Genesis 2:24 - Cleave to, Not Cleaver

 

Genesis 2:24

NKJV

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

 

NLT

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

 

The King James version says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

 

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines cleave as:  to stay very close to (someone); to stick closely to (something).

 

I’ve also read that it means to cling.  So, if the bible says we are cleave to our spouse…why don’t we? To be honest, there are times that I’m uncleavable.  Pretty sure there are times my bride wants to take a cleaver to me! We got married based on what we didn’t know. My bride saw a lot of my warts and moles (metaphorically speaking) before we got married, but she didn’t see them all.  I held some of those back because I had trouble with possible rejection. She married me anyway, and we’ve been at it for 33 years this year. It’s been the easiest 33 years of my life…HA! Bet it hasn’t been easy for her either. But we made the choice to stick with the “become one flesh”. That’s our story, yours may be different.

 

Marriage only works if you both work at it. But it’s really not the easiest thing you’ll ever do.  The bible talks about three cords are not easily broken. That’s true, but we always have to keep God as one of those strands. If we don’t, then things are going to fall apart. We can both be believers and still make mistakes; mistakes that can be catastrophic to each other. We’re going to say and do things that cause pain and chaos. Any marriage can be saved, but both of you have to be willing to work at it.

 

I recommend grace, maybe mercy would be better.  I’ve heard mercy is defined as not getting punished for my wrongdoing; and grace defined as someone else taking the punishment for my wrongdoing. Grace is the Hebrew word Chanan or the Greek word Charis, meaning “the state of kindness and favor toward someone, often with a focus on a benefit given to the object.”  So maybe both of these should be offered, mercy and grace. And to be honest, as believers, we’ve already been given this.  The best we can do is pass it on to others.

 

Cleave together,

cej

 

 

1 Corinthians 5:12-13 - Hammer & Heart Part Trios

1 Corinthians 5:12-13

 

NKJV

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

 

NLT

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

 

Wait a minute, did that just say that it’s not my responsibility to judge the world? But, but, but…the world is full of sin and it’s my job to tell them they are going to hell! Holy cow, does this mean that I am not to use my self-righteousness to beat people over the head with their sin?

 

Yup! That’s what it means. It means that, at times, we are too busy judging those non-believers that we neglect the purity of the believers (starting with ourselves). But I think we need to be forewarned that this practice, called "church discipline," is not often carried out in Christian churches despite this clear teaching. The result is an epidemic of poisonous spiritual influences (Jude 1:12; 2 Peter 2:1; Galatians 2:4) and whole lot of criticism from the non-believing world (1 Peter 2:12; 2 Peter 2:2). On the other hand, some of what is called "church discipline" today has been carried out in a manner which is unloving, inconsistent, an unhelpful to the reputation of Christ (Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15–20).

Obviously, churches must be prayerful and wise about when and how to apply Paul's instructions in 1 Corinthians 5. The goal is not self-righteousness or vindictive revenge. Rather, it should be protection of truth and the repentance of the sinner.

 

I believe the key is how much we love God and how much do we love each other. We should be humble enough as believers to realize that our only job with non-believers is to show the love of Christ. Speak the truth, for sure, but let the Holy Spirit work on them. We don’t win people to Christ by beating them over the head. It also means that we should be humble enough as believers to accept a “call out” when our sin is out of control. We should be close enough to each other that we can’t hide our sins. That we have a couple of friends that know what’s going on in our lives and are not afraid to speak truth to us.  Are you that friend and do you have those friends?

 

Call out,

cej

 

1 Peter 5:7 - Lord Save Me

 

1 Peter 5:7

NKJV

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

 

NLT

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

 

NIV

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

 

We all deal with it at some point.  To some it can be crippling, leading to health issues both physically and mentally.  I’m talking about anxiety. The thing that can bring to our knees when it hits. Don’t think that you have never suffered from it, I can promise at some point in your life you were anxious and fearful.

 

The easy response to this is that we just need to turn everything over to the Lord and trust Him to guide us and give us peace. But that’s not always easy, is it? There are a whole lot of verses that tell us to trust God, and we should.  That is the answer!

 

But when you are in the middle of it, that’s not so easy. There is a website that lists a “complete” list of anxiety symptoms, they say there are 241 total…241! The world will tell you that some anxiety is normal, that only excessive  or intense anxiety is not. This is completely wrong, fear and anxiety are not the norm. Do I believe we can have chemical imbalances that can mess us up?  Sure. But we can get help for that and I encourage you to get that help. Don’t wait. Normal is what God wants for us.

 

I am reminded of Peter when he stepped out of the boat (Mathew 14:22-33).  When his focus was right, he walked on the water; and when he was focused on the storms and the waves, he began to sink. He became anxious and did the only thing that he could do.  He called out to Jesus, he said “Lord, save me”.

 

That’s where we should be.  Lord, save me!  Save me when I’m in the throes of my anxiety.  Save me when fear is like a claw in my mind.  Save me when I am spiraling out of control.  Lord save me because you love me…and all I have to do is say it! It all comes down to how much I trust God to save me.  Trust God today.

 

Lord, Save me

cej

Philippians 4:4-7 - Rejoice, Again I Say Rejoice

 

Philippians 4:4-7

NKJV

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

NLT

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

 

It can at times be hard to think about rejoicing.  Our circumstances can seem overwhelming. It may look like the devil is winning. It may look like the cancer is in control; that your life is in chaos; that your family is falling apart; all kinds of things happen in this life. Shucks, a whole book of the bible is called Lamentations; the laments of the Israelites. You may just feel like you want to give up, crawl in a hole and die.

But God…is still on the throne and He still loves you and me. When we walked through Felicia’s cancer diagnosis God really spoke to me about rejoicing and staying faithful.  Was it hard…for sure! But as I write this, I am a little broken hearted with some friends of ours. They are going though it right now and can use all the prayers you can lift up. Be encouraged, God is still God. Read the verses below, these are a few that my Bride and walked through her cancer with.

 

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

John 16:33

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you [f]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

 

Psalm 121

 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

 

Psalm 103:11-12

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

 

2 Samuel 7:28

“And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. 

 

Psalm 9:1-2

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

 

Psalm 4:3-4

But know that the Lord has [c]set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him. Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

Hebrews 12:1-3

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from the sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

2 Chronicles 16:9

"For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His."

 

Psalm 119:49-50

Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.

 

Psalm 126:2-3

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with the songs of joy.  Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them”.  The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

 

Rejoice, again I say Rejoice,

cej

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 - Repentant, Unrepentant

 

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

NKJV

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

 

NLT

 When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.

 

It should not surprise, or offend us, that people who don’t know Christ are involved in sexual sin.  It should not surprise, or offend us, that people who don’t know Christ are greedy. It should not surprise, or offend us, that there are coveters, idolaters, drunkards, or extortionists; or any number of other sins that people who don’t know Christ do. Instead, without approving of the sin of sinners…we should expect that they would be sinners.  After all, weren’t we all as sinners in this world once before…didn’t we already do all these things too? This is our nature, not our purpose.

 

We should, instead, separate ourselves from unrepentant brothers and sisters.  Those that have professed Christ and still want to be in the world impenitently. But we should only do this when we have made every effort biblically to guide them back into a relationship with Jesus.

 

This is a pretty hard teaching…this whole removing the unrepentant from our midst. To be honest, at times I feel like a hypocrite. I sin because I live in this bag of flesh that is well trained in the ways of this world. I believe the difference is repentance, doing a 180 and turning away from my sin. This isn’t always easy because repentance means you’re not going back there again. Don't separate yourself from the people of the world, separate yourself from the sin of the world.

 

Repentant,

cej