To Elin Tiger Woods

Angel and Dreamer (abridged version)

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To Elin Tiger Woods By John BarclayHow much pain must a woman endure to save her family and marriage?King David of Israel married Princess Maacah and Princess Micah. Was he unfaithful?While yet his first wife was living, he took a second wife, yet the Bible did not condemn his act. Then, he took his third, and fourth, and fifth wife, until he had the number to hold Miss Universe pageant, and yet not a single word of rebuke was heard from God. Julio Iglesias was not the original to sing “To all the girls I’ve loved before”; it’s David. His list of hot babes included Princess Micah, Princess Maacah, Abigail, Ahinoam, Eglah, Abital, and Haggith. (1 Chronicles 3:1-9)Recall now David’s predecessor, King Saul, who was ordered by God to attack the Amalekites and completely annihilate all their men, women, children, and animals, which he did not. God’s judgment upon Saul was swift – he suffered a violent death. (1 Samuel 15; 31:9).David held parties with seven wives and was promoted, but Saul – who never broke the Ten Commandments - got beheaded.AvailableIf God did not condemn David, who are we to judge him? We are not holier than God, are we?On second thought, If God did not punish David, there could be a reason. The general rule is that sin invites punishment. David was not punished; therefore, he did not sin. And if he did not sin despite his many wives, the question is, why?To shed light on the matter, it would greatly help to recognize that the Law of God makes a very clear separation between married or engaged women and single ladies. If a man seduces a married or engaged woman and sleeps with her, they commit a crime worthy of death, and both will die; however, this law does not apply if the lady is single and not engaged with another man. In such similar case, the man will pay a dowry to the girl’s father and marry the girl. (Deuteronomy 22: 22-29)In other words, if a man sleeps with a single lady and they're caught, they'll go to the bridal chamber; but if a man sleeps with a married woman and they're caught, they'll go to the gas chamber. Can’t handle the truthAre we prepared to we concede that the only divine explanation as to why God never condemned David for his multiple wives is simply because he did not violate the Law; and he did not violate the Law because all his wives were bachelorettes – the only group which the Law did not identify to be forbidden? According to the Law, a Jewish man was not allowed to marry or have sex with his mother, his stepmother, his grandmother, his granddaughter, his sister-in-law while his brother is living, his aunt, his sister, his half-sister, his neighbor’s wife, his neighbor’s fiancée, with a gay or with his dog. (Leviticus 18)Bachelorettes were exempted. HoneymoonSome parts of Law seem to point to this direction, as when the Law mentions the case of a man having two wives.  After stating the marital status of such a man, the Law proceeds to talk about how the man should divide his possessions among his heirs, protecting the right of the firstborn son even when his mother is second-best. But nothing was said about sin or punishment. (Deuteronomy 21: 15 - 17)In another article, the Law stipulated that the Jewish soldier should file a leave of absence because of his honeymoon with his “new wife.” The duration of his honeymoon leave was not twelve days, but twelve months! This term “new” wife would presuppose there was a living wife before her. (Deuteronomy 24:5)All the while we're cracking our brains on the King’s dangerous liaisons, the former shepherd might have been smiling, amused and entertained by our cerebral skirmish. Unknown to him, dark clouds were gathering above his palace and his good fortune was about to change. Hot listAfter transferring his palace from Hebron to Jerusalem, David took more wives. All of these women were not in the forbidden list, except one – Bathsheba. Married to Uriah, a ranking officer in David’s army, she was on Moses’ hot list.David would learn that not only was a Hittite a member of his army, and a ranking officer at that, but this outsider Uriah was so lucky as to have a very beautiful woman in the person of Bathsheba.Now David was not a stranger to this tribal group called Hittites, because he learned from Moses’ writings that God had commanded Joshua and the nation of Israel to wipe out all Hittites, the original settlers of the Promised Land. Inflamed by sexual desire, David got a blurred view, threw all cautions to the wind and took the married woman Bathsheba to be his wife.TragedyAfter taking a married woman, David came to face with his Judge in the person of the prophet Nathan, who speedily pronounced divine judgment on him. As punishment for his sin, heart-rending troubles rocked David’s household.Royal son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, David’s daughter, and then in revenge Absalom, Tamar’s brother, murdered Amnon.  Against his will, David punished his favorite son Absalom and sent him into exile, but not for long.Years later, Absalom was reinstated in the palace, and then launched a coup against his father, forcing David and his loyal army to escape into the wilderness. During counter-attack, his top general Joab defied David’s order, spearing Absalom to death, even when his soldiers could easily capture him alive.These calamities happened to David because he took one married woman (and murdered her husband).Could you imagine what great disasters could have fallen on him had God declared that for every additional wife he had taken David committed the sin of adultery? His bloodline would have been completely expunged, expurgated, exterminated. Man's heartDavid was lucky.  If he were to stand before our courts today, the judge would have sentenced him to die by electric chair, not once, but twice. He broke two of the Ten Commandments. According to God’s Law, his adulterous affair with Bathsheba carried the penalty of death, and his pre-meditated murder of Uriah likewise was punishable by death. (Leviticus 20:10; 23: 17) Why did God spare David?The answer was in his heart.Remember the first meeting of the boy David and the prophet Samuel? God ordered the seer to have lunch with a man name Jesse, and to anoint the guy – that is, one of his sons - who would become the next King of Israel. After sizing up all the eight sons of Jesse, the prophet Samuel made his pick: he was tall, well-built, and a battle-tested soldier - perfect to be Israel’s King. (1 Samuel 17:13) But God said to him, “No, it’s not him. Man judges by appearance, but God judges by the heart.” He overruled his prophet’s decision, and chose the youngest son David, a shepherd. (1 Samuel 16: 6-7)Many years later, when David was committing the sin of adultery, when he was planning the murder of Uriah, God knew that from the deepest chamber of David’s heart was his tender compassion crying out and pleading, “No, please. Don't!" David’s prayer for forgiveness as recorded in Psalm 51 was not memorized or mechanical, but a natural outpour of deep sorrow of a truly broken-hearted, repentant sinner.  Magdalene A similar case took place in the New Testament during the time of Jesus. In those days a group of religious leaders caught a married woman having sex with a man not her husband. They had already decided her fate, they would show no pity – Mary Magdalene would die by stoning, and they brandished the Law for their authority. Like them, Jesus, too, knew the Law, and obeyed it without a single miss, and yet he followed a higher law – mercy – and forgave adulterous Magdalene.It's still the same today. God judges men and women by looking at their heart. If only ladies would judge their man the same way…SafeguardsA Jewish wife learned that his husband was having an affair with his widowed childhood sweetheart. She would lose no time going to her lawyer and file a case of infidelity against him, wouldn’t she? No, she wouldn’t. She, her lawyer, and the entire nation of Israel very well knew that the case would have no legs to stand on.The word “infidelity” does not appear in the Law of Moses .and in the entire thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. Not once. Neither the idea of infidelity, as we know it, was ever entertained. Even in the New Testament, this concept was foreign. Twice the word “infidel” was mentioned, but not in the context of a romantic relationship. In both instances, the Apostle Paul used it to refer to a group of sinful people in contrast with a godly church. (2 Corinthians 6: 14-16; 1Timothy 5:8)What God invented to safeguard and preserve enduring happiness for the Jewish couple and their children were laws targeting pre-marital sex, adultery, qualified rape, prostitution, bestiality and homosexuality. To show that God was serious and meant business, each violation carried the death penalty for offenders. (Deuteronomy 22: 21-25)Absent The Law contained over 500 commandments, one writes. It occupied four voluminous books in the Old Testament – Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. They were so long and so verbose that you and I would not bother to read them. The mother of all questions is this - Why didn’t God reserve a tiny space and tell man that he was not allowed to take more than one wife? God didn’t do it. It was He who created man a sexual being and infused sex hormones into his body. When God did not make a law against multiple wives, he might have a reason.  What was it? Doable Suppose, you’re the chieftain of a tribe of a thousand families somewhere in Africa and one of your functions was to create a law for your people. You’d listen to their cries and complaints, their needs and wants, their fights and quarrels, and all things mundane and vital, that made up everyday life in your tribe. After weighing pros and cons, you’re ready to write down the law. Question – would you make a law that you knew your people couldn’t keep? To change the analogy – would you tell your kids they would be punished if they dipped their fingers into the cookie jar? Or would you rather, as wise mother who had known her kids, refrain from making a prohibition and do some adjustments yourself?  Best not good enough Honor your father and your mother,” Moses writes. Some Jews would violate this law, but not all. “You shall not murder.” A few Hebrews would break this law, but not all. “You shall not steal.” Many Israelites would become transgressors of this law, but not all. “You shall not bear false witness.” Others would disobey, but not all. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or your neighbor’s property.” Majority would cross the line, but not all. “You shall not commit adultery.” Some would break it, but not all.“You shall not take a second wife” - this commandment God did not make. Why?If this command were issued, wasn’t it more likely that all Israelites would break it? If that happened, God would have no more time to redeem the 100+ members of United Nation and, instead, he would have been busy punishing Israel, raining on them fire and lava! What you’re reading is the abridged version of Angel and Dreamer available for immediate download at lulu dot comGlass of waterIn today’s world of spy camera and hi-tech gadgets, the wealthy jealous man, like Warren Gates, could shell out a few million dollars and hire British agent double O seven – James Bond - to catch his “cheating” wife, but during those days of the Law it would take a poor man just one glass of water to get the job done!This part of the Law was one of those special commandments that specifically guaranteed supernatural intervention from God’s side to ensure its success. The process was simple. The jealous guy and his wife would present themselves before a Jewish priest. To settle all suspicion and hunch once and for all, the wife would drink from a cup of purified water. If the wife had been faithful, she would suffer no harm, but if she had sex with another man, the water would bring a curse on her, her body would swell, and she’d be proven to be an adulteress.  PurityGod could have known how great a distress a suspicious and jealous husband had been passing through. But it’s a stalemate, because the husband had no proof against his wife.God would intervene and break the deadlock. This special law would show the immense importance that God had placed on wife’s sexual purity, clearly showing it’s the protective canopy that would ensure the lasting happiness of a family.Our Lord Jesus Christ himself added his own testimony to strengthen this principle, telling the legal experts of his day that, as far as God was concerned, God didn’t allow the Jews to divorce their wives except on one ground – the wife’s act of adultery. PowerlessThe longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119. This chapter talks about the Law. It praises the law as blameless, perfect, righteous, holy, pure, just, and wonderful.  It’s compared to a light and lamp that would guide the godly and prevent him from sinning.Why should God terminate the age of the Law?The problem was not the Law, but man who didn’t have the inner power to keep it. The Law only magnified the weaknesses of the people, leaving them tired, weary, and frustrated because it burdened their backs with heavy load but couldn’t give them the power to stand up and move forward.The coming of a new age – the age in which we live - would bring the cure.Amazing graceWe are now living in the age of God’s amazing grace.When our calendar hit the Year 33, the age of grace started. We are now in the year 2010’s, leaving behind two millennia of years of gift-giving from God.Grace is gift; gift is grace. This equation is the quickest way for us to grasp the meaning of this big theological word called grace. If you know how a gift, like birthday gift, works, you know how God bestows His forgiveness and blessings to you.Simply put, you receive your gift from a giver, and say to him, “thank you.”The opposite of grace is salary or pay. We need to work first before we get our salary. No work, no pay.Salary, wage, pay slip, reward, medal, trophy, plaque of appreciation, honor - all these are not grace, because the receiver has done something to deserve what he received.But when a stubborn kid murdered the only son of a wealthy tycoon, and then the father showed mercy and forgave the repentant murderer, adopted him and made him as his own son, took him to live in his mansion, and made him the heir of his fortune – that’s grace!   And that’s what exactly happened.God’s only Son Jesus Christ was crucified by sinful men, and yet, God graciously forgave the murderers when they repented, adopted them into God’s family, prepared for them a home in Heaven and made them co-heirs with Jesus Christ. Saul, a murderer, learned this grace first-hand. (1Timothy 1:12-16) Why should God do such marvelous thing? Ultimate sacrifice Under the Law, a repentant Jew would have his sins forgiven if he offered a lamb as a sacrifice. It would serve as his substitute and bear his punishment. Instead of the sinner getting the injection or facing the firing squad, the innocent lamb would take the blow and be killed.   Under today’s age of grace, God no longer requires from him animal sacrifice, which is only a shadow of the true sacrifice, Jesus the Lamb of God, whose death on the Cross some two thousand years ago completely fulfilled all the types and prototypes found in Moses’ Law of Temple worship.What repentant sinners like us need to do now is simple – call on the name of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who died on the cross to pay the divine punishment for our sins. When we do that, God will – for the sake of His crucified Son - forgive all our sins, small and great, and will wipe away all our transgressions instantly, right on the spot, while we’re calling on Jesus Christ for his mercy. (Romans 10:13)Those who did this received divine forgiveness, eternal life, and a home in Heaven.One wifeOn love, sex, and marriage, God by sovereign choice has called some Christians to marry and some to remain single. Married Christians must not divorce their spouses on account of religious difference, that in view of increasing prostitution in their community and for their lack of self-control, it is better for them to marry and fulfill their marital duty to each other. (1 Corinthians 7)To those who want to become church leaders, such as bishops, elders and deacons, the Christian applicant, must be the “husband of only one wife.” (1Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).God made Adam and Eve a perfect match, a perfect couple; there was no third party. When Adam sinned, man’s relationship with the woman took a twist, and God made some sort of concession by allowing him to take more than one wife. Now in this age of grace, Christians are urged to marry and live with only one wife. Born to fly A Christian is like a butterfly born to fly.As sinner he was like a worm, but when he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior; he was born from above, born of the Spirit, born into God’s family. As such, he would no longer live his life under the old system, but he was born anew into a new world. (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:3)The Christian is born to fly in freedom, not to be shackled by Moses’ Law. He is not obligated to obey the 500+ commandments of Moses, and yet he lives in a moral realm far superior than the Old Testament commandments. The Law says “You shall not murder,” but the Christian won’t even nurse a grudge. The Law says “You shall not commit adultery,” but the Christian won’t even harbor the thought. The Law says “You shall not steal,” but the Christian will even offer his shirt, turn the other cheek, and walk the extra mile.Indwelling SpiritGod’s Spirit makes the individual, physical body of Christian as his dwelling place for as long as he lives.In the old days, God’s Spirit dwelt in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple, but in the Year 70 Roman General Titus burned down the Temple to signal to the whole world that God’s Spirit has departed from the Temple. In the Year 33, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit started to dwell in the human body of the believers, making it as God’s present temple.   Super powerSupernatural power is what the indwelling Holy Spirit imparts to Christian to enable him to live a life that is pleasing to God. Mercy, goodness, compassion, godliness, and good works, among others, are the natural fruit of the indwelling Spirit.God’s original design for man and woman -  their one-on-one romantic relationship – would be redeemed and restored. The Christian can now achieve this perfect pairing because the greatest miracle that could ever happen to man has actually become a reality - God’s Spirit indwelling him and empowering to obey God’s original purpose. Without the supernatural power from God’s indwelling Spirit, Christians are no better than David.Better grade Based on today’s social standard, the average man would get better grade and rank much higher compared to King David. No kidding. If you’d tell me Tiger Woods had romantic liaisons with three other women and seven flings besides, still he would rate morally superior than King David, since he had no less than seven wives and countless flings all at the same time. If Elin abhorred the thought that his man would have kids with the other woman, she would not exchange her guy for the King, as David had eight sons, and all of these were firstborn! (1 Chronicles 3: 1-9) Prince of Egypt Of course, Elin would rather have Joseph, the Prince of Egypt, rather than David, to be his man’s model. Aside form being the second most powerful man at Capitol Hills; he was Egypt’s sexiest man alive, the object of Lady Potiphar’s sexual fantasy.  These, however, were of secondary importance, since what mattered most was the fact that Joseph was a one-woman Prince of Egypt, and had remained so until his death. Her man could be, should be, like him. Since dreaming costs nothing, she can shoot her arrow into the sky and hope to get the brightest star; in case she misses, she’ll still hit the moon.   Divine logistics It should be clear by now that God didn’t require the Jew under the Law to be a “one-woman” guy because He knew that even the saintliest of a David didn’t have the power to keep it. But now Christians are commanded to marry and live with only one wife because, first , he has been born again; second, he has God’s Spirit indwelling him; and third, he has divine power to obey God’s will. These three vital supports were not available to David. Christian Lady, is your man a Christian? If not, he’d do a David, which you won’t relish one moment. How would you know? Observe. If he reads the Bible everyday, he’s full of God’s Spirit, you’re safe. If he reads Playboy, he’s empty of the Spirit; you’re in big trouble. If he reads both Bible and Playboy, he’s either half-full or half empty; but it can be cured.  But even if the holy Pope pours three gallons of holy water on your man, it won’t be a walk in the park for him to become the faithful guy you desire him to be.  Sexy  To be a one-woman man, your Tiger must overcome three monsters appearing as angel of light – Satan, self, and sexy centerfolds.The first sizzling temptation is the bevy of hot ladies who cross his path everyday. Once spotted, your man could be blown into pieces, depending on the sexual impact coming from Hollywood temptress. The force of temptation varies from pistol, to grenade, to nuclear bomb. When your man sees Paris, temptation is nuclear; when he meets Angelina, it’s nuclear; when he chats with Nicole, it’s nuclear. When he guests with Oprah, it’s unclear.  With Avon and Sara Lee around, the number of sexy hot babes has multiplied exponentially. Your guy can resist some of them some of the time, but he can’t resist all of them all of the time. SatanYour man’s oldest enemy is Satan. In the art and science of seduction, he’s pound-per-pound world champion. If Satan could defeat sinless Adam, do you think your man, a Cub Scout trainee, will stand a chance? The first round could go to your guy, but what about the second, tenth, and twentieth year of your marriage? Satan, who has been around millions of years before dinosaurs, knows all the tricks to deceive and defeat the saintliest among the saints.SelfYour guy’s greatest obstacle is his own self. All men are born sinners. His very heart, his very nature, is to sin, and going straight is his exception rather than his rule. The Apostle Paul in Romans 7 argued that when a man desires in his heart to do what is right but ends up doing what he hates, that’s the proof that a greater force has overpowered his will. Better trained, better equipped and more cunning than the CIA, these three demons are 24/7 demonizing your man, coordinating their moves, and tracking him down to bring about his early demise. This is not to justify his sexual aberration, not to give him the excuse to fail, but it’s meant to show you that the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against him. Because it’s easy for you to be a “one-man lady,” you may be tempted to make such personal success as the norm, making you callous and judgmental against him and not realizing the unrelenting demonic battles he must overcome just to hold  his head above water. Remember Reminisce the past.  When your man walked the aisle on your wedding day; he was giving you a very precious gift – his name. From that moment on, no other woman would carry his name but you, and no other girl could besmirch his honor but you. It’s a big trust he’s given you, and that alone was enough to convince anyone how much he loved you.Most important of all, always remember that, when your man made his vow he would not look at another woman except you and love no other girl but you, and then failed to keep his promise over and over again, it didn’t mean he doesn’t love you anymore, because he does; it didn’t mean his love for you has diminished, because it hasn’t.That’s true.Really.  What you’ve read is the abridged version of Angel and Dreamer by Zwingli Robertson. For immediate download of the full version visit lulu dot com; or click here http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/angel-and-dreamer/12453394?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1

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