And He arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto Him again; and, as He was wont, He taught them again. And the Pharisees came to Him, and asked Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?’ tempting Him. And He answered and said unto them,
‘What did Moses command you?’
And they said, ‘Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.’ And Jesus answered and said unto them,
‘For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.’
And in the house His disciples asked Him again of the same matter. And He saith unto them,
‘Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.’ ” Mark 10:1-12
male
The Way of the Wicked Heart
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.” Jeremiah 17:9-11 (KJB)
Let me get right to the point. There is no male or female who is without a wicked heart, until that heart has been changed through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the perfect, sinless, Son of God; the only One who did not have a wicked heart.
Apart from the grace of God displayed on the cross that wicked heart can still make an appearance if we stray for walking with the LORD.
The part of these verses that caught my attention this morning was verse 11 dealing with the partridge; apparently a bird that could have been known for taking eggs of another bird, sitting on them, an leaving them at the first sign of trouble.
The wicked heart of Adam’s kind steals from others, and is shown to be a fool in his end.
God knows your heart. You may think you do. When you have seen some evil, wicked thing; you may have thought, or even said out loud, “I would never do anything like that”. That wicked heart you do not believe you have can show up suddenly, and openly, then the whole world around you will see. It is, in fact, your wicked heart that would lead you to think, and/or say such a thing.
O you of Adam kind will you give your heart, your soul, your mind to Jesus Christ? Do so today.
Day Three Hundred Forty and Three
What do I want for Christmas?
I want all races of people to be one in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior; there is truly only one race; the human race, and all of our blood flows red.
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” Genesis 1:26-28 (NKJV)
B F & M – Man
The estate of man is often questioned and discussed. When it comes to knowing the truth of the matter concerning humankind, there is only one reliable source of information and that is God’s Word – the Bible. Below you will see the Baptist Faith and Message statement concerning Man:
“III. Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.”
Originally, man was created in the state of innocence, with no sin. God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and made him a living soul.
In our Statement of Faith (BF& M) we say, “endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice”. Adam, the first man, used that freedom, sinned against God, thus condemning the whole human race – his children, grandchildren; all who would come from his seed.
Man is a totally depraved race. Without God’s grace we are a condemned race.
-T.A.
The Fire and Hammer 