The Word


29
Aug 10

Marital Hope

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
(Ephesians 5:31-32 ESV)

I was struck today while reading “This Momentary Marriage” by John Piper by the role that marriage plays in our world.  Piper restates and elaborates on the point that Paul made in Ephesians 5:31-32.  Piper articulates the biblical truth that marriage was formed from the beginning [Gen 2:24].  God intended marriage to be a picture and a parable revealing the relationship Christ has to His church.  Something struck me, however, that I’ve never pondered before.  God said, “Therefore a man shall leave his mother and father and hold fast to his wife”.  And in saying that, he was picturing what Christ would do for His bride, the church.

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15
Jul 10

Emotion Meets Reason: a marriage

I’m an extremely emotional individual; I always have been.  Even as a young child, I felt everything with extreme depth and poignancy. Through a formula of heart-hardening ingredients, I was taught that my emotions were arrogant back seat drivers.  They called out from the back row of the minivan, but reason was at the wheel and only seldom did he make a wrong turn.

But then I met Jesus in another man’s life in college.  I’ve been un-learning and re-learning ever since.  One of the ways I’ve been flying upside down unawares, was in thinking that emotions played a tertiary role in life.

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7
Jul 10

A Word from Chambers

I found this thought from “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers to be deeply encouraging:

The parched ground shall become a pool . . .” — Isaiah 35:7

We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.

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12
Jun 10

Discerning God’s Will

I was hit square between the eyes by a sermon preached  about how to discern God’s will by John Piper today.  I absolutely love when that happens.  I love a man who cares enough to take a hatchet to my dense skull in effort to affect and infect me with truth.  Sounds weird but I love a strong reproof from someone I deeply trust.

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