"The Third Cord!"

 "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12 KJV) 

  "Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace." (Ephesians 4:3 NLT)

 Most likely, yesterday's post was a little different to some; but it needed to be said! There are too many people, mostly younger men and women, that have no clue about the real side of evil. There is such a big difference between those who fight to protect their people and those who kill, for the sake of killing people that they do not like or agree with. 

 Anywho, just so you know, that portion of Scripture from 1Kings was the only reference shown to correlate with Ecclesiastes 4:11; so, I thought it would be a gentle springboard into the discussion; not that there was anything evil going on, just weird; like sniffing the hair of little girls or letting them feel the hairs on your legs; not that David ever did anything like that. 

 The portion of Scripture that we have before us today, was used in the ceremony of our wedding, as Pastor Mike shared this Scripture while Marianne and I took our two candles and together used them to light the center candle, which was to represent Christ. The whole point was to show those in the crowd, as well as us, that we were adding Jesus to our union together as husband and wife. 

 If there was anything that kept us together in the most difficult times, it was that bond we had together was strengthened by our bond together with Christ! I'm not saying the rope was not tested, because we had some difficulty, from time to time. But nothing was easily broken; we were never separated or had any argument that caused us to be torn apart; we might have thought it or spoken it out; but we never went far enough to make it happen! Thanks to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! 

 I was reminded yesterday about a friend and sister of ours, who was pretty much devastated by the death of her husband. They both prayed for him to be healed of his cancer, she prayed the most; but his cancer overcame him, and he passed away. She continued to attend church for a little while, at least until the funeral was past and she settled into feeling alone.

 We had lunch together and I was concerned about her not going to church. Then she asked me why I was so stuck on the Lord, after what had happened to my wife. This was really not something that I needed to think over or pause to consider! Because Jesus is still holding us together! Without Christ in my life, I don't think I could go on; or would even want to! 

 I see too much of this happening, and it hurts to see people walk away from the Lord over their prayers not being answered, the way they want things to turn out. Sometimes God has something better in mind, and sometimes He just lets those who suffer go home...

""If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."" (Matthew 10:37-39 NLT)