Monday, September 10
Theme for the week:
Disciples know Jesus’ heart regarding relationships of unity, marriage, and divorce

Matthew 5:31-32

It has been said, “Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
~ Jesus

A fuller treatment of this topic is found in Mark 10 (or Matthew 19), where Jesus brings up hardness of heart as a root cause for divorce. As with other areas of sin, Jesus draws attention to the motive lurking behind a situation rather than the action alone. Though not in God’s original plan, divorce is permitted in certain circumstances due to the hardness of man’s heart – from which comes all kinds of evil. Consider the chilling, but candid possibility of a divorced woman versus a dead wife.

Dallas Willard addresses this teaching of Jesus in one of his books:

Hard hearts may make divorce necessary to avoid greater harm, and hence make it permissible. But kingdom hearts are not hard, and they together can find ways to bear with each other, to speak truth in love, to change – often through times of great pain and distress – until the tender intimacy of mutual, covenant-framed love finds a way for the two lives to remain one, beautifully and increasingly.
(The Divine Conspiracy, Willard, p. 172).
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Prayer for the Week

Jesus Christ, can we sit and ponder any hardness in my heart – not just with marriage, but with life in general? Kingdom hearts are not hard hearts, and I want a kingdom heart like you. Where I need it, help me to soften my attitudes, to question my motives, and to love well in my relationships. In Your name I pray, Amen.

(don’t walk away from this devotional time without stopping and meditating with Jesus about your heart)

Psalm 119: Immersed in the Word of God

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This is our continuing opportunity to encounter God through His Word in Psalm 119. Unique in the bible, Psalm 119 is fashioned around the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet (seen above). Each section contains eight verses, making it easily the longest psalm at 176 verses. 

Psalm of Meditation for the Week:

Psalm 119:169-176 (Taw)

ת

  1. May my cry come before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word.
  2. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.
  3. May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.
  4. May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.
  5. May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
  6. I long for your salvation, LORD, and your law gives me delight.
  7. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.
  8. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

  • Read: the verses twice.

  • Mark: the words or phrases that catch your attention.

  • Meditate: talk (better yet write) with God about those words. Ask him to impress things upon your heart and mind; expect a response from the Lord.

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Pondering Point

The traditional sense of the last Hebrew letter Taw is completion or perfection – even restoration. Look for that imagery in this final section of Psalm 119.

Tuesday, September 11
God’s Mission

Ephesians 5:31-32

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
~ Apostle Paul

The covenant of marriage is a godly analogy that parallels Jesus’ relationship with his church. Viewed this way, divorce is a human abandonment of this godly equivalence.

In Ephesians 5:22-33, husbands and wives are called to relate to each other in ways analogous to Jesus and his bride. He loves the church and does not abandon her – despite her sinful shortcomings.

God the Father also portrays himself as a husband, using marital relationships all over the book of Hosea to drive a point home. Marriage is one way God shows the world a picture of His fervent love for people. He doesn’t want a “divorce” from his people, sinful though we have been. He wants reconciliation for himself and among his people. His greatest joys are tied up in the reconciliation that has set the table for the Marriage Feast of the Lamb recorded in Revelation 19:6-9. That passage concludes with: the angel said to me (John), “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

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Prayer

Father God, I am so grateful to be invited to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Hallalujah! Let my heart desire reconciliation in honor of You and your heart for reconciliation with us! Thank You Father! Thank You Jesus! Thank you Spirit! Amen.

Scripture Meditation for the Day:

Psalm 119:169-170

May my cry come before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.

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Statute, Command, Precept, or Decree of God:

Matthew 11:29a

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…

The Promise:

Matthew 11:29b

for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

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Pondering Point

Lift up this prayer of vs. 169-170 till its stirs something in you…give me understanding according to your word; deliver me according to your promise.

Wednesday, September 12
Your Identity in Christ

• In Jesus, I am part of the church, the Bride of Christ.

Of greater importance than your identity as a single, husband or wife, you are identified with the heavenly bridal party: Not attending to the bride, not celebrating with the bride, but celebrating AS the bride.

The church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-32) and you and I (disciples of Jesus) make up that “bridal party”. The Bridegroom Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us and has promised that he will return (John 14:1-3). As the penultimate verse of the bible says: Amen! Come, Lord Jesus. (Rev. 22:20)

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Prayer

Come Lord Jesus! I am so looking forward to your return, to experiencing the place you have been preparing. In light of Luke 18:8, may you find faithful followers when you come back, myself included. Till then, how can I be helpful?

Scripture Meditation for the Day:

Psalm 119:171-172

May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.

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Statute, Command, Precept, or Decree of God:

Colossians 3:16

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 

The Promise:

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

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Pondering Point

What song(s) does your heart gravitate toward to express praise to God? Pause and sing; maybe add a little dancing and shouting. 

Thursday, September 13
Re-Center Around God

Mark 10:1-9

1 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Concerning Married Life

1 Corinthians 7:1-16

1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

There can be lots of pain and disappointment in divorce. There is often betrayal and bitterness. There can be collateral damage – lots of collateral damage. These are all sad truths. But there is another truth about divorce: It is always between two sinners. One person may be more to blame for the situation, but it always involves two sinners (not to mention other sinners drawn into it!) In light of marriage and divorce, let’s Review, Repent, and Return to God.

Review the week

Do you know – and accept – the Lord’s biblical boundaries with divorce (see Mark 10:1-9, 1 Corinthians 7:1-16)? Do you ignore or minimize them? Have you acted wrongly toward others as a result of broken or fractured marriages?

Repent (if necessary)

Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right – let alone loving. Nor does someone else’s wrongdoing give us license to act wrongly. Repent of your wrongs in matters relating to broken or fractured marriages, including taking sides other than God’s.

Return (as necessary)

Many people treat God’s Word regarding divorce as passé. If this is indicative of you, it’s time to reassess your position and return to God. To quote Jesus’ sermon: Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:26-27).

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Prayer Prompt

Pray about what God has put upon your heart.

Scripture Meditation for the Day:

Psalm 119:173-174

May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, LORD, and your law gives me delight.

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Statute, Command, Precept, or Decree of God:

Matthew 20:26-28

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.” 

The Promise:

2 Corinthians 9:8

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

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Pondering Point

What mental image do you have for the helping hands of God? Any of these? What color are they?

Friday, September 14
Discipleship Point

Sphere 3: Relationships at Home

Jim Putman’s book DiscipleShift describes four areas of growth for disciples: With God himself, with His church family, in your home life, and in the world. Chapters 5-6 of Ephesians include a focus on personal family: What a home life should look like in terms of wife/husband and parents/child relationships. This area can often go neglected, be highly sensitive for us, and look nothing like the rest of our lives. But the Spirit wants to influence every part of our lives, including our homes.

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Discipleship Prayer

Father God, lead me to willingly submit my home and my home life to your will. Bless specifically the relationships I share under my roof. Let my home life bring honor to you Father God in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scripture Meditation for the Day:

Psalm 119:175-176

Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

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Statute, Command, Precept, or Decree of God:

Matthew 9:13

Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

The Promise:

Romans 8:1-2

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life  has set you free from the law of sin and death.

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Pondering Point

What are you living for? Seriously – What gets you up in the morning? Who are you living for? What sustains you day-to-day, inspires you, or keeps you going

Saturday, September 15

Genesis 2:4-25

Creation of Man and Woman
The First Marriage

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

We confess in the Nicene Creed that God created all things visible and invisible.

Do you remember some of those things the Bible tells us God created in those six days (Genesis 1,2)? There was sky, land and sea, the sun, moon and stars, plants, fish, and animals – and ultimately on day six: man and woman. It also says he created marriage on that sixth day (Gen. 2:24).

That could be viewed as one of the invisible things God created – a uniting of man and woman. What God has put together, to quote Jesus, man is not to separate (Mark 10:6-9). Today’s story takes us back to that first marriage God blessed. If you have time, read chapter three and see the first real test of that marriage, complete with poor choices, avoidance, fear, blaming, and a tenant’s eviction backed by a fiery angel.

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Prayer Prompt

Father God, thank you for the reminder that marriage is your creation, not merely a social construct of man. I aspire to treat your gift of marriage with respect, whether it’s my own or someone else’s. In Jesus I pray. Amen.

Sunday, September 16
Call to Worship God, to Gather Together

God Bless You

Revelation 4:11

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” 

Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and satisfaction.
~ Harry Ironside
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Prayer for Worship

Pray for the marriages that you know – the strong, the fractured, both newly-created and longstanding. And pray for the marriage of Jesus and his bride the church.

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