POLYGAMY

The Bible on Polygamy and Same-Sex Marriage
"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach."1

1. Polygamy

A Daily Encounter subscriber from Africa asks, please let us know what the Bible teaches about polygamy as here in Africa it is taken for granted even by some Christians.

It is true that in Old Testament days it was not uncommon for men to have more than one wife; this was true of both King David and King Solomon. In some instances if a woman's husband died, the brother of the husband who died was to take his late-brother's wife to be his wife even if he was already married (See Deuteronomy 25:5). This was to preserve his brother's family line. It is my understanding, too, that in other instances men had more than one wife so that some women wouldn't be forced into prostitution, slavery or starvation in order to survive.

In the New Testament, however, 1 Timothy 3:2, 12 and Titus 1:6 give "'the husband of one wife' in a list of qualifications for spiritual leadership…. While these qualifications are specifically for positions of spiritual leadership, they should apply equally to all Christians. Should not all Christians be 'above reproach…temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money' (1 Timothy 3:2-4). If we are called to be holy (1 Peter 1:16), and if these standards are holy for elders and deacons, then they are holy for all."2

Furthermore, in Ephesians 5:22-33 wherever the Apostle Paul is giving instructions to husbands and wives his directives are always in the singular; that is, they are never plural in either multiple wives or husbands.

2. Same-Sex Marriage

Another prominent question that many are asking today is what does the Bible have to say about same sex marriage?

"While the Bible does address homosexuality, it does not explicitly mention gay marriage/same-sex marriage. It is clear, however, that the Bible condemns homosexuality as an immoral and unnatural sin. Leviticus 18:22 identifies homosexual sex as an abomination, a detestable sin. Romans 1:26-27 declares homosexual desires and actions to be shameful, unnatural, lustful, and indecent. First Corinthians 6:9 states that homosexuals are unrighteous and will not inherit the kingdom of God. Since both homosexual desires and actions are condemned in the Bible, it is clear that homosexuals 'marrying' is not God's will, and would be, in fact, sinful.

"Whenever the Bible mentions marriage, it is between a male and a female. The first mention of marriage, Genesis 2:24, describes it as a man leaving his parents and being united to his wife. In passages that contain instructions regarding marriage, such as 1 Corinthians 7:2-16 and Ephesians 5:23-33, the Bible clearly identifies marriage as being between a man and a woman. Biblically speaking, marriage is the lifetime union of a man and a woman, primarily for the purpose of building a family and providing a stable environment for that family."3

The Bible makes it clear that marriage, which is ordained by God, is to be between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage is thus a perversion of God's plan for marriage. (Genesis 2:21-24; Matthew 19:4-6).

And as Ronald Reagan so wisely said some years ago, "As goes the family so goes the nation."

In My Genes. Many gay and homosexual people claim that their attraction to and desire for the same sex is in their genes so there is nothing they can do about it but give in to it. This may or may not be true but the fact is that sin is in my genes (actually in everybody's genes), as the Bible says, "For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me" Psalm 51:5 (NLT). But does this give me the right and an excuse to do what I hunger or "passion" to do? Of course not. Such would be absurd and end up destroying just about everyone.

Keep in mind, though, while God loves all sinners—including you and me—he hates all sin because sin is totally destructive to those whom he loves: you and me. Christians are to do the same; that is we are to love all sinners but not accept any actions that God's Word labels as sin. We are also called to be the "salt of the earth" and as such we need to take a stand against all sin and evil and live as well as speak the truth.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your Word, the Bible, which gives all mankind clear instructions for every area of living—all of which is for the protection and good of all mankind. Please give me the desire to learn what your Word teaches and the desire, will and help to live accordingly. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 1 Timothy 3:2 (NKJV).
2. From Got Questions.org http://www.gotquestions.org/polygamy.html.
3. From Got Questions.org http://www.gotquestions.org/gay-marriage.html.

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NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click HERE.

Having Reverence and Respect for the Body

In so many ways we use and abuse our bodies. Jesus' coming to us in the body and his being lifted with his body in the glory of God call us to treat our bodies and the bodies of others with great reverence and respect.

God, through Jesus, has made our bodies sacred places where God has chosen to dwell. Our faith in the resurrection of the body, therefore, calls us to care for our own and one another's bodies with love. When we bind one another's wounds and work for the healing of one another's bodies, we witness to the sacredness of the human body, a body destined for eternal life. <:))))><

Henri Nouwen Society

敬拜神是人類受造的目的，也是人的本性

神創造人時，就已將一個空處擺在人心裡，所以
人會有尋求真理、尋求永生的渴望，直到在敬拜
時遇見這位造他的真神，才得到滿足。「認識你
獨一的真神，並且認識你所差來的耶穌基督
，這就是永生。」(約十七3) 過去我們都是在
敬拜世上各種不同的人事物，但這一切終究會讓
我們失望，那時我們就發現這些不過都是虛幻。
惟有找到我們的造物主、這位創造天地萬有的神
，我們心裡才會得到真實的滿足。人只有在敬拜
神的時候，才會找到他人生的意義，並認識自己
是誰。我們要認識自己，就必須要先認識那創造
我們的神，因為我們是照祂形像所造的。 林大中

PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS TO ALL CREATION

Jesus said to them, 'Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation'. (Mark 16)

I feel like praying that my life might become simple enough for me to be able to say 'yes' when Jesus looks at me with love and invites me to leave everything behind and follow him.

Henri Nouwen

LORD, help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness

And now Lord... help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness. (Acts 4)

We seldom fully realize that we have to choose how, where and with whom to live. We act as if we were simply dropped down in creation and have to decide how to entertain ourselves until we die. But we were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus was. Once we start living our lives with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do.

Henri Nouwen

Good Friday - April 22, 2011

Like a sapling he grew up in front of us, like a root in arid ground. Without beauty, without majesty (we saw him), no looks to attract our eyes; a thing despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering, a man to make people screen their faces; he was despised and we took no account of him. And yet, ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried. (Isaiah 52)

The enormous anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane is the anguish of Jesus who yearns for the love of his friends, but they don't realize it. He longs to give them love but they haven't opened themselves to receive it. This is the enormous anguish of God who is only love...who leaves people free to accept or reject that love.

Henri Nouwen

CLERGY FLAMEOUT IS NOT NECESSARY AND MAY BE PREVENTIVE

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Clergy flameout is not necessary and may be preventable

By Bill Ellis
Special to ASSIST News Service
SCOTT DEPOT, WV (ANS) -- Twenty-four hours after a snowstorm in Teays Valley, WV, I walked out to the highway to pick up the Saturday morning Charleston Gazette-Mail newspaper, the largest in the state.

Back at the kitchen table and a cup of hot chocolate, I opened the paper to a well-written story by Ron Orozco of McClatchy Newspapers, "Churches confront issue of 'clergy burnout'."

Orozco's thought-provoking story centered around Fresno, CA, one of my favorite areas in the United States.

There are negatives, but many positives as well. I do not know of anything burning out that was not at one time on fire and burning brightly. I will consider those of the clergy family.

Clergypersons are the spiritual leaders, ministers, preachers, teachers and shepherds. Paul wrote to the faithful in Ephesus, "And He gave some apostles . . . and some pastors and teachers" (Ephesians 4:11). The Bible also refers to them as "Ambassadors for Christ" (2 Cor. 5:20).

To "burn out" means, we can safely assume, that something or a person was once on fire.

A man or woman senses their "call to the ministry" with the deep conviction that this "is what God wants me to do." After some years of preparation, whether it be little or as it is more often in our day, involving a bachelor's degree and then a graduate degree of 45-90 semester hours of graduate study -- the day of ordination may arrive.

How does this person of such tremendous possibilities "flameout" or "burnout" after years in the ministry? If I were the speaker for a pastor's conference or seminar for professional and business leaders, as I have been many times, here are a few things I would emphasize to prevent "burnout".

1. They may have heard too many sermons on the piety of "wearing out and not rusting out" in God's work. Sounds good, but may be a little on the stupid side of ministry.

2. Married clergy members who become distracted by those of the opposite sex are headed for disaster.

3. Successful clergy persons, like many narcissistic athletes and politicians, read too many of their own headlines.

4. They want to do things Jesus did not do. They want to be present before they are even called. Always being on the job 24-7 does not convey much more than an abundance of ignorance.

5. Churches and pastors should see to it that the pastor eats, sleeps, exercises, reads, studies, relaxes as is becoming to healthy and spiritual people. How about a "weigh-in" each month for the pastor? Deduct five dollars from the weekly check for every pound he is overweight?

6. Churches should be aware that it is much less expensive to keep a pastor healthy and functioning positively and successfully than it is to go through a church and leadership wreck. "Humpty Dumpty" falls are often beyond repair. All the superintendents and bishops cannot put it back together again.

7. Churches should make certain that pastors are on complete vacation with their families at least six weeks of each year. If a pastor's parents are living, send him home to Mom and Dad twice each year no matter how far away they live. A week with parents helps the "greatest preacher" among us get his feet back on the ground. He is still a little boy trying to grow up in their house. Putting your feet three times a day under Mom's table will do more than visiting the counselor's office or the psychiatrist's couch.

Samuel Butler defined a clergyman as "A human Sunday." A clergyman is also a human Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Pastors are human and they need lots of help from other humans so all can succeed and be faithful to the very end.

GOD'S FAITHFULNESS AND OURS

When God makes a covenant with us, God says: "I will love you with an everlasting love. I will be faithful to you, even when you run away from me, reject me, or betray me." In our society we don't speak much about covenants; we speak about contracts. When we make a contract with a person, we say: "I will fulfill my part as long as you fulfill yours. When you don't live up to your promises, I no longer have to live up to mine." Contracts are often broken because the partners are unwilling or unable to be faithful to their terms.

But God didn't make a contract with us; God made a covenant with us, and God wants our relationships with one another to reflect that covenant. That's why marriage, friendship, life in community are all ways to give visibility to God's faithfulness in our lives together.

Henri Nouwen's Society

TEN THOUGHTS

1) Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble. It is a "steering wheel" that directs us in the right path throughout life.

2) Do you know why a car's windshield is so large and the rear view mirror is so small? Because our past is not as important as our future. So, look ahead and move on.

3) Friendship is like a book. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

4) All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it; it may not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry; it may not last long either.

5) Old friends are like gold! New friends are diamonds! If you get a diamond, don't forget the gold! Because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold!

6) Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, God smiles and says, "Relax, it's just a bend, not the end!"

7) When God solves your problems, you have faith in His abilities; when God doesn't solve your problems, He has faith in your abilities.

8) A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision."

9) When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

10) Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles. It takes away today's peace.

--author unknown AllWorship

GIVING AND RECEIVING CONSOLATION

Consolation is a beautiful word. It means "to be" (con-) "with the lonely one" (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see. We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive.

To console does not mean to take away the pain but rather to be there and say, "You are not alone, I am with you. Together we can carry the burden. Don't be afraid. I am here." That is consolation. We all need to give it as well as to receive it.

Henri Nouwen Society <:))))><

Returning to God's Ever-Present Love

We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn't approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions of evil, because they all contradict the love God wants to instill in the human heart. Evil is the absence of God's love. Evil does not belong to God.

God's unconditional love means that God continues to love us even when we say or think evil things. God continues to wait for us as a loving parent waits for the return of a lost child. It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do. That truth will help us to return to God's ever-present love.

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Henri Nouwen

GOD'S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

What can we say about God's love? We can say that God's love is unconditional. God does not say, "I love you, if ..." There are no ifs in God's heart. God's love for us does not depend on what we do or say, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity. God's love for us existed before we were born and will exist after we have died. God's love is from eternity to eternity and is not bound to any time-related events or circumstances. Does that mean that God does not care what we do or say? No, because God's love wouldn't be real if God didn't care. To love without condition does not mean to love without concern. God desires to enter into relationship with us and wants us to love God in return.

Let's dare to enter into an intimate relationship with God without fear, trusting that we will receive love and always more love.

Henri Nouwen Society

BECOMING KIND

Kindness is a beautiful human attribute. When we say, "She is a kind person" or "He surely was kind to me," we express a very warm feeling. In our competitive and often violent world, kindness is not the most frequent response. But when we encounter it we know that we are blessed. Is it possible to grow in kindness, to become a kind person? Yes, but it requires discipline. To be kind means to treat another person as your "kin," your intimate relative. We say, "We are kin" or "He is next of kin." To be kind is to reach out to someone as being of "kindred" spirit.

Here is the great challenge: All people, whatever their color, religion, or sex, belong to humankind and are called to be kind to one another, treating one another as brothers and sisters. There is hardly a day in our lives in which we are not called to this.

Henri Nouwen Society

FORGIVING IN THE NAME OF GOD

We are all wounded people. Who wounds us? Often those whom we love and those who love us. When we feel rejected, abandoned, abused, manipulated, or violated, it is mostly by people very close to us: our parents, our friends, our spouses, our lovers, our children, our neighbors, our teachers, our pastors. Those who love us wound us too. That's the tragedy of our lives. This is what makes forgiveness from the heart so difficult. It is precisely our hearts that are wounded. We cry out, "You, who I expected to be there for me, you have abandoned me. How can I ever forgive you for that?"

Forgiveness often seems impossible, but nothing is impossible for God. The God who lives within us will give us the grace to go beyond our wounded selves and say, "In the Name of God you are forgiven." Let's pray for that grace.

OUT OF SOLITUDE

"When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."

Henri Nouwen

OVERCOMING LUST

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."1

A Daily Encounter reader from South America writes: "My name is Juan and I am writing for help. I have a 'cannon' within that is destroying my life—it is the cannon of uncontrollable lust. I'm married but am unable to control myself. I have been unfaithful, each time telling myself it's the last time, yet again and again I fall. I've tried all within my will to stop but just can't. I've lost all sense of self-worth and just go through the motions of life. I love God and I miss the sweet fellowship I once used to enjoy. How do I stop from destroying myself and my family? Please help me."

Thank you, Juan, for the courage to admit that you have a problem with lust. This is the first step in the recovery from any problem. Next, while it may be difficult to do, it is important to admit that when lust causes one's life to be out of control, he is a sex addict.

Third, understand that many, if not most, addictions start as a means to avoid facing the pain of some inner unresolved issue. It is the "fruit of a deeper root."

Fourth, I urge you not only to confess your sin to God which you have said that you have done many times, but also to a trusted, safe male friend—one who will never betray your confidence—and keep yourself accountable to him. As God's Word says, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."1

Fifth, I understand that you have already confessed your sexual sins to God, but you also need to earnestly ask God to help you to see if there are any unresolved issues in your life that are driving you to act out in lust and sexual sins. For example, lust that controls us is often a result of repressed love, so you may still unconsciously be looking for the "mother love" you never received as a child. Or you could be unconsciously angry at your mother and taking out your anger on other women. Whatever is the root cause of your problem God knows what it is so I encourage you to ask God to show you what it is.

Sixth, if possible, it could be a great help for you to become a member in a SA (Sex Anonymous) group, just like AA (Alcohol Anonymous), SA is organized to help people to be freed from their addiction.

Seventh, I also strongly encourage you to get some fine Christian counseling to help you discover and resolve the hidden cause or causes of your sex addiction.

Finally, the first thing every day be sure to commit and trust your life and way to God. He can make a much better job of your life than you can. Following is a suggested prayer:

"Again, today, Dear God I commit and trust my life and way to you. Please guide me in the way I need to go, help me to overcome my problem with lust and sexual sins, and become the man of God you want me to be. Also, I am available, please use me today to be 'as Jesus' in some way to every life I have contact with. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

NOTE: I have quite a few articles on recovery so I suggest you go to http://www.actsweb.org/articles/Recovery.php and read some of these articles. Especially read the article "Lady of the Night" and "Adultery: Caught in the Act," Parts I and II.

1. James 5:16 (NIV).

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NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click HERE.

Or if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, please click HERE to note this.

Daily Encounter - Acts International

THE THREE TREES

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods.

They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carvings and everyone would see the beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally, the third tree said, "I want to grow up to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a
carpenter," and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree, the woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy
because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down, his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one," and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to
an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the street as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined but in ways greater than they had dared to hope.

--Author Unknown

AllWorship

Pray!

Do you want to get more people praying? My best suggestion is to glean from your own conversations and relationship with God and start sharing the good things you find there. How are you seeing Him respond to the things you share with Him and the requests You make of Him? What new things does He invite you into as you spend time listening to Him? What peace and hope are you discovering as you release your concerns—and those of the people you pray for—to Him? How is your relationship with Him deepening and becoming more personal as you talk with Him as your loving Friend and Father? What vision from Jesus’ heart is He putting on yours so you can intercede before the Father with Him?

I think if you do this you will find two important things happening: first, your own prayer life will grow ever more vital and second, others will see what you enjoy with God and want to deepen their conversations with Him, too.

Cynthia Bezek - Pray!

THE HIGHWAY TO HELL

Jesus said, "Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for all ... who choose its easy way. But the Gate-way to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it."1

Some years ago Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was scheduled to speak at the town hall in an unfamiliar city. He decided to walk, and on the way got lost. He saw some boys so asked them the way to City Hall.

"What are you going to do there?" asked one of the boys.

"I'm going to give a lecture," replied the bishop.

"About what?"

"On how to get to heaven. Would you care to come along?"

"Are you kidding?" said the boy, "You don't even know how to get to City Hall!"

How tragic that so many people are lost, not on their way to any human address but on the way to their eternal destination. So many believe, as I once did, that if I did enough good things to outweigh the bad things I had done, that would get me into God's heaven.

Not so, I'm afraid. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through me."2 This is because, no matter how good we may be by human standards, every one of us is born with the "dis-ease of sin." And if God allowed sin's disease into heaven, it would destroy heaven as it has earth.

The only way to God and heaven is not through our good works but by accepting God's Son, Jesus Christ, as our personal Lord and Savior. Jesus died to pay the penalty of our sin so he could deliver us from the effects of sin's disease which is eternal death and separation from God--the source of all love and life.

Because of what Jesus did, God now offers you and me a free pardon for all our sins. All we need to do is admit we are sinners, thank Jesus for dying on the cross in our place for our sin, invite him into our life as personal Lord and Savior, and accept his forgiveness, his gift of eternal life, and a home in heaven forever. This is God's special Christmas to all who believe.

Had there been any other way to be in a right relationship with God and heaven, then God never would have had to send his Son to die on the cross for us. So, if you have never accepted God's gift of forgiveness and eternal life, and would like help to do that right now, be sure to read: How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian without having to be religious at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your great Christmas love gift to the world and for giving your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins. I believe and ask you to forgive all my sins. And Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross in my place and I invite you into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. Help me to live for you always in all ways. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

A sample of Daily Encounter by Dick Innes

THE BIBLE

We have adopted the convenient theory that the Bible is a Book to be explained, whereas first and foremost it is a Book to be believed.

There is a world of difference between knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word.

Leonard Ravenhill