Infidelity….

Could you imagine how much infidelity would be reduced if the process was initiated in American culture? The reason why we have so much unfaithfulness in marriages is twofold. First, few honor their commitments any more. Marriage is seen as a piece of paper, not a vow taken seriously, even though people won’t admit the pain and suffering divorce causes. Second, and more importantly, there’s no one to be accountable to, God isn’t real, so “I can do as I please”. If people were honest with themselves, and took their marriage vows seriously, being accountable to God first and foremost, divorce wouldn’t be a concept in people’s minds. It wouldn’t be considered an option when you “feel” like you’ve fallen out of love. Marriage takes work. It takes commitment. And regardless of what modern day people think, you are responsible to God for your vow, regardless if you believe in Him or not. Just think, if there was a method of testing infidelity, or lying, or slandering, or greed, or covetousness, do you think people would be so flippant in rushing into practicing those kinds of sinful behavior? Holding people account has it purpose, as does forgiveness. What matters most when it comes to freedom, isn’t exercising our rights, it’s being responsible with it. Just because we can, doesn’t always mean we should. Just because we have the right to do, doesn’t mean it trumps another’s right to do the same. Our responsibility to treat our neighbor as ourselves, applies this concept. God’s ways are always better than our ways. There’s proof in that.

And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.“Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband 13 and has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else knows about it. She has defiled herself, even though there was no witness and she was not caught in the act. 14 If her husband becomes jealous and is suspicious of his wife and needs to know whether or not she has defiled herself, 15 the husband must bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering–an offering to prove whether or not she is guilty.16 “The priest will then present her to stand trial before the Lord. 17 He must take some holy water in a clay jar and pour into it dust he has taken from the Tabernacle floor. 18 When the priest has presented the woman before the Lord, he must unbind her hair and place in her hands the offering of proof–the jealousy offering to determine whether her husband’s suspicions are justified. The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty. 19 The priest will then put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has had sex with you, and you have not gone astray and defiled yourself while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune from the effects of this bitter water that brings on the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray by being unfaithful to your husband, and have defiled yourself by having sex with another man–’21 “At this point the priest must put the woman under oath by saying, ‘May the people know that the Lord’s curse is upon you when he makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel and your abdomen to swell. 22 Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and cause your abdomen to swell and your womb to shrivel.’ And the woman will be required to say, ‘Yes, let it be so.’ 23 And the priest will write these curses on a piece of leather and wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings on the curse. When the water enters her body, it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty.25 “The priest will take the jealousy offering from the woman’s hand, lift it up before the Lord, and carry it to the altar. 26 He will take a handful of the flour as a token portion and burn it on the altar, and he will require the woman to drink the water. 27 If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people. 28 But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children.29 “This is the ritual law for dealing with suspicion. If a woman goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, 30 or if a man becomes jealous and is suspicious that his wife has been unfaithful, the husband must present his wife before the Lord, and the priest will apply this entire ritual law to her. 31 The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin.” Numbers 5:11-31

God’s Way Is Far Superior….

Imagine if everyone on earth behaved in such a way it resembled this passage. Imagine if people apologized to those they’ve done wrong. Imagine if they paid full restitution to them as well. Wouldn’t the world be a better place? Accountability is paramount in the life of a believer. We live life knowing we are responsible to God. Not a perfect life, just a forgiven, grace-filled one. God’s way is far superior to man’s way. When we are lead by His Spirit, the world takes notice, because we give them a small glimpse of what God is like.

5 Then the Lord said to Moses, 6 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people–men or women–betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty. 7 They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20  percent and returning it to the person who was wronged. Numbers 5:5-7

Drying Off With A Wet Towel….

For the skeptical heart that just wants to stir the pot, no answers that will satisfy will be given. Unless a man resolves in his heart to seek out God honestly, he will never find satisfaction. He will never find peace. He will never find wholeness. God doesn’t work that way. Jesus spoke in parables for a reason. If people didn’t take the time to want to know the meaning of each parable, they would never be able to know. Unless a man decides that he will accept God on God’s terms, he will never know Him. Jesus knew the Pharisee’s hearts. He knew their demand for a sign wasn’t because they truly wanted to believe in Him. Jesus responded by not giving them a sign. If you truly want to test yourself when it comes to the genuineness of your heart, ask yourself these questions, “when God speaks, will I listen?”, “When God speaks am I willing to accept whatever He asks of me?”, “When God speaks, am I willing to suffer in order to accomplish His will?” Unless you answer “yes” to these questions, you may have more in common with the Pharisees than the Disciples. Does this mean you will suffer if you subject yourself to God? Not necessarily. The point is are you willing to listen, to serve, and to suffer for God? You may never have to experience great suffering, but are you willing? That is a very good indicator that you’re heart is aligned with the Spirit of God, and your faith is still in fertile soil. When your skeptical about God, your heart needs attention. When you’re focused on yourself, you’re distracted from the path. Your heart needs to be fed. A slice of humble pie may just satisfy the nourishment it needs. Your eyes need spiritual glasses, in order to see the obstacles in your path that need avoiding. God’s ways are not our ways. Until we learn this and subject ourselves to His Authority, understanding, accepting, and embracing His ways are impossible. Understanding God with a hardened heart is like drying off with a wet towel. It just ain’t gonna happen.

11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with Him. Testing Him, they demanded that He show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove His authority.12 When He heard this, He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” 13 So He got back into the boat and left them, and He crossed to the other side of the lake. 14 But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”16 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so He said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 ‘You have eyes–can’t you see? You have ears–can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?19 When I fed the 5 ,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”“Twelve,” they said.20 “And when I fed the 4 ,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”“Seven,” they said.21 “Don’t you understand yet?” He asked them. Mark 8:11-21

Garbage In, Garbage Out….

I’ve always believed that protecting our heart is the most important thing. What you allow in it, will eventually come out of it. All evil comes from within the heart. Hatred, violence, and slandering, all come from the heart. Its where selfishness originates. In today’s society we see a lot of hostility and anger being played out. It comes from the heart. When you see it don’t believe the message being portrayed unless you know the objective is godly. If the objective is biblical, if it matches God’s character, then it‘s good. If it doesn’t resemble God, then it’s from Satan. It takes a discerning heart to see the difference. And the only way we obtain the spiritual sight to discern truth from falsehood is by protecting what we allow in our hearts. Fill it with Jesus, and you will become more like Him. Fill it with anything else, and you’ll defile yourself over time. What we “pay” attention too, we take it in and become like it. If you really think about it, we “pay” for our attention, and that payment has rewards and consequences. The word defile means to spoil, or corrupt/damage. As the “techie” talk goes, “garbage in, garbage out “. Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. It’s the most important thing you’ll ever do as a believer.

14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” He said, “and try to understand. 15 It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”1617 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and His disciples asked Him what He meant by the parable He had just used. 18 “Don’t you understand either?” He asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you?19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, He declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)20 And then He added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”  Mark 7:14-23

Why Integrity Matters….

Do you ever wonder why integrity matters? It matters because it’s the fuel that helps us endure. It’s motivation to continue when our “feelings” tell us to quit. It’s the resolve that keeps us focused knowing its Author is watching and is pleased that we are portraying His character. It’s consistency that backs us up when we are tired and worn down mentally. It’s routine that breeds familiarity when confusion wants to disorient us. It’s strength in times we may feel weak. Integrity is walking alongside the Lord. It’s our stronghold that keeps us moving forward when the world wants us to stop. Integrity matters as a believer. Without it, it’s impossible to serve God. Why does integrity matter? It’s God’s prescribed way that we, who are called by Him, should live. It’s our way of showing our gratitude and love towards God. It’s our way of showing ourselves Who’s #1 in our own lives. It’s our way of imitating Jesus, giving the world a glimpse of what He is like. Integrity matters, and it has no holiday. Choose to walk in it today.

29 The way of the Lord is a stronghold to those with integrity, but it destroys the wicked. Proverbs 10:29

True Strength….

The older I get the more I realize that true strength, the kind that helps us endure, the kind that helps us cope, the kind that helps us stand, and the kind that helps us fight against evil, only comes from God. And it’s disguised as human weakness. The best place to build strength is not in a gym or in a high intensity workout, it’s on our knees in prayer asking God to empower us with His Spirit. What the world perceives as weakness (admitting our faults and inability to cope) is really the conduit in which God infuses us with His strength.

11 The Lord gives His people strength.The Lord blesses them with peace. Psalms 29:11

Being More Concerned With Your PR….

Hypocrisy has always been an issue. It’s just changed it’s name. Today hypocrisy is better known as “political correctness”. Jesus calls out the Pharisees’ hypocrisy here. Doing something to “save face” isn’t really a good reason to do it. How often do we see today man-made ideas pushed into the mainstream that are purposely presented to be a substitute for God’s standards? Or how many times do we see evil rewarded in the name of “progression”? Or love being converted into tolerance? Disagreeing with someone doesn’t mean you hate them. And loving someone doesn’t mean you accept every aspect to their behavior. Jesus confronted these religious leaders because they were more concerned with man-made traditions than they were with God’s law. They were pretenders, whose hearts didn’t really know God. If they did, they would’ve recognized Who Jesus really was. Being PC may earn us brownie points with the world, but will only drive us further away from what matters most, God Himself. Stop pretending. Get right with God. Instead of pursuing political correctness, how about being more concerned with your PR, personal responsibility (to God).

1 One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of His disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to–such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.)5 So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked Him, “Why don’t Your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor Me with their lips,but their hearts are far from Me.7 Their worship is a farce,for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ 8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”9 Then He said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents.13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.” Mark 7:1-13