by Terry Laughlin | Apr 20, 2016 | Love
Joined Together
Once a couple makes a Biblical separation, the element of “stability” can be applied. The Bible says, “Be joined with his wife.” (Genesis 2:24) “Joined” (dabag) means to cling to and stay with. The application is something sticking together and when used in a marriage relationship it is a man clinging to his wife, no matter what life throws at them and she sticks with him, thus bringing stability.
While attending Junior High School, our wood working instructor was making a heavy duty work bench. He did not have large enough pieces of wood to make the legs that would be needed to withstand all the stress that would be applied to the table in the upcoming years. He took several pieces of wood and glued them together with wood glue. He put them in a vice and tightened it down. After the glue dried he took the four legs to the wood lave. It spun with tremendous speed and he took different tools and carved the image he desired, amazingly the wood pieces held together. He then attached the four legs to the bench and for 30+ years this bench has withstood all sorts of pounding, moving, and the different weights laid upon it.
The fact is, it does not matter how long you have been married, there is no such thing as marriage reaching a certain milestone which protects it from the temptation of giving up. The effects of Genesis three does not go away with age or weakens because of years of experience. Satan’s attack on marriage is constant until “Death Do You Part.”
There are Biblical proofs of God keeping marriage together as long as couples choose to stick it out. “Adam an Eve endured the harsh consequences of sin: banishment from home, cursed ground, cursed relationship, cursed offspring. Yet they remained together through nine hundred years of life.” (Marriage. From Surviving to Thriving, Charles Swindoll) Joseph and Mary had to trust God’s revelations to them (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38), knowing that most people would not believe them about Mary’s virgin conception. Consider the marriage of Hosea and Gomer: It appears in Scripture there was a season Gomar lived as a prostitute – However, Hosea was told to go to her and love her as his wife again and she was told to live a life of repentance (Hosea 3). I like what Mr. Swindoll wrote, “I can think of no greater conflict in marriage than infidelity. So serious is the damage that the Lord considers it a breach of the marital bond [without the fruit of repentance] He permits divorce. However, that’s not to say that divorce is required or even inevitable.” Hosea could have handed her justice according to the law, but instead he dealt Gomar the mercies of God, again Gomar was expected to produce the fruit of repentance.
Let the overwhelming weights of consequences, circumstance, and conflicts cause you to be joined (dabaq) together in these times when people are saying, “I want to know what love is.”
A marriage that allows God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit of Christ to join the couple together will withstand all the weight that is laid upon it. Many a Christian couple surrendered to the Lordship of Christ has enjoyed the stability of absolute devotion, absolute loyalty, uncompromising affection, and love.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 20, 2016 | Love
Leaving Family
Once a couple understands God’s love and allows Him to place His love within them, they can properly apply the four principles found in Genesis 2:24-25. The first principle is, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife…” (Genesis 2:24) This is God’s divine revelation to a couple who want to enjoy marriage, “Til Death Do they Part.”
In order for a marriage to enjoy all that God wants a couple to experience, there must be a separation. The significance of the language, “leave” is that marriage involves a new pledge to a spouse in which former familial commitments are superseded by commitments to each other. Do not read more into this statement than the Lord intends. This does not mean that a couple abandons their parents, nor are they not to listen to their parent’s wise counsel. While continuing to honor their parents, couples are to first honor one another.
For example: A retired father wants his son to go on a fishing trip, but the husband is needed home to tend to the needs of his wife. The husband’s first priority is towards his wife. This is especially true if the wife has health needs and even if she has practical needs. However, if dad has a physical need, the son is not to neglect the need of his father to meet any selfish whims of the wife. The wife is not to spend all of her time down at moms and neglect physical and practical needs of her husband. It means that dependence is to turn from dad and mom to one another. It means to leave the security of dad and mom’s check-book to trust in the Lord to provide through each other, while allowing parents to give gifts as the Lord leads them.
While in the horse business I met a great horse trainer who was the son of a Morgan horse trainer. He helped his father, learned from his father, and honored his father. When this trainer got married to a woman who trained Crabbet bred Arabians, they left their parents beautiful facilities and built their own training facility. However, they did not train Morgan horses or nor did they continue on with the Crabbet bred blood lines. They had vision and established their own type of training center. While respecting their parent’s upbringing, they developed their own style of training horses. To this very day, as of January 2012, this couple has their own Arabian Horse Training Facility, training Polish and Russian bred Arabian horses.
If you are a couple who oversees their own business, has their own career, or is employed in the work force, you must break away from dependence on your parents and the control of your parents. Couples should feed only on the wise counsel of parents who have survived through the trials and temptations of life. Seek counsel from parents who have learned from the consequences of making choices influenced by the sinful nature, the world’s influences, or listening to the lies of the devil.
When a couple gets married they are to have their own vision, work to establish their own connections, financially and clientele, thus bringing respectability to their family heritage. Leave your father and mother, unite as one by making Jesus Christ head of your marriage.
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 20, 2016 | Halloween
God’s Sovereignty In Horror Productions
It is that time of the year when writers create horror stories and performers act out scenes that may unsettle people enough to want to check their doors, windows, closets and even take a look under the bed, perhaps even more than once. On the flip side, people may gather at home to watch or read such stories for the thrill. There is a natural fear of the unseen spiritual world, especially when it is presented with an aroma of fear.
Christians should embrace all opportunities to point people to Jesus Christ, His Father holds Sovereign control over all things. Christians struggle with balancing “…whatever is honorable… whatever is pure, whatever is lovely…” (Philippians 4:8) with being involved with the typical celebrations of Halloween.
Mature Christians have a Biblical understanding of God’s Sovereignty. They have a clear vision on how the Lord wants to use them during a season that intrigues people to find pleasure in reading fearful stories, watch horror movies or visit an elaborated haunted house.
God is Sovereign (שָׁלְטָן šoltān) meaning “He has dominion over everything that exist.” (Dan. 4:3[3:33]; 4:34[31]; (Baker, W., & Carpenter, E. E. (2003). (The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.) The Sovereignty of God is “a theological term that refers to the unlimited power of God, who has Sovereign control over the affairs of nature and history. The Bible declares that God is working out His Sovereign plan of redemption for the world and that the conclusion is certain.” (Is. 45:9–19; Rom. 8:18–39; (Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., & Harrison, R. K., Thomas Nelson Publishers (Eds.). (1995). In Nelson’s new illustrated Bible dictionary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
In His Sovereignty, God allowed novel writer, Jim Stovall, to write three delightful parables. The Ultimate Gift presented the appreciation of the value of life. The Ultimate Life presented the value of love. Finally, The Ultimate Journey presented life’s journey as not about the destination, but traveling it well. Not everything in Mr. Stovall’s trilogy are true events, but his writings, which have been and continue to be made into movies, hold truths that enable us to live productive lives. God’s Sovereignty allows horror writers and movie makers to present an aroma of fear. The Exorcist, a novel written by William Peter Blatty, was inspired by the 1949 exorcism case of Roland Doe and later made into a movie directed by William Friedkin in 1973. (Cinema of the occult: new age, satanism, Wicca, and spiritualism in film) There is the continual debate about the 1977 book, The Amityville Horror, which was also later made into a movie and several sequels, and inspired several spinoffs, such as The Conjuring. Despite the lack of evidence to corroborate much of the original story, it remains one of the most popular haunting accounts in American folklore. Even though both horrific accounts cannot be presented as actual truth, they continue to emit an aroma of fear.
The Bible has at least thirty-five Scriptures which warn of Satan’s hold over the unrepentant soul. Jesus talks about a place where those who do not have a relationship with Him will spend eternity, “a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Luke 13:28) This is a factual aroma of fear; escape it by having Christ as personal Savior and Lord!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 14, 2016 | Easter
Why Flogging
The Lord was “Flogged.” Matthew 27:26 says, “…he [Pilate] had Jesus flogged.”
Among the Romans it was customary to scourge or whip a slave before he was crucified. This was done to inflict greater suffering and cause a quicker death while adding horrors to the punishment.
Our Lord was put to death after the manner of a slave or a criminal, therefore He was treated as a slave and a criminal. This is because sin puts mankind into bondage and causes him to become a criminal. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34) He took upon Himself the sins of the world. Sin is in the heart of every criminal.
The prophet Isaiah catches the reality of what Jesus was to look like when He would be scourged for our sins and he writes, “Just as there were many who were appalled at Him – His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human likeness.” (Isaiah 52:14)
When we hear of the results of sin on the news today or when sin has brought a tragedy into the lives of family members, people are struck with numbness and they are put to silence from sudden astonishment. We were shocked with the news of a pastor’s wife shooting her husband and of a child killer serving regularly in his local church. While attending horse shoeing college, I listen to a retired homicide detective share how it never gets easy walking in on a homicide scene. Every time it makes you want to cover your eyes, turn and look the other way, for you just can’t stand to look on the sight of such a horrific scene. The sight of a loved one suffering the long term effects of addiction, a life without Christ and heading for hell is a horrific sight.
Jesus’ appearance had to be horrible for He was taking on the grief and physical abuse of every sin committed before that first Easter, sins committed since Calvary and sins that will be committed until we get the New Heaven and Earth.
The Bible says, “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
Our sin has crushed the hearts of many, thus Christ was flogged and through the Holy Spirit was brought to life. You can have this Holy Spirit of Christ living in you!
by Terry Laughlin | Apr 14, 2016 | Easter
Why Crucifixion
The Lord was “Crucified.” Matthew 27:31, says, “…they led Him away to crucify Him.” We cannot possibly have too vivid of a picture of what Jesus took for us on the Cross of Calvary. Klausner, the Jewish writer, says, “Crucifixion is the most terrible and cruel death which man has ever devised for taking vengeance on his fellow man.” He continues with, “The criminal was fastened to his cross, already a bleeding mass from the scourging. There the criminal hung to die from hunger, thirst and exposure, unable to defend himself from the torture of the gnats and flies that settle on his naked body and on his bleeding wounds.” Our modern day pictures painted of Jesus hanging upon the Cross do not give the full picture of what Christ suffered.
The results of sin have affected many and left them unable to defend themselves from the destruction of sin. Many young people are victimized by exposure to pornography, humanistic views and a world despising of the things of God. A great famine of hearing the Word of God is causing many around the world to literally die of spiritual hunger and thirst.
For this reason, Jesus carried the battlefield wound of crucifixion. The wounds that He was afflicted with in the conquest for the souls of man were a curse for Him but a blessing for us. These blessings do not come as a reward for good works but for God’s name sake. God had given the prophet Isaiah great understanding of the work of the Lord, he writes, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (Isaiah 43:25) God had revealed to King David some powerful truths of God’s loving hand, he writes, “[God] does not treat us our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities… as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
The great news about Easter is that it records the end of the life of Christ upon this present earth before He was taken up to be once again with His father. Yet, before He leaves this earth, He opens the way for man to enter into the Holy of Holies for communion with God. The Bible says at the moment Jesus gave up His spirit willingly, the curtain of the temple was torn into from top to bottom. What Christ suffered opened the way for repentant mankind to have his relationship restored with God and Christ.
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