Australian doctors on Tuesday successfully separated joined-at-the-head Bangladeshi twin girls after more than 24 hours of surgery, describing the moment as “surreal”.

Trishna (L) and Krishna (R), the Bangladeshi set of twins who were joined at the head. Australian doctors successfully separated the girls after more than 24 hours of surgery on Tuesday, describing the moment as surreal. (AFP Photo)

Two-year-old Trishna and Krishna were said to be “very well” after surgeons who worked through the night finally prised apart their brain tissue at about 11:00 am (0000 GMT).

“The moment of separation was a rather surreal moment,” Leo Donnan, chief of surgery at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, told reporters.

“There was relief but I think everyone realised there was still a long way to go and that the girls have a very difficult time ahead of them.

“Now we have the long task of the reconstruction surgery which will go on for many hours. We can’t predict how long it will take.”

Plastic surgeons will now close their skulls with bone and skin tissue to prevent infection, with Trishna and Krishna expected to stay in an induced coma for several days.

The girls were close to death when they were rescued from a Dhaka orphanage two years ago, and doctors gave the highly complex operation just a one in four chance of complete success.

Donnan said the 16-strong team, which took regular food and rest breaks and listened to pop music in the operating theatre to stay alert, was elated to see them apart.

“These are once-in-a-lifetime operations that teams would do. For the hospital it’s a historic moment, for the girls it’s an even more historic moment,” he said.

“Everyone has known these girls as one with their individual personalities, so to see them as separate human beings is a pretty amazing moment,” Donnan added.

The operation had stretched past its scheduled 16 hours as surgeons battled to avoid nerve damage in the pinpoint process of separating the brains, giving members of the Children First Foundation a sleepless night.

The charity flew the girls to Australia because of poor survival rates in their native Bangladesh, where only two children have survived four separation operations in recent years.

“I think surreal is a very good expression. We’re overjoyed that we’ve got to this stage,” said the Foundation’s chief Margaret Smith, adding that it was too early for celebrations.

“I think everybody’s been on tenterhooks. No cake yet, I think when we get them to intensive care we’ll be very relieved, then it will just be day by day, hour by hour.”

Separating conjoined twins is a notoriously difficult procedure, with attempts in Britain and Bangladesh both failing over the past year, although Saudi doctors successfully divided a pair of Egyptian brothers in February.

In one of the best known cases, Singapore doctors in 2003 made a vain attempt to separate adult twins — Iranian law graduates Laleh and Ladan Bijani, 29 — who died from severe blood loss after 52 hours of surgery.

Bookmark & Share

A 2-year-old Bangladesh orphan is seen at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. A team of Australian surgeons separated this conjoined twin joined at the top of her head

Twin Bangladeshi girls who were joined at the top of their heads and shared blood vessels and brain tissue were successfully separated Tuesday after 25 hours of delicate surgery, hospital officials said.

It is too early to know whether the two-year-old girls, Trishna and Krishna, suffered any brain damage during the marathon operation — an outcome doctors said had a 50-50 chance. The girls will remain in an induced coma for monitoring for several days after the completion of the surgery.

A team of 16 surgeons and nurses began the work Monday morning on separating the girls, who were brought to Australia as infants by an aid organization.

“The teams managed to separate their brains and they are both very well,” Royal Children’s Hospital chief Leo Donnan told reporters. “Now we have the long task of the reconstructive surgery, which will go on for many hours.”

Plastic surgeons will reconstruct the girls’ skulls using a combination of their own skin, bone grafts and artificial materials.

“Their bodies have to recover from this, and we’ve got a lot of unknown territory we’re moving into,” Donnan said. “All I can say is that everything is in place for the best possible outcome. The main thing is that the girls are healthy.”

Earlier Tuesday, Ian McKenzie, a member of the surgical team, said the girls were improving as their bodies began to work individually.

“The twins are actually in better condition because the degree of separation has increased and this problem we’ve had with their circulation affecting each other has actually gotten less,” he said.

The girls shared parts of their skull, brain tissue and blood flow.

Before the surgery, doctors had said there were a 50 percent chance the girls could suffer brain damage and a 25 percent chance one of the sisters would die.

They were found in an orphanage in Bangladesh in 2007 by a representative from the Children First Foundation, who brought to them to Australia.

Still the only thing fresh in this town is the manure.   The stagnation of inherited inbred ideology lingers with this aire.  To some, this night of memorabilia is their only experience of a dream.  Long lost hopes, from the gates of a requiem walking hand in hand with a Coors light and some road kill at their side.  For others, it was like the day after their cousin married outside of their race… being careful with their words, afraid to ask real questions…  None the less, no real care to take a step out.

After the bar was spit up on by the drooling outsiders, the classmate’s reunited and separated once again into their old cliques. 

Lacking any real truth, with manipulating, superficial honesty, they go back and forth with attacks on each other and those they feel threatened by.   Curtness and lack of propriety in their values and morals with each breath out, they seem to be warm and cozy in their disgusting dialog.  The pot calling the kettle black.  Gossiping about gossipers.  Tragedy of life being so pitiful is the only reality here that is spoken, though the directors of this play haven’t the faintest idea of how the script is as old as their addicted, handed down, rewinded and rewinded ”original ideas” that they all share and pretend are so original.  Each actor plays the part of enabling this to continue, playing ignorant and growing older. 

 I sit to wait for the tow truck.  Keys in the trunk, sister in His bed.  The one exception I saw all night and I offered her to him, best indeed.  To keep myself from a weakness that could bring this place… this heap of a town closer to me.  I doubt there would be any power from him, but I stay careful of tragedy and a trip into hell.

By Jeremy Glaze

He knew what was coming.  Right before Jesus was captured, He went alone to pray.  In His prayer, He said “ My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39).  It was as if it was a final plea to avoid the torturous death He was about to face.  But Jesus quickly followed this statement with “Not My will, but Your will”, and then “If this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it, Your will be done“.

I can not imagine all the emotions Jesus experienced during this time.  The fear, nerves, anxiety.  After all, He was about to go through hell, literally.  He knew that He was about to experience a pain and suffering that is indescribable to the rest of the world.

On top of the physical pain He was about to receive from the whips, thorns, and nails, He was about to take every sin of the world as His own.  He was about to feel the agony of guilt, shame, and judgement for every sin that we have ever committed.  I believe this pain was even greater that the slow physical pain He received.  So it is more than understandable that He asked if this cup could be taken from Him.

I believe there was also another reason Jesus was feeling these emotions.  There was even more that He was agonizing about.  For all of eternity, Jesus has been one with the Father.  Before the world began, Jesus was with God.  And for the first time, He was about to be separated from His Father for a period of time.  He knew that God would have to forsake Him for the sacrifice to take place.  I believe this scared Jesus.  I believe there was an agony knowing He would be away from God.  If anyone knows the greatness of being in the presence of God, it is Jesus (who himself was truly God and truly man).

But Jesus went through with it.  He did it!  He was separated from God so we would never have to be separated from God.  He was forsaken so we would never be left or forsaken.  All for us.  He drank the cup for you and me.

That is love.  That is awesome.

Jeremy Glaze

New Name Blog

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? 1 Corinthians 15:55

As I waited outside the Intensive Care Unit for changes int he condition of a loved one, I was reminded that death affects all of us; old and young, male and female, rich and poor.

In 1 Thessalonians 4, the apostle Paul comforted those who mourned the death of their loved ones. He told them that excessive grief resulted from being uniformed. Weeping for our loss is good, but we need not weep like those who have no hope. Instead, we must rely on three certainties of death.

The first certainty is that the soul does not die. The souls of departed believers are with the Lord (verse 14). They have retired from this problematic world, and they “sleep in Jesus.”

Second, Jesus will come for every believer. Whether a Christian is alive on earth or asleep in death, Jesus will return for all His children (verses 16-17).

Third, there will a joyous reunion. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (verse 17).

Knowing these certainties brings comfort to believers when their friend and loved ones depart. Although we are separated from them for a while, we will meet again the presence of our Lord. —albert lee

When facing death’s shadow, remember the Light; the shadows bring fear, and the dark shrouds our eyes; but if we will turn to face Jesus the Light, the shadows will fade as He brightens our skies. —lee

Sunset in one land is sunrise in another.

I did it again, I recognize that its a pattern but I just cant seem to find a way or the willpower to stick to my guns. My biggest weakness is that I’m just not that strong, I remember saying that to you and (at the time) it wasn’t a joke.

I get myself into these situations where I am first dating someone, doing everything right. I take my time, try to get to know them before I get too invested emotionally. But as the red flags start to fly, I find myself crossing out rules, tearing entire pages from the rulebook and finally just throwing the whole book away.

This doesn’t come from desperation or loneliness, it just comes from an overwhelming feeling that there has to be someone out there who is right for me. I caution women about NOT passing up Mr. Right in their quest to find Mr. Perfect so I try to take my own advice and give people a chance.

I had a rule about not dating women who are recently separated and there is a good reason for that. I just don’t think that they are on the same page. I think that they are looking for someone to replace what they recently had. They are in the comparing phase where everything seems to be, “My ex used to do this…” and pointing out how I am similar or different.

Until you have been on your own long enough, you can’t know what it is that you truly want because you don’t know who you truly are. I honestly believe that. I think that when you get into a relationship you make compromises, you have someone making up for your weaknesses and filling your needs and insecurities. So, it’s almost impossible to know who you would be without that person. What your weaknesses and insecurities and needs are. It takes time on your own to figure this out before you try to mold yourself around someone else who is molding themselves around you.

The problem that I have with this theory is that I may have gone to the point of no return. I may have been single too long to mold myself around someone else. I may have found other ways to fix or pacify my weaknesses and insecurities. This makes me think that people who are recently separated should only date people who are in the same boat and the same goes for people who have been single for years.

¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

(1 John 5:13 NASB )

Salvation: What is it?

DEFINITION AND NECESSITY OF SALVATION

sal•va•tion   (sal vâ/shen), n. [ME. salvacioun; OFr. sauvation; L. salvatio < salvatus, pp. of salvare, to save], 1. a saving or being saved; preservation from destruction; rescue. 2. a person or thing which is a means, cause, or source of preservation or rescue. 3. in theology, spiritual rescue from sin and death; saving of the soul through the atonement of Jesus; redemption.

In Christian doctrine, salvation is a rescue or deliverance of humanity from a specific condition and from a specific destination. Salvation presumes that there is a danger, jeopardy, peril or life threatening hazard from which rescue must be accomplished on an imminent basis.

The CONDITION from which humanity must be rescued:

1. Separation from the God of humanity.
2. Such separation from God occasioned by the sinful actions of all humanity (by disobeying and ignoring the commands of God).

The DESTINATION from which humanity must be rescued:

1. The sinful human actions necessitate that God pronounce a judgment on all humanity as a punishment for those actions taken.
2. Such punishment being separation from God and assignment in company with Satan and all his followers in the region of Hell.
3. Such assignment to be eternal in nature never to be reconsidered, changed or revoked.

REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION OF SIN

All sin is an affront to God — regardless of how it was committed or against whom — and is at its root total rebellion against God and is ultimately a sin committed against God. As a consequence, repentance and confession of offenses committed are required by God and are necessary so that the full significance and gravity regarding the serious nature of the offense(s) can be understood. Repentance is not simply saying, “I’m sorry,” because words come very cheap.

Repentance means to turn around; it implies a reversal of course or of action. True repentance demands actions indicating that the person has turned in the opposite direction from the sins committed.

³⁰ “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord GOD. “Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you.

³¹ “Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel?

³² “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live.”

(Ezekiel 18:30-32 NASB)

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸ “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

⁹ and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

(Matthew 3:7-9 NASB)

Repentance also carries with it a condition of true remorse and regret, not just because of the consequences of the sin, but because it was committed against God. This expression of remorse reaches to the core of a person’s being.

¹⁰ For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

¹¹ For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

(2 Corinthians 7:10-11 NASB)

Repentance involves an act of obedience and an agreement with God regarding the necessity of Repentance. It involves a response from the innermost being of a person, a sorrow that involves regret for the commission of the sin itself — not just the negative results of that sin. It involves an action that signifies the validity and truthfulness of God’s Word. Therefore, Repentance is a total rejection of the sin committed.

¹³ He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.  

(Proverbs 28:13 NASB)

³ When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD;” And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.

(Psalm 32:3-5 NASB)

On what basis are Confession and Repentance made? How do these elements bring a person closer to appropriation of the benefits inherent in the Atonement?

The benefits are appropriated through the gift of Faith that is given from God. It is repentance that brings the person to a position of submission to God and a realization that separation from God is a reality and that reconciliation is not possible through human effort.

It is through repentance that a person understands that only by pleading to the grace of God can a standing before God be obtained.

Repentance is the preparation that leads to faith and the resultant application of the benefits provided through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Faith involves a knowledge of the claims of Jesus Christ Who is the object; an agreement as to the validity of those claims; and an appropriation of those claims into the life of the person.

• Regardless of nationality, position or condition, sinners are called to repentance (Acts 5:31; 20:21; 26:20; Matthew 9:13; Luke 15:17,19; 24:47; II Peter 3:9).
• Saving repentance is the sinner’s forsaking of his own ways and his full surrender to Christ’s lordship over his life.
• Saving repentance forsakes pride and acknowledges a need for Christ’s lordship in his life.
• Repentance is not something the sinner must do to win God’s compassion. It is no prolonged agony of soul, but a repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth (II Timothy 2:24- 25).
• Repentance ushers in pardon for the sinner; it makes way for God’s pardoning grace (Acts 5:31).
• When David was humbled and broken because of his sin, Nathan said, “The Lord hath put away thy sin” (II Samuel 12:13). Pardon is the richest of blessings for the repentant, believing sinner.

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN SALVATION

God is absolutely sovereign in salvation. We do not deserve salvation and can do nothing to earn our salvation. It is by His grace. Grace is unmerited favor. Our salvation is established by God’s election of sinners to salvation through Christ. Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is the sole and sufficient Savior and that salvation comes only on the basis of His blood Atonement. The Bible teaches a dual eternal destiny – the redeemed to Heaven, the unredeemed to Hell.

To summarize: Salvation is not a result of the will of man. It is not a result of the merit of man. It is not a result of some religious sacrifice on man’s part. It is not a result of the love of man. It is not a result of the good intentions of man. It is not a result of the purpose of man. And it is not to the praise and glory of man. Every aspect of salvation is born out of the purpose and the will and the plan of God that when it is accomplished it may be solely and only to the praise and the glory of God. God has saved us in order that He might be glorified — therefore all in our salvation belongs to His credit.

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

⁹not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

(Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB)

><>     ><><><     <><

Before you can speak peace to your troubled heart and hurting Marriage, you must not only be convinced of your actual and original sin, the sins of your own unrighteousness, the sin of unbelief, but you must be enabled to lay hold upon the Perfect Righteousness, the all-sufficient Righteousness, of the Lord Jesus Christ; you must lay hold by faith on the Righteousness of Jesus Christ, and then you shall have peace.

><>     ><><><     <><

A faith which refuses to obey the commands of the Savior is a mere pretence and will never save the soul.

–Charles Spurgeon

If the one who professes Christ as Savior and Lord in his life has no desire for holiness and the things of God, it is doubtful that he is saved.

–Celia 

Some things need only to be believed before they can be seen. 

–Celia

><>     ><><><     <><

Amen

 (Some material from this particular post is taken directly from http://www.ondoctrine.com/)

© 2009 Celia Ann. All rights reserved by Celia Ann and The Ephesian Marriage unless otherwise stated. All other symbols are the trademark of their respective owners.

¹² Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know and realize what these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king [Jehoiachin] and its princes and brought them with him to Babylon.

¹³ And he took one of the royal family [the king's uncle, Zedekiah] and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took the mighty and chief men of the land,

¹⁴ That the kingdom might become low and base and be unable to lift itself up, but that by keeping his [Nebuchadnezzar's] covenant it might stand.

¹⁵ But he [Zedekiah] rebelled against him [Nebuchadnezzar] in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Will he prosper? Will he escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant with [Babylon] and yet escape?

¹⁶ As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king [Nebuchadnezzar] dwells who made [Zedekiah as vassal] king, whose oath [Zedekiah] despised and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon shall [Zedekiah] die.

¹⁷ Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war when the [Babylonians] cast up mounds and build forts to destroy many lives.

¹⁸ For [Zedekiah] despised the oath and broke the covenant and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things; he shall not escape.

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely My oath [made for Me by Nebuchadnezzar] that [Zedekiah] has despised and My covenant with him that he has broken, I will even bring down on his own head.

²⁰ And I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare; and I will bring him to Babylon and will enter into judgment and punishment with him there for his trespass and treason that he has committed against Me.

(Ezekiel 17:12-20 AMP; all italics are mine)

Background

Before I get into the above Scriptures for this writing I want to backtrack to II Kings 24 for a little history. This is not an exhaustive teaching but rather a parallel – one that will allow you see a glimpse of a Covenant relationship.

Jehoiachin became King of Jerusalem when his father died and he did evil in the sight of God. As a result, God’s punishment came upon the land and the pagan king of Babylon — King Nebuchadnezzar – besieged Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar took all the chiefest of people captivity and left only the poorest of the land. In so doing, he made Jehoiachin’s uncle (Mattaniah) King in his stead and changed his name to Zedekiah. In making Zedekiah vassal king over all Judah, a Covenant was established between a King of the House of Judah and a pagan king of Babylon. Zedekiah reigned eleven years before his rebellion against the king of Babylon.

Fast Forward

Read the Scriptures above from Ezekiel again. It’s clear that the King and his family from the House of Judah were taken captive by a pagan king. The pagan king takes all the royals and leaves all the peasants and poor and gives them a vassal king to rule over them in exchange for peace and prosperity. Why did Nebuchadnezzar leave the poorest behind? So they couldn’t rise up against him. Judah had no power and no mighty men of valor. They were hostages held to keep the covenant. However, Zedekiah later sends for help from the Egyptian Pharaoh asking for “horses and much people” that he may rebel against Nebuchadnezzar. Clearly, Zedekiah had in mind to get out of the Covenant relationship with the pagan king. Through his treachery he exposed his own people to death.

At first glance, one wonders what would could possibly be wrong with a King from the captive House of Judah rebelling against a pagan king who had besieged them. Verse 12 clearly calls Jerusalem (Judah) a rebellious house! But why? Because Zedekiah “despised the oath and broke the Covenant” that he had given his hand to. He gave his hand to ratify the Covenant between them and swear his obedience and subjection. Because of his treachery, God says he shall not escape.

There’s more…

King Zedekiah, though wicked, represented the House of Judah. Judah, though rebellious, still belonged to God. Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king, knew not God in his heart. The captivity of Jerusalem was punishment sent from God for their wicked idolatry – but even in their wicked state, God was merciful by allowing them peace under their captor. But this only so long as the Covenant remained in effect between the two kings.

Again the question begs to be answered. What could possibly be so wrong with the captive king wanting to be freed from the Vow he had made with his captor? The real answer is because the Vow – though seemingly made between two people – was made between God and the pagan king. God considered it HIS covenant Vow because the oath was made by one who represented HIM. Zedekiah perjured Himself and he perjured the God of his people. By virtue of that fact alone, God was forced to avenge HIS Holy and Righteous Name though it be upon His own people.

Don’t you find it interesting that the pagan king kept his side of the Covenant and God’s people despised it?

God does not break His covenants…

A Despised Vow

So what’s the relation between two kings — the King of the House of Judah and a pagan king — and a Covenant Marriage ending in divorce?

A Covenant Vow despised…

In the Old Testament, a Covenant Vow was made in full effect by the severing in half of a heifer, goat or a ram. The two halves were laid side by side and those who were making the Vow walked between the two pieces formally sanctioning the oath in full.

⁹ So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

¹⁸ On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land. . . . .

(Genesis 15:9-10; 17-18 NIV)

Zedekiah and Nebuchadnezzar made a Covenant Vow between a man and a man. In this Covenant, a solemn oath or Vow was made involving not just the two men but also two nations under the men (kings). Each party bound himself to fulfill certain conditions and in so doing, Zedekiah’s people were assured of receiving certain advantages – i.e., being allowed to remain as a nation and continue to profit under the dominion of Nebuchadnezzar.

In making this Covenant, God was solemnly invoked as a witness and an oath was sworn. Selah… (pause and think about that…)

Again, because God’s people were involved and Zedekiah (though doing wicked before God) represented God in taking this Vow. It was ratified by the giving of his hand in making it. It is sacred, binding and lifelong unto death. Simply stated, it is binding on not only those who take this oath and make this Vow, but it is also binding on the One Who was represented – God.

For Zedekiah’s rebellion against this Vow by seeking the army’s of Egypt, God said he would certainly die by the sword in Babylon.

To Vow a Vow

²¹ When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not be slack in paying it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and slackness would be sin in you.

²² But if you refrain from vowing, it will not be sin in you.

²³ The vow which has passed your lips you shall be watchful to perform, a voluntary offering which you have made to the Lord your God, which you have promised with your mouth.

(Deuteronomy 23:21-23 AMP)

A Marriage “compact” is called a Covenant of God because the Marriage was made in God’s Holy Name. It has the same principles and characteristics as the Covenant between a man and a man – as in the two kings. Heavy thought when you think that there IS a consequence to our rebellion. We may not be sent to die in the midst of a pagan nation, but we who ignore the Vows we make and seek to break them do pay a price… God is a Righteous God. He is Faithful and True to His Word. He will not allow disobedience to it to go unpunished.

How many Marriages start off as a Covenant Vow between a pagan and a Christian? Does God consider that Marriage null, dead, void and of no substance because of the presence of a pagan within the confines of the Vow? Quite the contrary. We’ve quickly established that a Covenant Vow existed between a pagan king and a king, who while he did evil in the sight of God, represented God. So then a Covenant Vow between two people, a pagan and a Christian, who speak a Vow with their own lips invoking the Name of God are making that Covenant Vow with God. It is now His Covenant – no matter who the parties are. God is the unseen Witness.

¹⁴ Yet you ask, Why does He reject it? Because the Lord was witness [to the covenant made at your marriage] between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously and to whom you were faithless. Yet she is your companion and the wife of your covenant [made by your marriage vows].

(Malachi 2:14 AMP)

The Vows we spoke to one another on the day we Married, we spoke voluntarily. The Vow which has passed our lips was a voluntary offering which we have made to the Lord our God which we have promised with our own mouth. (see vs 23 above) We have given our words and our hand as Zedekiah did to fully approve the spoken Vow. Are we any less guilty than Zedekiah? Shall we escape our treason? Being the created, who are we to be slack in paying our Vow that we vowed to one another; or forget that what we really did was make a Vow to God and with God — and then turn and renege? We may think we are merely divorcing ourselves from an insufferable Spouse (Covenant Mate) for a reason that we and the world would call “justifiable,” but we are not only reneging on our Vows to each other — what we’re really doing is reneging on our Vow to God! Surely He will require it of us… Selah…

The Faithfulness of A Vow of God

⁹ If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].

(1 John 1:9 AMP)

If we can look past our circumstances at current – and realize that our enemy is not our Covenant Spouse but the powers and principalities of darkness that have taken our Spouse (or even us) captive to do the will of darkness – and continue to realize even further that it is GOD Who gives us the strength and ability to do HIS Will and walk in the Light of HIS Love, Mercy and Grace, that same Love, Mercy and Grace He bestowed on us through a Covenant He made in His own Blood, would we be so quick to walk?

I thank my God that when I walked out the door on my Covenant Vow that my God didn’t walk out on me… I thank my God that He is a God of faithfulness even when I am not. I thank my God that He loves me enough to leave the other 99 sheep in the pasture and come looking for this one wayward sheep of His to bring her back home to Him. He IS faithful and just – true to His own promises – to forgive me, bringing me to a godly sorrow that leads to repentance. True repentance always turns you around and brings you back home.

God’s faithfulness to His Covenant and His desire to save were so great that He would revive His people once more, shepherd them with a compassion beyond any comprehension, cleanse them of all their defilement and filth, reconstitute and reconcile them as a perfect expression of His kingdom, overwhelming all the forces and powers arrayed against them, displaying His glory among the nations and restore the glory of His presence to the holy city.

We are the temple of the living God! Would He do no less for us?

For the one who stands in the gap for the restoration of their Marriage – whether separated, on the verge of divorce or already divorced – we will come to know that this isn’t about us and what we want. It’s about a right relationship with the living God. It’s about a Covenant Vow that each of us made when we made Him Lord of our own life.

If we think we can walk out on that Covenant relationship to walk after our own devices, surely He will require it of us….

Surely He has.

Selah…

Amen

© 2009 Celia Ann. All rights reserved by Celia Ann and The Ephesian Marriage unless otherwise stated. All other symbols are the trademark of their respective owners.

Live option – open for debate and vote

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_Map

Divide and Conquer is the oldest strategy we know of. In an effort to show people how we are not separated by vast oceans from East to West but rather by a narrow straight North to South we begin to use Fuller’s map instead of the distorted Cartesian map where Greenland and Australia are the same size.

I don’t know but 0ct.13,09, the night I had slept as early as 7:30 pm!!! Yesterday was a nice day,  I worked though I feel dizzy. But first,I started my day with my daily thought and prayer, stretched and somehow exercised. I remember Jon yesterday, I don’t know but it feels like I am missing someone who don’t exist. I can’t imagine his face now whenever I close my eyes, I can’t understand why I don’t want to look at his pictures here at my table and in our albums. Was it I don’t love him or I just don’t know how to feel?

I love him so much, I know he knows that and I know he do too…that’s when we were together, but how about now,does he still feel the same? I am confused,worried, and hurting to imagine we’re not together. I heard Gel played the song ” separated “. It touches my heart. We’ll she had broke up again with Marco,her bf. I don’t know the reason but let it be. I can’t find way to post it here,the video or even it’s audio so try to research on it,Separated by Usher.

I have now a friend who treats me  unfairly. I treat him as a friend but he does not, I told him everything the situation and glad he understands. Here’s his text message. I asked him,”Why you’re so nice to me, why do you care that much,is there anything I should know?” Here’s his response:

Filipino:

“Ikaw naman,ang hirap ng tanong mo. Love kita bilang bestfriend ngaun,May gusto ako sayo pero hindi na pwede. May asawa at anak na ako, may bf  ka. Nakakahiya sa Mama mo, dahil nagtiwala sila sa akin.”

“Your question is difficult to answer. I love you as bestfriend now. I like you but it’s not proper,it’s wrong. I have wife and a baby,while you have boyfriend. It’s ashamed thing to your Mom because they trusted me.”

Now I understand why he cares too much. But then nothing changed, he’s a good friend still. And knowing that he knows the limitations,we can still be good friends. I think nothing’s wrong with that. We can talk about this baby when you read this.  I’m stick to you, you have nothing to worry. I love you and I won’t fail you and I hope that you have your words,please don’t hurt me, don’t make me cry huh. I don’t like you to be on my failed words list,you know that.

I miss you, I tried waking up atleast to post here last night but I can’t so I updated it today. Sorry, Mwah!God bless us ….

The Hedge of Thorns

⁶Therefore, behold, I [the Lord God] will hedge up her way [even yours, O Israel] with thorns; and I will build a wall against her that she shall not find her paths.

⁷And she shall follow after her lovers but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them [inquiring for and requiring them], but shall not find them. Then shall she say, Let me go and return to my husband, for then was it better with me than now.

⁸For she has not noticed, understood, or realized that it was I [the Lord God] Who gave her the grain and the new wine and the fresh oil, and Who lavished upon her silver and gold which they used for Baal and made into his image.

⁹Therefore will I return and take back My grain in the time for it and My new wine in the season for it, and will pluck away and recover My wool and My flax which were to cover her nakedness.

¹⁰And now will I uncover her lewdness and her shame in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of My hand.

¹¹I will also cause to cease all her mirth, her feastmaking, her New Moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts and appointed festive assemblies.

¹²And I will lay waste and destroy her vines and her fig trees of which she has said, These are my reward or loose woman’s hire that my lovers have given me; and I will make [her plantations] an inaccessible forest, and the wild beasts of the open country shall eat them.

¹³And I will visit [punishment] upon her for the feast days of the Baals, when she burned incense to them and decked herself with her earrings and nose rings and her jewelry and went after her lovers and forgot Me, says the Lord.

¹⁴Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly and to her heart.

¹⁵There I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor* to be for her a door of hope and expectation. And she shall sing there and respond as in the days of her youth and as at the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁶And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that you will call Me Ishi [my Husband], and you shall no more call Me Baali [my Baal].

¹⁷For I will take away the names of Baalim [the Baals] out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned or seriously remembered by their name.

¹⁸And in that day will I make a covenant for {her} with the living creatures of the open country and with the birds of the heavens and with the creeping things of the ground. And I will break the bow and the sword and [abolish battle equipment and] conflict out of the land and will make you lie down safely.

¹⁹And I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy.

²⁰I will even betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and you shall know (recognize, be acquainted with, appreciate, give heed to, and cherish) the Lord.

²¹And in that day I will respond, says the Lord; I will respond to the heavens [which ask for rain to pour on the earth], and they shall respond to the earth [which begs for the rain it needs],

²²And the earth shall respond to the grain and the wine and the oil [which beseech it to bring them forth], and these shall respond to Jezreel [restored Israel, who prays for a supply of them].

²³And I will sow her for Myself anew in the land, and I will have love, pity, and mercy for her who had not obtained love, pity, and mercy; and I will say to those who were not My people, You are My people, and they shall say, You are my God!

(Hosea 2:6-23 AMP)

*vs. 15: Valley of Achor – Achor translates to “trouble.” God promised He would turn the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.

Spiritual Warfare – GOD’s Way

Sometimes things can get a little rough in a Marriage when one or both partners aren’t following the rules of The Ephesian Marriage as outlined in Ephesians 5:21-33. More often than not – and whether or not you will admit it – BOTH partners are responsible for the breakdown of their Marriage. It is very rarely attributable to just one partner alone. If your Marriage is in trouble, somebody needs to take a stand for what’s right – no matter who is right or wrong. The survival of your Marriage depends on it. It is not the time to ask yourself “Why should I be the one to do it? I didn’t do anything!” “It’s not me that needs to change!!” Sound familiar? First of all, our pride is what keeps us from doing the right thing – so we are actually doing something that is detrimental to the health of our Marriage. It’s time to retreat to your Prayer Closet and get some one-on-One time with God.

A Small Introduction to Hosea

The Book of Hosea shows God’s relationship with Israel and His impending judgments through the living prophecy and ministry that is Hosea’s own life. It can also be used as an allegory of the human marriage. Both relationships, that of God to Israel and Hosea to his wife, are spiritual and physical relationships. Both have spiritual and physical implications in their judgments.

GOD commanded Hosea to marry a woman of whoredoms. Whether or not Gomer (his wife) was a prostitute when he married her is not clear to me but it is clear she became a prostitute during the marriage seeking out other lovers through the lusts of her flesh. Gomer bore Hosea three children with God-given names that reflected and represented divine punishments and judgments that He had decreed upon the nation of Israel for her spiritual harlotries. The children’s names were later changed to represent the redemption of God’s people. Hosea’s life was a living prophecy with regard to the judgments of God upon His people. Hosea later redeemed his wife with pieces of silver and barley. Note: Hosea represents God in His divine character, judgments and mercy while Gomer represents Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.

A Wicked State of Mind

As Gomer strayed from her husband, Hosea, God placed a Hedge of Thorns about her. (Again notice the parallel between that of God with Israel and Hosea with Gomer.) The spiritual warfare began at the moment God placed the Hedge of Thorns around Gomer. Her life was about to change. God was going to get her attention. It was a battle of Gomer’s depraved will against the righteous will of God. God started to apply pressure in Gomer’s life to show her that what she was doing was wrong – and in so doing, those divine pressures pointed Gomer back toward home — to God and to her husband. Everything that Gomer had pridefully attributed to her own abilities and used to serve her own gods and lusts were slowly removed from her – one by one until she was left with nothing but to acknowledge the Truth. In the meantime, Gomer’s life became so bad that she sold herself as a slave.

Is that not so with us? We look at what we have and we make the mistake of thinking “Look what I have done for myself in my life!” We loosely acknowledge Him somewhere in the back of our mind (if at all) but we completely leave God out of the equation. We have not acknowledged that God has given us the ability to get what we have – jobs, money, cars, homes, etc. We make the mistake of hollowly and surfacely “thanking God” for what we have while at the same time we are not willing to follow in HIS precepts for our lives. We think that because we have everything and all is well in our life — no major crises and no drama — all is ok… Surely God is pleased with us or things would be all wrong! Surely I must be doing the will of God in my life because life couldn’t be better! Know this – God gives even to the wicked their food and rain for their land. How much more should we the righteous be blessed BECAUSE we follow and serve HIM and not our “things.” Our “things” are to be used to His glory and for His purpose and we are to acknowledge HIM as the giver of all we have. A very hard lesson to learn: The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away… Time for a reassessment of where we place our value. If you don’t, expect to run headlong into a wall so hard it will knock you off your feet. Expect to meet God in class for Wilderness 101 Training.

Back to Hosea and Gomer…

We judge Gomer’s behavior and shake our heads at how far down she had gone in her life – and if we were to go by all the worldly accounts and feelings and current societal values and teachings, there aren’t many people who would offer one single penny found on the street to buy back their wayward spouse and bring them home in love and forgiveness to nurture them back spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally. There aren’t many who would exhibit the grace of God through forgiveness and mercy. What happens is the good old fashioned “escape clause*” becomes just that – an escape. We run far and we run fast – and we run taking everything we can even if it costs us everything we are and everything we own. We’ll fight till hell freezes over to take every last dime in a divorce court. The children be damned! The children become pawns in an all-consuming and maddening rampage that destroys their tender souls. Everything be damned! Anger takes over. Bitterness sets in. And you live your life in a state of prideful, seething hatred that oozes out of every pore in your body not realizing you’re a slave to darkness and a prisoner of your own making. Yes. I said that… (*See also my blog post on Fornication vs Adultery)

And satan laughs in his hell…

The spiritual and physical applications with respect to God’s relationship to Israel are the same to the husband-wife relationship. That is the profound meaning of the mystery in Ephesians 5. The Book of Hosea here also has a redemptive meaning in regard to the relationship between God and each individual. For the purpose of this blog, I am speaking in the allegory of Marriage and the redeeming power of reconciliation through the same power of forgiveness.

So You Think You Want to Stone Your Wayward Spouse…

Ok. So you’ve established a problem. What’s next? Spiritual warfare. Why? Because that’s what it’s going to take. Because God commands us to love and to forgive. There are no clauses in these two commands. God doesn’t command you to love your spouse so long as they are behaving to your standards. God doesn’t command you to forgive only if you feel like it. God commands us to love and forgive because HE did that for us. Because the wayward spouse is STILL your one-flesh spouse by Covenant Vow with God and with each other — till death do you part. (another blog for later…)

Forgiveness is the “in thing” folks. Stoning went out when the adulteress was caught in the act, brought before the masses for stoning to death as was their Law; used to test Jesus and her death sentence abandoned! Why? There was no one left standing there who could cast one stone at her for each of her accusers had sinned as well. Sin is sin. I’m not suggesting that any one sin is more offensive or less offensive – but rather that ALL sin is offensive to God. The adulteress was forgiven. She was no longer an adulteress. She was set free and told to go and sin no more. She had to accept her forgiveness in faith and it was credited to her as righteousness because Christ had not yet died for the sins of man. By faith she accepted that and after the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, she was redeemed because of His blood.

So you can’t stone your wayward spouse – at least not in the technical sense. An attempt at warped humor – but God has all the arsenal that any one human could ever need at their disposal to get someone’s attention. God has a few rocks of His own to throw. I like knowing that there are God-sized rocks if I need them. But I let God throw them. –> This is not something that can be misused or abused. God knows the state of your heart before you ever try to bring hellfire and brimstone down upon your wayward spouse! He won’t let you do it. Vengeance belongs to God.

(A side note about the free will of man with regard to a wayward spouse: If you are a child of God, you gave up your right to the freedom of your own will. You gave Christ ownership of your life. He bought and paid for it in His blood. You may continue to exert your “right” but God has a way of making your “will” line up with His. Once you realize that, you actually find that you do have freedom because you are walking in His light. If you aren’t a child of God, you may think you have free will to do what you want — and I guess in a sense you do — but you are a slave to what controls you. You are a slave to your father, the father of lies and your will lines up with his.)

Before you can do any spiritual warfare, you MUST be in right standing before God. Get rid of all anger, hatred, bitterness and unforgiveness. Get rid of every malicious thought and rude attitude. You cannot pray in this condition. You are in a state of unforgiveness. God will NOT hear you; neither will He forgive you your own sins until you confess them and repent. Yes those are sins. They are the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness and self-control). You have sins of your own and it is important to keep short accounts with God because we are responsible to God only for ourselves. You are your brother’s keeper only through prayer…

²⁵“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.

²⁶ But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”

(Mark 11:25-26 NASB)

If you’re having a difficult time with forgiveness, it is imperative that you seek the Face of God on this. Forgiveness is a command. It’s not about how you feel or whether or not you think the other person deserves it. God is very clear on this. If you don’t want to forgive another for their transgressions against you – no matter how gross you judge the transgression on their part – remember that this is a definite issue of obedience to a command of God. If you can’t forgive, it’s because you won’t forgive. God enables us to do what He commands. Your lack of forgiveness is an issue with authority and this is between you and God – not between you and the one who slighted you in their transgression. Know this for certain: If a wayward spouse has come to repentance and confession before God, God HAS FORGIVEN them for He is faithful and just to forgive those who call upon Him in spirit and truth. Who are we to withhold that forgiveness? Certainly our pride is standing in the way of our relationship with our God and is a testament to the standing judgment against us until we repent and confess it in Truth seeking forgiveness as well. What is noteworthy is that HE forgave us no matter how gross the transgression we have committed against Him. He forgave us freely and set us free. We must do the same. Yes we can be angry. But it’s what we do with that anger that determines who we will become. We can’t be full of love and still have hatred nor can we claim to forgive and be full of bitterness at the same time. It’s a definite continual walk in prayer.

Now that you’re in right standing with God in the forgiveness of your wayward spouse, it’s time to call upon the power of God in prayer. Prayer is a dialogue with God. Prayer is a relationship with God. It’s not an automatic pill or a magic spell or potion used to call down the wrath of a mighty God upon someone who has committed some grave act of sin against you. And it’s not about making your own personal demands about what you think God should do. It’s about God’s will. It’s about our relationship with God. It’s not a one-time prayer. This is warfare. The battle isn’t over until God says it’s over. Be prepared to hunker down in your prayer bunker. It could get nasty… Especially since you are fighting for the soul of a loved one who is one in flesh. The devil won’t give up his territory easily and go quietly into the night. Expect resistance. But most importantly – expect GOD!

Judgments and Promises

Read again the verses in Hosea, Chapter 2, Verses 6 through 23.

Notice verses 8 through 13 represent God’s judgments and divine pressure applied in steering a wayward Gomer back to her God and then to her husband. God can and will remove all the “props,” one by one, in order to get the attention of one of His wayward children. Gomer used her God-given blessings of wealth and prosperity on the lusts of her flesh, spending them on her manmade gods and idols. God reduced her life to near nothing; exposed her life for what it was; stopped all her partying and celebrations; and took away her pagan loyalties and her ability to make her wages. It got so bad that she sold herself as a slave in order to survive. She had been literally brought into a dry, barren spiritual wilderness where God could finally reach her and lovingly bring her back from the depths of her depravity – the depths to which she had sank through her vices. God in His mercy brought Gomer back home. And it cost Him more than we could ever imagine it would cost us.

Verses 14 through 23 represent redemption and restoration. The things that God took from Gomer to get her attention were restored to her when she came back into a right relationship with GOD and acknowledged GOD as her sole source for life. She was also restored and reconciled to her husband, Hosea. And because God restored Israel to Himself (Gomer to Hosea) the relationship was that much more precious and more than it ever was in the beginning.

God will do the same for you – and for me. I stake my very breath on the promises of God. Amen

What to Expect

Some characteristic results of praying the Hedge of Thorns prayer include: (Insert your Spouse’s Name in the Scriptures while praying them.)

• Your spouse may become confused and lose perspective:

“Therefore I will block (spouse’s name) path with thornbushes; I will wall (him/her) in so that (s/he) cannot find (his/her) way.” (Hosea 2:6 NIV)

• Others who might be looking for a relationship or already are in a relationship with your Covenant spouse will lose interest:

“(Spouse’s name) will chase after (his/her) lovers but (s/he) will not catch them; (spouse’s name) will look for them but (s/he) will not find them.” (Hosea 2:7a NIV)

• Troubles may increase as God encourages your Covenant Marriage Mate to return to the Marriage:

(Spouse’s name) will say, “I will go back to my (husband/wife) as at first, for then I was better off than now.” (Hosea 2:7b NIV)

Prayer

“Heavenly Father, I ask You in the Name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, to rebuke and bind satan and his minions and hindering spirits on assignment against my (husband/wife), the rebuilding of this marriage and against this family. I ask you to build a “hedge of thorns” around my (husband/wife), so that nothing but the power and truth of Your Holy Spirit can enter. I pray that through this hedge of thorns, that any other possible or potential lover will lose interest and depart running away and not be found or sought after. I pray that any potential lover suddenly become ugly and disgusting in _________’s (name spouse) sight as all sin is ugly and disgusting in Your sight -and that none will compare to the beauty of (his/her) own mate as Your Bride the Church is to You.

I base this prayer on Your Word which says:

“For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I hate divorce & marital separation and him who covers his garment with violence.” (Malachi 2:16 AMP); “but if {they} do divorce, let {them}…..be reconciled…” (1Cor7:10-11 AMP); and live in accordance with Ephesians 5:21-33, one in flesh and one with Christ for we are His body, the Church, and His Bride; because we were created as “…one flesh” in the beginning. (Genesis 2:24); for You command that “what God has joined together, let  man not separate, put asunder or divide.” (Matthew 19:6 NIV).

I stand upon the promises and precepts of Your Word as it is written that the Father may be glorified in and through the Son. In Jesus’ Name I ask it in faith believing.

Amen

© 2009 Celia Ann. All rights reserved by Celia Ann and The Ephesian Marriage unless otherwise stated. All other symbols are the trademark of their respective owners.

Isaiah 40:10-11, 28-31

To those who have no might [God] increases strength. Isaiah 40:29

Jonah Sorrentino was deeply hurt at age 6 when his parents separated. As a result, he held a lot of anger and bitterness inside. At 15, Jonah learned of God’s love for him and became a believer in Jesus Christ.

Jonah, also known as recording artist KJ-52, admits that he used to live like a victim of circumstances. In an interview with Christianity Today, he explained how he began to experience healing: “You definitely have to acknowledge that, no, you’re not okay.”

He added, “You also have to reach a point of saying, “I’m not going to dwell on everything of the past . . . on anger or bitterness or hurt. I’m going to move forward because God is going to give me the strength to do that.’” God helped him to forgive his parents. He wrote these lyrics to encourage others:

Understand you can always find strength in Christ; God has a plan for every single part of your lives. That might be hard to understand in your troubled times but anywhere you go, He’s there with arms open wide.

If we’ve been hurt badly, we may wonder how we can live with a painful past. God could take away our pain instantly and forever, if He chose to. Often, though, He heals us slowly and scars remain. He carries us and gently leads us as a shepherd cares for His flock (Isaiah 40:11).

We may not be  healed completely in this life, but we can count on God’s promises. He gives “power to the weak” and increases their strength (Isaiah 40:29). —anne cetas

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.

Opposites Don’t Attract

We’ve all heard the saying “Opposites attract.” But in the case of the Christian Man and Woman there is one major opposite that shouldn’t attract them – being unequally yoked to Belial.

¹⁴Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers [do not make mismated alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness?

¹⁵What harmony can there be between Christ and Belial [the devil]? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

¹⁶What agreement [can there be between] a temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in and with and among them and will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

¹⁷So, come out from among [unbelievers], and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor,

 (II Corinthians 6:14-17 AMP)

Before I continue, let me just say that the Scriptures above have absolutely nothing to do with justifying divorce! They do not give you permission to walk away from a Marriage if there is an unbelieving spouse – at all, ever. What it does do with regard to Marriage is tell you that you should be looking for a mate who is of the same faith BEFORE you get Married the FIRST time because once you are Married, you are Married for life. Once you are legally divorced through the man-made courts of man, you are still Married for life — until death.

¹³And if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he consents to live with her, she should not leave or divorce him.

¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is set apart (separated, withdrawn from heathen contamination, and affiliated with the Christian people) by union with his consecrated (set-apart) wife, and the unbelieving wife is set apart and separated through union with her consecrated husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean (unblessed heathen, outside the Christian covenant), but as it is they are prepared for God [pure and clean].

(I Corinthians 7:13-14 AMP)

Second Corinthians 6 at the top has to do with who we associate with as believers. We are not to live inconsistent with our faith. We are to live out our conviction through faith and as though we have already attained the glory of perfection. As born-again saved believers, we are called to a higher standard. We are called to a life of holiness. God says be holy because I am holy! First Peter 1, Chapter 16 says:

¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

¹⁵ But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;

¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

No doubt we are called to be different. No doubt we are called to order our lives aright in accordance with the living Word of God. But the fact of the matter is we struggle because we are still of the flesh and in the flesh. Even the apostle Paul struggled with his flesh. However, he did not use his struggles as an excuse to willingly commit and/or continue in the sins he committed. On the contrary. Because of Paul’s reverence for his God – my God, your God – it drove him closer to God. In Romans 7:7-25, Paul records his intense spiritual battle and he sums it up saying:

²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Opposites clearly shouldn’t always attract….

If you are Married or divorced (apart from God’s ordinances), who are you spending your time with? What are you doing or where are you going? What are you looking at or how are you speaking? Are the thoughts and meditations of your heart on what is good, lovely, pure, honorable and of good report? Or are you meditating on Hustler, Playboy – maybe some online porn and dating sites. Are you spending your time thinking about the man or woman in the office or the grocery store or the bar downtown – instead of thinking about your Covenant mate? The list really can go on an on. My point is this: what you allow your mind to focus on is who you become. What you speak is what’s in your heart. What you do is who you are. You are known by the fruits of your actions – or inaction in some cases. When you allow your mind unguarded exposure to the opposite of what you’re supposed to be focused on, you’re headed the wrong way down a one-way road. Unless you turn around and go back the way you came, you’re going to have a head-on collision.

⁷Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (Galatians 6:7 NIV)

Another of God’s universal laws and moral absolutes — you will in fact be subject to the law of your harvest.

Know this: Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny…The seed you sow determines the harvest you will reap.

‘Nuff said…

The Great Counterfeit

I hope you’re starting to get an idea about where this is going.  The opposite of good is evil and the opposite of that which is real, valid and authentic is counterfeit. We know that we shouldn’t be dabbling in the dark. If we didn’t, then we wouldn’t be trying to hide the things we do that are wrong. Strongholds make for intense spiritual battles…

Synonyms for the word counterfeit: fake; forged; phony; bogus; imitation; sham.

The definition of counterfeit: to make realistic copies of something in order to deceive and defraud.

Think about the spiritual implications of that! We know that satan masquerades as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14) and that he is a liar and the father of lies; a murderer from the beginning not holding to the truth (John 8:44).

QUESTION: If we are not meditating day and night on the Word of God, how can we know when we’re being deceived?? Chances are pretty good that you won’t really know until you’re right smack in the middle of something that you don’t know how you got into – or how to get out of. It happens to all of us to varying degrees. It goes without saying that it shouldn’t happen — but I’ll say it: It shouldn’t! But because we know it’s likely that satan prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, don’t you think we should stay close to God? We are warned in I Peter 5:8 — “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (NIV)

Take a look at the following table for examples of Real vs Counterfeit. 

Really. You get the idea… Whatever God has ordained, spoken and created, the devil has created an opposite and a counterfeit. The devil will ALWAYS put just enough truth in the lie to make it believable. If he didn’t, a Christian individual wouldn’t and couldn’t be deceived. Why does the devil put so much focus on the Child of God? Because he can make them ineffective for the Kingdom of God. If the devil can make a Christian absolutely miserable, who would want to be one? The statistics are phenomenal on that very subject. Most non-Christian people do NOT see a difference between a Christian and a non-Christian so why be one! The devil doesn’t have to go to the local bar on the corner and torment to destruction those people because most all of them are already “on his side.” (God says if you’re not for Him, you’re against Him.)

Another reason the devil creates counterfeits: The devil can destroy a Covenant Marriage as a personal and spiritual attack on a family. He defines your weaknesses and goes for the throat… By destroying a Marriage, you destroy lives, morals, laws, values, families, spirits and souls. Once the lie is in place and the morals and values of homes are destroyed, families and churches and communities are destroyed. I know this. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. But I refuse to be it any longer.  By the loving mercy of my God, a new day will dawn upon my Marriage and my family. He has ordained it to be so. All it takes is one to Stand in the gap. That’s me.

The devil is going to spend his time this side of the abyss messing with the church… It’s just what he does. 

Walking in the Light

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.

⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

  (I John 1:5-7 NIV)

If you’re sitting here thinking you haven’t done anything wrong and you’re confessing Christ but you continue to walk in darkness, the above says it pretty clear. Pride is a nasty beast and will continue to keep us in the dark as long as we want to be there. It is the pride of the human flesh that says “I haven’t done anything wrong!” God says if you’re saying that, you’re living in deceit and darkness and that you are a liar and the truth is not in you. That’s a pretty serious indictment from the Word of God.

If this is the opposite extreme of your life, there is always a way back into the Light. Confess and repent (turn away from; turn around and go back) trusting in His faithfulness to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He alone is faithful and true because He cannot lie.

Amen.

© 2009 Celia Ann. All rights reserved by Celia Ann and The Ephesian Marriage unless otherwise stated. All other symbols are the trademark of their respective owners.

Singer George Michael has been left by his lover, Kenny Goss. They had a stable relationship for 13 years.
It seems that Michael suffers greatly after this separation, and close friends fear for his irrational behavior. The singer has isolated himself in the London villa and became addicted to computer games.
The emotional split between the two occurred last year when George Michael, aged 46, was arrested in the Hampstead Heath toilets for possession of drugs.
although separated, they decided to remain business partners; they are holding together an art gallery in Dallas.
“Kenny gave lots of chances to George. After the Hampstead Heath incident the two could not continue together. Everybody knows that George was not there just for drugs, is well known as a place where gay man meet, said a source close to the former couple.

souls so separated,

the pain gets aggravated,

i wonder if we had thought it this way,

or did our feelings just go astray?

Are you unique or do you conform? We recognize and are taught at a young age that it can be much easier and beneficial to fit in. Nobody picks on you, your parents are happy you’re not getting in trouble, and you don’t stand out as being different.

Parents help mold their kids to fit in and to conform. They tell you, you can’t wear that because it does not look right and you can’t do that because that’s not the way things are done. So we see our kids beginning to conform, not making decisions for themselves but making decisions based on what others think! As a result they do not express their unique talents but rather suppress them to fit in. And so it begins!

If you are doing what it takes to fit in, when can you be yourself and when do you go too far? Do you ever lose sight of who you are in order to be someone who fits in better? Where and when do you draw the line to stop following others in order to belong? Are kids who live this life the ones you read about who got in trouble because they where just following someone else? They are just doing what everyone else is doing!

Adults can also put themselves in embarrassing or bad situations so they can be with the right crowd or they won’t speak up because no one else has (if you are 1st then you stand out – how uncomfortable!). Let’s go to extremes to prove a point. Let’s look at the people form Johannessburg who committed suicide as a group because they where told to or the old lynch mobs who went as a group to hang someone or the mobs who destroyed downtown LA because of a court ruling. What did they all have in common – a leader who started it and followers who needed to belong and needed someone to follow!

What I am saying is it is usually easier to follow the crowd but you can be so much more by going against the norm and being YOU – the genuine you! Thinking for yourself and making your own decisions! Not worrying what the others will think about you but following your core feelings deep in your gut! E.E. Cummings said it well,“The hardest battle in life, is to be nobody but yourself, in a world that is working night and day to make you like everybody else.”

When you lose sight of who you are and the choices you know are right in order to fit in and belong, you then give up on who you are and what you believe in. Is it worth belonging if you have to compromise on your beliefs? Is it worth training your kids to conform if it means hindering who they are? My own best friends, the ones I can always count on, are a result of me being me! As Dr. Suess so profoundly put it, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”

Some of the greatest discoveries happened because of individuals who did not go with the crowd but against it. Some of the most famous people in history who have contributed to society where laughed at for being different and not conforming.

People who said the world was not flat but round, people who said the planets did not revolve around the Earth but revolved around the sun instead, or light does not have to come from fire but can come from a thing called a bulb. Of course, let’s not forget our forefathers who rebelled against the British, at the risk of death because of their beliefs and willingness to act against the norm!

I am sure you can come up with many more stories but the fact is we move forward as a society because people stay true to themselves and follow their belief in who they are rather then conform and listen to what they are told they should be. The reality is you feel at peace with yourself when you are not putting on a front but when you are being you!

So the following quote is about being unique and going against the crowd to be all you can be, to put your own mark on this world and to make a difference!

“Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it.” ~ Winston Churchill

Have a great weekend and hears to swimming up stream against the current!!

With Love, Peace and Power,

Ron Dilbert
Single Parent Power, Inc. – “Helping Reconnect Families”
www.SingleParentPower.com
www.SingleParentPower.com/Blog
www.blogtalkradio.com/Single-Parent-Power
rdilbert@SingleParentPower.com
516-355-1552

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” – Albert Einstei

You know… a really good friend of mine, more accurately an older brother to a really good friend of mine, grew up and went to school with Deryck Whibley. The point is he beat him up for his lunch money all the time

But

Surprise Ending, he and Avril Lavigne are getting divorced.

It’s definitely hard to find somethign that rhymes with divorcee, in a 4/4 pop/ rock ballad.
Shmorcee?
Whibley’s Gay?
That’s amoré?
Canadian, eh?

Okay. I’m not going to write her songs for her, she’s got a team to do that.

Let me just conclude with a stupid photo of her and a quote from the pop rock princess herself [advised by her publicist].

“Deryck and I have been together for 6 and a half years. We have been friends since I was 17, started dating when I was 19, and married when I was 21.

I am grateful for our time together, and I am grateful and blessed for our remaining friendship. I admire Deryck and have a great amount of respect for him. 

He is the most amazing person I know and I love him with all my heart.

Deryck and I are separating and moving forward on a positive note.

Thank you to all my family, friends and fans for all your support.”

Fornication vs Adultery

³The Pharisees also came unto Him , tempting Him, and saying unto Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
⁴And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
⁵And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain (two) shall be one flesh?
⁶Wherefore they are no more twain (two), but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
⁷They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
⁸He (Jesus) saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
⁹And I (Jesus) say unto you, Whosoever shall put away (divorce) his wife, except it be for fornication*, and shall marry another, committeth adultery*: and whoso marrieth her which is put away (divorced) doth commit adultery.

(Matthew 19:3-9 KJV)

*vs 9: two very different words with two very different meanings explained throughout

Brief Background

I hope that you will be able to comprehend what I am getting ready to convey below as this is a very deep subject that I have only begun to scratch the surface of — as God in His merciful grace allows me to grasp HIS intention for the Married.

Before we begin: Father I ask You in the Name of Jesus, the Name above all Names – to impart to each of us Your Holy Spirit Who alone guides us into all Truth and understanding. I ask that the spiritual eyes and ears of those reading this be opened to YOUR Word. Speak to their heart and their mind. Bind the enemy who would come against the one reading this, the one who would need to hear this. Be a hedge of protection around them Lord and keep their spirits in your care. In Jesus’ Name I ask it. Amen

All of us in this society have been raised to believe in the disposable convenience of everything — including Marriage. I believed in the tragedy of divorce and remarriage. I am an adult child from a divorced home and all four of the children in my immediate family are now divorced. Two of them remarried, one divorced twice. Believing in the lie of REmarriage, I thought I was free to be on the way to a new relationship after my divorce until God rained down HIS Truth in my heart. I had been seeking God for what HE wanted me to do because I didn’t want to ever go through that again. It hurt way too much — almost as if I had been torn in two. It was difficult at the time but I had to back out of that relationship — and have for the last two years since then been standing for the restoration and reconciliation of my one-flesh Covenant Marriage… I had become a Stander before I knew what standing in the gap was all about. I have been called by God to stand in the gap.

Some think I’m crazy – even my Beloved Spouse – but I can tell you, if God hadn’t put the brakes on me, I wouldn’t be here typing these words at this moment. If it weren’t a serious call on my life, I would not be sitting here two years later still praying for the restoration and reconciliation of my Marriage. And I probably wouldn’t be praying for the salvation of my Beloved Spouse. I once thought he was saved but I’m not sure — so I cover my bases and cover him in prayer. If it weren’t of God, I would be long gone living the lie of the enemy of my soul… Though I loved my Spouse so very much when we divorced, we both hurt each other so with the things we did and even the things we didn’t do. I saw no other option — and taking the advice and opinions of others over that of God and His Word didn’t help. Too many serious misunderstandings but more than anything I came to see my Beloved Spouse as the enemy (a lie from the pit of hell). – I lost hope. I lost faith. I lost everything. But God has taken all that and HE, no one else, has given it back to me – along with a renewed unconditional love for my Covenant Spouse. GOD gave that to me. It came out of nowhere. It had to. Everything was as good as dead. But it’s not…. God said so. Since then I have studied and prayed. God is faithful to a sincere cry to know Him and His Truth. If we are truly seeking HIM, He promises to lead us into ALL Truth and understanding. He has…

I hope that bit of background will help you understand where this blog site is coming from.

I do not pretend to know it all with reference to this subject, but I do know that God does not contradict Himself in His Word. If we don’t understand what He says or just plain don’t want to believe what He says, that does not make what He says any less true or less relevant to our lives. In the end, we will all stand before God and be judged by what He says. We will stand accountable. Count on it.

Know this: Above all else the Commands and Laws of God SUPERCEDE the laws of man. Not one of man’s laws can stand eternally in the Face of God Who decrees ALL things. A divorced couple is divorced ONLY with regard to the law of man. GOD did not ordain divorce and HE has declared that they are ONE in flesh until DEATH and that they are NOT to remarry another person UNLESS their Covenant Spouse dies. Death is the ONLY thing that can break a Covenant Vow WITH God! If they do fly in the face of God and remarry, they live in a perpetual state of sinful adultery. God says adulterers will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.…….

Definitions…

In the Scriptures above, you will see that I have underlined the words “fornication” and “adultery.” If they weren’t two very different words, God would not have spoken them differently and they wouldn’t be written. Some versions have errantly used the word “adultery” in both places. This is not correct according to the original language. 

Adultery – (Greek: Moichao) Illicit intimate sexual relations with another person whereby at least one offender is currently married. Even if the other partner is not married, that person still commits adultery with the one who is married. All it takes is one person within the relationship to be married.

Fornication – (Greek: Porneia) Porneia comes from the Greek root word porneuo. Illicit sexual relations between two people who are NOT married (to each other or anyone else ever). These are SINGLE never-married people. The relationship is illicit because God ordains sex within the confines of Marriage. There is also the Spiritual metaphor (i.e., idolatry).

• Porneuo comes from porne (femine) — which means a woman who sells her body for sexual uses; a prostitute, whore, harlot (one who yields herself to defilement for the sake of gain). Again, there is the Spiritual implications as well (i.e., Babylon; Rome).
• Pornos = The masculine form; is a man who prostitutes his body to another’s lust for hire; a man who participates in unlawful sexual intercourse; whoremonger; a fornicator.
• The word pornos interestingly enough comes from piprasko which means to sell, as into slavery. The Spiritual metaphor indicates that one is selling themselves as a slave to sin. They are wholly controlled and given unto and love sinning. They sell themselves into another’s will…

What an awful word…

Who Are The Unmarried in Scripture?

1. Virgins (Never been married)
2. Divorced (Formerly married, but currently “single”)
3. Widowed (Formerly married, but spouse is deceased)

Number 2 above is a doctrinal issue and one that is open to a lot of liberal misinterpretation with regard to man-made tradition — not to mention mistakes in the interpretation’s accuracy with regard to the Hebrew and Greek languages. If the Scriptures above were the only Scriptures written on the subject, that would still be enough to make it clear that one who is divorced is NOT single being free to remarry!

The divorced individual is not “single.” Marriage is a one-flesh Covenant relationship between two people – but more importantly it represents and is a type of salvation (reference Ephesians 5:21-32). Human Marriage represents the relationship between Christ and His Church (the Bridegroom and the Bride). Yes, the Marriage Covenant can be seriously abused — just as our relationship with Christ can be abused. We use the term “broken” but it cannot be broken any more than our Covenant relationship with Christ can be broken — but it can be harmed. A Father/child (God/us) relationship is a forever relationship regardless whether the two speak. It is so by the virtue of the Blood — be it Spiritual Blood or physical blood. However, where the one-flesh Covenant relationship is abused is where grace and mercy are applied — as is with Christ and His backward and wayward children.

The Husband and Wife are One just as we are One with the Lord (in eternal salvation). Because of the oneness, neither has authority over their own body but it belongs to the other (cf I Corinthians 7:4). The two are Spiritually and physically inseparable. The one complements the other and is in fact One in the realm of Spiritual implication — realizing that the two are individuals within the physical realm.

Here is an example of another set of Scriptures taken out of context and used as a “biblical justification” to remarry. Very wrong. An example of attributing the UNMARRIED as being the DIVORCED:

⁸ But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I.

 ⁹ But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

(I Corinthians 7:8-9 NASB)

Folks misinterpret the UNMARRIED here as being or including the divorced. Paul is not speaking of the unmarried here as solely being those who are divorced. Paul is speaking only to people who are free to marry — not REmarry…

The Greek word for “unmarried” in verse 8 is agamos. It means “unmarried, single, unwedded.” 

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:34 –

• “There is difference [also] between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman (agamos) careth for the things of the Lord….”

Obviously here, the “unmarried woman” Paul speaks about references the virgin previously mentioned.

As a side note of interest: Paul was not married. He never had been married. The word he used reflected his own personal condition and status (“…it is good for them if they abide even as I.”) It stands to reason that he is not referring to those that are “divorced.” And Paul was a prior Pharisee to the hilt! In reading his own account of his life, he was without fault (in as much as the law could allow).

My point is that you cannot rightly interpret the word here rendered agamos (unmarried) as being of the divorced when it applies to those who have never been married.

Man-made Laws

Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of men’s hearts. In Moses’ time, women were a commodity. They were not treated as an equal, life-long loving mate and companion. Men were divorcing their wives as people buy and discard shoes. However, from the beginning it was not so. Some use the excuse of God divorcing Israel as an entitlement to divorce. God issued a SPIRITUAL bill of divorcement to Israel for their spiritual harlotries . However, God is also able to graft Israel back in — which He will do when the times of the Gentiles are up. God has never disavowed Israel. In fact, even in their spiritual whoredoms, they are still His Bride. And in the end, they WILL BE reconciled — the Bride to her Groom.

Know this: What Moses (not God) allowed was not a doctrinal precept but was rather a permission granted in their Jewish laws. God’s precepts and man’s permissions are two different things.

Ask yourself a very important question: If a divorced person can be considered as SINGLE and UNMARRIED, how then can they be committing adultery against their wife or husband in a REmarriage with another individual as stated in the following:

• ¹⁸“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.  (Luke 16:18 NASB)
• ⁹And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.  (Matthew 19:9 KJV)
• ^{14. . . . . .} Because the Lord was witness [to the covenant made at your marriage] between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously and to whom you were faithless. Yet she IS your companion and the wife of your covenant [made by your marriage vows]. (Malachi 2:14 NASB)
• ¹¹And He said to them, Whoever dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹²And if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. (Mark 10:11-12 NASB)
• ² For [instance] a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is loosed and discharged from the law concerning her husband. ³ Accordingly, she will be held an adulteress if she unites herself to another man while her husband lives. But if her husband dies, the marriage law no longer is binding on her [she is free from that law]; and if she unites herself to another man, she is not an adulteress. (Romans 7:2-3 AMP)

How can one commit adultery if they are single? The societal point of view is that the moment you are divorced, you are single. That’s NOT what the Bible says. Adultery as Biblically defined is committed only with regard to Married persons — both the divorced and the REmarried as well as those who remain within the bonds of the original Marriage. The divorced man or woman who engages in another relationship that involves sexual intimacy commits adultery — not fornication. Fornication is reserved for the single alone. A misrepresentation of the correct position of the divorced as in number two above throws the definition off. In order for one to keep from committing adultery after divorce, one must become celibate. The obvious in that statement is not what is obviously accepted in society at large — and sadly it pervades the Church. A very hard teaching for the worldly and Christian alike to accept for sure but I’m living it by God’s grace – because I have a Covenant Spouse that I am committed to — and I will love him no matter what until death do us part.

Joseph and Mary – A Lesson in Jewish Law

Another distinction between fornication and adultery can be made with reference to Joseph and Mary. Mary was a virgin yet was found to be with Child. In the eyes of Joseph, Mary had represented herself to be something she was not and he had set in his mind to put (apolyo – dismiss, divorce) her away quietly (Mt 1:19) for her porneia (fornication). He had assumed that she committed fornication because they had not yet come together in a physical union. She was a pregnant virgin and they were betrothed — or promised to each other in Marriage. Joseph would have “divorced” Mary according to Jewish Law because of her indiscretions. She said she was a virgin — yet she was pregnant. It wasn’t physically possible — until an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him it was so for that which was conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit.

In Jewish law/tradition, the Marriage is in two stages: the Kiddushin (betrothal stage) and Nisu’in (the actual marriage ceremony). In Kiddushin, the man and woman are not yet physically married (Nisu’in) and are not allowed to live together but they are still rendered Bride and Groom and are by law full-fledged husband and wife. If, God forbid, the betrothed couple decide not to marry because of fornication, according to Jewish law, they are required to divorce. Joseph thought that Mary had committed porneia (fornication) with another because she was single before the betrothal took place!

With respect to the above, it is VERY important to make that distinction clear when one renders Matthew 19:9, for example. My point here is this: in Matthew 19:9, one must take into consideration the JEWISH laws/traditions when seeking its proper context — BECAUSE Jesus is talking to the Pharisee’s - men who are well versed in Jewish law and tradition. If the Scripture is not interpreted properly, this is where people will get their “marriage escape clause“ and use it as an excuse for divorce and a justification for remarriage. Jesus is here telling the Pharisee’s that any man who puts away his wife for any reason except it be for fornication (which is BEFORE they are betrothed (they are single before being betrothed) — because fornication is committed by a SINGLE, UNMARRIED person — that man commits adultery when he marries another woman (because he IS still considered Married for ANY reason other than fornication committed before marriage). By Jewish law and tradition, one was considered MARRIED when they were betrothed (engaged).

Know this: Adultery committed within the confines of Marriage does NOT, canNOT, will NOT break, destroy or nullify the Marriage Covenant Vow! Why? Because Marriage is a mirror of the relationship of the Church to Christ. The Church is His Bride. They are born-again, saved unto eternity — and there is NOTHING, but nothing, that can take that away. There is NOTHING you can do to render your relationship with Jesus Christ broken.

The versions of the Bible which do not interpret this passage correctly according to the original Greek language mislead the divorcing and the divorced into believing that they can use adultery for grounds to divorce — and remarry. This passage and others like it are NOT an escape clause. In fact, there is no escape clause found in the Bible because there was never any intention of man and woman putting assunder their One-flesh Covenant Marriage.

This world is filled with the devil’s deception in divorce and remarriage. In other words, there is a whole lot of legalized adultery in this world… One cannot know this, remarry and ask for forgiveness for committing the act of adultery within the confines of unscriptural Marriage because it is a perpetual sin — and the one who belongs to Christ cannot continue to stay in their sins. Doing so has the effect of thumbing your nose at God and saying “I don’t care what God says! I’m going to do it anyway!” That person has a serious pride and disobedience issue and will ultimately pay the consequence for their disobedience — if not in the here and now, definitely in the hereafter.

NOTE: if one is looking for an escape clause, about the only one that even seems to come close is where the UNbeliever departs from the believer and the believer is not held in bondage — that is, in bondage to renounce their faith for the sake of retaining the UNbelieving spouse OR renouncing their faith to use this Scripture to obtain a divorce and then remarry. There is a serious eternal consequence to renouncing one’s faith. God knows everything you do, think and say. He will tolerate none of it. But if the UNbeliever leaves, the believer is called to peace… BUT they must either reconcile or remain unmarried. Because a believer had an UNbelieving spouse does not negate the Marriage or the Truth of the Scriptures. ALL are held accountable to God as it is written. 

The one who is divorced is commanded by GOD to remain unmarried or else be reconciled to their husband/wife! (I Corinthians 7:10-11). Don’t forget the picture above with reference to reconciliation in Marriage being a type of forgiveness and restored grace to the sinner who is saved. 

It is What it is. Period.

Again, a divorced person may be legally divorced and classified single in the views of society and in the courts of this land — but in the registers of heaven, they are created male and female and for this reason he will leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife – permanently. It does not matter what society thinks. They aren’t going to save you as you’re spinning into the flames of an eternal hell… Nor will they save you from the consequences of your rebellion. Yes, rebellion.

It is only death that releases husband and wife from the one-flesh Covenant (hence: 1 Cor 7:39 “A wife is bound to her husband by law as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she will, only provided that he too is in the Lord.” & Romans 7:2-3 “(2) For a married woman is bound by law to her HUSBAND as long as he lives; but if her HUSBAND dies, she is loosed and discharged from the law concerning her husband. (3) Accordingly, she will be held an adulteress if she unites herself to ANOTHER MAN while her HUSBAND lives. But if her HUSBAND dies, the marriage law no longer is binding on her and if she unites herself to ANOTHER MAN, she is not an adulteress.”)

Sin in the Family

¹⁰“Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

¹¹“Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

¹²“As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the LORD of hosts.

¹³“This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

¹⁴“Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

¹⁵“But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.

¹⁶“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the LORD of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

¹⁷You have wearied the LORD with your words Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

(Malachi 2:10-17 NASB) 

The sin of divorce not only tears apart a family but it also tears apart their Spiritual relationship with God.

• The Husband and Wife are brother and sister IN Christ. (vs 10)
• Divorce is considered an abomination and the sanctuary of the believer is profaned in divorce and remarriage to a non-covenant spouse (daughter of a foreign God) (vs 11)
• God will NOT hear the prayers of an unrepentant Spouse and will cut off all offerings and prayers (vs 12 & 13)
• The unrepentant question God as if they have the right but God makes it plain that He was a Witness between you and your Covenant Spouse who IS your companion and spouse by Covenant (vs 14)
• God warns the one who will deal treacherously with their Covenant Mate (take heed to your spirit…) (vs 15)
• God hates divorce AND the one who covers his Covenant Spouse with a garment of violence. He issues a SECOND warning! (vs 16)
• The unrepentant Spouse(s) who attributes what they do as as God’s will for them and calls it (divorce) as though it is good in God’s eyes WILL be disciplined. (see below)

KNOW THIS: For the UNrepentant Prodigal Spouse who continues to live contrary to what GOD says and what they know is the right thing to do; and who call the evil things they do “good” and who call the good of God as though it is evil, there is a judgment coming unless there is repentance. It is only a matter of time before God gets your attention.

Here God pronounces three “woes” and a sure judgment:

• ²⁰ Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
• ²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
• ²² Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks,
• ²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.
• ²⁴ Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

(Isaiah 5:20-24 TNIV)

The above is like saying: Divorce is good. Forgiveness and Reconciliation are bad. I know everything and God knows nothing. I’m a champion partier now and hang out with the barroom crowds. Quite frankly, I got no time for God right now. I’m busy making up for lost time. I hang out with those who feel the same way and make no judgments against them. They scratch my back. I’ll scratch theirs. I will deny what is right to my Covenant Spouse. –God pronounces a time of discipline and judgment. Your time is coming. You will be lead as a bridled thoroughbred and thoroughly broken if you will continue to refuse to do what God is calling you to do. GO HOME where you belong. Where God calls you, He WILL provide a way. He WILL enable you to do HIS will. Guaranteed…

Amen.

© 2009 Celia Ann. All rights reserved by Celia Ann and The Ephesian Marriage unless otherwise stated. All other symbols are the trademark of their respective owners.

The shine of a shooting star departs too rapidly
Leaving only a tale

Not enough time to wish
I wonder,
Thinking

Did you also see the same star fall?
As we sit under the same sky, separated
Was the star able to give you enough light
For your dreams to come to

If so, what was that which you wished for?
Would I be in such a wonderful dream shared by you

Desperately trying to catch another
I went chasing,
Knowing of my selfishness

The sky started to play games
An ugly mist blocks off Night
Turning it darker than black
No star is to be shown through

With realization that I cannot see again
I start to cry

As if the heavens felt my tears falling up
The night became clear,
Revealing me its treasures

Helping me remember
Ah, how long has it been since I’ve forgotten to stare at above
The view that we shared
The fact that

I still miss you

The need to write things down about my feelings and struggles surrounding my relationship with my first child was the best free advice I might ever have received. It is genuinely cathartic. I recommend it. None of this tells a whole story, or captures every feeling and thought. Some of this I transcribe from a diary I first kept so the timeline doesn’t always work. But technology certainly allows me to do more. This mini-blog is a start, to get me rolling, to check it works.

He lives with Mum. We separated years ago after years of marriage. My guess is that nothing much will change for years dare I say. It certainly hasn’t so far. The separation was initially Mum’s choice. It shouldn’t be relevant that blame can’t be laid at my door for the split but I have learnt the hard way that people ask the question. I feel it even when they don’t think it I guess. Some judge from nothing. I was and continue to be a good Dad. I won’t come back to that.

So now I will use technology to clear my mind, or at least the part of it that Richard Dawkins decided would be made available for this mountainous molehill. I hope too that like-minded souls will join in. Will read something that hits a nerve, or sounds familiar. I want to take the debate back. Absent father’s is a term which itself sounds cruel. My heart and my head are permanently being Dad, my body just has to wait a while sometimes.

More soon, and occasional thoughts on Twitter. Follow me. http://twitter.com/MaudlinSt