Positioned For Deliverance

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Mark 5:1-9 

Some people doubt the reality of demons and devils. But what sense does it make to doubt the existence of something that is clearly active in our time? Everywhere one looks is nothing but evidence of the existence of the demonic. Some say that the only evil that exists is the corruption in the hearts of men and women. But those that say such things have yet to come to grips with true demonic evil. Still others tell us that it is not reasonable to see demons under every rock and behind every tree, but only God is omniscient and omnipresent. It stands to reason then that the devil, who is not omniscient and omnipresent, would need an army of devils and demons, therefore, necessitating the presence of at least three devils behind every tree and under every rock.

But before we reduce this sermon to consideration of deliverance from demons and devils alone, let me tell you that deliverance is available for any and every form of bondage. It does not matter if the bondage is as a result of demonic possession, poor choices, wrong actions, or circumstances from which one is unable to extricate themselves, Jesus is still able to bring deliverance. It does not matter how long a person has been bound or afflicted. It does not matter how many generations a curse has been allowed to persist. It does not matter how isolated one has become as a result of their bondage, God is still in the delivering business. But as with everything in the economy of God, the blessings and promises of God, available to all who believe, are only activated as one is aligned to receive them.

If one desires deliverance, there is no better place to look for how to get in the right position than Jesus Himself. There are many examples of deliverance in the Bible, but perhaps none better than the account of the healing of a demon possessed man living among the tombs. Though he was not endeavoring to provide us with a formula for receiving deliverance, the actions of Jesus provide it for us nonetheless. Note what this demon-possessed man did when Jesus showed up in his cemetery.

1. The demon-possessed man came to Jesus of his own free will (vs.2). We should come to Jesus know who He is and what He is able to do.

2. The demon-possessed man fell on his knees before Jesus (vs. 6). We should bow before the Lord, which is an act of worship. The demons were speaking through this man, but the actions were his own.

3. The demon-possessed man acknowledged his situation (vs. 9b). We should know the situation we are in and be willing to verbalize it.

4. The now formerly demon-possessed man testified of his deliverance (vs.20). We should not hesitate to tell others what the Lord has done for us as an inducement for them to seek Jesus out as well.

Do we want to be free from the bondage that holds us? Are we so interested in what a non-believing world thinks and says that we are willing to remain bound for one more moment? If Jesus is who He says He is and whom we sing about, talk about, write about and worship, why then are we hesitating to come to the only one that can save us. Jesus went about teaching about the Kingdom of God throughout the region. Wherever He went people brought their sick and demon-possessed and Jesus healed them all. He is the same God today as He was back then. He is able to do for us today the same things that He did back then and can do it even better because He has gone to be with His Father. If we are sick and tired of being sick and tired; if we are fed up with struggling with the demons of our past; if we are weak, weary, wounded and sad because of the obstacles that continually prevent us from becoming all that Jesus desires us to be and created us to be; then, we need to do as this man among the tombs did. Come to Jesus and get into proper alignment. Come to Jesus and position yourself to receive deliverance. Come to Jesus and be free today. Come to Jesus; just come!

© All Rights Reserved • Dr. Jim Logan 2013

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Positioned For Purpose

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Read: Esther 4:1-14; Ephesians 1:11-12 

One of the most difficult questions for many believers to answer is this: What is your purpose. The Apostle Paul tells the Ephesians that God chose us before the foundations of the earth to live a life of purpose in Him (1:11)! Eugene Peterson in his paraphrase, The Message, interprets verses 11 and 12 this way: “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” So in a general sense, though we have been made unique and different from one another, we share the same purpose.

Many people tend to be confused about their purpose for two primary reasons. First, we generally do not understand what real purpose is; and, second, we do not always know how to position ourselves for that purpose. Our primary purpose in life is to first maintain relationship with God, and out of that covenant relationship grows our secondary purpose of building the Kingdom of God by making disciples. Within the Reformed Christian tradition the first question of the Westminster Catechism asked: What is the chief end of man? The answer, drilled into generations of catechumens, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Such an understanding of purpose flies in the face of accepted societal standards. From the time we reach an early age of understanding we begin to be focused on a career or the possibility of several careers that will provide our livelihood and secure our dreams for the future. But counseling chambers, mental health facilities, doctors’ offices and even cemeteries are filled with people we are or were frustrated and confused about their life’s purpose. Understand this: God never does a thing or allows a thing without a purpose. God, therefore, has a unique purpose for each of our lives. He knows the plans He has for us. They are plans to prosper us, plans to do us no harms, plans to give us hope and a future. The question each of us has to answer is: how do we get positioned for that purpose that may yet to be revealed?

Maintain a healthy relationship with the Lord. There is no purpose outside of God. As Paul tells us we were created for relationship, but sin got in the way.

Trust that God will show you His purpose for your life. God knows the purposes and plans for our lives. We may not know that purpose but we can rest in assurance that God knows.

Accept the fact that God’s purposes for your life may remain hidden until your time evidences itself.

Work building the Kingdom of God until your time comes. Be found faithful thereby not missing your position when it is time.

Our object lesson is Queen Esther. She was a Jewish orphan, raised by her uncle, who won a beauty contest and became queen. She had no idea that she would become the savior of her own people. She had no idea that her ascendancy was precisely to thwart the evil designs and plans of Haman as he sought to commit genocide on a sovereign people. She had no idea that she had to win the contest in order to fulfill her purpose. If you remember the story, when her uncle Mordecai sends her a message telling her to go the king and intercede for her people she is initially hesitant. No one came before the king without first being summoned. To do so meant risking death, but Mordecai reminds Esther that the very purpose of her birth may have been for this moment.

Esther did not know what her future held, but she ultimately knew that she belonged to God. So when it became clear that if her people were to be saved she would have to do something, including risking her very life, she called her people to join her and her handmaidens in fasting and praying for three days after which time she would go to the king with the attitude that if she perished, she would perish. When God shows you your purpose and indicates that it is your time the only response is to step into it with no thought of what it might hold for your future. But when you step into your purpose Esther demonstrates that God will not only cover you and protect you, but he will reward you and prosper you.

I want to be in the right position. I don’t want to miss my time. So I am determined to be ready when it becomes evident that it is my time and then trust that God will accomplish through me what He has determined to accomplish since before the foundation of the world.

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Positioned for Healing

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Matthew 4:23-24 

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.

Near the beginning of Jesus’ teaching ministry Matthew gives his readers a glimpse of Jesus’ healing ministry as well. His ministry that began in Nazareth and Capernaum now includes the region of Galilee and news of what He was doing extended to all of Syria. What was He doing? He was teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. He was also healing (get this) every disease and sickness among the people. It was this healing ministry that was the drawing card as people not only came to see Him themselves, but also brought with them those who “were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.”

Reading the text we know that Jesus was a healer. What some, in the church, are less certain about is that He is still a healer today. As some teach, the gifts of the Spirit did not cease at the death of the last living original apostle. Healing is still available today. God has not changed. We serve the same God today and they served back then. There is no question that God sovereignly heals whom He desires to heal. The question that concerns us today is if God heals, how dos one get in the position to be healed? While this particular text does not seem to help us, we can look to instances Matthew records to answer this question. How does one get positioned for healing?

1. Come to Jesus in faith actively seeking His help (Matthew 4:24). People brought to Jesus those who were sick actively, not passively seeking healing.

2. Come to Jesus with a reverent attitude and assurance (Matthew 8:2-3). The man with leprosy came and knelt before Jesus (reverence), and says to Him, “You can make me clean” (assurance).

3. Come to Jesus asking, not just waiting to see what happens (Matthew 8:5). A centurion came to Jesus, as one man under authority speaking to another, asking for His help.

4. Come to Jesus relying on the faith of others if your faith will not get you to Jesus (Matthew 9:2). Sometimes it may be your faith on behalf of another that secures their healing.

5. Come to Jesus with a simple faith (Matthew 9:20-22). The woman thought if she could just touch the hem of the Savior’s garment she would be healed. No deep theology, just a simple faith.

6. Come to Jesus with total confidence in His ability (Matthew 9:27-30a). These two blind men followed Jesus, and when He asked them if they believed He had the ability to heal them they did not hesitate. They were totally confident.

7. Come to Jesus trusting in the tenderness of His heart to be touched by your need (Matthew 20:30-34). These two other blind men cared not that they were trying to stop Jesus along the way. They wanted to see.

In these texts Jesus was healing physical infirmities, but understand that however you may be suffering He has your need in mind. He is not so distant as to be unaffected by your pain. He knows how your struggle. He knows how you suffer. He knows your desire to be whole. Thank God for doctors who treat us and prescribe medicine for us, but God is able and willing to heal. All we need do is get in the right position. Does this guarantee healing, yes! Death, too, is healing. Does it guarantee restoration? No! But there is no chance of being healed if we are out of position.

© All Rights Reserved – 2013

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Positioned to Receive!

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Genesis 24:12-21

Positioned to Receive

God has blessings he desires to bestow upon each of us. We receive those blessings as we consistently move into His presence. For in the presence of the Lord there is the fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures for evermore. When we receive those blessings we rejoice and are exceedingly glad, but there are also times when it seems that nothing seems to be working. If we are honest, there are even times when we feel as though God has forgotten about us. God has not forgotten about us. He never ever fails at His word. He is faithful to it to perform it. For God is not human that he should go back on His word or anything like you and me that He would lie. On the contrary, every promise that He has made is so sure that nothing can stand in the way of its fulfillment. Nothing that is, except us.

Just like God is the author of time, He is also the God of positioning. As we discovered last week, Isaac would not and could not be blessed remaining in Gerar, even though there was a famine there. The blessings God had in store for him and the nation he led could not be found in Egypt, but right there in Gerar. Isaac’s story teaches us that if we want to receive from the Lord we have to be in the right position. I want to take us deeper today, because what God has for us is far greater than material. God is ultimately trying to walk us into our destiny. If destiny is at stake then we should want to insure we are in the right position to receive.

Our text today is just a small part of the story. It is much too long to read in its entirety, so I encourage you to read all sixty-seven verses when you get a chance. In this text Eliezer, Abraham’s chief servant is charged with returning to Abraham’s people and choosing a wife for Isaac. It is a 435-mile journey that took a minimum of 17 days. Eliezer traveled with ten camels weighed down with gifts for the family of the girl he hopefully would choose. But how would he choose? What criteria would he employ in his decision-making? He did what we all should do when we don’t know what to do, he prayed. In his prayer he asked God to point him to the right one through a test that was not so simple: let the one who gives me a drink and offers to water the camels as well be the one. That one was Rebekah.

What does one need to do to receive from God what He so desires to give us?

Think more about the welfare of others than yourself (vss. 17-18). Rebekah did not know who Eliezer was or why he was at the well. All she could see was someone needing some water. She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink of water.

Be willing to go the extra mile (vs. 19). She could have stopped at the drink of water, but offered to water the camels as well, and they drank until they had their fill. Note the magnitude of her offer. There were ten camels that can drink 20-30 gallons at a time. She potentially carried 200-300 gallons of water that surely would have taken at least 1-1.5 hours.

Go the extra mile with a smile (vs. 20). Note the manner in which Rebekah got the water: she ran. The word ‘ran’ means literally that she was hurrying, darting about, chasing, bringing quickly. Nobody had a clock on her. She was under no obligation to do anything she did let alone do it speedily. I wonder how many times I moan and groan when my wife asks me to do something because I am comfortable on the couch, watching the game or working on my computer? What changes might it bring if I were to do more than she asked and quicker than she asked?

Do what you are doing without regard for what you might receive in return (vs. 22). Eliezer did not promise Rebekah anything for her service, nor did she inquire what was in it for her. All she saw was an exhausted man with thirsty camels and that was enough to propel her into action. She knew nothing about him or his mission.

Little did Rebekah know what was in store for her. She didn’t realize that this one action would determine the rest of her life. By going the extra mile she sealed her destiny. She would become the ancestress, the great, great (lots of greats) grandmother of the Messiah, Jesus. Think of it, when she said those words, “Drink my Lord,” and “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking,” at that very moment something clicked in the plan of God, and she became part of His plan for the salvation of you and me, and that’s the essence of the story. She didn’t know what would happen.

Neither do you. You have no idea what God is doing. You have no idea how God is going to usher you into your destiny. You have no idea how that thing you are trying to avoid fits into the plan of God for your life. You have no idea how that stranger may be being used to affect your future. You have no idea. I have no idea, but there is one thing I do know and that is if I want to be positioned to receive from the Lord I need to learn how to become a giver, and not just any ole giver. I need to learn how to give unconsciously of my time, talent, and my money.

Now I have good news for the givers in the house. Your destiny awaits and it is larger and greater than you have imagined. So get into position to receive.

© All Rights Reserved 2013 • Bishop James H Logan Jr.

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21 Days Praying for Family

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Day 21 – Malachi 2:13-16

13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. 15 Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 16 “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the Lord Almighty. [1]

I grieve to write about this subject, just as I know its occurrences grieves the heart of God. There is no way to get around it: God hates divorce. As a pastor for more than thirty years I have counseled my share of couples that have faced it. I have wept with them, prayed with them, and have done my best to encourage them. In my marriage I have come dangerously close to walking that road myself. It has become too easy to divorce today. Divorces are so commonplace that most people, even in the church, have become cavalier about it. But there is no mistaking how God feels: He “hates” divorce.

If we could feel about divorce the way God feels, perhaps some that move too quickly would hesitate and consider the path they are contemplating. The truth of the matter is that divorce does happen, and perhaps in our minds, for good reasons. It takes two to make a marriage work and only one to tear it up. A believer cannot have a marriage that pleases God and that He blesses alone. As a believer, first of all, then as a pastor, I counsel couples to work through their problems with a godly counselor. I ask them questions about their own attitudes and actions. Have they done all they can do? What will they say to Jesus when they enter His presence and He asks them that question? Are they taking the easy way out or is this something over which they have no control? Now I know there may be legitimate reasons in some people’s minds for divorce and the Bible provides scenarios when a divorce is perhaps justified, but that does not change How God feels about it. If God hates divorce, then we should also. Let those then who are married covenant to take divorce off the table as an option, and those contemplating marriage be more discerning about whom they marry so we will bless God.

Dear heavenly father, my heart breaks, even as I know Your heart breaks, for those who have either chosen or have been presented divorce as an option for their marriage. Only You know the pain they have suffered and the actions they have taken to either reconcile the marriage or to further destroy it. Forgive us for even contemplating something you abhor. Teach how to love our spouses. Show us how to repair the brokenness we have caused. Make our marriages divorce proof, and for those who have been through the pain divorce causes, bring them forgiveness, healing, and restoration, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mal 2:13–16.

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21 Days Praying for Family

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Day 20 – 1 Peter 3:1-6

3 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. [1]

The Apostle Paul in his letters does not have very much to say about wives beyond the necessity of submitting in all things to their husbands, and in the case of the letter to the church in Corinth, to also respect their husbands. The Apostle Peter, on the other hand, has more to say to wives, though, interestingly, he begins his marital instructions in the same manner as Paul, “wives submit to your husbands. It would appear that marital submission was as much an issue as it is today. The reason may very well be a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to submit to a husband. For many submission is seen as a negation of equality between the spouses and the woman is seen as enslaved to the husband. But the truth of the matter is that submission is a voluntary estate designed more for leadership of the management type after the example of the military. The wife voluntarily subjects herself to her husband by placing him in the position of leadership. In that leadership position, a husband cannot force his wife into subjection because she is in control of how or if she submits.

For the wife’s part submission has the purpose of bringing unbelieving husbands to salvation through her actions and not her words. Her actions, according to Peter, include how she presents herself to her husband. Her outward appearance is insufficient to convey her submission. The kind of submission necessary to win over a husband is the type that comes from so far within that sincerity is never in question. This kind of submission is not very popular today, just as the love necessary from a husband for a successful marriage is not; but, if two people truly love each other and God, then love and respect is a small price to pay in manifesting mutual submission.

Dear Lord, there is so much about marriage that we do not understand. There are days when it seems an impossible calling and we wonder why we bother. Then there are days when we are so grateful that you gave us one to the other. We know the enemy of our souls fights against our marriages by amplifying our frustrations and fears; and, through the plethora of images and sounds that fill our ports. Give us the courage to stand in our privilege as Your children, binding the enemy and taking authority over our marriages so that You may be glorified, and unbelievers saved, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 1 Pe 3:1–6.

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21 Days Praying for Family

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Day 19 – Ephesians 5:25, 28, 31, 33; 1 Peter 3:7

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. [1]

Men are not nearly as prepared for marriage, as are women. It is not that they are not ready, just that they are not as prepared. Women from the time they are girls generally play with dolls, play house, and think about their weddings. Men, on he other hand, are too busy playing in the dirt and hating girls until one day their hormones direct them a different way. As a consequence men are ill prepared for the very rudiments of marriage. I don’t think our day is really any different from that when the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the church in Corinth. Men today are probably most certainly better prepared given the deliberate move away from misogynist attitudes; however, the advice and instruction Paul gave is still vitally important for husbands to hear and heed in our day.

According to Paul and Peter, men have three basic responsibilities as they relate to their wives. First they are to love them. Paul is so emphatic about this responsibility that he repeats himself three times in Ephesians (vss. 25, 28, 33). This is not romantic love, the love of family, sexual, or security, but rather the love of God that is demonstrated in his love for us. Second, they are to be committed to their wives (vs. 31). Paul quotes Genesis 2 where the man is called upon to cling to, adhere to, and follow closely his wife because they are one flesh. Such a feat cannot be affected without a deep abiding commitment to her alone. Third, they are to be considerate as they live with her as the weaker partner (1Pe 3:7). Peter’s assessment is not about physical strength, but about the differences in the emotions of men and women, particularly as husbands interact with their wives. Like fine expensive china, just a word (or even the lack of a word) from an inconsiderate husband can bruise, crack, or chip a woman in her emotions. Husbands need to be far more considerate than they might imagine regardless of the façade their wives present. Underlying that façade may very well be bitterness rooting itself in her.

Dear Lord, there are many husbands clueless about how to live with their wives. They are ill prepared, have few good role models, have received little counsel and are floundering trying to discover why they seem to continue to fail in their marriages. May my words today hit their hearts and their minds and facilitate change and transition in their lives for the sake of their families and marriages, in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Eph 5:25, 28, 31, 33; 1 Pe 3:7.

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21 Days Praying for Family

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Day 18 – Ephesians 5:21, 22, 25-28, 32-33

21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. [1]

Apostle Paul seems to have understood the complexity of marriage. He instructs the men three separate times to love their wives, but tells the wives once to submit to and respect their husbands. What is it that the Apostle knew that we either don’t know or understand? Perhaps it is that women do not generally have an issue loving their husbands. Their difficulty lies in submitting to and respect for their husbands. Men, on the other hand, generally have difficulty loving their wives and so, seemingly to highlight love’s importance, the Apostle tells husbands three separate times to love their wives.

Most husbands would think that Paul was being unnecessarily redundant. “Of course we love our wives,” we might well protest. “Look at the things we have given them. Look at the number of hours working we put in just to make a place for them.” Paul, almost as if he anticipated the protests, pointedly explains what he means by the instruction to husbands to love their wives; it is to be after the manner of how Christ loved the Church and gave His life up for her. Further, it is to be after the same manner that men love their own bodies. If men and women want to see how God has designed marriage they should look closely at the relationship of the Church with Christ. This union, which began at creation, “is a profound mystery” in which many still struggle to this day to adequately understand.

It is really, however, not as complicated as we like to make it. To submit is to voluntarily subject oneself to another. To respect is to admire someone for his or her elicited qualities. To love, on the other hand, is to sacrifice one’s own desires to unconditionally care for another even to the point of losing his or her own life. Understood in this manner, both husbands and wives have growing to do.

Dear Father, we are guilty of relating to one another as husbands and wives in a manner the world prescribes rather than in the manner You have prescribed. We are selfish and self centered, demanding more than we have a right to demand while giving as little as we possibly can. Our marriages are in so much trouble that it does not seem to be any way out. Help us return to Your pattern and plan. Teach us to submit to one another, love and respect one another, in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Eph 5:21, 22, 25-28, 32-33.

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21 Days Praying for Family

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Day 17 – 1 Corinthians 7:1-7

7 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. 2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. [1]

Why do marriages fail so frequently? If this question is asked of a room full of people one may get as many answers as there are people in the room. The number one reason for failure in marriage is the lack of communication. Everything else is merely symptomatic of the fact that they were incapable of communicating one with the other. Dysfunction in a couple’s sex life is symptomatic of their inability to communicate their desires, and where there is no communication there is no cooperation.

The Apostle Paul picks up this nuance when he writes to the Corinthians addressing their question concerning marriage and whether a person should marry or not. His answer goes directly to the intimacy that is reserved for married couples, but was being practiced by those not married. It is thought that men, in particular, who were now part of the Christian community, were still slipping off to the shrine to the Greek goddess of love and having sex with the prostitutes that served there. Paul surmises that were there better communication at home, based upon better understanding of the requirements of marriage, men would stay home. It sounds like a very shallow and misogynist view on Paul’s part, but consider the time in which he was writing. Consider also the principle he highlights that is true in every generation, women desire affection and men desire sexual fulfillment. Without communication both desires go unfulfilled and the marriage becomes strained to the point that something has to give. If it sounds like such a situation is an easy fix, guess again. Communication is a struggle because men and women are wired completely differently, but there is help and hope.

Dear Jesus, communicating with the wife or husband You gave us is son tough. There are times we cannot get him or her to understand anything we want or say. We want to hear and understand each other but our lack of understanding stands in the way. Open us to one another today so we might begin to understand one another. Teach us how to hear and listen to one another so that we might begin to cooperate with one another. We want our marriages to succeed, be an example to an unbelieving world, and give You honor, glory and praise, but we need the help only You can give. Help us today, please! Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 1 Co 7:1–7.

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21 Days Praying for Family

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Dr. Logan's Blog

Day 16 – Genesis 2:23-24

23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. [1]

We know the creation narrative well by now. In chapter one we are told God created humans, male and female he made them. In chapter two there is a second account, some would argue just a fuller, more in depth account. Either way we are presented with a crucial picture of God’s own design. It begins with a search through the animals already created for a companion for Adam. Finding none, God causes Adam to fall into a deep sleep and taking one of his ribs creates a helper suitable for Adam. In everything that God had created there was nothing found fit for Adam. God had given to His creation a specific purpose (1:28) that could not fulfilled alone, and the only way God could solve the dilemma was to take a part of the man to make a woman.

The writer of Genesis is very specific at this point, as if this is something we are not to miss. With the same deliberate attention God gives to creating humanity in the first place, forming him from the dust of the ground (2:7), He employs creating Eve. The uniqueness of this creation is then seen in Adam’s response to what he sees the first time he gazes upon this new creature. Instinctively he knows that she is vastly different from anything else he has seen, He looks at her and realizes that she is that part that was taken out of him, and with his responsibility to name every creature, he calls her woman because she was taken out of him.

Note the manner in which he receives her, with a love poem. Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.” I prefer the KJV for this verse because it calls her a “good thing.” Adam is so enthralled with what he sees that he voluntarily leaves behind his former existence to follow, cling to, and adhere to his wife. The two become one-flesh, no longer two separate beings, but now interdependent, a unit designed to fulfill God’s mandated purpose. The most critical piece of this new reality is that Adam had to leave his former reality in order to fully embrace it. It is what my wife always says, “The secret to cleaving is leaving.” Marriage is complicated, and handicapped when those entering it cannot leave behind their former realities. A marriage is a road down which one has never traveled, even if it is not their first. Refusal to leave the past (I wish I had time to really engage this topic) handicaps a marriage, renders it ineffective and completely impotent.

Father, just as Adam left his former reality, allow us to leave our own, whether it is our parent’s home and influence, the baggage of past relationships, or the habit of living alone. Prepare those who desire to be married to receive the one You bring to them with the same excitement Adam first expressed. Restore that excitement to those who have been long married that our marriages might give You honor and praise, and be a witness to a lost and dying world jaded about marriage. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Ge 2:23–24.

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