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!

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!

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 1st, 2023…Vapor Trails A few weeks ago my wife and I were at our little cottage in the Blue Ridge Mountains. As I often do when we are there I took some time to sit on the deck and relax, taking in the warm sunshine, the gentle breezes carrying the fresh mountain air and the sound…of silence. I was basking in my perfect recipe for peaceful relaxation sitting with my feet propped on a small wicker ottoman and my head leaned against the back of the loveseat. My eyes as they often are when I have assumed such a position were closed, until…the silence was interrupted by the faint and far away sound of a jet engine. I opened my eyes scanning the bright blue sky, and sure enough there it was. The airplane was too far away to be seen, but the direction it had come from and that it was headed in, were no mystery. The vapor trail it left behind was as clear as the sky it was traveling through. On one end it kept extending following a silver pinpoint that was in actuality a very large metal fuselage. On the far end the trail widened and became less sharp in the sky. Interestingly, though I knew the plane was traveling through the clear sky at high speed, the vapor trail was not getting any longer, as it extended forward it equally dissipated behind. Then as soon as it had appeared, it was gone, out of my line of sight. A familiar thought when I see one of those vapor trails appear while I am enjoying a healthy dose of R&R, once again escaped my lips. I turned to my wife and said, “There go important people, traveling to important places, to do important things.” I always find the contrast of those people’s supposed existence…to mine in those moments…striking. In my mind’s eye those planes are crammed full of business men and women jetting to their next important meeting, where they will either succeed or fail. I imagine the stress they must be under as that metal tube propels them forward toward the next big thing in their lives. I on the other hand am so relaxed in my setting that I wouldn’t trade places with them for any amount of money, fame or success. Everything they are flying toward and working so hard for, could be gone as quickly as that vapor trail disappearing behind them. And, that peaceful mountain view I am taking in…that’s going to be there for a while. James wrote about the disappearing act we are all engaged in. He reminds us that essentially we are all here today and gone tomorrow. However, He also pointed out that though we will not remain on this planet forever, our existence will continue on…even long after that awesome mountain view I enjoy so much, fades away. Allow me to read James 4:13-17 from my favorite paraphrase, The Remedy. There it is declared this way… Pay close attention – especially those who say “In the next few days we are moving to a new city and will live there a year, open a business and make huge profits.” You don’t know what the future holds. Your life is like a vapor trail: here one minute and gone the next. You might not even be alive in a year. So stop being so rigid with your preplanning – it only increases your stress. Instead trust God with your future and how things turn out. Learn to say, “If it is in harmony with God’s plan for my life, then that is what I will do.”, and you will worry so much less. As it is you focus on yourselves; you brag, boast, and try to control everything in order to advance your own agenda. All selfishness is destructive. Anyone who knows God’s methods of love but chooses selfishness deviates from God’s design for life. I know that it is incorrect for me to assume every person on those planes in the sky above are headed to their next business meeting, to make their next pitch, and close their next big deal. Undoubtedly some are in route to their own vacation destinations to enjoy a little R&R themselves. No matter who they are, where they are headed or why they are going there, James has some words of wisdom good for us all. So often we talk about our plans as if it is completely within our power to see them come to fruition. Are we even aware that if we make plans to do this or that and tell the people what we are going to do, we are putting ourselves in God’s position? We might simply think we are informing others of our plans, but if we express those plans without understanding they may only happen if God wants them to happen, we are speaking about them with authority we do not possess. The bible tells us that it is only in Him we live, move and exist. (Acts 17:28) Literally, that means I don’t even draw my next breath or experience the next pulse of my blood flowing through my veins, without His expressed say-so. Jesus said that without Him we can’t do anything. (John 15:5) In light of those scriptures and others like them, we can see just how foolish it is for us to say what we will do, or where we will go, as if we do so by our own ability or power. To think that way is to claim equality with God. As a result, it is a recipe for adding unnecessary stress to our lives. Anytime we make assertions about what the outcome of something will be, especially if that thing is not completely within our control (and nothing is completely within our control), we create our own stress-filled environment. If instead we do as James suggests and say if it is the Lord’s will I will go here and do this or that, we aren’t saddled with the weight of making sure it all goes according to our plan. Does this mean we shouldn’t plan ahead? Of course not. There are all kinds of scriptures that say we should plan, save, and make provision for tomorrow. Proverbs tells us that in the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil. However, we ought to express our plans with this exception…If it is the Lord’s will, I will...dot-dot-dot. The point of this is not as some might think to give God the option of vetoing or endorsing our plans. I think it is more profound than that. I think James is correcting our behavior that we might learn to seek the Lord more regularly for His plans, because that initiates a subtle but necessary change in us. When we seek the Lord’s desires before making our plans, we become outward thinkers. When we seek His will before determining our direction, we are putting Him above us as we should…and that develops selflessness. Why is selflessness so important? Because selflessness is godly. When we are focused on where we are going and what we are going to do, the theme is we, which is selfish. If instead our desire is to know where God would have us go, and what God would have us do, the theme becomes He, which is selfless…just like He is. So now, Asking God where you should go, and what you should do, before you declare to others…Go be Awesome!

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 currently looking at the topic of Marriage and Divorce, and what God’s word has to say concerning it. This will be our seventh installment in that series. As I have mentioned previously, I understand this is a complex topic, and even as we search the scriptures for answers, it can be daunting. However, all truth originates with God, and if we are to know how to succeed in our marriages we must be willing to explore His truth. We have been exploring the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees where this topic was discussed at length, and using that as our focal scripture. I mentioned that Jesus, desiring to speak primarily about the righteous subject of marriage, asked the Pharisees about the law hoping they would expound on Genesis 2:24. Rather they chose to focus on Deuteronomy 24:1-4 to defend their perspective concerning their ability to divorce. As we made our way through most of that scripture phrase-by-phrase I pointed out some important details relevant to the correct interpretation of it, and mentioned that the Pharisees, as scholars of the law, would have been well aware of each of those truths. 1. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is case law not demonstrable law – it’s structure leaves no question as to its classification. 2. In Old Testament case law, the directive is given only after the facts of the case are presented and no legislation should be derived from those facts-in-evidence unless it had been presented elsewhere in the law previously. 3. To conclude that the facts-in-evidence equated to demonstrable law where none had formerly existed was an illegitimate reading of the law. This is important in this situation because several errant conclusions were being drawn (though I don’t believe they were arrived at unintentionally) • Those from the school of Shammai (the more conservative group who I believe Mark wrote concerning) concluded that some indecency had to be discovered in one’s spouse to justify divorce. They errantly determined that the facts-in-evidence presented in the case law in Deuteronomy 24:1 equated to God-ordained grounds for divorce. This is supported by their initial question to Jesus, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” I think they knew they had misrepresented case law as demonstrable law and were as Mark stated, asking this question for the purpose of testing Jesus. If He answered that it was not lawful they would have espoused their inaccurate reading of the law to be correct, if He would have said it was lawful, they would have pointed out that He apparently didn’t know case law from demonstrable law and shouldn’t be trusted as a Rabbi. • Those from the school of Hillel (the more liberal group I believe Matthew referred to) also misconstrued the meaning of this scripture. They believed that the example of the second husband detesting his wife without a stated cause should be interpreted to mean that divorce was permissible for any reason a husband found himself displeased with his wife. They too, demonstrated this by their initial question to Jesus recorded for us in Matthew. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” If Jesus had simply said no, He would have begun a heated dispute between the two groups of Pharisees and been the apparent cause of a large public disruption. If He had answered “Yes, any reason will do” the Pharisees from either group could have pointed out that the Rabbi obviously didn’t understand that case law was not demonstrable law. • Both groups of Pharisees were misrepresenting that Moses had specifically instructed them as to how to obtain a divorce. Because the listed circumstances of the case included an accepted societal procedure used to validate divorce, The Pharisees were selfishly misappropriating it as Mosaic law. In order for the facts-in-evidence to contain such law, it would have had to already been “on the books” so to speak. This is not the case. The contents of the book of Deuteronomy have long been agreed to be a “Farewell Sermon” from Moses to the people just prior to his death and their entrance into the Promised Land. It is widely accepted to be a summary of much of the law found in the book of Exodus and does not contain any ‘new’ demonstrable law. As such, any legislation contained in Deuteronomy would need to reinforce law already existing in the Pentateuch. Although Leviticus mentions divorce 3 times, Numbers refers to it once and Deuteronomy makes note of it 2 other times prior to chapter 24 none of those examples give any instruction pertaining to the process for divorce. Without any prior mention of demonstrable or case law legislating the procedural format legitimizing divorce, one cannot be justifiably concluded from Deuteronomy 24:1-4. With that understanding we can now look at the actual legislation found at the conclusion of this passage and determine what its true meaning is. Deuteronomy 24:4 Then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. The law given in response to the circumstances of the case is simple; If a man divorces his wife and she remarries, he is not to marry her again later regardless. The stated reason for this law is slightly more complex. Marriage was always intended to be a covenantal relationship that reflected the image and likeness of God. Divorce mutates that design, and is the reason God said He hates divorce in Malachi 2:15, a scripture we will look at more closely in a future episode. This particular scriptural statute however emphatically dictates that once the woman in this situation remarried, her former husband was never to marry her again no matter what may come in the future. It clearly says, that to do so would be an abomination before the Lord. Let’s consider the reasoning for such strong language. In Deuteronomy 24:1-4 the reason given for the initial divorce was indecency – this indiscretion would not have been adultery or fornication as the legal remedy for those at the time was death by stoning. The indecency referred to here would have been a lesser offence. The Hebrew word used in the statute is Er-vah and literally means nakedness and might indicate that the wife had shown too much of herself to another man or in a public setting. It’s possible that she have spoken some indecent thing to another man, whatever the case was it was less egregious than the sexual act of adultery, which would have as I said a moment ago carried a penalty of capital punishment. Jesus made it clear in our focal scriptures that anything short of adultery is not considered grounds for divorce in God’s eyes. Mark recorded that after the conversation with the Pharisees had presumably concluded His disciples asked Him more about the matter privately. There we read that Jesus said to them that if a man divorced his wife and married another he committed adultery, and that if a woman divorced her husband and remarried that she would be committing adultery. (Mark 10:11-12) I believe that Jesus was reinforcing for His disciples that God considers marriage a life-long covenantal relationship that is not designed to end except by the death of a spouse. Earlier Jesus had told the Pharisees that in marriage a man and a woman are joined and made one by God, and that mere man should not try to undo what God has done (Mark 10:8-9). Matthew records that Jesus had more to say to directly to the Pharisees who had asked Him if they could divorce for just any reason. Matthew wrote that Jesus told them that if they divorced for anything short of pornia - sexual immorality, and remarried they would be committing adultery. He added that if they married a divorced woman they would also be committing adultery. (Matthew 19:9) There are several theories as to why the book of Matthew is the only one of the synoptic gospels that includes the exception clause for pornia. My belief on this distinction centers around the theory that there were two different groups of Pharisees each asking Jesus their own questions. Allowing that to be accurate, the more conservative of them (spoken of in Mark) would have been experiencing a much lower rate of divorce than the more liberal group written about here in Matthew. I shared in previous episodes that there is far reaching belief among biblical scholars that those of the school of Hillel were using their interpretation that any reason for divorce was permissible, to divorce and remarry with regularity. Many of those scholars go so far as to say that this group of men were using their twisted version of Mosaic law to justify rapid divorce and remarriage, exclusively to satisfy their sexual desire for multiple partners. They felt that as long as they were married while having sexual relations it was permissible by the law so long as they divorced one woman before marrying another. I believe that when Jesus addressed these men He specifically said that pornia (adultery) was the only true grounds for divorce for multiple reasons. 1. He wanted to drastically narrow and correct the parameters for divorce that these men had so dramatically widened. 2. He wanted to identify that the condition of their perverse hearts and minds toward the God ordained institution of marriage was indeed sinful. 3. I believe that He wanted to make the irony clear that the only reason God accepted for divorce was precisely what these sinful men were using a perverted view of the law to accomplish. Jesus had previously stated that if a man even lusted after a woman, God who reads the heart, saw it as the same as if he had actually committed the physical act (Matthew 5:28). I think Jesus was making it abundantly clear to these men that using the law to cover their tracks did not in any way absolve them of the guilt of being adulterers. 4. Finally, I find it interesting that by making these statements concerning the consequences of marriage, divorce and subsequent remarriage, Jesus was explaining how the woman in the Deuteronomy 24 example became defiled by the 1st husband who divorced her, and why this was an abomination before the Lord! Next time as we continue our study of Marriage and divorce, we will look at the scripture I mentioned earlier found in Malachi chapter 2. So now, growing more steadfast each day to honor your marital commitments to your spouse and your God…Go be Awesome!

Hi this is Pastor Ken and I want to thank you for joining me yet again for the Monday Marriage Message. This is the sixth edition in our study on the topic of marriage and divorce. Last week we continued to listen in on the conversation between Jesus and the two groups of Pharisees as they exchanged questions and responses about marriage and divorce. Jesus was trying to keep the Pharisees on track by speaking in terms of marriage while the Pharisees were trying desperately to focus solely on the subject of divorce . When we last examined their exchange it was the Pharisees turn to speak. Jesus had asked them what Moses had written in the law concerning the subject. As I noted, Jesus desired the conversation surround the righteous topic of marriage and so He was referring to Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. Jesus then added additional commentary; “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh, Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:8,9 & Matthew 19:6). The first of the two groups of Pharisees, wanting to remain on the topic of divorce responded to Jesus question; “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and to dismiss her” (Mark 10:4) and the second group responded by asking Jesus, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and put her away?” (Matthew 19:7) As I mentioned in last week’s podcast these responses from the Pharisees were an attempt to twist the law so that they could interpret it the way they wanted to and feel justified in divorcing their wives. The portion of the law they were referring to is found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, and today we will look at that scripture, and see what it actually says. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, 2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, 4 then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. There are several things that must be taken into account in order to accurately interpret what this portion of the law is dictating. First it must be determined what kind of law this is. What I mean by that is what form does the law take? Basically there are two kinds of laws found in the Pentateuch [ˈpen(t)əˌto͞ok] (the first five books of the Old Testament). The first is demonstrable law, in which we find absolute commands or prohibitions and are simply the statutes of God. We recognize these as the “Thou Shalt…” and the “Thou Shalt Not…” laws. The ten commandments are a widely known example of demonstrable law. The second form of law found in the Pentateuch is case law. This form of law is given beginning with a description of the conditions under which the law is applicable. These cases usually begin with Hebrew words that are most accurately translated “if” or “when”. Following the conditions where the law would apply again usually following the word “then” the legislation is laid out. A good example of case law is found in Exodus 21:33-34. There the law dictates that if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or donkey falls into the uncovered pit, then the man who dug the pit must pay the value of the ox or donkey to its owner and he (the one who dug the pit) takes possession of the dead animal. The statute opens with the conditions and closes with the ruling. There is no legislation in the conditions under which the law is to be carried out. In other words, in the example we just looked at there is no law dictating that a man is to dig a pit or refrain from such activity. It is inferred that if a pit is dug it is not supposed to be left open, carelessly creating a hazard for others. However, it is not until after the scenario is fully laid out that the legislation is produced, he will be held liable for damages someone else incurs because of his carelessness. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is an example of case law. In order for the Pharisees to make the claims they did in reference to this passage, they had to take the portion they knew full well was the presentation of the particulars of the case and illegitimately conclude them to be demonstrable law. This was an inaccuracy that contained too many interpretive errors to have been committed ignorantly by scholars of the law. These men understood the difference between demonstrable law and case law. They knew the structure of case law and were well aware that the legislation found there was given only after development of the circumstances. I think it important for us to examine where they miss-applied their interpretation. Let’s begin with the opening phrase of this example from case law. “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her… The first stipulation offered for the enactment of the legislation is that a man has married a wife. That is quite self-explanatory. The second fact in evidence is that it happens that (in other words, after they are married) she finds no favor in his eyes. The word favor here comes from the Hebrew word [hen] which means grace and is the same word found in the Genesis text “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”. Continuing on we find out that in this case, the wife has not found favor or grace in the eyes of her husband because he has discovered some uncleanness in her. This translation – uncleanness – comes from the Hebrew word [er-vah] that means nakedness or indecency, and is offered as the reason the husband has found no favor in his wife. The next phrase is simply a continuation of the circumstances that lead to the prescribed ruling. and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house. If we are to avoid being confused, or misled by the Pharisee’s attempt at deceit in their conversation with Jesus it is crucial to understand that this is as I said a moment ago, only a continuation of the facts in evidence. It is in no way meant to stand alone as a legislative decree. Why is this important? The Pharisees from the school of Shammai were purposefully and errantly noting the wife’s indecency as God determined grounds for divorce. Furthermore, they were attempting to equate a scripturally mentioned tradition of putting a certificate of divorce in the hand of an undesirable wife and sending her out of the marital home with a God ordained procedure where there is no evidence one ever existed. The second verse of this passage offers further information which will ultimately lead to the actual legislation. 2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, in this case the wife has been divorced because of some found-out indecency involving her past or perhaps in the present, and it has caused her husband to no longer favor her. Additionally, it becomes apparent that she has remarried. Verse 3 continues on with further important information about the case. 3 if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife,… The circumstances now dictate that one of two alternative scenarios takes place. The first variable would be if her new husband detests her. The original Hebrew text intimates that this husband would have also decided that he no longer is pleased by his wife, but no specific reasoning is offered for his change of heart toward her. The school of Hillel took this to mean that his displeasure with her was (A) open to any cause he deemed valid, and (B) errantly as their counterparts did, determined that because the existing tradition of a certificate of divorce was mentioned the process surrounding it could be interpreted as a God given procedural format for divorce. Again in order to subscribe to this errant exegesis many other accepted rules of interpretation had to have been ignored. Lastly, this passage offers the other variable that could lead to the need for a statute at the conclusion of the case. Or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife,… This is not only the conclusion of the case requiring a legislation from God, but it also goes to pointing out some of the logical inconsistencies the Pharisees were using to stipulate that earlier described circumstances from the case law were in effect equal to demonstrable law. If their logic was followed to its conclusion, then the death of a husband before that of his wife would also have to be considered demonstrable law. In other words, if we take the first two scenarios and equate the enactment of a divorce with a command from God, then one could conclude that God commanded that husbands must die before their wife. Next time we will continue with our brief look at this passage that the Pharisees tried to contort to indicate that Moses had commanded them as to how to enact a divorce proceeding. We will look at necessary evidence needed to hold to that belief and the blatant fact that it does not exist. We will also examine some of the other problems the Pharisees had with their own interpretation of this passage and how they ignored those facts. Finally, we will look at the actual legislative portion of this passage from the law and discover the true meaning of the statute. Questions to Answer: • Until now, have you thought that God gave the people of Moses time a prescription for divorcing a spouse? • Have your thoughts on that changed any as you look closer at the scriptures used to support it? • What do you think about the two different grounds for divorce that were utilized in this case law from Deuteronomy? • Do you think all, either, or neither of them are valid? Actions to Take: • Discuss what you have learned so far in this study with your spouse. • Talk about how you think this is problematic for people in our society So now, Keeping the focus of your relationship with your spouse on the righteous subject of marriage…Go Be Awesome!

Hi, this is pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…Are we there yet? When I was a child we spent a fair amount of time as a family traveling by car. For the better part of the first half of my upbringing we lived in areas far away from our hometown in Western New York State. For several years we lived in Columbia, South Carolina where my father attended Bible College and then we moved to the Susquehanna Valley of Eastern Pennsylvania, where he pastored his first church. Occasionally, we would travel home from either of those far-away places back to visit family in familiar territory. Each of those trips took place in the car. In preparation, mom would pack our clothes, sandwiches and drinks, as well as the other necessary things to keep my brother and I busy for the duration of the trip. Dad always had the task of figuring out the puzzle that was required to get all of it to fit in the trunk, so that the back seat could be left free for two boys to play, argue with one another, and sleep during the trip. It really did feel like a journey in those days. The national speed limit back then was still 55 miles per hour, and as much as we complain about the condition of roads now, they were much more difficult to travel then. Many of the four lane highways we use these days were only two lanes during that time. Consequently, the trip from Eastern Pennsylvania back home took 6 to 7 hours and when we were traveling to or from South Carolina…those car rides could last upwards of 18 to 20 hours. Even prior to the constraints of children’s car seats and safety belts, with all those hours to travel, my brother and I would quickly tire of being restricted to confines of the back seat. It usually didn’t take long for one of us to pose the question asked by every kid at one time or another, “Are we there yet?”. As a parent, I came to understand just how annoying that question can be. I can only imagine the number of times my parents heard it on one of our longer trips. In actuality, it is a good question to ask. Why? Because it indicates a level of trust. The child who poses that question believes they will at some time safely arrive at their destination, they just want to know when. It might be more accurately asked, “How much longer will this trip take?”, but it usually comes out as “Are we there yet?”. There was an occasion recorded in the Bible when I think Jesus would have welcomed the question, “Are we there yet?”. In Mark 4:35-41 there is an account of one of the many journeys Jesus took with His disciples. Allow me to read it to you from the New Living Translation. 35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. 38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” 39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” As I said a moment ago, I think Jesus would have preferred it if His disciples had roused Him to ask if they were there yet. Instead they abruptly woke Him up to ask “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”. After Jesus calmed the storm by commanding it to cease, He had a question of His own for His disciples. He asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”. This was an interesting exchange, one that I think holds some important truths for us to consider. The beginning of this passage is key to understanding where the disciples went wrong, and why Jesus had to ask them if they still had no faith. Verses 35 & 36 say As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). The scripture records that Jesus said Let’s go to the other side of the lake. This statement is very important. The men He said that to had recently seen Him do all kinds of miraculous things. They had been witness to Him enabling a paralytic to walk and completely restoring the skin of a person with leprosy. In fact, they had seen Him heal all kinds of illnesses and infirmities. They had even watched Jesus tell a man with a withered hand to hold it out in front of the entire synagogue congregation and when the man did so, his weakened hand full of atrophied muscles was fully restored and as strong as anyone’s. So when Jesus said, “Get in the boat guys, we are going to the other side of the lake”, they should have known they were going to get to the other side of the lake…come hell or high water! They heard clearly from Jesus what the destination was and there should have been no doubt in their minds about if they would safely arrive. The only question they should have had if any, would have been…“Are we there yet?”. I firmly believe that the reason Jesus was able to take a nap, and that once aroused by His disciples he asked if they still had no faith, was because Jesus had zero concern they wouldn’t arrive at their destination. He said they were going to the other side and He knew they were going to get to the other side. His question to them was really one of, why they didn’t believe they were going to get to the other side. After all they had witnessed they should have understood…without any doubt…that when Jesus said something would happen, it happened, 100% of the time. What about us? What do we do when this perfecting journey we are on with Jesus intersects with great trouble? Do we focus on the fact that Jesus said He will never leave us nor forsake us, or do we wonder where He is in our time of need? Do we remember that He promised that He would turn all things, even the really difficult ones for our ultimate good as He uses them to make us more like Himself, or do we wonder how much more we can take before we break. Do we by faith take joy in our various trials knowing that they produce endurance in us which makes us perfect and complete and leaves us needing nothing? Or instead do we wish we could avoid most of our troubles and just enjoy some smooth sailing? Jesus’ disciples had to learn a valuable lesson that day. We walk by faith and not by sight, that means that faith is all about focus. Those men should have been focused on the trip, not the travel conditions. Jesus told them what the destination was…that ought to have been enough. I’m not suggesting they should have ignored the storm, only that it ought not have been their highest consideration. True faith would have allowed them to discuss what important ministry they might be doing once they reached the other shore and noting that the high wind and the waves would give them a remarkable story they could tell people about when they got there. Paul reminds us that Jesus has determined and pointed out our final destination as well. Philippians 1:6 says, And I am certain that God who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Later in Philippians 3:12 Paul wrote of his own personal journey. I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things, or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race, (the journey) and receive the heavenly prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling us. So now, understanding that life is a trip, keep your focus on the destination instead of the difficulties…and go be awesome!

Hi this is Pastor Ken, thanks for taking part in the Monday Marriage Message. This is the fifth episode in our series of study concerning marriage and divorce. For those who may be checking in for the first time we are primarily basing our study on a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees recorded for us in Matthew 19 and Mark chapter 10. Last week I took time for a sidebar from that conversation we are looking at so closely. I took the time to explain to you why I think it is so important for us to literally break that scripture down phrase-by-phrase. As we move forward my prayer is that the slow and methodical way we are working our way through this will be a blessing and not a frustration. God’s word is so jam-packed with truths, and His ways and thoughts are so much Higher than ours…as high as the heavens are above the earth…that slow and steady is the only way to not leave too much grain in the field. The week before last I shared with you the two questions recorded for us in the gospels of Mark and Matthew that Jesus posed in response to the initial questions asked of Him by the Pharisees. There is irrefutable evidence that there were in fact two different factions of the Pharisees who disagreed with each other as to what constituted grounds for divorce. These schools of thought covered far more territory than simply marriage and divorce. They disagreed on matters of ritual practices, ethics and theology. They were known as the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel named for the sages who founded them. Those who followed Shammai’s teaching were the more conservative when it came to divorce and those who subscribed to the teaching of Hillel were the more liberal of the two. I shared with you a few weeks ago that I believe each group came posing a question intended to entrap and discredit Jesus. Mark records the more conservative question and Matthew recorded that the Pharisees asked about a more liberal view of divorce. I shared with you in that episode that Jesus answered their questions without taking a side as they had hoped He would. Instead He responded to them with a few questions of His own. He asked the first group, “What did Moses command you?” and essentially asked the second group if they had failed to read what Moses had commanded and then quoted the portion of the law (Genesis 2:24) He was referring to in his question to their colleagues. By doing this Jesus was asserting that their question was actually one of Marriage and not divorce. He was pointing out that marriage was the God ordained institution, divorce was man’s created remedy when marriage became too difficult. Essentially Jesus was redirecting the Pharisees into an honest and truthful conversation. In this edition we will look at the Pharisee’s responses to Jesus’ follow-up questions. When you look carefully at how they answered, it is quite telling and explains the condition of their hearts. Let’s read now what those recorded responses were. I will read each excerpt including the follow-up question Jesus posed and the answer the Pharisees gave. As before we will begin with Marks gospel where I believe Jesus is speaking with the more conservative group. Mark 10:3-4 says, And He answered and said unto them, “What did Moses Command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her”. Now from Matthew; the question to, and the answer from the more liberal group of Pharisees. Matthew 19:4-7; And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together let not man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and put her away”? The way this conversation is framed is of significance if we want to have a complete understanding of Jesus view (or in other words, God’s view) of marriage and divorce. As I mentioned last week, it is critical to see the different twists and turns the direction of the conversation took. As I said a few moments ago, Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ question with follow-up questions of His own. He did this for two reasons. First, to avoid doing as they wished He might, and take a side that would be then used to discredit Him. Additionally, He did this to redirect the original flawed questions back to a basis of truth. His reasons for answering their questions with questions was to solidify truth rather than to confuse it with falsehoods. They, on the other hand came back at Jesus with retorts designed to drag Him back out into the weeds of their preferred distractions. There is an old saying that if you say something with confidence you will fool half the people most of the time. This is what the first group of Pharisees attempted to do. Their answer to Jesus question of “What did Moses command you?”, was, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her”. Notice the effort to deceive. It was meant to be a confident retort that contained a discrepancy they hoped Jesus and those listening in would not pick up on. Jesus asked what Moses’ command had been, they told him what Moses permitted. This realization is central to avoiding a common misunderstanding of this scripture. All too often I find that Christians are still being misled by the Pharisee’s intended deception recorded in this passage. Today it is still being read and simply accepted that the answer the Pharisees gave to Jesus question lines up correctly with the portion of the law they were referring to. They were twisting a scripture found in Deuteronomy 24 which we will look at in greater depth in a future episode. I think their answer was worded the way that it was, so they could skew their interpretation of the law to fit their selfish desires. They wanted to be able to divorce when their marriages did not meet their expectations. These conservative Pharisees may not have been as eager to open the grounds for divorce up as wide as their counterparts were, but they did want to be able to infer that divorce was a God given remedy for a problematic marriage. As I have shared already I think this was one conversation that included three positions, the conservatives, the liberals and Jesus. Jesus having received a confident yet elusive answer from the first group asked the second a more direct question that included the correct answer to His question for those He had just been speaking with. He asked them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no Longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together let not man separate.” This group tried to use Jesus own tactic against Him, and answered His question with another of their own. Knowing the passage of scripture from Deuteronomy 24 that the first group had referred to, and seeing their peer’s attempt at deception, they tried to continue with that same falsehood as if it were a truth. So they asked Jesus, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and put her away”? When we look at their response, the attempt to disguise a lie within an apparent truth is even more blatant than that of their associates. This is not all that surprising when you consider that this response came from those who wanted to be free to end their marriages for any reason they chose. Being further from the truth of God’s design for marriage they were willing to go to even greater lengths to avoid it. They asked Jesus to tell them why Moses had done something he had never done. There was never a command in the law as to how to enact a divorce. The more conservative Pharisees knew this and that is why when Jesus asked what Moses had commanded them, they told Him that Moses had permitted them to do something in terms of divorce. I believe the liberal Pharisees were well aware of that, but because of the condition of their hearts toward their own marriages, they were being overtly being dishonest, even with themselves, about the intent of the law. If we do not take note of the inconstancies employed by the Pharisees in this passage, we can easily become deluded as well. As I said a few minutes ago, all these years later Christians are still being misled by the intentional inaccuracies the Pharisees were using in their argument with Jesus. What would cause the leadership of the Jewish people of the time to want to stray so far from the intent of the law they claimed to love so much? Why would they be willing to go to such lengths to misrepresent the truths contained in the law? Their aim it seems was gaining the ability to extract themselves from unpleasant marriages and have the freedom to try, try again. This motive did not escape Christ as we will see farther along when He addresses that unrighteous mindset. We also have other contemporary non-scriptural writings on the Pharisee’s disagreement with each other concerning the subject. Those illuminate the Pharisee’s motives behind their search for caveats to God’s original intent of lifelong marital covenant. Some commentaries go so far as to suggest that the more liberal minded of the Pharisees were using repetitive divorce and remarriage as a legal loophole for a steady change of sexual partners. They were making a mockery of marriage just to satisfy their own sexually lustful desire for multiple women without breaking any laws. Essentially, the Pharisees wanted to be able to placate their sinful desires while imagining they were sidestepping consequence. Jesus was fully aware of their heart set and spoke to it directly as we will discover in a future episode in this series. Questions to answer: • Have you ever stopped to consider the intent of the Pharisees to circumvent the intent of the law by twisting the letter of the law? • Does it surprise you that they were being stubbornly elusive to satisfy their own desires? • When you consider the divorce rate today, do you think there is validity in our currently accepted “Grounds for divorce”? • How many people do you know who you would say divorced a spouse for the explicit reason of being free in the future to try, try again? Actions to take: • Talk with your spouse about your personal commitment to remaining married for the rest of your lives. • Discuss why divorce should never be looked at as an escape clause from an unhappy marriage. • Pray that God will preserve your marriage and give each of you the grace necessary to work through your difficulties without walking away from the marriage. • Commit to one another right now that no matter what difficulties or troubles lay ahead that you will walk into them hand-in-hand, and you will walk out of them hand-in-hand as well. So now, recognizing the sanctity of the marital union God has gifted you with, commit yourselves anew to your “One Flesh” relationship…and go be awesome!

Hi, this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…Survival of The Fittest. Last evening, I was watching a clip from a nature show on YouTube. I’m not sure why this particular video ended up in my feed or why I was intrigued enough to click on it and watch…but I was. The video was of a fight to the death between a scorpion and a black widow. I don’t know just how long the contest lasted because the video began with the two arachnids already engaged, but I know it didn’t continue longer than a minute or two more. The spider was franticly spinning web material and using its legs to try to secure the scorpion’s tail to its body in order to restrict its ability to sting. While attempting to ensnare the scorpion in its strong sticky silk, the spider was also taking every opportunity to try to puncture the scorpion’s exoskeleton with its fangs and inject a lethal dose of venom, and bring its distant cousin into submission. While this was the Black Widow’s plan, the Scorpion had a strategy of its own, and continued to flick its tail resisting the restraint of the spider’s webbing. Seemingly within the first minute of the video, the spider’s fangs managed to find a weakness in the scorpion’s armor as simultaneously the scorpion wriggled free its tail and the stinger pierced the black widow’s abdomen. In the space of just a few more seconds both had succumbed to their wounds and the venom of the other. Almost as soon as it had begun…it was over…both creatures expired and lying motionless. It was a battle which might have been dubbed “Survival of the fittest”, and though that particular engagement concluded, the question of which was more fit…well that was left unanswered. Both paid the ultimate price and there was no winner, winner scorpion or black widow dinner! Charles Darwin theorized that human beings arrived on the planet through a process he called evolution which relied heavily on ideas like “Survival of the fittest”. His thought was that God had not lovingly created the universe, our solar system and our planet to provide for the rest of His creation. Darwin didn’t accept that God spoke each of the plants and animals into existence and as the crowning achievement of His immense love formed Adam from the dust of the ground and then offered to him the breath of life. Darwin’s theory couldn’t accept that the first woman would be a gift to the man, taken from the man’s own flesh and blood. The theory of evolution required belief that mankind had evolved along with the rest of creation and had simply won more of the contests of the “Survival of the fittest”, than any other creature. This errant thinking brought forth others like “The process of natural selection”, as well as even farther outlandish, non-scientific conclusions such as “The Big Bang”. With each of these we are supposed to accept that other scientific laws such as the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics are not true at all. We are asked to believe that an initial energy source isn’t actually necessary to input energy into a new process. Furthermore, the theory of evolution requires us to accept that things gain momentum without a renewed input of energy rather than degenerate as we know full well and can prove that they do. I think that it is with innate understanding that theories like evolution can’t possibly be legitimate that we sometimes use references to them with sarcasm and humor. Places like YouTube will also treat you to videos of people doing incredibly dumb and dangerous things, and dub them “Darwin Awards” or opportunities to watch examples of the “Process of Natural Selection” in progress, as people do stupid things that might have taken them out of the gene-pool if it were not for “dumb luck”. “Survival of the fittest” is contrary to God on more than one level. This is not simply so because it flies in the faith of the truth of Creation week. It is not “Survival of the fittest” that put humans squarely atop the “Food Chain”, God lovingly placed us there when He created us to have dominion over the rest of His creation, Genesis 1:26-27 makes that abundantly clear. However, there is another consideration in regards to “Survival of the fittest” and how it is in direct opposition to God that I want to examine today. In earlier editions of this podcast I have mentioned a particular paraphrase of the New Testament that I enjoy tremendously. It is entitled The Remedy and was written by Dr. Timothy Jennings a highly respected, nationally known Psychiatrist. He uses the phrase “Survival of the fittest” quite often in The Remedy to illustrate how that mindset goes against God’s plans for our best. Allow me to read James 4:1-10 from the Remedy. Why is there so much hostility, fighting, and arguments among you? Because the Survival of the fittest instinct controls you; If you want something but don’t get it, you are willing to kill. You are selfish, coveting what you cannot have, constantly fighting, trying to get for yourselves. You do not obtain because you do not seek God. And when you finally do ask God – because your motives are selfish, and because you focus only on self-gratification – you don’t get what you’re asking for, because God doesn’t use His power to supply you with means to damage yourselves. You disloyal and unfaithful people! Don’t you realize that embracing the me first, survival of the fittest principle of this world is warring against God? Anyone who allies themselves with this selfish world chooses to be an enemy of our God of love. Don’t you get it? The scripture is clear: God longs intensely for you and gives you His Spirit to live in you to graciously heal you. That is why the scripture says: God opposes selfishness, arrogance and pride, but heals the selfless. Surrender yourselves to God and His treatment. Tell the Devil “No”, and you will escape Him. Move closer to God and God will come close to you. You selfish people! Stop choosing to indulge your selfish desires. Stop going back and forth between love and selfishness, and purify your hearts with love. Stop playing around and get real! Let your hearts break: cry over your terminal condition, admit that you are sick, and stop pretending that all is well. Then go humbly to the Lord, and He will heal and restore you. God is selfless. He has illustrated that from the very beginning of creation. He spent the first five days creating everything we can see, hear, taste, smell and touch. Then according to Genesis 1:26 and 27 He lovingly created us and gave us authority over everything he had made, so that we could use it to meet our needs. God further illustrated His selflessness by allowing His own sinless Son to sacrifice His life as payment for the penalty of our wrongdoing and acts of selfishness, The Bible tells us He did this expressly so that we could spend eternity with Him. When viewed through the concept of “Survival of the fittest”, that selfless act of love makes no sense at all. But God didn’t give us what He gave us and Jesus didn’t do for us what He did for us, because it makes sense in human terms…they did it all because it makes sense in terms of the Law of Love. God created everything according to the Law of Love, and so, He was willing to give everything, including the life of His One and Only Son, to restore the Law of Love. That Law requires selflessness and trust in God’s goodness to operate as it should. That is why God wants to see our selfish desires eradicated. He is not against us…He is for us. His great love for us will not allow for Him to let us go our own way and operate by a “Survival of the fittest” mentality without at least attempting to show us the error of that thinking. God does not want us to operate in such a flawed system. He knows that our selfish behavior must be displaced by His selflessness flowing through us if we are to truly be healed. He has no desire to see what our “Process of natural selection” will bring us. His word says that there is a way that seems right to mankind, but in the end it leads to destruction. (Proverbs 14:12). TOAT230504We need to stop seeking “Darwin Awards” and pay attention to God’s word which tells us that God rewards those who seek Him and trust Him and imitate His selfless ways. (Hebrews 11:6) So now, experiencing the healing God is attempting to bring to your life through selflessness and complete trust in Him…Go be awesome!

Hi, this is Pastor Ken and I want to thank you for joining me once again for the Monday Marriage Message. We have spent the last several weeks exploring the topic of Marriage and divorce from a biblical view. I mentioned as we began, because of the times we live in, and the frequency that we give up on our marriages, any serious podcast on marriage will have to unfortunately at least consider the topic of divorce. Interestingly enough, because we are using a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees recorded for us in Matthew chapter 19 and Mark chapter 10 as the basis for our study it is apparent that divorce was an issue at that time as well. I was reviewing what I wanted to talk about in today’s episode when it occurred to me that perhaps it is time for a sidebar. I am a marriage counselor, and a podcaster and a teacher. I recognize (because it has been brought to my attention) that sometimes I seemingly confuse which of my audiences I am speaking to. When I am counseling with a couple that obviously takes place in a private setting where I can speak directly to their questions. There I am able to use the whole counsel of the word of God and the principles contained within to guide my counsel as we delve into specific needs. When I am teaching in the setting of a seminar, I have prepared material that the participants have not only specifically come to engage in, but have chosen to invest their time and money to have the opportunity to learn more about the content. I understand that sometimes I attempt to teach on a subject or scripture in the format of this podcast and that can pose some real challenges for the listener. I knew as we began this series that my audience might dwindle some. I understand that when we are faced with absolute truths from God’s word they sometimes make us uncomfortable. Because I didn’t want that to be the result of this series, I made sure to remind you that both me and my wife have personally experienced divorce. I wish for the sakes of our children that wasn’t so, but as I said a few weeks ago, perhaps that is what gives me the ability to speak on the subject with authority as well as a complete lack of personal judgement. I am hopeful that the number of listeners who choose not to continue with this study to its conclusion is minimal. The intent is not in any way to cast dispersion on those who have chosen divorce in the past, but instead to illustrate that God desires to bless us as we move forward in decision to avoid repeating past mistakes. Additionally, I know that there are a myriad of twists and turns in the recorded conversation Jesus had with these men. I also know as a counselor that Christians still today are being confused by the words of the passages we are dissecting in this series. I hope by breaking it down into bite sized pieces we can dispel some of those misunderstandings. The nuances of the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees that took place recorded for us in these two scripture passages are many. I truly think that it is because of a lack of understanding of these many distinctions that confusion about these two scriptures remains. Though I have been attempting to bring some of them to light, I think it might be important to point them out in greater detail before we continue with our look at the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees. So that as we continue to do that, it will be easier for us to have greater understanding of what was taking place. Allow me to remind you that this conversation took place in front of a large number of Israelite people who were following Jesus and listening to Him teach them as well as taking time to heal the sick and infirmed among them. These people were seeing miracles take place in real time, and so were literally hanging on every word Jesus spoke. Jesus was headed toward Jerusalem for the last time. He knew His death was imminent, and so I believe He was speaking more plainly about God’s desire for their lives than ever before. He was using parables less and less and talking more directly to them about the Kingdom of God. When the Pharisees came to Jesus they had one thing on their minds. Discredit this teacher who threatened their power structure by telling the large crowds that He was the only way for them to have access to God. So as the Pharisees approached Jesus that day they wanted to make Him look like He didn’t know what He was talking about. They hoped this would cause His followers to begin to dissipate. These Pharisees may have had a singular goal in terms of Jesus, but that didn’t mean they agreed on everything. In fact, it was one of their disagreements that they intended to use to try to trap Jesus in His own words. There was as I have explained a more conservative group of Pharisees who thought that a portion of the law recorded in Deuteronomy 24 indicated that a husband must discover some indecency in his wife to be free to divorce her. Another more liberal group felt this same portion of the law gave the freedom to divorce just as long as a husband was displeased with his wife for any reason. This disagreement was their agreed upon chosen subject matter to try to entrap Jesus. They conspired together to ask Him questions concerning their differing interpretations of Deuteronomy 24 expecting that they might be able to make Jesus look like a fool in front of all of those people who were listening so intently to Him. We will see as we continue to break the scripture down into small portions, neither of their positions were God’s intent, and they had to use deception to hold to either of their chosen interpretations. This may seem unimportant but it is actually my whole purpose for delving into this topic. The questions they asked Jesus that day were intended to twist the meaning of scripture and the mosaic law. I find that the recording of that exchange continues to deceive Christians even today about God’s truth when it comes to the topic of marriage and divorce. I think this deception continues to be possible because of our lack of understanding of the twists and turns of this conversation as well as a misreading of the portion of the law that was referred to and therefore misinterpreted by the Pharisees. Because of that I wanted to take the time to teach on this subject and offer what I believe to be a correct and valuable exegesis of these and the supporting scriptures that speak about marriage and divorce. I pray that this side bar will help explain the necessity of breaking the scriptural account of this conversation between Jesus and those Pharisees down almost phrase-by-phrase. I hope that you will hang in there with me as we continue not only to try to glean as much truth as possible from their exchange, but also from the portion of the law that was referenced in it. I look forward to the process and hope that you will to, so that as we go forward your resolve to follow Christ in your marriages will only grow as your understanding of His word expands. Next time we will continue with our study where we left off last week. God bless as you allow Him to lead and guide in your marriage…and Go be Awesome.

Hi this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…Nothing To Fear, Not Even Fear Itself In an edition of this podcast last year I spoke about the inauguration of the newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt that took place on March 4th 1933. I noted then that during his speech, he uttered a phrase which has been repeated countless times in the past 90 years. It is among his more notable and quotable quotes. In that speech he made the bold statement that “We have nothing to fear except fear itself.” Last time I shared my thoughts concerning that quote it took me in one direction, today it has caused me to consider another. President Roosevelt made that now famous proclamation to be an encouragement to millions of Americans listening in on their radios. It was intended to inspire the discouraged, disheartened and yes fearful minds of the American public as they endured the ravages of the Great Depression. The fear of the unknown, the uncertainty of what new difficulty might lay right around the corner weighed heavily on nearly everyone’s mind. The economic impact of the stock market crash just a few years before coupled with current vast unemployment had many people wondering where their next meal would come from. That impending sense of despair was complicated further by the Dust Bowl that had left much of the agricultural land of the Midwest crippled and unfit to ease the crisis. The outlook for our nation was indeed bleak when President Roosevelt told the entire country that there was “Nothing to fear except fear itself.” The contemporary condition of the world around us is no less scary. We may not have recently experienced economic collapse, but we are in the midst of what looks suspiciously like moral bankruptcy. The speed of the decline currently taking place especially in western society is ‘wicked fast’. There are days I feel as though I haven’t even begun to comprehend the latest foolishness I am supposed to accept as the new norm, when a whole new class of utter ridiculousness is introduced as (quote…unquote) “progressive thought”. Sometimes it is almost beyond ability to accept that those espousing such imbecilic rhetoric actually believe what they are proposing. Wokeness and Social Justice are anything but, and the direction of our nation and the world around us can seem quite concerning at times…most times, if you have any hopes and desires for those coming along after us. So is it still an encouragement or a comfort to know “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”? I was approached by someone a short time ago who asked me if I think fear is sin. That’s an interesting question. The person asked the question in light of 1 John chapter 4. There we read in verse 18, There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. In light of that verse the rest of the question came, “Does fear indicate a lack of faith, and is a lack of faith in the Almighty sinful?” Certainly this verse in its full context is saying that because we have the love of God in us and our relationship with Him is evidenced by our display of His love toward others, we are therefore His children and need not have any fear of the day of His judgment. In that sense, His perfect love, having its intended effect on our lives, drives away our fear of judgement. Perfect love then casts out fear. Though the context of that particular verse concerning fear is in regards to judgment, I think it is a building block to our correct position regarding fear overall. Jesus taught additional truths that can help us complete our understanding…of our intended standing. When we consider that perfect love (the love of God in us and flowing through us) removes all fear of His judgment then something Jesus said recorded for us in Luke 12:4 makes even more sense. “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. He went on to say if we are going to fear someone, we should fear God who judges where we will spend eternity after we die. In this seemingly crazy world we now live in, we are threatened with all kinds of retribution if we will not accept the latest idiocy. The propagators of these so called progressive policies warn that if we do not play along with their pretension they will call us out as bigots, racist, hate mongers or worse. In recent days, there have been multiple news reports of physical violence even to the point of death being perpetrated against those who would not bow to the will of the deluded. Jesus was clear, this is not what should be feared. He didn’t mince His words either, there are those who may even want to kill us for standing for what is right. However, He then added, even if they follow through on that threat, that is all they can do to us. Then Jesus went on to say that our real concern should be with the One who will then judge what to do with us for eternity. The choice was clear as far as Jesus was concerned. Stand for righteousness enveloped in perfect love…and you have nothing of real consequence to fear. With that mindset the author of Hebrews was able to write in chapter 13:6; We can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Having Jesus as our Savior allows us to be perfected in His love and to experience no fear of His judgment. In other words, it allows us to be secure in our eternal condition. However, Jesus has two titles and being able to live in total lack of fear requires our understanding and complete acceptance of not only the first, Savior, but more importantly His second, Lord. The whole world has a Savior…Jesus died for the whole world. Someday the bible tells us, everyone will be forced to also admit that He is Lord. Philippians 2:10-11 says that Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! However, for those who willingly trust Him now to be their Lord and Savior, they possess everything necessary to live free of all fear. If we believe that Jesus is truly Lord, then we must believe that He is Omniscient (He knows all). We must accept that He is Omnipresent (There is no place outside of his reach). And we must admit that He is Omnipotent (There is nothing He is powerless to do). When you hold those beliefs, the teaching Jesus gave us about worry is easier to understand and apply. In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus taught that we have no cause for worry because the Lord knows about everything we need. He pointed out that if the Lord would take such good care of mere birds and ordinary field grass, how much more would He meet the needs of His crowning creation who love Him. Jesus said that God is a good, good father the likes of which no man has ever been, and if we as parents love our children, how much more can we expect that God loves us and will take the very best care of us. Additionally, of Himself, Jesus said in Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. This does not mean Jesus was present at the beginning and will be present when the end comes. That line of thinking would lead to the conclusion that Jesus is subject to time, and would therefore mean that time is greater than Him. If Jesus is Lord (and He is) then He is superior to everything, including time. Jesus encompasses time, time does not encompass Him. Therefore, He can rightly say that He is the beginning of everything and the culmination of all things. Knowing that about Him should serve to bolster our faith that we can trust him in all things. It should also help us to trust that…from a position of complete knowledge of every event that has, is or ever will occur in our lives, He and He alone is able to promise that He will use all of them for our good. He intends to use all things to bless us with increased ability to reflect Him more. (Romans 8:28-29) So, no matter whether it be pressure from the world around us to conform to the latest brand of insanity, or dealing with a personal difficulty, disease or loss, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and we learn to trust Him wholly, we have nothing to fear…not even fear itself. So now, living free of all fear in the confidence of His immense and intense love for you…Go Be Awesome!

Hi, this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…A Taxing Time Next Tuesday is April 18th, and this year that’s Tax day, the day most Americans are required to file their federal income tax. No one I know of likes to pay their fair or unfair share as the case may be. I do know this much, if I worked for the IRS (and I would never work for the IRS) I would certainly be loath to tell anyone about my job. I can’t imagine what conversations for those poor souls are like this time of year. Disliking paying taxes is as old a dilemma as taxes themselves. I don’t think there has ever been a time when people have truly felt as though their tax burden was what it should be. America’s financial advisor, Dave Ramsey has a solution for keeping taxes as low as they can be that I think is brilliant. He says that all the IRS agents should be required to be at everyone’s place of employment on paydays and cash paychecks for employees and then ask the employee to give back out of their cash-in-hand the amount needed for their taxes. I have to agree with him that people would begin to demand lower taxes if that were the case! As I said, wishing we didn’t have to pay taxes and having a dislike for those who are charged with collecting them is an age old problem. In Matthew 22:15-22 a conversation where Jesus was asked this His opinion on the matter is recorded for us. In the New Living Translation, it says; 15 Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 16 They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. 17 Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me? 19 Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin, 20 he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” 22 His reply amazed them, and they went away. It probably goes without saying that Jesus is the master at determining motive and answering questions perfectly. The Jewish leaders were trying in more than one way to outsmart Him and get Him arrested. The Chief Priests and Scribes didn’t approach Jesus themselves because their relationship with Him had already become contentious. I think they were trying to avoid suspicion by sending others in their place to ask their question. They didn’t send the Pharisees as so many times before, no this time they cunningly sent the Pharisee’s disciples, Pharisees-in-training so to speak, along with some of Herod’s supporters who would be sure to let Herod know of anything Jesus might have said in opposition of taxes or the government. Luke’s gospel tells us that they were sent as spies, meant to blend in with the rest of the multitudes following Jesus. He tells us that they pretended to be righteous people, but only for the purpose of getting Jesus arrested. They even tried using flattery, and prefaced their inquiry telling Jesus they knew He was an honest man who taught people to do what is right and that He treated every person the same as the next. Finally when they thought the moment was right, they asked their question, one that may have been on many of our minds lately…“Is it right to pay taxes, or not?” If ever Jesus was asked a loaded question this was it. They knew that the people in the crowd hated paying taxes to their Roman oppressors. If Jesus said yes taxes should be paid, they figured His followers would melt away believing He had been exposed as a Roman supporter and a traitor to the Jews. If He said that taxes shouldn’t be paid, well then, Herod’s supporters would be sure to hurry back and report the insurrectionist talk to the governor. Either way, they were sure they had Jesus right where they wanted Him. Jesus however, saw through the whole thing, called them out as the evil people they were and astonished the crowd. Asking whose picture was on the coin that was used to pay taxes was brilliant. Telling them to give the coin back to its rightful owner if requested, made perfect sense…even to people who didn’t like to pay their taxes. But Jesus finished bigger yet. He told them to give to God what is God’s when He requests it. Those evil men where scholars of the Law. They knew full well that Jesus was referencing the fact that we are created in the image of God. His likeness is on us, and He does request that we give our lives to Him. Why do we pay taxes? Because we don’t want to go to jail. Why don’t we give God what is God’s? Jesus once said that we should not fear what other people can do to us, the worst they could do is kill our body but not our soul. He said that instead we should be concerned with what God wants from us because He is the one who can determine where our body and soul end up for eternity. (Matthew 10:28) His point was that we should be more than willing to give our lives to the One in whose image we are created. You Know, it’s interesting, we can pay our taxes to our government and never give our lives to our God, but the flip side of that particular tax coin is not possible. We cannot wholeheartedly give our lives to God, and try to withhold from the government what is rightfully theirs. We are made in the image and likeness of God. God is the embodiment of integrity. He says of Himself that there is not even a shadow of turning with Him, not even a hint of anything anyone could claim lacks integrity. He says He is the absolute same, yesterday…today…and tomorrow. If we are going to look like Him then our integrity must remain intact as well. I get it…I don’t like paying taxes any more than the next guy. But if I really believe that the Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof then I have to trust that God can give back to me anything the government might ask for if He has need of me to have it. No government will ever come within a country mile or the expanse of the universe for that matter of being able to give to us what God has. No matter how high they raise our taxes, government can never develop a social program that will offer forgiveness of sin, redemption, righteousness and reconciliation with God. It’s tax time, give the government some of those pictures of dead presidents you have, but far more importantly, give God all of you…after all you were created in His likeness. So now, giving all of you to Him with a grateful heart for all He has given to you…Go Be Awesome!

Hi, this is Pastor Ken and I want to thank you for joining me once again for the Monday Marriage Message. This is the third installment in our study of Marriage and divorce based on the scriptural references of Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees on the same topic found in Matthew 19:1-10 and Mark 10:1-10. Last time we essentially looked at the verses that let us in on the setting of the discussion. Those few verses let us know who was there and when and where it took place. We also covered what question or questions were posed to Jesus by the Pharisees and why they were asking Him about such things. I mentioned that they were not really all that interested in what Jesus’ answer would be, only that they would be able to entrap Him in His words whichever side of their internal difference of opinion He endorsed. Today we will begin to look at His answer and why it was so perfect, and how He avoided giving them the ammunition they intended to use against Him. Jesus did give the Pharisees an answer but He was not entrapped, rather He asked them a question that I think caught them off balance. As we did last week we will begin with Mark’s account because it was written first. That doesn’t mean it is more correct, it simply means that some of what Matthew wrote may have been to fill in some more of the story. Or as I suggested last week, it might indicate both the conservative and liberal factions of the Pharisees had questioned Jesus from their differing perspectives. I will begin reading the question or questions posed by the Pharisees for context and then the beginning of Jesus’ answer that I want to focus on today. Mark 10:2-3 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. And He answered and said unto them, “What did Moses command you?”. Now from Matthew 19:3-4 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And He answered and said unto them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two of them shall become one flesh?’” Because of the way that these two passages are structured by the two writers, I am of the opinion that both factions were posing their own version of the question. Mark seems to be telling it from the conservative Pharisees’ position and Matthew sounds as if he was recording the other side of the question. Mark having written his gospel first would not have known further gospels were coming and might have believed the more complete understanding of Jesus’ teaching would be gained from the more conservative of the questions. Having benefit of knowing what Mark had recorded, Matthew may well then have decided in His gospel He would also speak to the more liberal view and fill in some of those blanks since the more comprehensive approach had already been taken. As a result part of what we look at today may seem repeated in the next episode but I want to pay special attention to how the accounts intersect so that we can glean a complete understanding of Jesus’ teaching on the subject. I also want to point out that The Master answered as He did with great intent. To begin, let me point out that Jesus did not answer their question as posed. Jesus was not being elusive; He was being wise. First He was being asked to take a side in a debate for the sole purpose of entrapping Him. Jesus saw right through that and used a brilliant tactic. He did not ignore the question, which would have illustrated rudeness on His part, He answered their question with a question, that was on topic…sort of. According to Mark He asked them “What did Moses Command you?” According to Matthew He asked them “Have you not read, that He who made them at the beginning, made them male and female?” To my way of thinking, this is some of the evidence for the theory that both factions each asked their own question. Each author writes that Jesus answered with a question of His own, but records a different question. This is what some people use to call the accuracy of these accounts into question. However, when you consider that Jesus might well have had one conversation but with two different groups of Pharisees, it all makes sense. The overall teaching and answer Jesus offered brings one to the same conclusion but the two questions Jesus asked would lead there by different avenues. I like to imagine that Jesus looked at the stricter, more conservative Pharisees and asked, “What did Moses Command you?” They gave Him their answer, which we will look at next time. Then I imagine Jesus turned to the more liberal group and in question form, He gave the answer He was hoping to get from the first group. He asked them; “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two of them shall become one flesh?’” I think when Jesus asked the question “What did Moses command you?”, the answer He was looking for was Genesis 2:24…that would have been the correct answer. Instead, the Pharisees began to twist what Moses had written in Deuteronomy chapter 24, a scripture we will look at in great detail in an upcoming episode. Jesus then turned to ask the second group a different question, but not being dissuaded, He asked directly about the portion of the Law He was referring to in His first question. Another thing that Jesus was doing in this exchange was redirecting the topic of the initial questions or questions. The Pharisees were asking about divorce, Jesus was going to answer in terms of marriage. He understood that divorce is the result of flawed thinking, and He was not about to engage in a flawed conversation. The first task before Him was to change the topic from divorce to marriage, and He did so expertly by avoiding giving a direct answer to their question and instead asked His own question to them about marriage. When Jesus asked selfish proud men who were scholars of the law, “What did Moses command you?” He knew they could not resist giving an answer. They were all too eager to show this rabbi with such a crowd of followers, just who it was that knew the law backward and forward, inside and out. Their problem was that they still wanted to talk about divorce, (out of the mouth, the heart speaks) and so they referred to Deuteronomy 24 which has some instruction regarding divorce. When Jesus saw that the condition of the hearts of even the conservative men wanted to be free to divorce their wives, He then asked further, (in my opinion of the more liberal Pharisees) “Have you not read?” Again these were experts of the law, they prided themselves on how familiar they were with the first five books of the scriptures. I think Jesus asked this quite tongue-in-cheek, and then led them directly to the part of the law He was referring to when He asked His initial question. The commandment Jesus was referring to was not one of the 10 commandments, nor was it from the mosaic law of do’s and don’ts, it was a precept, a statute of Creator God as to the process He uses to create us in His image and in His likeness. When God decided to make mankind, it is recorded in Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them. We know that God made Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him and Adam became a living being (Gen. 2:7) Then later that same day (the sixth day) God put the man to sleep took a rib from his side and created his perfect counterpart. When God woke Adam and presented Eve to him Adam declared: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.” (Gen. 2:23) Adam was essentially recognizing that he and Eve were created “One flesh”. In response to Adam’s recognition, and instituting a way to miraculously endow every married couple thereafter with the same “One flesh” experience Adam and Eve enjoyed, God heralded His mandate, the very one Jesus was referring to in his exchange with the Pharisees. “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh”. (Gen.2:24) Questions to answer: • Why do you think the Pharisees were so fixated on the subject of divorce? • Do you think most people marry today only after considering if there is a way out should they find themselves experiencing extreme difficulty? • What do you think that mindset has done to the overall view of the value of marriage in our society? Actions to take: • Thank God DAILY for your marriage, gratefulness is an immense help in times of trouble. • As a couple, thank God right now for your “One Flesh” experience, ask God to help the two of you view your marriage as having such high value that you will never look for a way of escape from His blessing on your lives. So now, giving God thanks for the miraculous “One Flesh” experience He has endowed you and your spouse with, use it for its intended purpose to reflect the likeness and image of your Creator…and Go Be Awesome!

Hi, this is pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday (feeble as they may be) about Jesus’ thoughts on a painfully necessary Thursday. One of my favorite scriptures of all time was most likely given to us on a Thursday. The words we read in John chapter 17 come directly from the prayer Jesus prayed the evening before his crucifixion. We know that took place at Passover, on the day we call Good Friday, so it stands to reason these words of our Lord were spoken on a Thursday evening. This prayer of Christs’ is essentially made up of three parts. In the first part He prayed for Himself. In the second section He prayed for His disciples, and finally He prayed for us…for you and for me. It is the final portion I usually find so special because Jesus is literally praying for us, and expressing that the reason He was willing to go to the cross was so that He would be able to spend eternity, being one with us, in heaven, forever! When I recognize the gravity of that it is so moving. Let it hit you for a minute. Jesus loves you so very much that He can’t bear the thought of spending eternity without you. His love for you is so immense…so intense that when faced with the choice of an agonizing death or being separated from you forever…He chose the cross! There is literally no way you or I could be loved more completely. Going back to the second portion of Jesus prayer, He prayed for His disciples. He specifically prayed that rather than them being taken out of the world alongside Himself, that they would instead be enabled by God to remain behind and through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power, offer their testimony to others about The Christ. Again He was willing for their pain to necessarily be endured that we might know through their ministry His great love for us. Today however, my thoughts are focused on the beginning of His prayer. Here Jesus prays for Himself. Verse 1 of that chapter tells us that Jesus asked for God’s help with what was coming. We read that He opened his prayer with these words. “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You…” We know that this was an incredibly difficult time for Jesus. In Matthew’s account found in chapter 26 of his gospel it tells us that Jesus was exceedingly sorrowful, to the point of death. There we read that He prayed that if it was at all possible, if there were any other way to get the same result, He asked God to choose that, instead of what He knew was in store for Him. However, we read that He relented, that if there was no other way, He would submit to this one. Why? Again, He was unwilling that we be left without a way to be one with Him forever. You can read other accounts of this same prayer recorded in Mark 14 and Luke chapter 22. Why did Jesus need encouragement so badly that Luke’s account tells us God sent an angel specifically to strengthen Him? Why would the Son of God need to pray for Himself? Because He knew that what was coming was going to hurt. Obviously He knew it would hurt physically. Jesus had likely seen crucifixions. It was the barbaric way the Romans executed those they found deserving of capital punishment. It was so brutal that the Jewish people didn’t think a dog deserved to die in that fashion. To their way of thinking it was completely inhumane. The Bible tells us Jesus was well aware that this was the painful way in which He was going to be put to death. It says that He told His disciples that the Son of man would be “lifted up” as on a cross, so that they too would know the manner in which He was going to die. Jesus knew that physically speaking the crucifixion was going to hurt, in fact, it was going to be excruciatingly painful. Jesus also knew it was going to hurt emotionally. Just days before this prayer was being lifted to the Father, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem triumphantly. He had come in riding on the back of a colt. People had thronged to see him and to have the opportunity to wave palm branches and even pave his entrance to the city by throwing their clothes down on the road under His mount. He had received from them a welcome fit for a king! We are told that as He took that ride He looked at the city stretching out before Him and said sorrowfully, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, oh how I would have gathered and cared for you like a hen gathers and protects her chicks…but you would not have it”. As Jesus prayed that evening in the garden, I think He knew that the next day some of those same voices that had heralded His entrance with “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” would soon be following another crowd and vilely spewing the words filled with hatred, “Crucify Him...Crucify Him!”. I think Jesus was also in such distress because He knew emotionally, it was going to hurt beyond belief! I believe Jesus also knew it was going to hurt almost unbearably, in a spiritual sense. Remember, Jesus was willing to go through all of this because He could not bear the thought of spending eternity without you. If there was any less of a payoff than that…it would not have been worth it to Him. In fact, in the final part of the prayer recorded in John 17 it tells us that He prayed these words, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us…” (John 17:20-21 NKJV) Jesus proclaimed He was doing this entirely to enjoy a oneness with us. Hebrews Chapter 12 tells us that it was for the joy set before Him that He endured the cross. What was the joy? Oneness with us! So what was this excruciating spiritual pain that was coming, that needed prayer to enable Him to overcome? Jesus was fully aware that to enjoy that oneness with us, He had to take upon Himself our sin. He understood that to do that was going to mean that His Father who had been one with Him for eternity…was going to be forced to separate Himself from Him. There had never been a time when He and The Father had not been one, but if Jesus were to enrobe Himself with our sin, so that we could wear His robes of righteousness, the Father was going to be forced to turn His face away from His only Son! Just a few hours after this time of prayer, Jesus would be crying out to His Father in agony…”My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!?! Let that rest on you for a moment. Jesus was so desirous that we not be separated from Him that He was willing to spend the darkest, most physically, and most emotionally pain filled time of His eternal existence separated from His Father for our sakes. The one who had been with Him forever, was going to turn His back on Him, and that was the plan Jesus was asking for strength to endure…all to have an eternal oneness with you and with me. Jesus needed prayer that Thursday because He knew that Friday would bring the worst pain imaginable…physically, emotionally and spiritually. The Bible tells us that Jesus desires that no one should perish, but that all would be saved. His prayer on that particularly difficult Thursday and His actions on an awful, and unbelievably painful Friday prove He is all in because He was willing to die for us. In response to that, anything less than being ready and willing to live for Him doesn’t even make sense! We might not have the opportunity to do that except for the resurrection power of God who raised Jesus from the grave just three days later and placed Him on the throne of highest authority in Heaven! Glory to God for the Easter morning miracle that restored our wonderful, sweet, sweet Savior to His rightful place at the right hand of the Father. He deservedly sits on the throne of Heaven, and equally deserves to sit on the throne of our very lives! So now, under the weight of His incredible love for You…normally I would tell you to go be awesome…but today I think we should all Go thank Him for being so awesome!

Thank you for joining us For Palm Sunday at Crossroad Community Church in Georgetown. Pastor Rick Betts Brings us a Message this Palm Sunday. For more information on how to get connected with Crossroad Community Church Georgetown small groups, bible studies, events, and times of services visit crossroadcc.us

Hi, this is Pastor Ken and I want to thank you for joining me for the Monday Marriage Message Podcast. This will be the second installment in our series on Marriage and Divorce. Last time I read for you both of our focal passages for this subject, Matthew 19:1-10 and Mark 10:1-10. Today we will begin to look more closely at those scriptures. Mathew and Mark are considered synoptic gospels. In other words, those two gospels along with the gospel of Luke all cover much of the same ground. Often in those books, we read of the very same occurrences, but from the differing perspectives of the individual writers. The gospels of Matthew and Mark share the most common material and literally hundreds of verses in the two are nearly verbatim. Because of that we will study the conversation these two passages outline in parallel. I believe this will give us the most accurate understanding of Jesus’ position in this exchange between He and the Pharisees. Because the book of Mark was actually written first, I will begin there and then move to Matthew’s gospel. Mark 10:1-2 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again. 2 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. Matthew 19:1-3 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. 3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” In both accounts, the first of these verses simply set the stage. They let us know who, when and where. The – who – Jesus, multitudes or large crowds presumably mostly if not all Jewish people, and the Pharisees, Jewish leaders who were scholars of Mosaic law. Next we have the – when – after Jesus finished teaching in Galilee. Finally, the – where – The region of Judea beyond the Jordan river. While we do know that when Jesus left Galilee He was going to Jerusalem, we don’t know the exact route He took. We do know however that both Matthew and Mark agree that Jesus traveled south to Perea, the district that lay on the east side of the Jordan river across from Judea and Jerusalem. It is likely that the Pharisees were also there because of the multitudes which gave away the fact that Jesus was among them. Matthew is clear in his gospel that Jesus was healing the multitudes, as well as teaching them of which news would have quickly spread and the Pharisees would have known they could find Jesus among the multitudes seeking healing. The – what – and the - why - come in the following verses. First the what. Mark records it as follows; The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. Matthew put it this way; The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Finally the – why- why were they asking Jesus their question? Both Mathew and Mark agree, the Pharisees were testing Jesus. They were not testing Him in the sense of wanting to know if Jesus knew the correct answer, the Pharisees didn’t even agree among themselves what the right answer was. One sect of the Pharisees was more conservative and believed the only righteous reason for divorce was sexual impurity, either as a result of unfaithfulness resulting in adultery or misrepresenting virginity, having formerly committed fornication. Another more liberal faction of the Pharisees believed any reason for divorce was good enough. One only needed to find their wife unpleasing in any way to write a certificate of divorce and send her away. Like I said, the Pharisees weren’t testing Jesus to see if He knew the correct answer. They simply wanted to force Jesus to take a side of a heated topic so that He would be open to their criticism. They weren’t trying to test Him so much as entrap Him in His own words. The two accounts we have here might seem somewhat to be contradictory. Mark says the Pharisees only asked if it was lawful to divorce while Matthew records that they wanted to know if it was lawful to divorce for just any reason. One explanation is that Matthew wrote his account after Mark’s so knowing what facts Mark had included, Matthew may have wanted to add more information about the Pharisees question in his gospel. Another possibility is that perhaps both factions of the Pharisees formulated their own question to Jesus in a way that would lead Him to answer that their view was right and the other was incorrect. Essentially this possibility suggests both were asked and Mark recorded the question of the more conservative group while Matthew added that the question from the liberal Pharisees was also posed to Jesus. Either way, they are not contradictory questions and Jesus’ answer which we will look at next time answered both or either perfectly. It would be easy to be self-righteous and condemn the Pharisees for even bringing these questions to Jesus…except that here in America we couldn’t be more cavalier about the sanctity of marriage if we tried. The United States has the 3rd highest rate of divorce in the world. In the time that it takes one couple to recite their wedding vows 3 marriages are dissolved and 430 additional divorces will take place in the time the guests spend with the newlyweds at their reception. These statistics are a examples of the staggering 747,000 marriages that are dissolved in our divorce courts each year. Experience is supposed to be a good teacher, and one would hope that when we attempt something and fail, next time we would do better, not so in the case of marriage and divorce. According to the last U.S. Census, nearly half of all marriages end in divorce. 60% of second marriages fail and a full 73% of third marriages end in divorce. We aren’t getting better with experience…we are getting worse! Make no mistake, divorce is a life altering event. I just spoke of the increased risk of future marital failure it produces for those who go through it. Maybe of greater importance, we need to ask what the peripheral impact will be. Statistics tell us that a person is 75% more likely to divorce if they have a friend who is divorced. Let that rest on you for a moment. When we divorce, we lower the chance of our friends remaining married. What about the children? Children of divorced parents have a 60% chance of divorce themselves when they marry. If they marry someone who also comes from a broken marriage (and statistically speaking children of divorce tend to marry children of divorce) their chances diminish even further. Unfortunately, the damage doesn’t stop there. Children of divorce have lower test scores and are twice as likely to drop out of school as are children of intact marriages. They have a much higher suicide rate, and are much more likely to live in poverty than are children whose parents remain married. There are many studies that indicate there are all kinds of negative impacts to the children of broken homes, enough that we should be willing to try to avoid them at all costs…even if it means staying and working on a difficult marriage. Why are we getting divorced? What could be so critical that we are willing to take such high risks of future calamity to escape? Multiple studies have been done on the top ten reasons for divorce in America today. While there are some differences in the placement, there is agreement on what the top ten are and positioning of numbers 1through 3 as well as what comes in last at number 10. Affairs and unfaithfulness is first. Second is troubles with finances and third place goes to difficulty communicating. Each of the studies had physical and emotional abuse coming in at the bottom of the top ten reasons given for divorce. When you take all of it into consideration, the question or questions posed by the Pharisees to Jesus weren’t beyond understanding even if they weren’t really all that interested in His answer. That is where we are going to differ as we walk through our study of these scriptural passages. We are going to pay very close attention to what Jesus had to say, because contained in His answer was healing and life. His answer provided the ability for the Pharisees, the multitudes, and yes, even us to experience healing and life in all of our marriages, no matter what difficulties may be plaguing them. Questions to Answer: • What things if any do you think should be considered grounds for divorce? • Do you think most people are aware of the ramifications their divorce will have on others around them? • How much weight should be given to the damage others will suffer when deciding to end a marriage? Actions to Take: • Discuss together your level of commitment to your marriage and family. • Pray daily asking God to guide your thoughts, words and actions toward your spouse so that your marriage can remain strong and be a witness of God’s grace and mercy. So now, trusting Jesus to have the answers for the difficulties in your marriage, listen to what He has to say to you in His word…And Go Be Awesome!

Hi this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…Stinking Irony. I took a trip this past week that traversed seven states to purchase a motorcycle, and yes before anyone asks…it was still a good deal when I included the gas it took to go get it. However, this podcast isn’t about motorcycles or the price of gas though I am sure I could make some connection between those things and some biblical truth. This episode is about something I stepped on while stopping at one of the many rest stops I visited on my trip. As I walked along one of the concrete sidewalks that led to the bathrooms at one particular location, I stepped on a round metal lid placed in the concrete. Cast into the iron lid were the words “Sanitary Sewer”. I have seen these words many times in the past. Prior to entering full-time ministry I worked for a heavy equipment construction company that placed many of those particular lids in sidewalks and streets during my tenure there. For those of you who may not know there are two kinds of sewer lines underground. There are “Storm Sewers” which are conduits made of concrete, metal or plastic which convey rainwater runoff from impermeable surfaces like buildings, parking lots and roadways, ultimately to places where it can be introduced safely into natural bodies of water. The other kind of sewer lines are called “Sanitary Sewers” and they are anything but…sanitary. These are the lines that carry the sewage from our sinks, showers and toilets to the waste water treatment plant. When I was in the business of installing new portions of these so called “Sanitary Sewer” lines to existing infrastructure I was always somewhat amused by the name stamped into the manhole covers. “Sanitary sewer” just seemed like such an oxymoron to me. It is a “Stinking Irony” indeed. As I stepped on that manhole last week and read those words cast in iron, “Sanitary Sewer” it made me think of a few verses I had been reading recently in my devotional time. In his Epistle, James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote about a “Stinking Irony” that we all need to be aware of lest we find ourselves reeking of that very condition. In James 3:7-11 we read the following from the New King James Version. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? I also really like the way Dr. Tim Jennings put it in his paraphrase The Remedy there it says; 7Humans have tamed all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea,8but no one can make their words harmless. The mouth speaks venomous words, expressing the chaos and evil within the heart.9One moment we praise God our Father, and the very next moment we curse the very men and women created in his image.10Think about it: Out of the same mouth come both praises and curses. My brothers and sisters, this is wrong, and it must stop.11Does a spring bring forth fresh water one moment and sewage the next? Last week in this podcast I eluded to what I am talking about today. If we are not ever vigilant about the condition of our hearts, we risk acting out of selfishness. When you mix selfishness with the most difficult thing in all humanity to control…the tongue…the risk of stinking irony rises dramatically. James says that 9One moment we praise God our Father, and the very next moment we curse the very men and women created in his image. This can happen in so many ways and seemingly in the blink of an eye. As I noted last week we can be singing along to the Christian radio station in the car one minute and be yelling at the person who so irreverently cut us off in traffic the next. While that may be an easy one for many people to relate to, it certainly isn’t the only example. What about when we smile and say “Sure thing boss!” to our employer and then take every available opportunity to tell our co-workers what a jerk the boss is? How about spending Sunday morning in quote-unquote “Worship” and then gossiping all the way home about others in church and all of the inconsistencies we perceive to exist in their lives? How about the way we use our moral high ground as Christians to justify verbally crucifying our political opponents? The fact of the matter is that these examples I have noted simply scratch the surface of all of the ways we come up with to fulfill the verse above and praise God out of one side of our mouth while we curse His creation out of the other. I think James was right to ask us to consider this uncomfortable truth about our “Stinking Irony”.10Think about it: Out of the same mouth come both praises and curses. My brothers and sisters, this is wrong, and it must stop.11Does a spring bring forth fresh water one moment and sewage the next? None of us would be willing to go down into a sewer manhole, fill a cup and drink its contents. No one among us would consider it no matter how sanitary the manhole lid said it was. You can’t get fresh water from a sewer. Nor can pure water come from a place that allows even a little bit of sewage in. If I had a 5 gallon bucket of water and added only one cup of raw sewage into it…would you drink it? I hope not. Because even a little sewage allowed into the water contaminates the whole bucket. What can help us overcome allowing sewage to contaminate our spring meant only to produce fresh water? Conforming to the image of Christ. One of the things we know about Jesus is that though He was reviled…He reviled not. That means that though he had every justification in the world for lashing out, for having bad things to say about His own stinking creation beating, torturing and finally executing their own Creator, (Talk about stinking irony) He didn’t do it. Jesus didn’t think or act selfishly, He allowed His outward thinking to selflessly lead Him to the cross. The bible says that for the joy set before Him, in other words for the opportunity to pay for our sin once and for all and to be able to set all of His creation right again, He endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2) So now, removing the sewage from the stream where only fresh, clean, clear water is supposed to flow…Go Be Awesome!

Thank you for joining us at Crossroad Community Church in Georgetown. Pastor Rick Betts and the Gideons Bring us a message. For more information on how to get connected with Crossroad Community Church Georgetown small groups, bible studies, events, and times of services visit crossroadcc.us

Hi this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…Choosing Life In past episodes of this podcast I have occasionally shared lessons I learned from experiencing cancer. I say that I experienced cancer because the disease did not cause me all of the pain and difficulty I have witnessed it cause others. Lynn and I have a dear friend who is at this moment battling cancer in a way I never had to, she is literally fighting for her life. When you pray today…please pray for Leasa and her family. As I said, the fight I had with cancer was not as intense as hers and others have been, so I feel it unfair for me to categorize my struggle with theirs. Unfortunately, my cancer was not discovered until it had already engulfed my prostate. The cancer had a rather aggressive nature and according to my doctors should really only be treated by a complete removal of the affected organ. Other treatments were discussed but only as options for those where the cancer was less aggressive or the disease had not progressed to the extent mine had. Though each alternative treatment was explained, it was made abundantly clear to us that surgery was really the only way to go…if I wanted to live. With that information in mind, my wife Lynn and I made one of the easiest, weighty decisions we ever have…I would have the surgery. It was weighty because any decision to have an organ removed, even a diseased one, should come only after a healthy dose of consideration. It was easy because choosing to keep the cancerous organ, would lead to death, while choosing to have it removed, would lead to life. When given the opportunity to choose life…choose life! I have been spending some time reading in the book of James lately in my personal time with the Lord. In James 1:12-17 it says this in the New King James Version: 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. The spiritual decision before all of us is really no different than the one Lynn and I faced in that hospital room. To make one choice will lead to death, to choose the other will result in life…abundant life. We are all tempted from time to time. In our current state, we are still subject to being called out to by our own evil selfish desires. We may even know that certain things are not good for us…and yet we can sometimes crave those very things. We can be fully aware that to act in one way toward another would be godly and selfless but still struggle to not look out for number one. We can, as James goes on to write about later say that we love God and even sing aloud his praises flowing into our cars via the Christian radio station…and then curse His creation out of the other side of our mouths when we get cut off in traffic. Examples abound, though I don’t think it necessary to name each one here. The fact of the matter is that when we are faced with those choices and others, it is a life and death decision. Don’t misunderstand. I am not saying that a Christ follower who momentarily exercises poor judgement is in danger of hell-fire. What I am saying is that when given choices like those I mentioned a moment ago, we are making a choice bigger than the particulars of the one at hand. According to James, if we endure the temptations and make the right choices, the loving, selfless ones, we are blessed, become approved and can look forward to the gift of life, promised to those who love God. He goes on to say that we should understand where the choices come from in the first place. God does not implant in us a longing to do the wrong thing, it would go against His righteous nature. Temptations come from our own selfish desires, and if we give into those cravings, they become sin in our lives. Practicing sin, or in other words, making sinful action a regular and accepted way of life for us, brings death if it is not dealt with. We are all born in a fallen state, and that means we have a sin-nature that has to be controlled. Thank God He has provided the Holy Spirit who offers the ability to apply self-control to our sin nature. When James says that every good gift, and every perfect gift comes from the Father, he is reminding us that God is good and therefore only offers to us what is good. In fact, He gave us the perfect gift, Jesus, who as the Lamb of God was the only sacrifice sufficient to forgive us of and erase the record of our sinfulness. James wanted us to know that this good, good Father never changes His position, He always loves us and always wants to give us everything we need to be able to choose life. God is life. Choosing God’s Son, Jesus as Lord and Savior is the only choice that can bring life by eradicating and curing the cancerous sinful condition we all suffer from. James said it and I’ll say it again. When given the opportunity to choose life…choose life! So now, choosing to live for Jesus because He died for you to cure your sin sickness…Go be awesome!

Hi, this is Pastor Ken and I want to welcome you to the Monday Marriage Message. Last week we concluded our study of Ephesians 5:21-33. That scripture is wonderful for teaching us as husbands and wives how to prefer one another and submit our own words and actions to be used to selflessly build up the one who God has given to us as a spouse. I love that passage as well because it is such a clear reminder that our marriages are intended to reflect God and the relationship He desires to have with each and every one of us. I really enjoyed taking the opportunity to break that scripture down in a methodical way and attempt to glean from it many of the truths that help us to be better husbands and wives, and to enjoy more effective marriages. Unfortunately, in our society it would be difficult to have a serious discussion about marriage without at the very least confronting the troublesome subject of divorce. When almost half of all marriages end in divorce, it is a topic that must be addressed. According to the most recent Census, 45% of American marriages end in divorce. Nearly 80% of those who divorce will re-marry and of those who do, the divorce rate for second marriages rises to 60%. The failure rate for subsequent marriages only increases from there. I wish it were not so, but as a podcaster focused on the strengthening of marriages through scriptural teaching I understand that a substantial portion of my audience has personally experienced the effects of divorce. I have never hidden nor tried to disguise the fact that my wife and I have both been through divorce. Though it is a tragedy that I wish had not befallen our lives and the lives of our dear children, I understand that one of the purposes God has resurrected from the pain and difficulty of those broken marriages, is our ability to speak authoritatively on the subject. Our ability to do so however, does not come from any knowledge our experience taught us but rather from the knowledge God’s word reveals and our experiences have simply reinforced. Over what will likely turn out to be the next several months we will open up two scriptural accounts of the same event. Those accounts are the written record of two different disciples. Mark and Matthew, as they recalled a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees. Both accounts are individual perspectives, but are inspired by one Holy Spirit. As such, each will add important information to the discussion but will not contradict each another in any way. Those accounts are central to our discussion on the subject because the question brought to Jesus that day by the Pharisees was essentially this; Can people rightly get divorced for any reason they see fit? Jesus’ answer to those men was complex and informative far beyond their simple question, and I believe that as we dive into it deeply we will uncover many wonderful truths. As I did when we began our study of Ephesians chapter five, I will read for you both of these passages in their entirety this first week and then as we move forward I will break each down verse by verse, or concept by concept. I will as before use supporting scriptures whenever possible to further our understanding of the play-by-play of these two focal passages. Because we will be looking at the two synoptic gospel accounts of Matthew and Mark, I will refer to them in parallel offering the account of each together to gain fuller understanding of Jesus’ comments. Let’s take a few minutes now though to read through both of the passages we will be looking at so closely. Matthew 19:1-10 in the New King James Version says: Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. 3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” 4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” 10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” Now let’s read Mark 10:1-10 in the New King James Version it says: 10 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again. 2 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. 3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.” 5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” 10 In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. 11 So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” These are going to be the two focal scriptures for our discussion of marriage and divorce. It is my hope that as we work our way through these you will be encouraged no matter if you have experienced the trauma of divorce or not. If you have not, it is my prayer that this study will help you to see God’s boundless grace and mercy. It is my hope that you will glean from this study inarguable truths that will assist you to finish well the ministry of marriage that God has entrusted you with. If you are like Lynn and I and you have experienced the difficulty that divorce brings I pray that you will also find encouragement in this exposition of God’s word. I hope that you will come away from this study understanding the overwhelming truth that though God does hate divorce for reasons we will discover, He loves divorcees without limits! In most cases, divorce is not the right thing to engage in, and it is my belief for reasons I will share in later editions that it is never His desire for us, but that does not preclude divorced people from experiencing the best of His love and blessing in their lives. Additionally, I hope to be able to successfully illustrate from God’s own word that His forgiveness is for all, and is complete no matter which of His precepts we have acted contrary to. Finally, it is my hope that as we move into this discussion that for those who have remarried after divorce or are considering doing so, that there are instructions in His word that will lovingly guide us into the blessing of successful marriage that is in no way, shape or form…second rate. I look forward to this time together just as I did our time in Ephesians 5. I hope you will be eager to join in as well and continue to the conclusion of our study of these passages no matter what your current marital standing. So now, looking to Christ, listening to His Holy Spirit and investigation God’s Word for all of your instruction as you live your life as unto Him…Go be awesome!

Hi, this is Pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…”Where’s my phone!?!” The other day I got up and did all of the things I do on any other day. I dressed, went downstairs and let the dogs out into the back yard. While they were outside, I started a pot of coffee, put food and water down for them and then let them back in so they could eat their breakfast. Finally, it was time for my wife Lynn and I to settle into our chairs with our steaming cups of coffee and our bibles. We spend this time the same way every morning. We really enjoy getting to see each other invest in our personal relationship with Jesus. Beyond the confidence and spiritual intimacy that instills in our marriage, it offers us the opportunity to share with one another what we are reading about and learning from God’s word. We rarely find that we are reading in the same places in the scripture. As a result, the ability to share with one another what we are personally learning affords us the gift of encouraging each other before we begin our day, each of us going our separate ways to meet daily responsibilities. As that sweet time came to its unavoidable conclusion that morning, I arose from my chair, filled my travel mug with its prescribed dose of coffee, grabbed my keys and headed out the front door toward my car. I got in as I have done countless times before, turned the key and backed out of the driveway. I was nearly halfway through the 20-minute drive to church when I thought of something I wanted to check on and reached into my pocket for my cell phone…it was not there. I patted my other jean pockets…not there either. I put my hands on my jacket pockets expecting I had simply deposited it there as I grabbed my keys on the way out the door…nope. Surely, it had to be there somewhere. Right? A quick scan of the console and front passenger seat confirmed my suspicions…I had left my cell phone at home. I felt somewhat unsure what to do. Should I return home to retrieve it and simply be late for work? I decided that wouldn’t be possible because I had a meeting scheduled as soon as I arrived and needed to be there on time. I decided to continue on to my office, email Lynn that I had left it behind, and ask her to bring it to me later in the day. In the past, I have observed people discover their cell phone missing. Some become perturbed or frustrated without it, knowing that necessary tasks will be more difficult minus their phone in hand. I have watched others exhibit signs of full-blown separation anxiety at the realization that they are detached from their phone. They show visible signs of concern that quickly turn to worry and sometimes even verge on panic that their electronic device is not in their immediate possession. On occasion, I have seen this displayed to the point that you would think the person in question had left some life saving device behind! Why do we react in those ways when we find that our cell phones are missing albeit temporarily? I believe we have become so dependent upon them that no matter the level, most of us feel some sense of discomfort when we become disconnected from our phones. Many daily activities have become intertwined with the presence of a cell phone. We make and take calls, send and receive texts. With smartphones we have access to social media, news and weather forecasts for literally anywhere on the planet. Just today, I used my phone to play games, take pictures, create a PDF, send emails, listen to a book, look something up in a bible commentary, and check on the prices of a plane ticket to Orlando, Fla. We use our phones for nearly everything. They have become such an integral part of our daily lives it is no wonder we want them close at hand. The bible talks about something we should be even more careful with than we are our cell phones. Something that we should be far more certain to never let out of our sight and consideration. Interestingly, the way that it speaks about it, one could almost imagine in our day and age that it is in fact, a cell phone that is being referred to. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 reads as follows in the Good News Translation: 4 “Israel, remember this! The Lord—and the Lord alone—is our God. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. 8 Tie them on your [hands]and wear them on your [heads] as a reminder. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. These verses speak of the most important thing we can remember to keep nearby at all times…and it isn’t our cell phone. Verse 4 reminds us that there is only one God, and He is supposed to be our Lord. Understanding full well I risk offending someone, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take today, I have a question. This isn’t a public challenge, and no one but you will know how you answer, so be honest. What would you say your actions indicate is more important to you, your bible or your cell phone? Which do you pay closer attention to? Which would you be more anxious if you didn’t know where it was for a full day? The answers to those questions beg the next. Who is your God? Is it the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or the god of At&T, T-Mobile and Verizon? I like the way this scripture covers all of the bases. It reminds us that there can be but one god in our lives, and He ought to be The Lord God. It tells us how we will know who our god is, because who (or what) we love with ALL our heart, ALL our soul and ALL our strength will identify that. Verse 6 gives very important instruction as to how to keep putting God in His rightful place in our lives. We must always remember His instructions to us. We are to find every way possible to remind ourselves daily how He wants us to interact with Him and with those around us. In verse 7 we’re told to teach His ways to our children. We pass on to our kids many things. We illustrate regularly through our words and actions the things we think are most important, and what they should find important as well. The things we give the greatest value to, they will as also. If we want our kids to find God most important, we have to make it evident that nothing could be more important to us than God is in our life. It goes on to say God’s praise and instruction should always be in the forefront of our conversations. Everywhere and all the time. When we are at home or when we are away. When we are at work or taking it easy. There is no time or place inappropriate to consider what God would have us do. I especially like verse 8. It says we should tie or bind God’s word to our hands and our heads. I like this because it is intended to be symbolic of attaching His written direction to our actions (the hand) and our thoughts (the head), and how we should let Him guide both. However, it is a bit amusing that it is prophetically analogous of the contemporary competition for our attention. Our cell phones are seemingly always either in our hands or held up to our heads. Finally, in verse 9 we read the closing suggestion. Write them on your doorposts and your gates. This concluding statement is meant to indicate that we should allow God’s word to both define our homes as well as be the reminder of who and whose we are before we leave there each day. So forget your cell phone from time to time…the world won’t come to an end, that was proven earlier this week while I was a work and mine was at home on my chair. But, don’t go anywhere without the One true God…He holds your world in the palm of His hand. So now, with God’s word continually on your mind, heart, and lips…Go be Awesome!