BBD 05.13.14 Moral Failure (New)

#1 · May 13, 2014, 1:55 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on May 13, 2014, 1:55 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

If for
some reason you do not receive your email version of the devotional please
check the Burning Bush website at www.theburningbush.net for the “Devotional of the Day” and read the devotional there.

The Burning
Bush Devotional

05.13.14

Moral
Failure

But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart. - Matthew 5:28 NKJV.

For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the
wicked shall fall by calamity. - Proverbs 24:16 NKJV.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9 NKJV.

Statement
issued by Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale,
Florida: “On
April 3, 2014, Bob Coy resigned as Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale,
effective immediately, after confessing to a moral failing in his life which
disqualifies him from continuing his leadership role at the church he has led
since its founding in 1985. The media ministry of the Active Word that
distributes his Bible teachings through radio, television, and digital media
has also been suspended.” Bob Coy is not the only pastor who has
resigned because of a moral failure. Three additional megachurch pastors in
Florida have resigned because of having confessed to extramarital affairs.
Isaac Hunter, pastor of Summit Church, later committed suicide. (Christianity
Today 04.07.14; also the Blaze, Religion News; Huffington Post and various
other news venues)

The
four Florida pastors are certainly not the only pastors who have had a moral
failure of the same magnitude. Some of those other pastors were well known, but
far more were not so well known. I’ve known some of those lesser well known
pastors personally and they did recover from their failures. Although those
failures marked their lives in traumatic ways, but they were able to continue
in ministry after some time had passed. Their later ministries were on a
smaller scale than they had previous to the moral failing.

Seeing
great men of God fail it causes most to give pause to their own ability to
overcome temptation. The majority of pastors, and of married men, have not had
extramarital affairs and have not been tempted to have one. However, I doubt
there is a single man who has ever lived (except for our Lord) who can
truthfully say they have not violated Matthew 5:28.
It is not just the outward actions, it is also the thoughts of our hearts.

For
those who have actually committed physical, visible known acts of immorality it
is traumatic, and for all those in their circle of relationships. As with Issac
Hunter the pastor who committed suicide in Florida, the damage from an
adulterous affair can be overwhelming. He is not the only pastor or Christian
man to have committed suicide after a moral failure. Even for those who have
failed in their thought life, their heart life, it is also damaging. Some men
have had suicidal thoughts even while trying to cope with what lies in their
hearts that are in violation of Matthew 5:28.
Those pressures upon men and even women are perhaps greater today than ever
before.

The
truth is that many great servants of God have experienced moral failure in one
form or another. Adam and Eve were not sinless and their failure corrupted all
of creation. David, the man after God’s own heart, committed adultery with a
married woman and arranged for the murder of her husband. Solomon, the wisest
man who ever lived, did some very unwise things. Samson also had his problems.
The truth is that none of us human beings are perfect and we all sin (Romans 3:23) to one degree or another.

When we
sin, it can make you miserable to the extent that you no longer want to live.
Is that what God wants? No! God wants you to fall on 1 John 1:9 and to rise
again to walk with Him and serve Him. Does God condone sin? No, Romans 6:23 says that the “wages
of sin is death.” Sin, to whatever degree brings deadness instead of the
abundant life that God wants us to have. If you do experience moral failure, it
does not have to be the end of the road. It will likely not be easy to recover,
but there is hope. That hope is based on the Word of
God. As seen with King David, when there is true repentance (Psalm 51), a turning from sin and to God, restoration
can occur.

Copyright © 2014. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The .org
Burning Bush website

is being updated.

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Please pray for
the return of the Nigerian school girls. Many prayer needs are posted at the
Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer
requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for
me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

You can unsubscribe to the
burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html
text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now
in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org
and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

If for
some reason you do not receive your email version of the devotional please
check the Burning Bush website at http://www.theburningbush.net for the “Devotional of the Day” and read the devotional there.

The Burning
Bush Devotional

05.13.14

Moral
Failure

But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart. - Matthew 5:28 NKJV.

For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the
wicked shall fall by calamity. - Proverbs 24:16 NKJV.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:9 NKJV.

Statement
issued by Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale,
Florida: “On
April 3, 2014, Bob Coy resigned as Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale,
effective immediately, after confessing to a moral failing in his life which
disqualifies him from continuing his leadership role at the church he has led
since its founding in 1985. The media ministry of the Active Word that
distributes his Bible teachings through radio, television, and digital media
has also been suspended.” Bob Coy is not the only pastor who has
resigned because of a moral failure. Three additional megachurch pastors in
Florida have resigned because of having confessed to extramarital affairs.
Isaac Hunter, pastor of Summit Church, later committed suicide. (Christianity
Today 04.07.14; also the Blaze, Religion News; Huffington Post and various
other news venues)

The
four Florida pastors are certainly not the only pastors who have had a moral
failure of the same magnitude. Some of those other pastors were well known, but
far more were not so well known. I’ve known some of those lesser well known
pastors personally and they did recover from their failures. Although those
failures marked their lives in traumatic ways, but they were able to continue
in ministry after some time had passed. Their later ministries were on a
smaller scale than they had previous to the moral failing.

Seeing
great men of God fail it causes most to give pause to their own ability to
overcome temptation. The majority of pastors, and of married men, have not had
extramarital affairs and have not been tempted to have one. However, I doubt
there is a single man who has ever lived (except for our Lord) who can
truthfully say they have not violated Matthew 5:28.
It is not just the outward actions, it is also the thoughts of our hearts.

For
those who have actually committed physical, visible known acts of immorality it
is traumatic, and for all those in their circle of relationships. As with Issac
Hunter the pastor who committed suicide in Florida, the damage from an
adulterous affair can be overwhelming. He is not the only pastor or Christian
man to have committed suicide after a moral failure. Even for those who have
failed in their thought life, their heart life, it is also damaging. Some men
have had suicidal thoughts even while trying to cope with what lies in their
hearts that are in violation of Matthew 5:28.
Those pressures upon men and even women are perhaps greater today than ever
before.

The
truth is that many great servants of God have experienced moral failure in one
form or another. Adam and Eve were not sinless and their failure corrupted all
of creation. David, the man after God’s own heart, committed adultery with a
married woman and arranged for the murder of her husband. Solomon, the wisest
man who ever lived, did some very unwise things. Samson also had his problems.
The truth is that none of us human beings are perfect and we all sin (Romans 3:23) to one degree or another.

When we
sin, it can make you miserable to the extent that you no longer want to live.
Is that what God wants? No! God wants you to fall on 1 John 1:9 and to rise
again to walk with Him and serve Him. Does God condone sin? No, Romans 6:23 says that the “wages
of sin is death.” Sin, to whatever degree brings deadness instead of the
abundant life that God wants us to have. If you do experience moral failure, it
does not have to be the end of the road. It will likely not be easy to recover,
but there is hope. That hope is based on the Word of
God. As seen with King David, when there is true repentance (Psalm 51), a turning from sin and to God, restoration
can occur.

Copyright © 2014. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The .org
Burning Bush website

is being updated.

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Please pray for
the return of the Nigerian school girls. Many prayer needs are posted at the
Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer
requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for
me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

You can unsubscribe to the
burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html
text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now
in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org
and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org