DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS

MONDAY - VERSES: Genesis 2:23-25; 1 Corinthians 7:9-11,36-40; Hebrews 13:4 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for providing the plan for marriage.

TUESDAY - VERSES: the word together is used almost 500 times in the Bible, the first is day 3 in Genesis 1:9-10; 1 Peter 3:7; 5:13; Hebrews 10:25 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for putting together those things that belong together.

WEDNESDAY - VERSES: Colossians 2:2,13,19; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 5:10-11 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you recognize the things that you should not separate.

THURSDAY - VERSES: Ephesians 1:10; 2:5-6,21-22; 4:16 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to forgive you for times that you have not kept things together that He put together.

FRIDAY - VERSES: Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 5:3-5; 7:5; 2 Corinthians 6:1 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask for God's help in helping others learn how to keep things together that should be together.

SATURDAY - VERSES: 1 Corinthians 11:17-18, 33-34; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God for the wisdom to recognize things that should not be put together.

o n o n o n o n o n o n

Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society. - John Adams

o n o n o n o n o n o n

We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately. - Benjamin Franklin

o n o n o n o n o n o n

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. - Henry Ford

ASSIGNMENTS

1. At least once a day read over this material and read or sing the song.

2. Place the scripture you will see it each day.

3. Think of things God has joined together that man separates.

4. Write down things you have thought of that man tries to separate.

5. Plan to tell the class something you recognized that God joined and man separates, or tell how you have, in the past, separated something which God joined together.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 35

UNIONS - 3-17-13 TO 3-23-13

SCRIPTURE - Mark 10:9 "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

COMMENT - This statement of Jesus concerning marriage can be applied to other things also. Anything God joins together, man should not separate.

SONG - BLESSED BE THE TIE THAT BINDS

1. Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love

The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above.

2. Before our Father's throne, We pour our ardent prayers;

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, Our comforts and our cares.

3. We share our mutual woes; Our mutual burdens bear;

And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear.

4. When we asunder part, It gives us inward pain;

But we shall still be joined in heart, And hope to meet again.

THOUGHTS
A Sunday School teacher was showing pictures to her class and asking them what Bible verse each situation reminded them of. One of the pictures shown was that of two little boys, one pulling the head of a cat and the other pulling the cat's tail. She asked the class what verse this picture reminded them of. One little fellow had recently attended a wedding and remembered something the preacher had read from the Bible. He raised his hand to volunteer his insight. When the teacher called upon the boy, he stood and reported: "What God has joined together let no man put asunder!"

o n o n o n o n o n o n

A study of divorced couples with preschool children shows that after a year of divorce, 60% of men and 73% of women feel they made a mistake and should have tried harder to make marriage work. People have no idea how much anguish and stress is caused by divorce.

o n o n o n o n o n o n

A beautiful little girl wandered out one cold day into the countryside of Canada. The family finally realized she was lost and started a search. Then they called the people of the community together. Each went his own way. It became dark and the cold of the Canadian winter settled down. After some time someone suggested the searchers join hands and cover the grass fields. But it was too late. They found the girl curled up, frozen in the cold. Then the shout went up, "If only we had joined hands before!" The spiritual meaning of this story is clear. Christ's love demands unity among His believers.

o n o n o n o n o n o n

The "Declaration of Feminism" claims, "Marriage has existed for the benefit of men and has been a legally sanctioned method of control over women... the end of the institution of marriage is a necessary condition for the liberation of women. Therefore, it is important for us to encourage women to leave their husbands and not to live individually with men... we must work to destroy it (marriage)."

o n o n o n o n o n o n

A lady had gone through 4 marriages. First, she married a millionaire, then she married a film producer, then she married a preacher, and then she married a funeral director. Somebody asked, "Why did you marry all of those guys?" She said, "Well I married 1 for the money, 2 for the show, 3 to get ready and 4 to go!"

o n o n o n o n o n o n

In Marriage & Divorce magazine, the March 1980 issue, these statistics were given: Right now in the United States 1 out of 3 marriages ends in divorce. However, in a marriage where both people were married in a church, the divorce rate is 1 out of 50.

In a marriage where the couple is married in a church, they attend church every Sunday, and they pray and read the Bible together, the divorce rate is 1 out of 1,105. That's the difference that Jesus Christ makes in a marriage.

o n o n o n o n o n o n

In the 1950's, divorce was relatively uncommon. That changed drastically in the next decades. By 1962, one out of every three marriages would end in divorce. By 1977, the rate shot up to one of two and held there. Marriage, it would seem now has at best an even chance of success.

Twenty years ago many Americans were alarmed by the spread of divorce, but they took comfort in the conviction of most psychologists that kids would bounce back quickly after a family breakup. After two or three years of grieving, it was believed, the sons and daughters of divorce would be almost as good as new.

Millions of people have since learned, through experience, that comfortable supposition was false. In her recent book, Second Chances: Men, Women & Children a Decade After Divorce, psychologist Judith Wallerstein has confirmed what many already felt: However long it lasted for parents, the pain of divorce was not transient for children -- the trauma could haunt them into adulthood. After a 10- year study of 60 divorced families, Wallerstein has written of the adolescents she interviewed, "... we were able to see clearly that we weren't dealing simply with the routine angst of young people going through transition but rather that, for most of them, divorce was the single most important cause of enduring pain and anomie (a lack of social and moral standards) in their lives." Even more troubling, she found that the dislocation visited upon children by their parents' divorce, far from disappearing after adolescence, may even turn out to be permanent. -- People Magazine, May 29, 1989

o n o n o n o n o n o n

WHAT GOD HAS JOINED, LET NOT MAN SEPARATE!

INTRODUCTION

I. HUSBAND & _________ - MARK 10:2-12

II. _______ _______ & RESPECT/HONOR - PROVERBS 20:29; JOB 12:12-13; LEVITICUS 19:32

III. FAITH & ___________ - JAMES 2:14-26

IV. ____________ & RESPONSIBILITY - 1 CORINTHIANS 15:10; 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-2; EPHESIANS 2:8-10

V. ___________ & OBEDIENCE - JOHN 14:15; 15:10; 1 JOHN 5:3

VI. SIN & _____________ - 2 CORINTHIANS 7:9-10

VII. ________________ & THE CHURCH

A. Christ's Blood Was Shed for the Church - Acts 20:28

B. the Church Is the Body of Christ - Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18, 24

C. Christ Is the Savior of the Body (Church) - Ephesians 5:23

D. Christ Gave Himself for the Church - Ephesians 5:25-27

E. Christians Are Registered in Heaven - Hebrews 12:22-24

CONCLUSION - 1 John 1:6-10 - God Also Put Confession of Sin & Forgiveness Together!

WHAT GOD HAS JOINED, LET NOT MAN SEPARATE!

INTRODUCTION

A. What God Has Joined Together, Let Not Man Separate!

B. In the Context this Is Referring to the Marriage of a Man & a Woman

C. We Are Going to Look at Marriage and Also Six Other Things God Has Joined Together That Man Has Tried to Separate

I. HUSBAND & WIFE

A. Mark 10:2-12 The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him. {3} And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?" {4} They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her." {5} And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. {6} "But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.' {7} 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, {8} 'and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. {9} "Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." {10} In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. {11} So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. {12} "And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

B. God Intended for a Man and a Woman to Join Together in Marriage for Life. There Are Scriptural Reasons for this Contract to Be Broken but it Is Not Our Purpose Here to Discuss Those. God Joins a Man and a Woman in Marriage and Man Should Not Separate Them.

II. OLD AGE & RESPECT/HONOR

A. Proverbs 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.

B. Job 12:12-13 Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. {13} "With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.

C. Leviticus 19:32 'You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.

III. FAITH & WORKS

A. James 2:14-26 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? {15} If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, {16} and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? {17} Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. {18} But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. {19} You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe; and tremble! {20} But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? {21} Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? {22} Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? {23} And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. {24} You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. {25} Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? {26} For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

IV. GRACE & RESPONSIBILITY

A. 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

B. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. {2} For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

C. Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast. {10} For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

V. LOVE & OBEDIENCE

A. John 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

B. John 15:10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

C. 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

VI. SIN & GUILT

A. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. {10} For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

B. Society Likes to Call Some Sins by Other Names and Do Away with the Stigma of Calling it a Sin.

1. Alcoholism a "Disease"

2. Homosexuality a "Lifestyle"

3. Adultery an "Affair"

VII. SALVATION & THE CHURCH

A. Christ's Blood Was Shed for the Church - Acts 20:28 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

B. the Church Is the Body of Christ

1. Ephesians 1:22-23 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, {23} which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

2. Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

3. Colossians 1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,

C. Christ Is the Savior of the Body (The Church) - Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

D. Christ Gave Himself for the Church - Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, {26} that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, {27} that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

E. Christians Are Registered in Heaven - Hebrews 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, {23} to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, {24} to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

CONCLUSION -

A. Have You Tried to Separate Something God Has Joined Together?

B. 1 John 1:6-10 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. {7} But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. {8} If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. {9} If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

C. God Also Put Confession of Sin & Forgiveness Together!

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together, let not man separate.

Mark 10:9

What God has joined together,

let not man separate.