THE CHRISTIAN WALK

Sunday, April 12, 2026

BROKEN BARRIERS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.”

“No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation.”

“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you. However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.”

“Do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as an alien in his country. The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 23:1-8

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What would it be like today if the church…”the assembly of the Lord”…were exclusionary?

What if we had to meet certain qualifiers to be a part of the Lord’s team?

What if we had certain things about us that would disqualify us…like our ethnicity?

Well…if the church today were like this, then it would have been much like the “assembly of the Lord” we read about in our passage today.

For as Deuteronomy, chapter 23 opens, we see guidance given to Israel as to who was not permitted to “enter the assembly of the Lord”. Included were the eunuchs (castrated males), those born from “forbidden marriages” (their descendants were excluded as well), and any Ammonite, Moabite or their descendants. Conversely, we see where the “third generation of children” born to the Edomites and Egyptians were allowed to enter the assembly.

These guidelines would remain in play until the time of Isaiah where we see a change occur. Look at what the Lord says in the first seven verses of chapter 56:

“Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is close at hand and My righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."

“Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely exclude me from His people.’ And let not any eunuch complain, ‘I am only a dry tree.’ For this is what the Lord says: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to my covenant - to them I will give within My temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.’”

“And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship Him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My covenant - these I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." Isaiah 56:1-7

Note here where eunuchs and foreigners were now invited into the “assembly of the Lord” as long as they kept the Lord’s Sabbaths, held fast to His covenant, and chose to do what pleases Him (which included binding themselves to Him, loving His name, and worshipping Him). In other words, as long as they did what was expected of any Israelite. This more inclusive attitude was a pre-cursor for what was about to come in Jesus, the One who was coming to save ALL sinners. Whether Jew or Gentile, by paying the price for their sin and purchasing their pardon so to provide them eternal life if they simply would believe in Him (John 3:16).

In sum, the ultimate good news is that in Christ Jesus anyone can be saved. There is no discrimination in regard to who can come into the Kingdom of God if they confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead for if they genuinely feel this, they will be saved (Romans 10:8).

Friends, is this not reason to smile and give thanks today?

For there is a living Savior named Jesus who has broken down any exclusionary barriers to the “assembly of the Lord”. All people can gain access to God the Father through Christ the Son, a Son He willingly gave up so to save sinners like them, something He did out of a love that we’ll never be able to fully grasp and understand (John 3:16).

Through obedience to the Great Commission, this is the Gospel message that Jesus called us to share, a Gospel message all believers are expected to dedicate their lives to tell, a Gospel message that brings eternal life to anyone and everyone who will receive it and accept it, now and forevermore.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

Saturday, April 11, 2026

THE DEFACING AND DEBASING OF SEXUAL SANCTITY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,’ then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The girl's father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, “I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.’ Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders shall take the man and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.”

“If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you.”

“If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.”

“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death - the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.”

“But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor, for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.”

“If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.”

“A man is not to marry his father's wife; he must not dishonor his father's bed.”

Deuteronomy 22:13-30

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we look at the closing verses of Deuteronomy, chapter 22, we find the Word of God dealing with proper relationships for the Israelite people, before and after marriage with a special focus on sexual relations. Within this passage, we find four specific matters being covered:

1. Virginity.

If you didn’t know before this reading this passage, you definitely know afterwards that maintaining virginity until marriage was a required standard in the Israelite culture. A woman’s first sexual relations were to be with her husband, period, and breaking this requirement led would result in fatal consequences for the offender (stoning). In regard to whether or not virginity had been lost, we see where proof was required in order to counter anyone who might bring it into question.

Sadly, people in today’s culture would scoff at all this because we’re nowhere near this high standard of sexual purity. Not even close and frankly that saddening because while God did design us to enjoy sexual relations between a man and woman, it was to be preserved and reserved for marriage. He commanded and still expects sex to be treated with a level of sanctity and dignity, the ultimate consummation of a love shared by a husband and wife after they became one flesh.

Indeed, virginity has largely became an afterthought today, if thought of at all, because we have taken something God intended to be unique and distinguished and degraded it. It has been cheapened it to the point where it has little to no value anymore.

Today, people “hook up”, have sex, and go their separate ways and in doing this, sex becomes devalued along with the relationships involved. Think about it. How many couples nowadays marry with an assurance that their spouse has not had prior sexual relations. The percentages have to be astronomically low.

Unfortunately, when people do opt to preserve their virginity, they are mocked and treated as if they abnormal by a sin-filled world that soundly rejects any godly obedience. The polar opposite stands in a God-filled world for those who remain steadfast in their faithfulness to the Lord and His Word are righteous through their sacrificial submission to God’s will for their life, willing to set their own desires aside so to fulfill His.

Friends, in my opinion it’s time to get back to basics. I’m not saying we should start stoning virgins who can’t prove it but we need to start placing a premium on restoring the sanctity of sex, bringing it back to the special, sacred status that God intended.

2. Infidelity.

"You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14

While issuing His famous Ten Commandments, God made it very clear that no one was to commit adultery, especially in regard to sleeping with the spouse of another. We see the penalties were harsh during Old Testament times in our scripture passage for today:

“If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die.”

In both these instances, sex was engaged in outside of marriage and we need to note here that a pledge to marry (think formal engagement) was as binding as marriage itself so a virgin who engaged in consensual (meaning of she did not scream) sex with a man other than the man she was pledged to would result in death to both. A well known example of this in the Bible is found in the aftermath of Mary’s divine conception and how her ensuing pregnancy sent cultural ripples through Nazareth as she was pledged to be married to Joseph and had not had sexual relations with him. Thankfully, God dispatched the angel Gabriel to help Joseph process what to do in the matter (Matthew 1:18-24).

In regard to marriages today, infidelity is one of the most damaging acts that can happen as it is a blatant violation of trust, honor, and commitment. I know because I went through it.

Like sex overall today, cheating on a spouse has been allowed to be way too typical. In fact, a day doesn’t go by where we don’t hear about someone who has committed adultery, often putting an end to the marriage that God intended to last until the death of one mate or the other. I can’t help but think that the Lord angrily seethes over the way we have sinfully destroyed the holy foundations of marriage through our inability to remain faithful.

Perhaps He should ask us all, “What part of ‘You shall not commit adultery’ do you not understand?”

3. Rape.

Here’s what we find God saying in regard to the most horrific, damaging, and denigrating sexual offense that exists, an offense that carried appropriate serious consequences for offenders:

“…if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death.”

Here we have two passages with two different scenarios, each centered on the matter of Israelite virgin women who either pledged or not pledged to be married to a man.

If a virgin who was pledged to marry another was raped, then the offender was to be killed. The virgin was to be spared but unfortunately the damage would have been done to her already. No one could remove the fact that she was no longer a virgin and no man would want to marry her, leading to a life that would be filled with hardship. The seriousness of this outcome for the woman was why the death penalty was warranted for the rapist.

If the virgin was not pledged to be married, than the man who raped her was required to pay fifty shekels to the woman’s father and then marry her, never permitted to divorce her for as long as he or she lives. And while this seems to be disadvantageous for the victim, it actually was favorable in those times culturally because the offended woman wouldn’t be left alone to fend for herself in a society who looked down on a woman who was not a virgin. The best could be made of what was a bad situation.

4. Incest.

“A man is not to marry his father's wife; he must not dishonor his father's bed.”

We should note that this wasn’t only adulterous sexual behavior but incestual as well. Ultimately and obviously, neither was acceptable to God.

And yet, we find an example of this in the first book of the Old Testament (Genesis) when Abraham’s nephew Lot ended up having sex with his two daughters (chapter 19), an incestuous sin that led to the future Moabite and Ammonite nations, nations that would later become fierce enemies of the nation of Israel.

In today’s passage, we saw where acts of sexual sin were alive and well within the ancient Israelite culture and in present times, approximately 3,400 years, things haven’t gotten better. In fact, we’ve far worse in most instances and it’s time to change course before things get any worse, remembering how God sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah over the pervasive sexual transgressions in both cities (Genesis 19) and He can easily do this again today.

The time to return to God’s standards for sexual relations is now before it’s too late.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

Friday, April 10, 2026

AN EVER PRESENT HELP

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.”

“If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. Do the same if you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.”

“If you see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.”

“A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.”

“If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.”

“When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.”

“Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.”

“Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.”

“Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.”

“Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.”

Deuteronomy 21:22-23, 22:1-12

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

From the last two verses in Deuteronomy, Chapter 21, through the first twelve verses of Chapter 22, we read of a collection of laws the Israelites were to follow. Although not grouped this way, they can be broken down into a few distinct categories:

1. Desecration.

“If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.”

In biblical times as well as times thereafter, a hanging was one of the most humiliating forms of death because it amounted to public execution. We read in this portion of our passage that a person “guilty of a capital offense” fell under God’s judgment or under His “curse”.

After death had occurred, we see where the requirement was clear. The body of the deceased wasn’t to remain there but was to be buried the same day. To allow the person to continue to hang would desecrate the land by allowing the memory of the crime the man committed to linger. Justice had been done and no lingering reminder was needed.

Of interest, this same law part of the Law was applied when Jesus was crucified alongside the two criminals at Calvary. Once death happened, the bodies were to be removed from the crosses and we know that Jesus’ body was removed by Joseph and Nicodemus before being prepared and placed in the tomb (John 19:38-42).

2. Distinction.

“A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.”

“Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.”

“Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.”

“Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.”

God created everything to be unique and special in its own right, and He expected His people to respect this uniqueness. Thus, there was no need for a woman or man to wear the other’s clothing. God wanted them to be who he created them to be and wear the clothing appropriate for their gender.

Agriculturally, plants were to be sowed and harvested separate from one another.

Animals were not to be mixed on the plow and if you think about it, an ox and donkey aren’t exactly a good match anyways because of the difference in their pulling power.

Finally, different types of thread were not to be woven together in a garment. This would prevent the structural integrity of the garment from being compromised.

3. Preservation.

God wanted the Israelites to respect and preserve creation’s ability to reproduce. If the mother was taken, no other young would be able to be produced and so she was to be left alone. Note that this command had an added warning for one was to comply with it “so that it may go well with (them) you and (they) may have long life”.

4. Safety.

“When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.”

In an earlier passage from this book, we already have seen God’s word address the shedding of innocent blood. Accidental death was to be avoided as much as possible and safety measures were to be taken such as making ‘a parapet (railing) around (the) roof” so to catch someone who might fall, therefore avoiding the “guilt of bloodshed on (their) house”.

5. Remembrance.

“Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.”

We have seen prior guidance on this in the Book of Numbers:

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”’” Numbers 15:37-41

Here we’re reminded that the tassels on the cloak served to remind the wearer that they were to “remember all the commands of the Lord” and “obey them” so not to “prostitute (themselves) by going after the lusts of (their) own hearts and eyes”. We should further note that this was to be passed onto future generations and indeed although we still see tassels on clothing today, they have largely lost the intended meaning we see in these verses.

6. Helping others.

“If you see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.”

God’s word makes it pretty clear here that He wants His people to get involved, assisting someone who may be at risk.

If one saw their brother’s ox or sheep straying, they weren’t supposed to just ignore it and pretend that they didn’t see anything. Rather, they were required to take it back to its rightful owner. And if they didn’t know who that owner was, then they were supposed to take the animal into custody and keep it until the rightful owner came looking for it. Of interest, we see that the same applied to anything else that was lost. Items of value that belonged to someone else were to be looked after by the finder.

We then see a second example given regarding a fallen animal. Often times, these animals were heavy and too much for one person to lift so if a person saw someone trying to get their animal on its feet again, they were to help them. Not just treat it as if it wasn’t their problem.

I think this section of the scriptures makes clear that people were to care and look after one another, including their items of value.

Given this, we should be asking ourselves some self-reflective questions:

As a society, how well do we look after one another today?

How well do we see our responsibility to protect another’s valuables, especially when they lose something?

If we see something that someone has lost, do we just go on about our business as if it’s not our problem? Or if the item is something of value, do we hold it to see if we can get it to the rightful owner or do we adopt the worldly “finders/keepers” approach?

Finally, if we see another person in need of assistance, do we stop to help them or just carry on uninterrupted in what we were doing?

Maybe if we’re honest in answering these questions, we can see that we have a serious issue in our world today, the world that God created and watches over. That issue is a pervasive inclination to be self-centered with everyone just interested in their own needs and wants without lending time to assist someone in need.

My friends, this certainly isn’t what God expects from us and it surely wasn’t the way that Jesus lived. Our Lord expects us to help others because He is always helping us or in other words, we only know how to help others because we were first helped by our Heavenly Father, the Father who “is our refuge and strength” and “ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

Today, my hope is that we will recommit ourselves to help others like God helps us so that we too may be an ever present help for others in their times of trouble. I think you would agree that our world would be a better place if we do.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

Thursday, April 9, 2026

HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER...ALWAYS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.”

“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.”

Deuteronomy 21:15-21

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today’s excerpt from Deuteronomy, Chapter 21, contains two distinct passages on how the Israelites were to deal with their sons.

In the first passage, we see where the rights of the very firstborn son were upheld, even if the father engaged in polygamy.

The scenario given involves “a man (who) has two wives and…loves one but not the other” with both bearing “him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love”. With these circumstances in place, there would be a danger that “when (the father) wills his property to his sons”, he might give “the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love”. This would be in direct violation of the Israeli customs regarding the inherent rights of firstborn sons and be unjust. In this instance, the actual firstborn son would be penalized just because his father loved his mother less than the other wife.

Given this possibility, God gives clear direction that would ensure that the firstborn son would be taken care of. The father was to “acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has” because the firstborn son was “the first sign of his father's strength”...the first product of his procreative power…and thus “the right of the firstborn belong(ed) to him”.

Once again as in so many instances in the Bible, we see where the Lord places a priority on justice.

Speaking of justice, we also see it evident in the second portion of our scripture only this time it isn’t favorable for the son.

Why?

Because the son in this second scenario is “stubborn and rebellious”…one “who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him”...”a profligate (one who fully lacks moral restraint) and a drunkard”. This was in direct violation of God’s commandment to “"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)

Because of this, we see where the consequences for an obstinate disobedient child were severe. For when the parents had done all they could do to get the son under control, the next step was to take the son “to the elders at the gate of his town”. Once there and after the parents had told the elders about the son’s unwillingness to comply with their guidance and the moral expectations of society, “all the men of his town (would) stone (the stubborn son) to death”. This was intended to be a deterrent to this sinful behavior for God showed He wouldn’t tolerate a clear violation of His commandment.

Now, obviously this Old Testament cultural norm wouldn’t work too well today but this doesn’t mean that God has changed His expectation about that children are to honor their father and mother. The truth is that it’s just as valid now and yet…ask yourself this:

How often is it violated today? How often do children take the liberty to disrespect their parents?

I would wager to say it is violated far more than it ever was during the days of early Israel…and that is truly sad to me but I wonder how God feels about it. I can’t imagine he’s too pleased.

So why do so many children have such an issue with respecting their parents?

Well, often it’s because parents mistreat them in some way and thus lose their respect. And yet, does God’s word give us an out clause when it comes to honoring our parents? Try to find one and you’ll find it doesn’t exist.

Why?

Because it’s not up to children to decide whether their parents deserve honor or not. That’s God’s job and trust me when I say He will hold parents accountable for any wrongs they commit against His children…because that’s who they are. All children belong to Him and then He entrusts them to worldly parents, expecting them to provide proper care. Indeed, worldly parents have an incredible responsibility and with that comes with an equal accountability to the Lord who won’t accept failure in this area.

Before I finish, one final thought on honoring parents. For we all have one Father when it comes down to it and we all are His children, children that He expects to honor and respect Him in every way. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that we fail to live up to this expectation more times than not and if we lived in the days of ancient Israel, many of us probably would have been dragged outside the gates of our towns and stoned to the death for our insubordination.

And yet, here we are. Not despised but loved, not condemned but forgiven, all because we have a Father who shows us grace and mercy despite our rebellious, sinful spirits. I would submit to you that we need to emulate our Lord and extend that same grace and mercy to our parents.

Perhaps if we did, we would live in a better world today, a world where we leave the judging to God while we ever seek to honor Him by respecting others, including our parents, while striving to live like His Son, Jesus who perfectly honored His Father.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

LEAVING THE PAST BEHIND

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.”

Deuteronomy 21:10-14

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Israel entered Canaan and took possession of the land the Lord promised, other nations would try and war against them to try and take their land away. Because of this, we saw earlier where the Lord made it clear that any attempt to attack His people would be fruitless, at least for now. You’ll remember that He promised to deliver into Israel’s hand any enemy who tried to war with them, ordering the Israelites to lay waste to any nations that were within the Promised Land. Essentially, there was to be no remnant left of the people who worshipped false gods and idols.

As we move to today’s passage, we find God further addressing conflicts with enemy nations, specifically discussing how an Israelite male should handle an encounter with a “beautiful woman…and (find themselves) attracted to her”. When that circumstance presented itself, the man was permitted to take her as his wife but only under certain conditions. For the scriptures tell us the woman was required to “shave her head, trim her nails, and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured”, all acts that were customary for any woman who was entering the Israelite way of life. Ultimately, they represented leaving their prior life so to join the holy family of Israel.

After this happened, note where the man was supposed to wait to see if their relationship was to work out before they went through with the marriage. After all, the woman leaving her family for a completely new culture and lifestyle was extremely difficult and not all women would be able to successfully make the adjustment. women would be able to adjust and make the change. This is why we find the scriptures mandating that the Israelite man was not to marry the woman until “after she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month”. This would allow time to see if things were going to work or not. If not, it’s important to see that there were protections built in for the woman. We read where the man wasn’t allowed to abuse her or “sell her…as a slave”. Instead, he was to “let her go wherever she” wanted.

As I was looking at this passage, I tried to do so under the cultural contexts of the day it was written. Think about it for today we wouldn’t think about requiring a woman to shave her head, trim her nails, or cast off her old clothes as she enters into any relationship, regardless of what she represented before. It’ something that would seen as odd and inappropriate in our time but not in early Old Testament Israel. It was just the way their society operated.

Despite this, we can definitely gain something from the symbolic nature of head shaving, nail trimming, and clothing abandonment rites of that day. For the matter of leaving one’s prior life behind for another is more than applicable in present times if we see how it parallels the way Christians are called to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus. This new commitment requires one to be changed and transformed, leaving the world’s ways behind while adopting His ways instead. Surrendering who they used to be, Jesus believers are no longer to live for themselves or anything else except Him, taking up their cross and laying down their lives sacrificially just as He did for them.

Consider these verses that underscore this truth:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

When one comes to Jesus, they truly become a new creation. They can’t help but be as they adopt His ways over all others.

They discard their deceitful ways for a new, truth-centered, obedient attitude.

They willingly walk toward perfection in righteousness and holiness, never reaching it but never ceasing to attain it by drawing as close as they can to the Author of perfect righteousness, Jesus Christ.

And they continue to seek reformation and refining until that day when He calls all believers to Him and they dwell with Him in person. My friends, what an awesome day that will be but until then, let us ever seek to be like Jesus in every way, working every day to carry out His call to make disciples, baptizing them while teaching them to obey all He commanded.

Indeed, there’s still much work to be done. In helping others leave their past behind for a new life in Christ.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

WASHED BY INNOCENT BLOOD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke and lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck.”

“The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, and they shall declare: ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man.’ And the bloodshed will be atoned for. So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 21:1-9

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Deuteronomy, Chapter 21 opens, we see where the subject is the shedding of innocent blood. Specifically, God uses the following scenario to frame His guidance:

“If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,,,”

In this instance, we read where there was a series of prescribed steps that involved the elders, judges, and priests carrying out certain functions which included measuring the distance from the discovered body to the neighboring towns. Then, “the elders of the town nearest the body” were to “take a heifer” that had “never been worked” nor “worn a yoke” to “a valley” near “a flowing stream” that had “not been plowed or planted”. In that valley, the heifer was to be slain and the elders were to “wash their hands over” the sacrificed heifer, declaring the following:

"Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man."

By doing this, Israel was to “purge from (themselves) from the guilt of shedding innocent blood”.

Fast forwarding to the days of Jesus, it’s too bad that this same matter of not shedding innocent blood wasn’t honored. For we know that Christ came to the nation of Israel as their long awaited and prophesied Messiah who was completely sinless and yet was brutalized before being crucified on a cross outside of Jerusalem located on a hill called Golgotha (fittingly translated as “the place of the skull”).

At that time, there were no measurements taken to the nearest city or town, no heifer selected and slain, and no hands washed with the exception of Pontius Pilate, the pagan Roman governor of Judea who had examined Jesus and found Him not guilty of any crime. Yet, the Jewish religious authorities and the people they encouraged still cried out, “Crucify Him!”.

Given this, the scriptures tell us that Pilate “took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd” saying:

“I am innocent of this man's blood...It is your responsibility!" Matthew 27:24

To which the people proclaimed:

“Let His blood be on us and on our children!" v.25

And so it was…and remains today.

For we can’t wash our hands of Jesus anymore than the people of Israel. None of us are innocent because none of us are free from sin. And it was your sin and my sin and the sin of all mankind that were nailed into the innocent, unblemished, sacrificial Lamb of God and as His blood streamed down the cross from His thorn-pierced head and nail pierced hands and feet, we were washed clean of the very sins that He died for.

What a blessed cleansing and washing this was…but at such a great cost.

Friends, as we live every second of every minute of every hour of every day, let us not forget the cross where the innocent Son of God was slain, not accidentally but intentionally, and how our Savior willingly allowed His death to happen so that we might be saved from our sins.

As I close, let me share these words of one of my favorite hymns that proclaims the power found in the innocent blood shed by Jesus:

Verse 1

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

What can make me whole again?