| (Copyright 2022) by Zac Poonen (Bangalore, India) |
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| 1. Love expresses appreciation: There is a whole book on married love that God has included in the Bible – the Song of Solomon. Consider what the husband says to his wife here in Song of Solomon (from various verses in the Message Bible): “You’re beautiful, my dear love, from head to toe – beautiful beyond compare and absolutely flawless. You’re as lovely as the ravishing visions of my ecstasy. Your voice is soothing, and your face is ravishing. Your beauty, within and without, is absolute, my dear friend. You’re a paradise.” “You’ve captured my heart. You looked at me, and I fell in love. One look my way – and I was hopelessly in love! My heart is raptured. Oh, the feelings I get when I see you and the stirrings of desire I have. I’m spoiled for anyone else!”. “There is no one like you on earth, there never has been, and there will never be. You are a woman beyond compare.” And now listen to what the wife says. This is her response: “And you, my dear lover, are so handsome! You are one in a million. There’s no one like you! You’re golden – you’re a rugged mountain of a man. Your words are warm and re-assuring. Your words are like kisses and your kisses are all words. Everything about you delights me. You thrill me through and through! I long for you and I want you desperately. Your absence is painful for me. When I see you, I will throw my arms around you and hold you tight. And I won’t let you go. I am yours alone and you’re my only lover and you’re my only man.” “True love does things together. Two are always better than one.” 2. Love is quick to forgive: Love is slow to blame but quick to forgive. There will be problems between husband and wife in every marriage. But if you put those problems on the back-burner, they are sure to boil over (That is, if you give those problems a LOW priority – instead of settling them immediately – then those problems will get worse). So be quick to forgive and be quick to ask for forgiveness. Don’t wait until the evening to do that. If you get a thorn in your foot in the morning, you will take it out immediately. You won’t wait until the evening. If you hurt your spouse, you poked him/her with a thorn – take it out immediately – ask for forgiveness immediately and be quick to forgive. 3. Love is eager to do things together with one’s partner – and not alone: How different the history of man would have been, if when the Devil came to tempt Eve in the garden, she had just said “Let me consult my husband first before I make a decision”. Oh, what a different story it would have been then! Remember that all the problems in the world arose because one woman made a decision on her own, when God had given her a companion whom she could have consulted, before making that decision. True love does things together. Two are always better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9). —————————————————————————————————- Reprinted with permission from: Christian Fellowship Church https://www.cfcindia.com/ —————————————————————————————————- |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Three Aspects of Love in Your Marriage Article by Zac Poonen Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| I think it is about time we stop putting all the blame on women for sin. Both Adam and Eve sinned, but Eve was deceived, and Adam was not deceived. Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. From this we see that Satan deceived Eve by lying to her. Notice in verse 6, it clearly says Adam was with her so why didn’t he stop her from eating the fruit. After all he was not deceived. This gets even worse in verse 12 when Adam blames the whole thing on Eve: Gen 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And Eves story was that Satan deceived her: Gen 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Remember Satan, Adam and Eve all got curses from God for their parts in this whole thing. Since God held them all responsible for what happened you really can’t blame this whole thing on Eve or all women in general. Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: This one man would be Adam. Then we have this scripture: 1Ti 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Here is the thing, Eve was deceived by Satan, but Adam was not deceived. Adam knew better. Could Adam have stopped Eve from eating the fruit, I don’t know but 1 Timothy 2:14 seems to indicate that Eve had already been deceived and was in the actual act of the sin at about the time Adam came to be beside her. This is important because if Adam was not there until she had already started eating from the tree, I don’t think she talked him into anything, Adam made his own decision to eat the fruit and here is why I think Adam knowingly ate from the tree that God told him not to eat from. When Adam saw what Eve did he knew that not only would she be separated from God but she would be separated from Adam also. She would be alone until she died. Notes from John Gill (Commentator) … The Jews infer from hence, that Adam was with her all the while, and heard the discourse between the serpent and her, yet did not interpose nor dissuade his wife from eating the fruit, and being prevailed upon by the arguments used; or however through a strong affection for his wife, that she might not die alone, he did as she had done: If Adam did hear the entire conversation between Satan and Eve and did nothing to stop what was happening, that was Adams first sin because he knew better and he did nothing to try to prevent what happened. His second sin was when Eve handed him the fruit and of his own free will he ate it, and his third sin was when he blamed the whole thing on Eve. I don’t know right now if there is scriptural proof that Adam committed the first sin by having heard and seen what was going on and yet not stopping it. But if 1 Timothy 2:14 is saying that Eve had already been deceived and was currently in the sin of eating the forbidden fruit when Adam came beside her, he may at that time have felt the need to of his own free will eat the fruit so she would not die alone. For whatever reason he decided to eat the fruit, he still was not deceived. Adam knew God told him not to eat the fruit. Adam may have had regrets afterward in regard to his eating the fruit, so he committed the sin of blaming it on Eve even though he did it knowing it was forbidden. In the end times we will see very clearly how that third sin works as the authorities over us get people to turn in friends, family and neighbors so they can get a lighter sentence, more food or more money etc. We have already seen that particular sin work with the J6 prosecutions, and it is now working before our faces with the Trump inditements as some of those people indited with him are now turning against Trump and their own convictions in order to get a lighter sentence. It is a sin because it causes people to be ruined or killed when they are actually innocent. Some of those caught in the J6 prosecutions weren’t even in DC and some of them have committed suicide due to the long prison sentences they are getting while in comparison most of the rioters in blue states don’t even get a fine for all the damage they have caused. Also there may be much merit for why Adam ate the fruit purposely. Read what John Gill said again about what the Jews said about it. It has been several years since I have read the book of Adam and Eve, but as I recall Adam in that book, knowingly ate the fruit so Eve would not die alone. Eve was also very remorseful even though it was too late. Adam’s action though noble if he did it so Eve would not die alone was still a sin because God told him not to eat the fruit and he did it anyway. Apparently, Adams love for Eve was more than his love for God. 1Ti 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression (sin). |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Three Aspects of Love in Your Marriage Article by Zac Poonen Comments by Darwin Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| The account of Adam and Eve’s encounter with Satan, then God in Gen. 3:1-13 is truly the best example of justifying one’s own reason for not obeying God, even though He says, “thou shalt not”. That seems to be the major problem of the human spirit guided by Satan himself. I’m sure that all humans with their human nature at least once (more than likely many times) that have sinned, justified their sinful acts, full well knowing that God has said, “Thou shalt not”. God never added an exception clause to His laws. Murder is murder no matter what lengths one goes to, to make themselves vindicated for their acts. Cain did it, Gen. 4:5-9. If one has the Love of God in their heart, they won’t be looking for excuses to break His law. Love overrides any thought of making excuses to “bend” (break), His law. Human nature attuned to Satan’s sway, will always find a justification to lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery, and murder. Justification makes way to feel vindicated for what one has done, with the attitude, “to hang with what God says”! |
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