Who's Boy Are You?

De 14:1 ¶ Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2) For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. I was raised in the Appalachian Mountains where my dad was pastor of a church up a “holler”. Sometimes, I would be in town and someone would ask, “whose boy are you?” I would say, “I’m Preacher Moore’s boy.” I was always glad when the reply would be, “You favor your daddy.” My dad would often remind me to remember whose boy I was and to behave like it.
The Children of Israel were reminded that they were His children. Not only were they to behave like God’s children, but they were to not do anything to hinder their family resemblance. They were not to scar, mar or tattoo their bodies. Man was created in the likeness of God.
Why do you suppose that people disfigure their God-made bodies? Could it be the influence of a devil that hates the very image of God? I believe so. Satan not only hates God but seeks to destroy the likeness of God in mankind. He wants to make ugly and defiled what should resemble its creator.
There is an epidemic of scarring and tattooing of bodies today. To do so makes more of a resemblance to children of the world than children of God. Many religions mark their members with some form of symbol or unique clothing. That was true of the false religions in Bible days as well. Israel was to avoid such customs. As a Christian, we must remember that we too are God’s children but also, He lives within our bodies. We should not look like the children of this world but show forth His praise. Isaiah 43:21 says, This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
Though many Christians have gotten marks of the past life upon their bodies, it should remind them that they have been forgiven by the scars put upon the body of Jesus. By His stripes we are healed.
Lord Jesus, thank you for being scarred to make me a child of God. Help me to look and behave more like God’s child every day that you let me live. Amen.

The Divine Design of Marriage
Ge 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Some religions such as Mormonism, promotes polygamy. God forbids such practices in the Bible. In every example where there was disobedience in the matter, there were negative consequences. Perhaps the most severe consequence for a man to have multiple wives would be that he would have multiple Mother-in Laws!
God designed, in the first marriage union, the principle that every marriage should be based. One man and one woman to become one flesh for the rest of their life. Any intrusion into the union of marriage brings confusion and disrupts the union. Consider the warning of bringing another person into the perfect union of “one man and one woman and one flesh” given in 1Corinthians 6:16, “What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.” In this case a man brings a harlot into his marriage and the oneness is broken. Two is companionship but three is a crowd!
Every marriage should endeavor to apply the three principles of God’s first design for marriage. The first principle is to leave all other relationships to inter the marriage union. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother…” Never allow intrusions to divide whether they are sinful pleasures or interfering relatives.
The second principle give is to cleave. That means to be bonded or glued into one. It is like epoxy, part A and part B, that when mixed together bonds two pieces into one whole. Never let anything to separate that union.
The Third principle is to be one flesh. Never see yourself apart from the other. Never be two halves, striving for equality, but one whole, complete in harmony and in love.
Lord thank you for making me whole in giving me my helpmeet, my completer. Help me to make my union stronger like unto the example you have given in the first union and our union in Christ. Guard my marriage against all intrusions, in Jesus Name, Amen.

The Danger of Falling Asleep in Church

The Danger of Falling Asleep in Church

Acts 20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. 10) And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. 11) When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. 12) And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

A man went to see the doctor for his snoring problem. “Does it disturb your wife?” the doctor asked. “No, it embarrasses her,” he replied. “It is the preacher and the rest of the church that it disturbs!”

It has proven to be dangerous to fall asleep in church. In this passage a man named Eutychus fell asleep and fell out of church and died. Eutychus like many Christians, was sitting too close to the world. If he had fallen asleep in the middle of the congregation, someone could have propped him up and kept him from falling. Perhaps from his window seat he had a good view of what was going on in the world rather than listening to the preaching of God’s Word. Notice too, he fell into slumber before he fell to his death. We are warned by the preaching to be sober. I Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

It is ironic that his name means “fortunate”. For many Christians who fall out of church they are not as fortunate as Eutychus. He was fortunate because there were Christians there who cared and sought to restore him to the fellowship of the church again. Notice too, that his restoration to fellowship and testimony was of great encouragement to the rest of the Church.

Lord help me to stay alert and attentive to the preaching of God’s Word away from the influence of the world and to stay in the center of your service. Thank you for a Church that cares and seeks to restore the fallen.