that divorce is against or opposite of God. God says that divorce covers one’s garment with violence. The context of the word violence in this passage means injurious harm. When you connect the injurious harm to covering the perpetrator’s garments it indicates bloody injury, insinuating a death akin to murder. One of the ways divorce is anti-God is that it ends a marriage by violent death instead of the natural death of a spouse. Divorce is death, God is life. Again God gives the warning that married people must pay attention to their spirit which should desire that which its creator would desire. As a result, we should be faithful to our marriages and never willing to intentionally cause their untimely demise.
When you understand why God hates divorce, that it goes against everything He is, and every desire He has for the marriages He lovingly creates, it becomes clearer that He would then never offer us a formula to dissolve our marriages. In the conversation we have been using as the basis for our study Jesus made this exact point. He said, “Therefore they are no longer two but one, and what God has joined, let not man separate. (Matthew 19:6 & Mark 10:9)
So now…with a newfound understanding of the value God places on your marriage, commit to adopting His standard of care for your oneness…and go be awesome!