Reasons Why I Believe in the Biblical Definition of Marriage

Reasons Why I Believe in the Biblical Definition of Marriage

1.       I have defied God regarding things in the Bible that I didn’t like and didn’t want to obey. That never ended well because God disciplined me (Hebrews 12:7-12).

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

2.       I found that God pours blessing upon me when I do what He desires (Malachi 3:10)

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

3.       I am commanded to love my neighbor and know that condoning his/her sin is to their detriment.

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13: 6-7

4.       It isn’t loving to support someone whose sin God says will keep him/her out of heaven.

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters not adulterers not male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were but you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12

5.       I really love the ones who struggle with same sex attraction and want to see them in heaven with me. I KNOW God loved me before I repented of my many sins yet I was blissfully unaware that those sins would send me to hell. It is obedience that pleases God and repentance that saves.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21

Although I hate being called a bigot and judgmental I know whom I serve and care more about pleasing Him than any whom falsely judge my motives. So along with Jesus I say what he said regarding the woman caught in adultery …” neither do I condemn you... Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:11

To find the Biblical definition on marriage try these Scriptures:

Ephesians 4:22-33;Romans 1:26-27; Matthew19:4; ICor6:9-10;Mark 10:6-10;Matthew 19:1-8;Galatians5:19;Ephesians5:3-7; Colossians3:5-7;ITim 1:10;Titus 1:16; Jude1:4,7,19;Rev21:27

Two Ways to End Gun Violence

Two ways to end gun violence

By Jill Krueger Wagner

I know of two ways to end gun violence.  The first involves the way we treat others.

Our society pretends to care about others but in truth we all tend to be self-absorbed. We have our individual agendas, our “must-do” lists that have a way of eating up our days. We don’t have time to see what is going on in the lives of those around us. When we get up in the morning we don’t ask, “Is there anyone I know who needs a kind word or help today?” Instead we think, “What do I have to do?” If we took the time to consider those around us we might notice a child that needs some extra love or a mother at the end of her rope trying to deal with that child. We would care for outcast kids, the “weird” ones who don’t fit. They need us, all of us.

The other way is to reconnect with truth. We all have a tendency to believe nice sounding lies that say everything is alright when in reality everything is out of focus. If we become addicted to helping others as suggested above we can lose our zest for life in the demands placed on us. We need balance.

When asked what the greatest commandment of the law was, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your hearts and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Those are the two ways to end gun violence – caring about others and putting God first in your life.

Walking

I recently saw a staircase upon which the homeowners had painted phrases on the risers. Today as I was walking up my own stairs I began to wonder what the Bible says about walking. I got out my concordance and learned quite a few things about how God wants us to walk.

He wants us to walk blamelessly before him and furthermore to have a blameless heart. He wants us to keep his decrees, to walk in his truth, to walk in the way of righteousness and of understanding. He also wants us to walk humbly and uprightly in the good way – the ways he commands, not in pride but in obedience. He also is able to humble those who walk in pride. He wants us to walk in his light.

After pondering this I’m reminded of a meeting I had years ago with Rev. William Worman. It was right after I committed my life to Christ. I had begun to read my Bible and found the impossible standards it sets for upright behavior. It seemed I couldn’t read one page without stumbling across some command I was personally breaking. I came to Bill and expressed my dismay about how I simply couldn’t possibly keep all of God’s demands on me. I will never forget his response.

He slapped his knee and said “Praise God you’ve got it!” I sat there with a befuddled look on my face and he said, “Jill, that’s the Gospel – if you could have measured up to God’s standards Jesus would not have had to come to pay the price for your sin.” 

The blinders came off my eyes and I saw the depths of God’s love for me. A weight lifted off my shoulders. Perhaps that is why 1 John 1:9 is one of my favorite Scriptures. “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  I knew unrighteousness then I found his forgiveness. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!”

Who is this Child?

This Christmas take time to discover exactly who Jesus is.

Who is this Child?

Predicted to be:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Is not “will be:”

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

The Word:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

The Father:

Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. John 12:44-45

Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? John 14:9

God:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthian 4:4

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:5-7

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

Christmas isn’t the Only Reason I Love December

Although I do indeed love Christmas – the shopping for the perfect gift, the baking and the decorations all can set my heart aglow – my fondness for December goes beyond this. In my family we celebrate three birthdays in the month, mine is among them – but still that’s not why I love December.

I love December because it was the month in which, for the first time, I realized the full extent of God’s love for me. It was in December while I was contemplating suicide that I decided that turning my life over to God might be a good alternative. I’d heard the Gospel story that Jesus had died to pay for my sin and I could no longer pretend I wasn’t a sinner. I knew the depths of my depravity yet still I clung to my way of life. I didn’t want to change yet I did want to change. I wanted to be the girl I once was, full of laughter and fun. So in my bedroom on South Magnolia Drive in Mentor, Ohio I told God that if He could do anything with my life He was welcome to it. 

I know lots of people feel an instantaneous relief when they do this – I did not. There were no fireworks going off, no sense of something different at all yet slowly I began to change. I developed an insatiable desire to read the Bible. I scoured the New Testament to learn about who Jesus really was and what He expected of me. What I saw there disheartened my because I knew that I couldn’t live up to God’s standards – I mean it said that I should be holy and perfect like God. Who can do that? So I went to Rev. Bill Worman and he slapped his knee and said, “Praise God, you’ve got it!” I just looked at him with my jaw open until he explained. He said, “Jill, if you could be good enough for God, Jesus would not have had to die for you.” 

Then the weight fell off my shoulders, then I understood – there isn’t anything any human being can do to meet God’s expectations. Billy Graham, the Pope, Mother Teresa and I all had to come to God humbly and accept the sacrifice freely offered by him.

This started my adventure into a life lived for the one who died for me. I still live a rather common life but in service to an uncommon Savior it takes on so many new dimensions. He created me to do good works before the creation of the world. I don’t do these works to gain heaven – heaven is the gift he gave me long ago. But I live my life to please Him and He prompts me to do AWESOME things that reflect who He is. This brings an unbelievable satisfaction to me.

It amuses me greatly that those who know me now won’t believe me when I tell them the type of person I was before coming to Christ. He has transformed me beyond my wildest dreams and chooses to use me for His Glory. 

If you need transformation, if you hate what you’ve become, reach out to Him. He’s waiting for you just like the father of the prodigal son in Luke 15. He looks at you with love in His eyes and longs to have you in his household.  And if you choose to come there will be rejoicing in heaven.

Merry Christmas!

Jill