Jesus on Divorce: Glued Together, No One can Separate It (Mark 10:1-9)

“Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ ‘What did Moses command you?’ he replied. They said, ‘Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.’ ‘It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,’ Jesus replied. ‘But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate’”
(Mark 10:1-9, NIV).

The subject of divorce was a hot issue in Jesus’ day as it is today. According to the Old Testament, a man could divorce his wife if she “displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her” (Deuteronomy 24:1). But by the time Jesus came there were two conflicting views about divorce among the Jews, all because of two ways to interpret the word “indecent” in Deuteronomy 24:1. Mostly the Pharisees said that indecency referred only to sexual unfaithfulness, meaning, a man could divorce his wife only if she became sexually involved with another man. A second view interpreted it as anything that displeased the husband. For example, a man could divorce his wife if she displeased her husband by burning his toast!

The Pharisees, wanted to find some reason to accuse Jesus and get rid of Him, asked Him what was His interpretation of divorce. They were probably hoping that Jesus held the more ‘open’ view of divorce; that way they could discredit Him among the religious community for His liberal interpretation of Scripture. But Jesus doesn’t sided with any one of the two views, Jesus said that in God’s view of marriage, divorce is not mention. When Jesus quoted Genesis 2:24, he implied that in God’s original blueprint for marriage in the Garden of Eden, husband and wife were to be glued (“become one flesh”) into one, inseparable unit. That’s it! Divorce wasn’t even in the vocabulary. “What God has joined together, let no one separate.”

So, why did God allow Moses to include a divorce certificate in the Old Testament law? Jesus answered: “It was because your hearts were hard.” When sin entered the human race as described in Genesis 3, men became basically selfish, unloving and reluctant to forgive in all of relationships – including marriage. The life of “one flesh” God intended husband and wife to enjoy often end up with two self-centred individuals. Instead of caring for each other selflessly, individuals care for themselves first. So for the man who was too hard-hearted to forgive his wife, for example, for being unfaithful, God allowed divorce. Because once sin entered the picture, nothing will be the same. But we must remember that God’s number one plan for marriage is that they commit themselves to each other with selfless love and forgiveness.

Now, I’m not married yet. Soon. But as I read this text in Mark 10 long time ago, I have to consider and equip myself for marriage. This is what I learned: The only kind of glue (to be “one flesh” means to literally glue two objects into one) that holds a marriage together is the glue of commitment. Commitment means that you give yourself to your partner in marriage as a permanent gift; and the two of you give yourselves to God as one. This kind of glue bonds people together so that they can endure all the pressing, pulling and stretching that life can inflict on them. Commitment to one another is above the romantic feelings; it is a committed-choice to stick with one another no matter what happen. If I may respectfully paraphrase Jesus’ words this way: “What God has glued together, man won’t want to separate by divorce.” Amen.

If you try to separate two objects that are glued together,

It’s hard to do, and it ‘hurt’ because each will never be the same again.
That’s the effect of divorce

(P.s: I know it’s hurt, my parents divorced few years ago)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus Freaks: 'Asif' of Pakistan, How Could I Not Have an Interest in this Prophet?

This is not 'Asif.' A Christian was beaten by police men.

Pakistan, 2001

“Asif” was carefree as he sped his motorcycle down the street of his Pakistani town. He enjoyed being noticed by the young women as he sped by. In the traditional Muslim culture of Pakistan, overt glances would have been very inappropriate, but still Asif could tell when he had been seen. He was young, and he felt powerful as he drove past, relishing the murmur of the motorcycle’s engine in his ears and the feel of the tires gripping the road. He smiled to himself and twisted the accelerator to give the bike a quick burst of speed.

            Suddenly where the beautiful sky had been he saw only dirt, and where his motorcycle had raced along beneath him, it now felt like it was flying over his head. For the next few seconds all was clouds of dust and spinning. The next thing he knew he was lying on his back with his motorcycle next to him on the ground, its engine coughing and then dying. He heard the echo of the squealing tires as the car that hit him sped away. He had never ever seen it.

            Then he noticed the splitting pain shooting up his leg. When he looked at it, he could tell from the way his foot lay off to the wrong side that it was broken. He tried to stay calm, but panic was gripping his heart and he wanted to scream.

            Before he lost his composure, though, he felt a reassuring hand upon him. A woman had come out of the crowd of passers-by and knelt beside him, laying her hand on his leg. He was calmed for the moment and surprised as she began to pray.

            Through the pain, Asif heard the name of Jesus in her prayer. Despite his immediate thankfulness that someone had stopped to help, a wave of anger came over him at the mention of that name. How can this woman pray to Jesus, a mere prophet? Doesn’t she know that I am a Muslim, a follower of Mohammed, the greatest prophet? Why isn’t she praying to Allah?

            Yet Asif was suddenly distracted from his anger by an energy he felt running through his body as she prayed. It was different from anything he had ever felt before. His anger began to fade as his leg straightened itself and the bone came back into place. Eventually he sat up and carefully examined his leg. It was completely whole.

            As he stood, he noticed that there was no more pain either. He picked up his bike and walked it home.

            Sometime later, the same woman brought him a Bible. He never saw her again after that.

            Hungry to know more about this prophet who had healed his leg, he began to read the Bible, especially the New Testament and the miracles of Jesus. Asif’s question weighted heavier: If Jesus was truly only one of many prophets, how could he perform such amazing works? As Asif lay on his bed, he wondered, Who is Jesus? I know many prophets have come to earth, but none has had the power of Jesus.

            Asif was so perplexed by how a minor prophet such as Jesus could heal him two thousand years after His death that he took his questions to the mulvi (religious leader) at his mosque.

            “Why are you talking about Jesus?” the mulvi sneered. “Do you have an interest in him?”

            “How could I not have an interest?” Asif responded incredulously. “He healed me.”

            The mulvi and others at the mosque took Asif and locked him in a room. They forced poison down his throat thinking that if he died before fully accepting Christ, he would still make it to Paradise. They left him there overnight for the poison to do its work. Asif felt sick and thought he was dying. He vomited repeatedly and threw up blood.

            However, around midnight Asif found himself still barely alive and lying in the dust, caked with his own blood and vomit. The room was dark and he didn’t have the strength to get up. He didn’t know what else to do, so he prayed. He called out to Jesus and told Him he wanted to see Him before he died.

            Before he knew what had happened, a bright light had filled the dusty room. Asif suddenly felt a little better and forced himself up to see what was causing the light. Before him stood Jesus. It was at that moment that Asif surrendered the rest of his life to the Lord, saying, “God, this life is for you; as long as I am on earth, I will work for you.”

            Sometime before dawn, Asif managed to escape and made his way home.

            When he tried to tell his parents of his experience the next morning, they were not impressed. “You are a Muslim,” his parents told him. “If you accept Jesus, you must leave this house.”

            So Asif had no choice. He took his Bible and left. He went to a larger city where he met a pastor at a Christian bookstore. The pastor disciple Asif and later baptized him. From the first moments of his newfound faith, Asif felt a strong desire to share who Jesus was and what He had done for him with those around him, regardless of their religious backgrounds. Because of this, his troubles with the police and city leaders began almost immediately.

            “A landlord [city leader] came to me and said, ‘Where are you going? And why are you preaching this “gospel”? These are Muslim people. Why are they accepting Jesus?’”

            Seeing that Asif was undeterred, this landlord and some other Muslims took him and beat him with heavy sugarcane stalks. They stomped on his leg and broke it again. As they pounded his body, they shouted, “You dog! You low-class scum! Why did you come here and make our people Christians?” They ordered Asif to leave the city immediately.

            Despite their further threats, he refused.

            As they were beating him, he prayed for them, “Please, God, change their minds and their hearts.” Then he cried out to God to help him and give him strength.

            Many weeks later, after Asif had recovered from his injuries, the landlords and the police closed down a meeting where Asif was sharing about Jesus again. Asif was taken to the police station, where he was severely beaten.

            When Asif was asked how he could endure this and not be discouraged, he quoted Philippians 1:29 (NAS), “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

            Asif continues to evangelize whenever and wherever he has the opportunity.

[Taken from Jesus Freaks: Revolutionaries (2002) by dc Talk. Title mine]

The cost of serving Jesus Christ is your life.

What are you doing with your life now? For Christ and His Kingdom? or for self?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

         

Jesus' Love Is Not Only For You (1 John 4:11-12)

“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us”

(1 John 4:11-12, NLT).

The love of God and our love for each other are tied together. Maybe a simple diagram would help make this clearer (see picture). God’s love is like the energy of electricity that flows through wires. God loves us, and we love God, and this energy of knowing (head) and feeling (heart) that we are loved gives us the power and desire (hand) to love others. This energy can’t be kept just to ourselves. “Since God loved us” by “sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him” (1 John 4:9) and “as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (4:10), our response should be – “love each other.”

It’s kind of like the water that is kept behind a large dam. If the water is kept just there, it may eventually overflow and do a lot of damage. But if the water is used correctly – to run generators and make electricity, then there is great power in that water. And there is also room for more water to flow into the lake behind the dam. In the same way, God’s love “overflows” in our lives, thus to keep a healthy relationship with God, we need to let God’s love “flow out” from us and “flow into” people’s lives. In this way, God’s love in our lives is renewed every time we share that love with others. Do this and you will be more joyful and blessed.

If we think that God is only for us, we can easily become selfish or conceited about it, believing that we’re so special that nobody else deserves this love. Our faith also will become static and never grow into maturity. But as we let the power of God’s love flow through us to others, we then feel even more of God’s love ourselves. And we also can see how God’s love affects the way we treat other people. As God’s love is shared with others, it seems to become more complete and perfect.

“No one has ever seen God” thus only by love that God is known [Because of our human limitations, God became “human and made his home among us” (John 1:14) so that we may know Him intimately in the person of Jesus. But the essence of God is unknowable. Soon “we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2)]. We cannot see God, just as we cannot see the wind. But we can see the effects of God in our lives and the lives of other people. Remember: We’re not just spectators, watching God at work in the ‘World Cup’ of life. God wants us right there on the field. We are part of a great team – the team that can’t be beaten, a team of believers that has existed since the time of Jesus.

With God’s help, we can become the people God wants us to be. And we can be a part of God’s great plan to show love and share the Good News about Jesus with people all over the world… start with our neighbors and those who are close to us today. Jesus’ love is not only for you – but for others too. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Men of God are Needed Today (2016 Resolution toward Biblical Manhood)

God Needs Men Today –

§  men who will stand before His face and hear His voice daily,

§  men who have no desire in their heart for anyone or anything other than God Himself,

§  men who fear Him so greatly that they hate sin in every form and love righteousness and truth in all their ways,

§  men who have overcome anger and sexually sinful thoughts, and who would rather die than sin even in thought or attitude,

§  men whose daily lifestyle is one of taking up the cross and pressing on to perfection, and who are constantly working out their own salvation with fear and trembling,

§  men, full of the Holy Spirit, who are so rooted and grounded in love that nothing can ever move them into an unloving attitude towards another human being however great the provocation,

§  men who are so rooted and grounded in humility that neither human praise nor spiritual growth, neither a divinely endorsed ministry nor anything else will be able to make them lose the awareness of their being less than the least of all the saints,

§  men who have an understanding of God’s nature and purpose through His word, and who tremble at that word so that they will not disobey even the smallest commandment or neglect to teach it to others,

§  men who will proclaim the whole counsel of God and expose religious harlotry and unscriptural human traditions,

§  men who have the revelation of the Holy Spirit on the secret of godliness, on Christ having come in the flesh and opened a new and living way through the flesh,

§  men who are diligent and hard-working, but who also have a sense of humour, and know how to relax and play with children and enjoy God’s good gifts in nature,

§  men who are not ascetics, but who at the same time live a disciplined life and who are not afraid of hardships,

§  men who have no interest in expensive clothing or sight-seeing and who will not waste their time in unprofitable activities or their money in unnecessary purchases,

§  men who have mastered their desire for fancy foods and who are not enslaved to music or sport or any other legitimate activity,

§  men who have been disciplined successfully by God in the fires of affliction, abuse, tribulations, false accusation, physical sickness, financial hardships and opposition from relatives and religious leaders,

§  men full of mercy, who can sympathise with the worst of sinners and the worst of believers, and have hope for them, because they consider themselves to be the chiefest among sinners,

§  men who are so deeply rooted in the security of the love of their Heavenly Father that they are never anxious about anything, or afraid of Satan or evil men or difficult situations or anything,

§  men who have entered into God’s rest, believing in the sovereign working of God in all matters for their best and who therefore give thanks always for all men, for all things and in all circumstances,

§  men who find their joy in God alone and who are therefore full of the joy of the Lord, having overcome all bad moods,

§  men of living faith, who have no confidence in themselves or their natural abilities, but complete confidence in God as their unfailing Helper in all situations,

§  men who live, not by the promptings of their own reason, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit,

§  men who have been genuinely baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire by Christ Himself (and not just thrilled by some emotional counterfeit or convinced by some theological argument),

§  men who live constantly under the anointing of the Spirit, endowed with the supernatural gifts that He has given them,

§  men who have revelation of the church as the body of Christ (and not a congregation or a denomination), and who give all their energies, their material wealth and spiritual gifts to build that church,

§  men who have learnt to bridle their tongues through the help of the Holy Spirit and whose tongues are now aflame with the divine Word,

§  men who have forsaken all, who are not attracted any more to money or material things, and who desire no gifts from others,

§  men who can trust God for all their earthly needs and who never hint about their material needs or boast about their labours, either in their conversation or through letters and reports,

§  men who are not stubborn, but gentle, and open to criticism and eager for correction from older and wiser brothers,

§  men who have no desire to dominate or advise others (although ready to give advice, when asked for), and who have no longing to be considered as ‘elder’ brothers, or leaders, but who only desire to be ordinary brothers and servants of all,

§  men who are easy to get along with, and who are willing to be inconvenienced and taken advantage of by others,

§  men who will make no distinction between the millionaire and the beggar, the white-skinned and the dark-skinned, the intellectual and the idiot, and the cultured and the barbarian, but who will treat them all alike,

§  men who will never be influenced by their wife, children, relatives, friends or other believers to cool off even slightly in their devotion to Christ or their obedience to God’s commandments,

§  men who can never be bribed to compromise by any reward that Satan may offer (whether honour or money or whatever),

§  men who are fearless witnesses for Christ, fearing neither religious heads nor secular heads,

§  men who desire to please no human being on the face of the earth, and who are willing to offend all men, if necessary, in order to please God alone,

§  men for whom God’s glory, God’s will and God’s kingdom always take priority over mere human need and their own comfort,

§  men who cannot be pressurised either by others or by their own reason into doing ‘dead works’ for God, but who are eager and content to do the revealed will of God for their lives alone,

§  men who have the discernment of the Spirit to distinguish between the soulish and the spiritual in Christian work,

§  men who look at things from a heavenly view point and not an earthly one,

§  men who will refuse all earthly honours and titles offered them for their labours for God,

§  men who know how to pray without ceasing, and also how to fast and pray when needed,

§  men who have learned to give generously, cheerfully, secretly and with wisdom,

§  men who are willing to be all things for all men, so that by all means they might save some,

§  men who have a longing to see others not only saved but also made disciples of Christ, and brought to the knowledge of the truth and to obedience to all of God’s commandments,

§  men who have a longing to see a pure testimony established for God in every place,

§  men who have a burning passion to see Christ glorified in the church,

§  men who do not seek their own in any matter,

§  men with spiritual authority and spiritual dignity,

§  men who will stand alone for God in the world, if need be, totally uncompromising men, like the apostles and prophets of old,

God’s work in the world suffers today, because such men are few in number. Determine with all your heart that you will be such a man for God, in the midst of a sinful and adulterous generation and a compromising Christendom. Since there is no partiality with God, it is possible for you too to be such a man, provided you yourself earnestly desire to be one. Since God demands commitment and obedience only in the conscious area of one’s life, it is possible for you to be such a man, even though the conscious area of your life may be limited. (That area will keep increasing as you walk in the light and press on to perfection). There is no excuse then why you cannot be such a man. Since nothing good dwells in the flesh, we have to seek for grace from God to have the virtues listed above. Cry out to God daily then, that He will give you grace to be such a man in these the closing days of the age.

[Taken from New Wine in New Wineskins by Zac Poonen (1992)]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Resolusi (Tahun Baru) Membaca Keseluruhan Alkitab

Dibawah adalah petikkan dari artikel sebelum ini, Pengetahuan Asas tentang Alkitab (Klik disini untuk membaca keseluruhan artikel).

Siapa yang Menulis Alkitab?

Dari sudut pandangan/sejarah manusia, Alkitab ditulis oleh lebih kurang 36 penulis dalam jarak masa 1,600 tahun (Mereka terdiri daripada pelbagai lapisan masyarakat dan status; gembala, raja, nabi, imam, doktor, pelayan misi, nelayan, pemungut cukai, pegawai tentera dan sebagainya). Tetapi adalah sangat penting untuk kita fahami bahawa penulis-penulis ini menulis dengan bimbingan Roh Allah. TUHAN memberi mereka ilham untuk menulis setiap perkataan yang ada di dalam Alkitab. Inilah yang kita katakan bahawa Alkitab ialah sebuah buku hasil inspirasi Allah sendiri. Firman-Nya mengatakan bahawa:

“...tidak ada nubuat yang disampaikan oleh para nabi, berasal daripada kehendak manusia. Tetapi Roh Allah menguasai orang semasa mereka menyampaikan perkhabaran yang datang daripada Allah” (2 Petrus 1:21, BM).

“Semua yang tertulis di dalam Alkitab diilhami oleh Allah dan berguna untuk mengajar apa yang benar, untuk menegur dan membetulkan apa yang salah, dan untuk mengajar orang supaya hidup menurut kehendak Allah. Dengan Alkitab, orang mengabdikan diri kepada Allah dapat dilengkapi dengan sempurna untuk melakukan segala macam pekerjaan yang baik” (2 Timotius 3:16-17, BM).

Oleh itu, Alkitab ialah Firman Allah. Tidak cukup untuk kita mengatakan bahawa Alkitab mengandungi Firman Allah (kerana ayat ‘mengandungi’ juga boleh bermaksud ada yang diinspirasi dan ada yang tidak); tetapi, setiap perkataan yang tertulis di dalam Alkitab ialah hasil inspirasi atau ilham Allah sendiri. “Semua yang tertulis di dalam Alkitab diilhami oleh Allah.”

Satu lagi perkara yang kita patut ingat ialah Alkitab merupakan satu-satunya sumber wahyu utama yang diilhami dan ditulis kepada manusia. Jika kita membaca Firman Allah pada muka surat yang terakhir di Kitab Wahyu, TUHAN memberi peringatan yang keras bahawa tiada sesiapa pun yang boleh menambahkan atau mengurangkan apa yang tertulis di dalam Alkitab (22:18-19).

Apakah Perkara Utama di dalam Alkitab?

Walaupun Alkitab mengandungi 66 buah buku, ditulis (lebih kurang) oleh 36 penulis dari pelbagai lapisan masyarakat dan status, dan disampaikan pada masa yang berbeza sepanjang 1,600 tahun – ia mengandungi satu perkara atau watak utama iaitu Yesus Kristus. Dia ialah tema utama di dalam Alkitab. Buku-buku Perjanjian Lama mengandungi banyak ramalan dan nubuat tentang kedatangan Tuhan Yesus sebagai Penyelamat yang akan menyelamatkan kita daripada dosa; manakala, buku-buku Perjanjian Baru pula mengatakan tentang kedatangan Raja Yesus kali kedua pada akhir zaman sebagai Hakim yang akan menghakimi setiap manusia.

Disini saya ada menyediakan “Edisi Bacaan Alkitab Setahun” iaitu jadual membaca Alkitab secara kronologi. Jika kamu mengikuti jadual membaca ini, dalam masa satu (1) tahun, kamu sudah habis membaca keseluruhan Alkitab. Ada 3 cara untuk kamu memiliki jadual bacaan ini secara percuma:

1)     Jika kamu mengenal saya secara peribadi, sila SMS atau WhatsApp atau hubungi saya terus dan saya akan memberikan kamu hard copy;

2)     Jika kamu ingin berhubung melalui Facebook account, kamu boleh meminta PDF file melalui FB Inbox ke “Richard Angelus” atau sila beri e-mail kamu supaya saya boleh mengirim soft copy kepada kamu;

3)     Jika kamu tidak keberatan, di bawah artikel ini juga disediakan jadual membaca dalam format JPG.