Application of God's Word

  Hello everyone!  I hope you are all doing well. Welcome to a new month! Over the next few weeks, I will be diving deeper into the topic of marriage and divorce. After reading the comments on my blog post, Marriage is Sacred and Binding , I realized there are important topics that we need to explore. While I hold the sanctity of marriage in the highest regard, I’ve received several questions about divorce that I feel compelled to address, using the Word of God as my guide. I do not have all the answers, but I’m learning more each day, and my goal is to approach this topic from a biblical perspective. I encourage you to join me on this journey, seeking God’s wisdom together on the topic of marriage and divorce. I want to start the series by discussing "Love." Love is a word that is used casually in today’s world. We hear it in songs, see it in movies, and even use it in conversations without always considering the depth of its meaning. "I love your pants," "I l...

Amos 3:3 "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" Our Lord Almighty had a relationship with the people of Israel from the beginning when He brought them out of Egypt. He had selected the Israelites as His chosen people. However, time after time, they disobeyed Him. God would continuously send prophets to remind them of His undying love for them and to call them to repentance. Here we see God speaking through the prophet Amos to let the people of Israel know that He is going to punish them for their iniquities. And what God says is that two cannot walk together unless they are in agreement. The Lord was referring to His relationship with His people. They had strayed far away from Him and therefore they were no longer in agreement with Him. From the beginning, this agreement had been established through the commandments. However, over time that relationship was severed. It's interesting that Jesus often referred to His relati...

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[ g ] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[ h ] 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren[ i ] only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors[ j ] do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 Oh how easy it is to love those who love you and hate those who hate you. It just seems logical don't it? But Jesus didn't come to preach what was logical or the "in" thing to do. In fact he made reference to what we have been conditioned to think and r...

Right after speaking about Adultery, Jesus' next topic, surprisingly, deals with marriage and this is what he has to say in his sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:31-32 : 31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. I can't think of marriage without thinking about my parents. They didn't believe in divorce, for better or worse they stuck it out even when they said they would leave, they stayed together. As children, my brothers, sister, and I growing up, we got to see what a real marriage

Can you truly commit adultery in your heart? Well, Jesus said you can and if He said it - it's the truth. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus continues to reveal to us the sins of the heart and how those sins have eternal consequences. Let's continue our bible study on Matthew 5:27-30 . 27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old,[ c ] ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[ d ] 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Firstly Jesus looked at "Do not commit murder." Now he refers to another commandment, "You sh...

Matthew 5: 21-26 continues Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a pure heart. 21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,[ a ] and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause[ b ] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get ou...

A wise woman builds her house but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down . - Proverbs 14:1 What a powerful verse! I read this over and over.  It's both amazing and humbling to realize that we, too, can be that foolish woman, who tears down her house after working so hard to build it. Isn't it heartbreaking to know that something you have labored to acquire or build can be torn down by your foolish actions? It would be easier to accept if someone else was responsible, but instead, you only have yourself to blame. What a hard pill to swallow. Sometimes we think that someone else would be the one to ruin or destroy what we have built but acknowledging and seeing that it was your own undoing, you own self-sabotage, is beyond humbling and deeply painful. A wise woman takes her time to build her house. She builds it by fostering an environment where love, peace, and God's presence thrive. She knows how to maintain it, nurture it, and keep it in good co...