God’s Solutions for Today’s Problems #64
Welcome to God’s Solutions for Today’s Problems podcast. This is podcast #64
My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Ordained Chaplains USA and Life coach. We don’t have to look far to see that many people in the world are dealing with a variety of problems and are in need of solutions. No matter what problem you are facing — whether it is emotional, psychological or spiritual — Jesus Christ holds the solution that you need. As we walk together in this podcast, we will address a number of topics that exist in the world and present solutions from the Bible that will help you heal and live life more abundantly. Our aim in this podcast is: (1) to introduce you to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the ultimate source of all healing; (2) to provide you with information that will help you to understand the problem; and (3) to help you by providing solutions to your problems.
Our passage from the Word of God today is Mark 10:11-12. It reads, “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.”
Allow me to share with you some interesting points on this passage from Matthew Henry’s Commentary:
Now from all this he infers, that men ought not to put their wives asunder from them, whom God has put so near them. The bond which God Himself has tied, is not to be lightly untied. They who are divorcing their wives for every offence, would do well to consider what would become of them, if God should in like manner deal with them. Christ’s discourse with His disciples, in private, about this matter. It was an advantage to them, that they had opportunity of personal converse with Christ, not only about gospel mysteries, but about moral duties, for further satisfaction. No more is here related of this private conference, that the law Christ laid down in this case—That it is adultery for a man to put away his wife, and marry another; it is adultery against the wife he puts away, it is a wrong to her, a breach of his contract with her. He adds, If a woman shall put away her husband, that is, elope from him, leave him by consent, and be married to another, she commits adultery, and it will be no excuse at all for her to say that it was with the consent of her husband. Wisdom and grace, holiness and love, reigning in the heart, will make those commands easy which to the carnal mind may be as a heavy yoke.
Our quote for today is from John Piper. He said, “What makes divorce and remarriage so horrific in God’s eyes is not merely that it involves covenant-breaking to the spouse, but that it involves misrepresenting Christ and His covenant. Christ will never leave His wife. Ever. There may be times of painful distance and tragic backsliding on our part. But Christ keeps His covenant forever. Marriage is a display of that! That is the ultimate thing we can say about it. It puts the glory of Christ’s covenant-keeping love on display.”
The problem we are discussing today is “Divorce” (part 4) from the book, “The Guide to Biblical Counseling” by Dr. Tim Clinton and Dr. Ron Hawkins.
For a Victim of Divorce–A Person Divorced against His or Her Will
When a victim of divorce comes for counseling, it is a positive sign that he or she feels worthy of help, even though the person’s self-worth may have been demolished by the divorce.
Reinforce his or her decision by reminding the person that the Bible says only the wise seek counsel (Prov. 12:15).
Rule Outs
1. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being joy and 1 being hopelessness, where would you put yourself? (You will want to rule out the presence of clinical depression.)
2. Do you feel down much of the day on most days?
3. Have you had any thoughts of hurting yourself or others? (If you feel the client is a danger to self or others, refer him or her to a professional counselor immediately.)
General Questions
1. What brought you here today?
2. What do you hope the outcome of counseling will be?
3. Tell me about your marriage. How did you meet your spouse?
4. What attracted you to him or her?
5. Did you notice any character qualities that gave you concern?
6. Did your feelings change during the marriage? How?
7. How did your parents feel about your spouse?
8. When did you first realize there were problems?
9. How did your spouse tell you he or she wanted to end the marriage?
10. What were your feelings?
11. What did you say or do?
12. Who did you go to for help?
13. Were they helpful?
14. What was the reaction of your family? Your spouse’s family?
15. Do you have any children? How old are they?
16. How did they react when they heard?
17. How are they doing now?
18. What feelings have you gone through? Be honest.
19. Have you been able to talk about your feelings to anyone?
20. How do you express your anger?
21. Do you go to a support group?
22. What support do you have around you?
23. How are you and your children doing financially?
24. How does that make you feel?
25. What is your relationship with the Lord like?
26. Do you feel the Lord has rejected you or forgotten about you?
27. Let’s see what the Bible says about that?
A girl had watched her mother verbally abuse her father for years. When she became an adult, she asked her dad. “Why do you put up with this? Why don’t you leave her?” Her father gently replied. “The Bible says that men should love their wives as Christ loved the church. I don’t think I’ve loved your mother that much yet. Do you?”
In our next broadcast, we will continue looking at the problem of Divorce.
—–PRAYER—–
Now, if you are listening today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how.
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you have other questions about life’s problems for this podcast, please email us [email protected]
Until next time, my friend remember that God has a solution to all of your problems.
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