The Devotional

Papa J's rules for Livin #166

I heard a man yesterday say that he did not like using words of absolute connotation, I thought to myself - “Was that an absolute statement”?

It is amazing the things people will do to entertain themselves. Once on one of the submarines I was on a sailor started carrying this quart jar around. Inside the jar was his pet spider. The spider was big and black and it had a nice red dot on the back. He called the spider Thelma and fed it flies. Flies do not do well on a submarine, so after a few days at sea all flies on board usually die, in this case their disappearance was a bit sooner because Thelma had a great appetite for insects. The spider lasted about two weeks before it began to show signs of failing health too. After all it too was an insect and while it is said that spiders are found in the castles of kings, you really won't find them after a couple of weeks on a submarine. Proverbs 30:28. Burial for the spider was a moment of silence followed by the flushing of the designated toilet. Only the quart jar survived to serve another day. On another trip the jar surfaced again and this individual was collecting, “belly button lint” from as many sailors he could get to donate to his project. I was not one to donate, but when I saw the jar it was half full of lint. However, we are led to believe that there are not strange people in the world around us, we are told that normal people do strange things. A huh!

1 Corinthians 7

1 Corinthians 7:10-16 Now here is a section of scripture that is overlooked by people and I thank the LORD for godly pastors who take serious the responsibility of nurturing the young who are thinking of marriage. If you are reading this and single, then please know that I am the last person to give advice in these matters. I have made every mistake in marriage and it is only by the grace of God that I have a good marriage now; a wonderful wife and a future.

Of all the serious things that happen in life, marriage is number one on the list. The covenant of marriage is not to be broken. If we could only see this from the eyes of a divine view we would see that this covenant represents Christ and His Church. In a few words, if we are saved, do we simply walk away from Jesus because of having a bad experience or a loss of interest in Him. No, most of us who are saved realize that it is one difficult, nearly impossible task to simply walk away from our LORD.

The unequal yoking of people in marriage is an ongoing problem. One is saved and one is not, these relationships struggle almost immediately. Soon after the honeymoon and newness wears off, problems begin to surface. God has called the believer to peace and is calling the unbeliever to the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:15. Under His guidance, great things can and do happen. Yet, the believer normally fails at being peaceful and the unbeliever fails to see peace as good news. Salvation belongs to God alone. A believing man cannot save an unbelieving wife or the wife the husband, if God is not leading the way.