Does God Really Hate Divorce?

Some will think this post a reaction to the pain our family is undergoing

due to my daughters present divorce process initiated by her

husband who has chosen apostasy to his covenant oath to his wife and children

sworn before Christ in the presence of many witnesses.

However, it is honestly motivated by a recent SBC blog posted on the 20th.

The author does a thorough job pointing out problematic KJV translation of

Malachi 2:16 regarding the issue of divorce.

Does God personally hate divorce?

Does God hate the man is who guilty of divorcing his wife?

Does the man hate his wife when divorcing her?

In other words,who in fact is the subject of hate that Malachi speaks of?

Many credible translations actually reveal it is not God who hates divorce

in this passage, rather, the man who wrongfully divorces his wife is actually

guilty of hate.

Read these translations for motivation to employ Berean Nobility to pursue

your own scholarly exegesis.

I personally believe the Holman translation to be one of the best ever produced.

rgh

Holman Translation:

"If he hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD God of Israel, “he covers his

garment with injustice,” says the LORD of Hosts. Therefore, watch yourselves

carefully, and do not act treacherously."

New International Version:

“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD, the God of Israel,

“does violence to the one he should protect,” says the LORD Almighty. So be

 on your guard, and do not be unfaithful."

Contemporary English Version:

"The LORD God All-Powerful of Israel hates anyone who is cruel enough

 to divorce his wife.  So take care never to be unfaithful!"

Wycliff Translation:

"When thou hatest her, leave thou her (not), saith the Lord God of Israel.

Forsooth wickedness shall cover the cloth of him, saith the Lord of hosts;

keep ye your spirit, and do not ye despise. (even if thou hatest her, leave

thou her not, saith the Lord God of Israel. Yea, let his cloak cover his

wickedness, saith the Lord of hosts; so keep ye watch over your spirit,

and do not ye despise her.)"

http://sbcvoices.com/does-malachi-216-condemn-all-divorce/?

Compromised and Dangerous!

Brothers,

While thinking through recent years, it seemed  profitable to post this
axiom that we have maintained and proven to be a trustworthy principle.
If you recall,we taught it as a means of personal ministerial accountability
and for the flock to protect themselves against compromised ministers
who go rogue.

"Beware of any man who publicly declares he is accountable to others and yet,
 when called to account for sin and compromise, he then defies,denounces, and
 denigrates the very accountability he once publicly affirmed". Beware! Such a
 person is absolutely dangerous and should be "feared" rather than "followed!"

Unfortunately, we have watched "brothers" immediately abandon their
ministerial covenant when they were held accountable for an uncharactered
life or confronted for violation of ministerial ethics or were guilty of
compromised conduct unbecoming to ministers.

With that in mind, some of these same "brothers" continue to distort facts,
deceive the vulnerable, and denigrate our ministry. However, I  find a
grace-filled confidence to enter 2012 since we remain accountable thru
ministerial covenant with the same honorable  brothers that we have been
relating to since the Redeemed Community days in the 90's.

I am indebted to Bishop Bill Mikler, Pastor Jim Crabb, Joe Sacco, John Reyes,
Jon Paul Jordan, Frank Freeman, Norm Waddell,  Jacob Watson, and Pastor
Kenny Tanner for relational accountability and covenant friendship.

Should anyone hear slanderous accusations against our character or ministry,
please employ these righteous actions as a means to silence false accusers:


1. First, ask the individual  if he was ever in relational covenant with RFM,
and if so,were his credentials revoked or was he asked to surrender them?
After they answer, apply the above axiom.

2. Second, contact any of the brothers mentioned to confirm our sustained
covenant submission to them regarding ministerial, marital, doctrinal,
ethical and moral integrity. Request them to explain  the RFM
"Cross of Accountabilty".

Stengthened by grace, our mutual covenant commtment has endured years
of relational testing and correction of one another.


rgh

15 Characteristics of Great Leaders

Thom Rainer put together 15 characteristics of great leaders.

They:

>see possibilities rather than obstacles.
>do not blame others.
>do not have a victim mentality.
>give credit to others.
>seek what is best for the organization rather than for themselves.
>respond to some critics and to ignore others.
>see past the latest obstacle or challenge.
>are continuous learners.
>exhibit true humility.
>admit their mistakes.
>take calculated risks.
>are more likely to make quick decisions.
>have a love and a passion for what they do
>are first great leaders in their families.
>mentor others to become great leaders.

http://www.thomrainer.com/2011/10/fifteen-characteristic-of-great-leaders.php

Five Commands of "Unregenerate Pew Fillers"

Brothers,
I am convinced that Pastors today are held captive to five commands
mandated by unregenerate pew fillers.

Even worse, ministers delight in crafting their sermons and structuring
Sunday mornings to satisfy these man pleasing appetites.

Why? Because doing so becomes the means to stroke personal ego by
fulfilling their  "ABC's Vision" for secularized leadership success
defined as Attendance, Buildings, and Cash!


The Five commands:


>Tell me what I want to hear.....................................Narcissism.
>Tell me what will make me feel better......................Sentimentalism
>Tell me what will work for me..................................Pragmatism
>Tell me what is the least costly ............................... Consumerism
>Tell me what is inoffensive........................................Permissivism


With these in mind, read the article below from the Huffington Post.
Not the resource center for biblicism.Yet, the Pastor writing the article
is spot on.

Here is an extract from this confessing Pastor:


"I'm the pastor of a church called Redemption Church in Olathe, KS.
Our church was planted in 2003 and founded upon church leadership
principles that worked like a charm. We grew from 2 families to around
200 families in the first three years. We planted another church in a nearby
town and continued to grow. But, when we decided to reject sentimentality
and pragmatism and chase faithfulness instead we really began to grow ...
smaller that is. I don't know for sure because we no longer count, but my best
guess is that we have decreased by more than half."


If pressed about my church's growth strategy, I usually say it is to get smaller
and die; to continually decrease the amount of time, resources and energy we
spend trying to have the ultimate church experience, and to spend more time
actually being faithful.

Nowadays, faithfulness -- not success -- is our only
metric. Success is about "doing." Faithfulness is about "being," and it's
really hard to measure."




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-suttle/how-to-shrink-your-church_b_1095841.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Please Do Not Leave Me To My Self

Brothers,

Mark Driscoll says,"You’ve got to confront sin in yourself, in your spouse,
and in your friends.There is no greater contempt for someone than to leave
them in their sin."

I whole heartily agree!

Proverbs 27:6 puts friendship in proper perspective:“Wounds from a faithful
-sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy."

With these foundational stones, lets all be pro-active in our pursuit of
relational integrity together by allowing personally close brothers to
answer questions like these proposed by Nathan Burke:


>Where do I most consistently fail?


>What patterns do you see that annoy or frustrate you?


>What is something you’ve wished I would do or stop doing?


>Where/how am I not living up to my potential?


>What are my blind spots?


>How can I be of more help to you?

Now the final question. Are we being faithful friends to one another?
Then send your answer to these questions or give me a call.

Proclaiming The Crown Rights of King Jesus!
rgh



http://theresurgence.com/2010/10/30/what-gordon-ramsay-taught-me-about-friendship

http://theresurgence.com/2011/11/28/3-things-you-need-to-know-about-sin

"Good And Angry For The Kings Honor!"

I love Paul Tripp! In this article he addresses an issue that many
today simply prefer to ignore. Anger is a Kingdom calling!

Here are a few extracts of his very balanced article.
I took the liberty to highlight portions for emphasis.

rgh

"God calls you to be good, and he calls you to be angry at the same time."


"...those of us who have been called to represent the character and call of God
in local church ministry need to pray that we would be righteously angry.


We must pray that a holy zeal for what is right and good would so fill our hearts
that the evils greeting us daily would not be okay with us.


We must pray that we would be angry in this way until there is no reason to be angry
anymore. And we must be vigilant, looking for every opportunity to express the righteous
indignation of justice, mercy, wisdom, grace, compassion, patience, perseverance, and love.


We must be agitated and restless until his kingdom has finally come and his will is finally
being done on earth as it is in heaven. For the sake of God's honor and his kingdom...

We must determine to be good and angry at the same time."

"Injustice must not, cannot be okay with us. The immorality of the culture around us
must not, cannot be okay with us. The deceit of the atheistic worldview---the philosophical
paradigm of many culture-shaping institutions---must not, cannot be okay with us.

Righteous anger should yank us out of selfish passivity. Righteous anger should call us
to join God's revolution of grace. It should propel us to do anything we can to lift the load
of people's suffering, through the zealous ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to bring
them into the freedom of God's truth."

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2011/11/27/anger-is-a-calling/

What Kind Of People Should Ministers Listen To?

Brothers,

Perry Noble summarizes one of the most critical challenges that confronts
each of us. Who do we  listen to when it comes to making decisions?

Perry lays out eight practical and relational traits that must  be flagrant
if we are to give anyone audience to our lives.

I rejoice to report that each of my covenant friends in RFM consistently demonstrate these relational virtues.

As we approach "Thanksgiving Day", I feel especially graced to represent
the "Crown Rights of King Jesus" with such honorable men of covenant,
character and conscience.

O Lord!
For this I am grateful!

rgh




#1 – Those who know me, who have spent time with me and understand
        that there is a person behind the personality.


#2 – Those who have seen me at my best and worst…and love me anyway.

#3 – Those who do not automatically assume the worse about me and always
        give me the benefit of the doubt. (ALWAYS beware of the person who
        seeks to pounce on you as soon as they hear something bad!)


#4 – Those who are willing to stand with me in a tough time–
        THOSE WHO BLEED WITH ME CAN LEAD WITH ME!!!


#5 – Those who offer correction for the purpose of building up rather
        than tearing down (people who always seek to tear you down
        should be ignored!


#6 – Those who are willing to take a confrontation straight to the person
        rather to an online audience.


#7 – Those who are not always looking for a reason to attack/hate you.


#8 – Those who have the goal of restoring you when you mess up
        and not wounding you!