<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 6;14-19<div><br></div><div><b>14. &nbsp;King Herod heard of it; for Jesus’ name had become known. &nbsp;Some said, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.”</b></div><div><b>15. &nbsp;But others said, “It is Elijah.” &nbsp;And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”</b></div><div><b>16. &nbsp;But when Herod heard of it he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”</b></div><div><b>17. &nbsp;For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison&nbsp;for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; because he had married her.</b></div><div><b>18. &nbsp;For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>To be counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus is honor from God. &nbsp;Jesus said, <i>“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. &nbsp;</i><i>Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. &nbsp;Rejoice and be glad, for&nbsp;your reward is great in Heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets&nbsp;who were before you.” &nbsp;</i>(Matthew 5;10-12)</div><div><br></div><div>However, at the time it is happening, it is not easy to, <i>“rejoice and be glad”. &nbsp;</i>Suffering for righteousness sake&nbsp;is still suffering, and it requires great faith to endure it as the blessing Jesus says it is. &nbsp;Not many are given such honor. &nbsp;Not many can bear it cheerfully and willingly. &nbsp;In prison, it would seem that John the baptizer himself may have experienced some doubt over who Jesus was and whether he had been right when he said, <i>“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” &nbsp;</i>(John 1;29)</div><div><br></div><div>Herod had a guilty conscience. &nbsp;He knew John was a holy man who spoke the truth to him concerning his adultery with his brother’s wife. &nbsp;Even though Herod had ‘married’ her, she remained Philips wife in the eyes of God. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Today, many guilty people are in ‘marriages’ which are not recognized by God as lawful. &nbsp;The only Biblical grounds for divorce and being set free from original wedding vows are, adultery (Matthew 5;32), and desertion of an unbelieving spouse (1 Corinthians 7;13-15).</div><div><br></div><div>Divorce and remarriage for any other reason is sin. &nbsp;God will certainly forgive those who repent of their sin, confess it, and seek to gain the forgiveness of those whom they have been unfaithful to. &nbsp;The greater problem is a stubborn, prideful heart which is unwilling to confess their unlawful divorce and remarriage&nbsp;as sin. &nbsp;This puts a soul in great spiritual danger, because the Holy Spirit&nbsp;certainly calls Believers who are guilty of unlawful divorce to repent. &nbsp;Resisting the Holy Spirit can cost you your soul.</div><div><br></div><div>Some would object here and say, ‘There are other grounds for divorce which God allows.’ &nbsp;I say, show them to me is scripture.</div><div><br></div><div>Others would say, ‘But what if you are married to an abuser, one who is a threat to your physical, mental, and emotional health, or one who is addicted to drugs, alcohol, or other such substances and who endangers their spouse and children in that way?’ &nbsp;</div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Scripture has an answer, ‘separate and remain single’&nbsp;(1 Corinthians 7;10&amp;11) in the prayerful hope of reconciliation. &nbsp;The prayers of a faithful spouse have great power. &nbsp;Such suffering is exactly what Jesus is speaking about in Matthew, those who suffer in this way are suffering for the sake of righteousness, they are blessed.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>All unlawful divorces and marriages are forgivable. &nbsp;But, one must allow the Holy Spirit to bring them to true repentance, confess, and be forgiven.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, Christ our Lord came to win His Bride the Church. &nbsp;Faithfulness is the hallmark of righteousness. &nbsp;Forgive we pray, those of us who broke faith, divorced and remarried, and give us courage and humility to recognize our sin&nbsp;</span><span>and confess it, and be forgiven. &nbsp;Give grace and strength&nbsp;</span><span>to all who are in the vow of&nbsp;</span><span>marriage, to keep their vows and glorify you with faithfulness. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad,Baba,Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</span></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 6;14-19
14.  King Herod heard of it; for Jesus’ name had become known.  Some said, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.”15.  But others said, “It is Elijah.”  And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”16.  But when Herod heard of it he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”17.  For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; because he had married her.18.  For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
To be counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus is honor from God.  Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.  Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  (Matthew 5;10-12)
However, at the time it is happening, it is not easy to, “rejoice and be glad”.  Suffering for righteousness sake is still suffering, and it requires great faith to endure it as the blessing Jesus says it is.  Not many are given such honor.  Not many can bear it cheerfully and willingly.  In prison, it would seem that John the baptizer himself may have experienced some doubt over who Jesus was and whether he had been right when he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  (John 1;29)
Herod had a guilty conscience.  He knew John was a holy man who spoke the truth to him concerning his adultery with his brother’s wife.  Even though Herod had ‘married’ her, she remained Philips wife in the eyes of God.  
Today, many guilty people are in ‘marriages’ which are not recognized by God as lawful.  The only Biblical grounds for divorce and being set free from original wedding vows are, adultery (Matthew 5;32), and desertion of an unbelieving spouse (1 Corinthians 7;13-15).
Divorce and remarriage for any other reason is sin.  God will certainly forgive those who repent of their sin, confess it, and seek to gain the forgiveness of those whom they have been unfaithful to.  The greater problem is a stubborn, prideful heart which is unwilling to confess their unlawful divorce and remarriage as sin.  This puts a soul in great spiritual danger, because the Holy Spirit certainly calls Believers who are guilty of unlawful divorce to repent.  Resisting the Holy Spirit can cost you your soul.
Some would object here and say, ‘There are other grounds for divorce which God allows.’  I say, show them to me is scripture.
Others would say, ‘But what if you are married to an abuser, one who is a threat to your physical, mental, and emotional health, or one who is addicted to drugs, alcohol, or other such substances and who endangers their spouse and children in that way?’  
Scripture has an answer, ‘separate and remain single’ (1 Corinthians 7;10&11) in the prayerful hope of reconciliation.  The prayers of a faithful spouse have great power.  Such suffering is exactly what Jesus is speaking about in Matthew, those who suffer in this way are suffering for the sake of righteousness, they are blessed.
All unlawful divorces and marriages are forgivable.  But, one must allow the Holy Spirit to bring them to true repentance, confess, and be forgiven.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, Christ our Lord came to win His Bride the Church.  Faithfulness is the hallmark of righteousness.  Forgive we pray, those of us who broke faith, divorced and remarried, and give us courage and humility to recognize our sin and confess it, and be forgiven.  Give grace and strength to all who are in the vow of marriage, to keep their vows and glorify you with faithfulness.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad,Baba,EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
