The Sanctity Of The Home

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Long before the Church was purchase by Christ, the home was ordained of God in the Garden of Eden. In the beginning the Creator spoke into existence the heavens, the earth, the fish of the sea and the animals of the fields; yet He concluded the sixth day with the creation of husband and wife charging them with dominion and care of the earth (Genesis 1:27, 28). So concerned was God with the quality of relationship of this first family and others that would follow–that He gave principles for its success.

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2 : 24). Within this scripture are three specific dynamics that are essential to the success of any home, Christian or otherwise: Leaving, cleaving and weaving

For any marriage to succeed, it is incumbent upon both partners that each leave his/her home of childhood and relinquish the priority of those relationships for the sake of establishing one with the new spouse. Far too many young marriages are jeopardized because of former attachments to parents have not been properly readjusted; in fact, mother and father have not been left behind but are along to the marriage where their involvement brings about eventual complications.

Once parents have been decisively left behind the process of cleaving becomes the business at hand. According to the Strong Bible dictionary, the Hebrew word translated into English as cleave is dabaq, which means to” abide. . .cleave (fast together). . . be joined (together) . . . stick.” In essence, it means husband  and wife are to be glued and bonded together in a close intimate relationship designed for a lifetime of experience.

Such a status for the marital relationship is not a once-and for-all achievement, but a constant process of intimacy that comes about only through nourishment and exclusive commitment to each other on the basis of selfless love. The consequence of cleaving is a weaving together of “one flesh” –first as a single entity that absolves itself from independent rights and personal concerns for sake of the marital relationship, and second in the production of an offspring that resembles both partners and concretely represents the single entity of the marriage itself. (See Matthew 19:5, Mark 10 : 7, 8. and Ephesians 5 : 31). Hence the dynamics of leaving, cleaving,and weaving provide the foundation of marriage and contribute to the growth and success of the husband/wife relationship.

In the Scripture, the role of husband , wife and children and their interrelationship, are given in detail. The fact that they are recognized as “family” roles in no way diminishes or discounts the various social definitions of what constitute a family in American society today. Indeed, they are significant numbers of “families” comprised of childless marriage couples, and single parents with children. Nevertheless, for the purpose of  this article, the nuclear family is understood to consist of the basic roles available to that unit; the husband, wife and children

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Validity and Authority of Scripture (Inerrant Word of God)

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The validity and authority of  Scriptures is often called into question, mostly by those who believe there is no God.

In an age where skepticism prevails, Pentecostals affirm the Bible as the divinely inspired and inerrant Word of God. Scriptures is the result of God moving upon holy men to carefully record His revelation of truth to all humanity (2 Timothy 3:16, 17 ; Matthew 5:18; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; John 5:39), a source the Church has always considered final and authoritative for doctrine.

Besides this critical claim as the source of infallible truth, there are two other alternative stances taken by others toward the Bible: (1) absolute error and (2) a composite of both truth and error. The first alternative is clearly understood and rejected by Pentecostals, though the second poses a more complex problem. Liberal scholars often point to contrived inconsistencies and contradictions in the Bible; however, if only discreet parts are accepted as true, then the whole must be judged as ultimately unreliable.

Further, it is argued, if the divinely infallible Christ is related to fallible Scripture, how can an errant word of God reveal an inerrant Christ who is believed to be the incarnate Word? Such logic is contradictory and inconsistent with the foundation necessary for strong Christian faith. Therefore, Pentecostals categorically reject all perspectives of Scripture opposing that of absolute inerrancy and divine inspiration.

In addressing this issue, Pentecostals offer further logic as notable evidence for this stand. First, it is of inconsistent character for a trustworthy God who desires reconciliation with lost humanity to offer a flawed revelation of the divine plan. Second, the power of life-transformation attests to the truth of the Bible; the lives of countless millions have been miraculously changed by the word of God.

Finally, that a pervasive unity and harmony exist in Scripture, despite the diversity of authors and centuries separating them, lends strong support to the Bible as the infallible word of God.

Though a majority of mainline protestant denominations reject the Bible as accurate and divinely inspired, Pentecostals hold steadfast to that claim and faithfully depend upon its truth as the foundation for their beliefs and practice.

http://kevinnunez.org/2011/11/20/authority-god-governs-his-people-through-scripture/

What does the Bible says about abortion?

Children are an inheritance from the Lord that bring blessing , as well as responsibility into the home. The bible revealed that Jesus loved children and referred to their faith as a blue print of that which is necessary for us to do to enter into the kingdom of of heaven. (Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven….Matthew 18:3). It was in this same breath of this proclamation that He also condemn anyone who willfully  injure or harm a child. (Matthew 18:-10…Luke 18:15-17).

Despite the special place of children in the heart of God, recent history has not been so kind to them, particularly before birth. Since the 1980s the Center for Disease Control and prevention has recorded the number of surgical procedures that resulted in abortion to be well over one million per year. Although issues surrounding abortion are quite complex, this estimate of lives terminated before their time is staggering and heart-rending.

There are various theological and scientific arguments put forward as to precisely when a fetus constitutes a person. The big question however, is when does life begins?

Several scriptural references do touch the surface and deserve at best a hearing. Firstly, the sixth commandment forbids killing (Exodus 30:13), while the shedding of innocent blood is listed among the seven deadly sins hated by the Lord (Proverbs 6:16-18). In the calling of the prophet Jeremiah, God declared that he was known before he had been formed in the belly and was sanctified and ordained as a prophet before thou camest forth out of the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). While John the Baptist was in the womb awaiting birth, he leaped for joy when he heard the greeting received by his mother from the Virgin Mary who was herself  carrying the Christ Child at the time (Luke 1:41-44). These passages tend to be very troublesome for those who argue against the right of the unborn.

According to scriptures, the sanctity of life is of high priority but abortion is a subject matter of high complexity, not as easily judged as some would suppose. Even among Christians there is debate  as to whether fetal abortion is ever justified, e.g., when the mother’s life is endangered by a pregnancy. NB: My use of this example is neither to condone the act nor to further confound the issue, but rather to point out its difficulties and thereby emphasize the greater need to minister with compassion to those who have experienced the crisis.

Whether chosen as an alternative to an unwanted pregnancy, or as a last resort to save life, the reality of abortion is traumatic for women who experience it. Hence their desperate need for support and not harsh criticism.

Love And Affection: The Perfect In-Law Relationship

A Perfect in-law relationship must be un-hampering, un-interfering,  un-criticizing

Whether we be mother or father, bride or groom, the safe rule for our happiness is to take things as we find them, take pleasure in the assets, not go searching for flaws, and not ever for a single second permit ourselves the weakness of feeling sorry for ourselves.

If we who are of yesterday (or the day before that) would have the affection of those of today given to us freely, we must ourselves be free in the sense  of being impersonally independent.

We all know that nothing is harder to build than this impersonality of mind, and one moment’s relaxed indulgence in self-pity will bring it all crashing down. The first step in the achievement of impersonality is keeping our thoughts away from every trend that is sentimentally focused upon ourselves by thinking of something else–never mind what.

The one great struggle that each and every one of us who belong alone–by that is meant all those who are widowed or single and whose children or sisters and brothers have married–must make is never to give clinging to impulses a chance to develop.

We hear much about dieting and taking daily dozens and doing all sorts of irksome things to preserve physical, and relatively little about the unrelaxing exercise of plain common sense in achieving mental beauty by adjusting the capital “I” to its relative proportion