Ironworks

          One of my hobbies is watching sports, both collegiate and professional. On occasion, I enjoy watching an event in person. One thing that I have always noticed is that at times there are empty seats. If a team is not playing well their fans do not fill the stadium or arena. If their team is winning by a large margin they may leave early to try and beat the traffic. Regardless, empty seats teach us one thing, the person who should be occupying it is missing. An Empty Seat At Home This time of year when families gather, there might be an empty seat because a family member has died. We are comforted, if our loved one was in Christ, that we can see them again (cf. 2 Sam 12:22-23). When a loved one passes away, we can remember the assurance that Christ is victorious over death. Paul recorded, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22).  An empty seat at home may persist throughout the year for good reas...

Marriage, divorce, and remarriage, or MDR, is one of the topics of the utmost importance. We all know someone that has been married, divorced, and/or remarried. So there is great interest in our marriages for the overall good of the church and the world in general. Stronger marriages help to make the church stronger. Stronger marriages make the world a better place and help to prevent some of the lasciviousness we see presently. When it comes to marriage, divorce, and remarriage, we must look to God’s Word to find the answers concerning these very personal and often emotionally charged subjects.            Last year at Polishing the Pulpit, bro. Rob Whitacre brought out a very good way to describe what the Bible says with regard to DMR. I have adapted these points in my own words and I hope they will help you understand what God has said concerning the subject. God is the Only One that Can Authorize Marriage  God created marriage in the Garden...

  “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone?  And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12  Two are better than one. This is easy to understand when you are working on a job that you just cannot do on your own. We must also remember this in our marriages daily for this is the very example Paul utilizes in the Scriptures (Ephesians 5:22-33; Col. 3:18-19). We fulfill Godly marriages when husbands love their wives as Christ loved His church and when wives submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ.   There is nothing demeaning about this. The helper that God designed for Adam was the perfect complement to him. ...