This may come across as corny or silly, but I have so many that come up to me after sharing this—sometimes even months or years later—and share their appreciation for this illustration. So here it is… Picture yourself as a child, or maybe as a parent with your children, gathered around the dinner table nearly finished with the meal. The children in the picture are struggling to clean up their plate, so mom or dad grabs a jar out of the pantry and takes the... Read More
August 6, 2020
Loving Discipline vs Lustful Desires
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We must be brutally honest with ourselves if we are to live as Christ’s disciples and build His Kingdom in loving relationships. Because as I share this couple’s story I have to say that this is not at all uncommon. As a matter of fact it is very much so, and all too, common. One Couple’s Battle with Porn/Porneia They had been in my office several times and, while there was improvement, it was evident that there was still a lot of tension and struggle. ... Read More
July 29, 2020
Loving Relationships vs Stuff/Success
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God’s Word calls us to seek His Kingdom and Righteousness first (Matthew 6:33) and to focus on that which is eternal rather than temporal (2 Corinthians 4:18). These commands prompt us to explore what The Holy Spirit means in His Word when He speaks of eternal or Kingdom things to ensure that we understand where we are to invest our lives. After a thorough search I could find only three things that exist on this temporal earth that are Kingdom in nature. They are: 1)... Read More
July 21, 2020
Relationships: What We Were Created For
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The answer lies in a personal relationship to Jesus Christ…We can ever remain powerless, as were the disciples, by trying to do God’s work not in concentration on His power, but by ideas drawn from our own temperament. We slander God by our very eagerness to work for Him without knowing Him… This is your line of service — to see that there is nothing between Jesus and yourself. Is there? Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest Disguising Godly Relationships Several years ago, I... Read More
July 15, 2020
Social Injustice and Loving Relationships
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Building on last week’s post, we find ourselves in a culture that is wrestling with how to deal with and as best we can delete (or at least diminish) social injustice and inequalities in an imperfect world. I talked about the need to be sure as Christ followers that we not get caught up in the heat or emotion of the moment, practicing a compassion that does not align with God’s Truth. And by the way, there is a place for proper anger…”Be angry and... Read More