Matthew 19

Bible Passage:  Matthew 19

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The dreaded d-word is on the rise.
Facebook causes 20 percent of today’s divorces.
The highest divorce rate is 1 in 2 broken ties.

The figures are alarming,
Yet the word of God has always been warning us.
Marriage is sacred; marriage is a union;
Marriage was purposed for man by God when He created us.

God commanded that man cannot separate
What He has joined together.
But because of peoples’ hardness of heart,
Divorce was possible on the grounds of an adulter.

However, like the Pharisees,
People like to find loopholes to justify their disobedience.
Yes, “everything is permissible” but rather, (1 Cor 10:23-33),
Seek the good of others instead of pricking their conscience.

Imagine how children would have to deal with a divorce.
No child wants to be a part of a broken family.
Neither should we despise the little children,
For Jesus said, “Let the children come to Me”.

As the little children were coming to Jesus
To receive His blessings thus,
This shows their innocence and humility
Because they acknowledged they needed Jesus.

So many things in the world tempt us,
Likewise even the rich young ruler could not resist.
He was doing well keeping all the commandments of God
Until Jesus said to give everything he has to the poor then follow Him, He insists.

But at this one request,
It reflected the rich young ruler’s heart.
Though he could superficially keep of all the commands,
At heart he was still greedy, loving wealth more than Thou Art.

Yet it is not riches that makes a person
Unfit for the kingdom of God,
Or else Abraham and Job would not be allowed into heaven,
But it’s peoples’ love for things of this world besides God.

If we are willing to give up
the things of this world for the sake of His will,
whether it may be our pride, comfort, family, desires,
then we prove to God that He is above all, our zeal.

If we choose to follow Him to the end,
And life seemingly goes against us as if struggles become worse,
Jesus did say, “Many who are first will be last,
And the last first”.

If we give up the things we cherish,
And though we are criticized by popular standards,
We may become last in their point of view
But we will be first to claim our rewards.

It may seem impossible at times
To be saved, to follow His commands and resist the impermissible.
However Jesus said, “With men this is impossible,
But with God all things are possible.”

No one is perfect but One, that’s God.
“No one is good”, even Jesus said so Himself,
Or else pride has already overcome us if we think otherwise,
For the greatest enemy is us, ourselves, me, myself.

Three things to take away from this chapter:
To guard against greed, pride and immorality,
So that we may be considered worthy
To gain the kingdom of heaven and eternity.

How can we guard against greed, pride, and immorality at this point in time?