Tag: God's Plan

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God's Way, God's Time

APRIL 15

MATTHEW 5:38_Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

This is a big law transformation: if someone were to blind your eye, you could blind their eye and if someone were to knock out your tooth, you could knock out their tooth. In the Old Testament this was justice. The truth is most people like this kind of justice. It satisfies. Nobody gets by with anything. 

If you’ve gained some insights over the past several months, it’s when Jesus begins a teaching with “Ye have heard that it hath been said” He is about to transform that! 

The Great Balancer wants balance between justice and revenge. There is a place in the world for justice: the judicial system. The Bible says there is only one place for revenge: in God’s hands.

Romans 12:19 (KJV), “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.’” 

God only, gets to decide if revenge is appropriate. If so, He carries it out. God carries revenge out in His way, and only His way. He carries it out in His time, and only His time.

Because of hard hearts, it is always best to let God decide how to deal with any kind of revenge.  

PRAYER

Blessed Savior, Help me leave revenge in Your hands. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                              

Christ balances revenge and mercy—I don’t know how!                                               

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The Perfect Plan

APRIL 9

MATTHEW 5:32_and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Is Jesus too harsh on divorce? He brings adultery into the picture after the divorce! Why?

In Mark 10:5-8, Jesus went back to the beginning—to creation itself—the original marriage— God’s perfect plan. The Garden of Eden was perfection and everlasting life. Adam and Eve blew the whole plan by their disobedience to God. All life reaped the consequence—sin. Life will continue to reap sin consequences until an end comes, and all things are made new.

God’s perfect plan for marriage is one man and one woman for life. Their physical union causes them to become one. Perhaps Jesus adds adultery to re-marriage because no piece of paper (divorce contract) can sever God’s design of the physical union. The divorce contract can sever the legality of the marriage, but it cannot sever the oneness of flesh. This is why sexual sins are so devastating.

Why is purity marriage insurance? Foremost, it is God’s plan. His plan builds love by denying the flesh and bonding spirits—two people for each other. It builds respect for each other. It builds loyalty for one and only one. Aren’t those things you want in marriage?

We discussed before how impurity spells betrayal like no other sin. It is definitely one of the hardest to forgive. The Great Hope can give power to forgive. He asks you to do no more for your betrayer than He has done for you.

This is not to simplify the devastation. It may require a time of separation, and the key word in this sentence is time. Running straight to the divorce court does not give The Great Surgeon time for the surgery—including the time for healing and recovery. The basis of any decision has to be what action you believe will please Jesus.

When the marriage is broken beyond repair (one spouse has re-married), The Great Hope has good news: An individual life is not beyond repair.

Jesus repairs broken lives. Jesus wants to bring His love into all families.

Let Jesus use you to shine His love in your family.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus, Some of Your teachings are very difficult and hard. I know they are all designed for the very best life. I want that! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                    

Christ loves God’s original plan—I want to love it!

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The Original Plan

APRIL 3

MATTHEW 5:31_It hath been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.

More law transformation.

Divorce has always been a heart-wrenching, painful, experience—especially when children are involved. Jesus wants to save His disciples from this kind of pain. When someone you love hurts, you hurt as well, and Jesus loves His followers.

Mark 10:5-9 (KJV), “And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept [divorce]. 6But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Jesus teaches the original plan—if two become one they should remain as one.

When the only two people on the planet chose disobedience, and sin entered their hearts, their hearts hardened. A hard heart is difficult to live with. When two are put together it’s doubly hard.

The only hope is The Great Transformer.

PRAYER

Lord of All, Please give me wisdom concerning the very difficult situations in life. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                           

Christ created marriage to be forever—He will teach me!                                      

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You Have a Purpose

JANUARY 2

MATTHEW 5:1_And seeing the multitudes…

By the time Jesus preached this sermon, He also had been baptized. John the Baptist did not want to baptize Jesus. He did not feel worthy (Matthew 3:13-17). As the Son of God, Jesus chose to become the Son of Man—baptism was necessary. John was the appointed baptizer.

John was also one whose birth may have caused much ridicule. He was born to parents who were old enough to be great-grandparents.

You may have been raised by your grandparents. You certainly should not let anyone cause you to feel shame. You were born for a unique purpose, regardless of how you got here. And grandparents are awesome, wise people!

God is excited about the incredible works He can accomplish through your life—if you let Him. The very fact you are reading this post in this blog is not by chance. This is a part of God’s plan, a message from God to you.

Your life is not about the circumstances into which you were born. Your life is about the decisions you make in your life, and being responsible for those decisions. 

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father, Help me trust in You as I live the life You’ve given me.  Help me live it in a way which pleases You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ taught multitudes—many were just like me!

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To Know Jesus

JANUARY 1

MATTHEW 5:1_And seeing the multitudes…

JANUARY 1

MATTHEW 5:1_And seeing the multitudes…

Jesus sees multitudes. That’s an awful lot of people! Bigger than a crowd!

Several instances in Jesus’ life have prepared Him for the multitudes—it is obvious He has been born.

To know Jesus you must take a look at His birth. Talk about unconventional! Talk about amazing! Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin?

To know Jesus you must also get to know the God of the Impossible.

Jesus’ birth was questioned, ridiculed, and scorned. He grew up with that—a part of daily life.

Being honored and acknowledged as the Son of God was not a part of His daily life. 

So, if you were not born in accordance with the status quo, don’t let it depress you—it is not something you caused or can change. Besides, you share very good company. Jesus is an overcomer. He can help you become one as well.

Throughout this year you will learn a lot about how God planned life and His views on things like marriage. God’s plan is perfect. It can save you unnecessary hurts in life.

There is power in living according to God’s plan. 

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father, Help me to be sensitive to the pain of others and to be careful about decisions I make.  In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ loves me—Unconditionally!