Embrace the Within no. 130

“It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife is to give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on grounds of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been divorced commits adultery.

Matthew 5:31-32 AMP

From the very beginning of humanity, man joined with woman forever in the presence of God. When I entered into a covenant with God and my wife, I needed to enter into that covenant with the understanding that I did not set the terms, she did not set the terms, God set the terms. And I think that understanding of who sets the rules in our lives is extremely important to understand. And I think that allowance of folks that don’t understand the terms of the covenant to enter into a holy covenant is a problem.

“It has been said, ‘Whoever divorces [In this verse and in v. 32 the Greek word for divorce (apolyo) can also mean “to loose,” “to dismiss,” “to send away”] his wife must give her legal divorce papers’ [See Deut. 24:1. By serving her divorce papers, a husband was required to return his wife’s dowry. The divorced woman would then leave his house and receive back her dowry]. However, I say to you, if anyone divorces his wife for any reason, except for infidelity, he causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced [The Aramaic can be translated “whoever marries a woman who is separated and not divorced”] woman commits adultery.” Matthew 5:31-32 TPT

A covenant with God is a serious matter and I don’t think I truly understood covenants even when I entered into marriage. I knew that I was never going to leave my wife. I knew that marriage was for whatever happened in life. I knew that marriage was with rough times and problems and disagreements and all sorts of problems that could come my way. I also had an example of what marriage that was based on commitment was like.

Marriage is a covenant with God. Discipleship is a covenant with God. As an ambassador of His Kingdom, I need to respect that these covenants are not something I get to amend, redact, or rewrite. Covenants are written by Him.

'It hath bene sayd also, Whosoeuer shall put away his wife, let him giue her a bill of diuorcement. But I say vnto you, whosoeuer shall put away his wife (except it be for fornication) causeth her to commit adulterie: and whosoeuer shall marrie her that is diuorced, committeth adulterie. '

Matthew 5:31-32 GNV

Covenants are not something to take lightly. And for years I was quite lackadaisical about my covenant with God. And quite often I was lackadaisical about my covenant with God and my wife. I took those relationships for granted. I think it’s easy to get comfortable with a relationship when you are around someone, even God, for a long time. I got comfortable with how things were going with God and my wife and it took a plague to shake things up for me. The plague shook a lot of things up for me.

“Again Yeshua [God is Salvation] said to his disciples: ‘You have heard what was said to those of long ago that everyone who leaves his wife and divorces her is to give her a bill of divorce, And I say to you that everyone who leaves his wife is to give her a bill of divorce. But concerning adultery. he is the one who commits adultery and he who takes her commits adultery’.”

Matthew 5:31-32 NMV

If I continue to give things a cursory understanding, if I continue to be comfortable in my relationships, if I fail to see the importance of who is in control, then I will fall short of what I need to accomplish. Comfort is not crouching at the door. Comfort is always right next to me. I can get comfortable with how things are going or I can strive to work. And too often I chose to coast, to cruise, to drift.

BUT choosing to be actively engaged in my relationships has made all the difference. And putting Christ in control and letting God be in charge is not only a great place to start, it is the only place to start in order to end with success.

'“It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a get .’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and that anyone who marries a divorcee commits adultery.'

Mattityahu (Mat) 5:31-32

I pray that I am always mindful of my covenants with the Lord. I pray that I am serious in my decisions to allow God to write the rules and be confident in my role as an obedient servant to those rules. I pray that when I fail to live up to His expectations of any covenant, that I allow Him to show me the way to becoming a better image bearer. I pray that He reflects in my decisions in all my interactions.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 129

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who [so much as] looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble and leads you to sin, tear it out and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble and leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5:27-30 AMP

Lust is one of those sins that crouches not only at my door BUT in my heart. The only cure for lust is love. And the only way for me to truly love is through God. God is love.

“Your ancestors have been taught, ‘Never commit adultery.’ [See Ex. 20:14.] However, I say to you, if you look with lust in your eyes at a woman who is not your wife, you’ve already committed adultery in your heart [The Aramaic is speaking of more than adultery with a married woman; it uses the word for any sex act outside of marriage. Jesus elevates the standard of righteousness. He is holy, and when he comes to live within the believer, his holiness is the fulfillment of what God requires of us]. If your right eye seduces you to fall into sin, [The Greek word skandalizo means to “entice to sin,” “offend,” or “set a trap”] then go blind in your right eye [Or “pluck out your eye and throw it away”]! For you’re better off losing sight in one eye than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand entices you to sin, let it go limp and useless [Or “cut it off and throw it away.” Verses 29 and 30 use obvious hyperbole to help us understand how intent we must be to guard our lives from sin]! For you’re better off losing a part of your body than to have it all thrown into hell [Jesus is using an obvious figure of speech when he instructs us to “pluck out” our eyes or “cut off” our hands. The metaphor is clear: we are to end every evil habit that will lead us to destruction].

Matthew 5:27-30 TPT

Evil separates me from the love of God. Disobedience separates me from the presence of God. What was true in the Ten Commandments becomes even more clear in Christ’s sermon, I am to strive for the same holiness and the same perfection that He walked.

If I love God, then I will show that love by striving to do what He commands. If I love God, I will want His love and presence to remain in me.

“Ye haue heard that it was sayd to them of olde time, Thou shalt not commit adulterie. But I say vnto you, that whosoeuer looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adulterie with her already in his heart. Wherefore if thy right eye cause thee to offend, plucke it out, and cast it from thee: for better it is for thee, that one of thy members perish, then that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Also if thy right hand make thee to offend, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for better it is for thee that one of thy members perish, then that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

Matthew 5:27-30 GNV

Now I don’t go out physically disfiguring myself in order to keep this command BUT, instead, I need to change my heart, my routine, and my focus. Too often in the past I was praying that other people and other situations would change when I should have been praying for me to change. And that is the same with all of God’s commandments; I need to change, not my neighbor, no my enemy, not God, just me.

“Again he said to them: ‘You have heard what was said to those of long ago: You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who sees a woman and covets her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If you right eye seduces you, pluck it out and cast it from you. Also, if your hand seduces you, cut it off. It is better for you to suffer (allow, to let, permit) the loss of one of your limbs than all your body in Gei-Hinnom [hell, valley of evil counsel].”

Matthew 5:27-30 NMV

So, I get to choose my focus on living a life aligned in obedience. I get to make the decisions about on what I will focus. And I am going to choose love. I am going to make no excuses for when I fail, fall, and stumble. I am going to ask for forgiveness and refocus on aligning myself with what God wants.

'“You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that a man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you sin, gouge it out and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom. And if your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom.'

Mattityahu (Mat) 5:27-30

I pray that I keep my focus on love. I pray that as I walk in the Way of the Lord, that my focus remains on loving God more than loving myself. I pray that I remember that loving God is a daily walk of removing myself from the experiment and adding much more of Christ.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH