[Linux4christians] Thursday – Read Matthew 19:1-12, Mark 10:1-12, Luke 16:18

[Pastor David]

*Thursday – Read Matthew 19:1-12, Mark 10:1-12, Luke 16:18*

	*Commentary*

	The accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree that God 
dislikes divorce and that it was
	not His design pre-Fall.  They also agree that He tolerated 
it “due to the hardness of heart”
	of His fallen Created man as they struggled to forgive 
certain offenses from their wives.
	The abuse of divorce was rampant, men abandoning their 
wives on shallow pretext,
	leaving them destitute and shamed.

	Matthew 19:1-12 contains the most detailed report, 
including the grace-conditions of God
	wherein divorce, and post-divorce remarriage are permitted. 
  It also contains His
	boundaries to prevent future abuses.
	
	Jesus responds to the matter of divorce, raised by 
religious leaders looking for an
	opportunity to charge Him with a violation.  He turns the 
discussion into another
	teachable moment.

	It is important to note that divergent opinions were held 
among competing sub-groups
	within the religious elite of His day – making it easy to 
run afoul of at least one group yet
	creating a momentary alliance with others.  Jesus was 
concerned only with truth.

	Jesus makes the statement “...whoever divorces his wife, 
except for immorality, and
	marries another commits adultery.”  This agrees with the 
more strict group but troubles
	the more permissive – as well as some of the disciples of 
Jesus.  He responds by suggesting
	that they then live as eunuchs rather than risk a marriage 
where they are unhappy but
	unable to leave without offending God.


	*Discussion & Reflection - Keeping it Real*

	Reflect upon lives that have been harmed by a too-rigid or 
too-permissive misreading of
	these texts.  Pray that the Biblical teaching be applied 
rather than the preferences of man.
	
	Reflect upon stories of redemption of which you are aware 
in the lives of people who have
	suffered the painful consequences of divorce yet where God 
has restored them to new
	Biblically-centered marriages – and where His grace has led 
to healing and to salvation.

	Consider the teaching of Jesus, which He presented to all 
who would follow Him, that we
	“count the cost” before making any commitment.  In the case 
of marriage He powerfully
	illustrates that those unwilling to live with His 
boundaries choose the life of a
	relational/sexual eunuch.  Stated differently, if one is 
not willing to stay married without
	consideration of divorce – in the absence of “immorality” - 
then one must not marry.

	It is important to note that not every divorce which 
impacts Christians are not chosen by
	Christians, some involve an unsaved spouse, or in some 
cases they involve a Christian
	who was unsaved at the time of their past divorce.  “Made 
new, the old has passed away”
	at salvation, and “made new every morning”, the daily 
forgiveness and restoration of God,
	means that only the Enemy charges a Christian with a past 
sin – God has separated
	Himself from forgiven sin “as far as the East is from the 
West”.

	Note also that the Apostle Paul addresses the matter of 
divorce later in the New Testament.

	One final note, the preference of Jesus is that we not have 
“hard hearts”, that we instead
	walk the God-preferred and Holy Spirit empowered path of 
repentance, forgiveness, and
	restoration rather than divorce.


	*Truth in Action*
	
	Today I will prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit of God to 
assess my understanding of the
	Biblical teaching about divorce and for help as I ask the 
forgiveness of any whom I have
	offended as the result of a non-Biblical too-rigid or 
too-permissive teaching -- and
	peer-accountability applied by me toward others dealing 
with divorce.

	If I have suffered a divorce, am in a marriage where I am 
contemplating seeking a divorce,
	I am being threated with an undesired divorce by my spouse, 
or I have been the victim of
	a too-rigid or too-permissive non-Biblical teaching about 
divorce I will prayerfully ask for
	the comfort, strength, and wisdom to choose and to respond 
wisely.  I will also ask for the
	miraculous intervention of the Lord where matters may be 
out of my control.  I will also
	ask at least one fellow believer to pray in agreement with 
me, and to walk with me for
	accountability and encouragement, through this process.

	*Be Specific* 
_______________________________________________________


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Friday's reading will be: Matthew 19:13-20:19, Mark 
10:13-34, Luke 18:15-34
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Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day!  Pastor David
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