Are you a good friend? Would your best friends say that you are a good friend? If your best friends could fill out an anonymous survey evaluating your friendship, what would the results be? I suggest it needs to be anonymous because it is often very difficult for even our closest friends to tell usContinue reading “Have you ever felt like a fugitive? – 1st Samuel 20, Part 1”
Tag Archives: marriage
When leaders lose power, and do anything to stay in power – 1st Samuel 18 & 19, Part 3
When you are a leader and your role, position, and power is taken from you, it can be very difficult to give up that power. A quick glance throughout history shows kings, presidents, CEOs, pastors, and many other leaders unwilling to give up power. In our story of the monarchy in ancient Israel, as toldContinue reading “When leaders lose power, and do anything to stay in power – 1st Samuel 18 & 19, Part 3”
Does it really go better when organizations (including marriages) have one single leader? – 1st Samuel 8-10, Part 1
Take a look at these nicknames in the list below. Do you know the people they are referring to. They are all famous people from the 1900s and 2000s. The answers are at the conclusion of the post. See how many you can guess! The King of Rock & Roll King James The King ofContinue reading “Does it really go better when organizations (including marriages) have one single leader? – 1st Samuel 8-10, Part 1”
When life is painful, do people make stupid comments to you? – 1st Samuel 1:1-2:11, Part 2
Hannah is in a precarious situation. She can’t bear her husband an heir, and yet her rival wife, Penninah is quite fertile. Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, could kick Hannah to the curb. What will Elkanah do? In 1st Samuel 1, verses 4-5, we learn that, “Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would giveContinue reading “When life is painful, do people make stupid comments to you? – 1st Samuel 1:1-2:11, Part 2”
To-Do Lists and…Praying in the Spirit, Part 1
There was a husband and wife who were having marital difficulties. One of the spouses would wake up in the morning, lean over to their spouse and start listing what they wanted the spouse to do that day. The list wouldn’t take long to recite. Maybe five minutes at most. Some days less. Some daysContinue reading “To-Do Lists and…Praying in the Spirit, Part 1”
The fallacy of the slippery slope argument in helping us become more like Jesus – John 7:53-8:11, Part 3
Did you know that Jesus once stayed an execution? He actually decided to not do what the Mosaic Law said to do. The religious leaders brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus, asking him, “The Mosaic Law says this sinful woman should receive the death penalty. What do you say, Jesus?”Continue reading “The fallacy of the slippery slope argument in helping us become more like Jesus – John 7:53-8:11, Part 3”
Healthy marriage, healthy singleness – Relationships: Family, Part 2
I think this will not surprise you: husbands and wives are to love one another. In Colossians 3:19 Paul wrote, “Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” Ephesians 5:25, similarly says, “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” A few verses later,Continue reading “Healthy marriage, healthy singleness – Relationships: Family, Part 2”
Is the breakdown of the family the cause of societal collapse? – Relationships: Family, Part 1
Some of our favorite television shows of all time are about families. Did you watch Father Knows Best? Leave it to Beaver? The Brady Bunch? When Michelle and I were young parents, we loved Parenthood about the Braverman family, led by parents Zeke and Camille and their four adult children and many grandkids, who allContinue reading “Is the breakdown of the family the cause of societal collapse? – Relationships: Family, Part 1”
When a heart grows cold – Ezekiel 35-36, Part 1
Many years ago, my wife Michelle and I sat in the living room of a young couple listening, somewhat shocked, as only one year after having done their pre-marital counseling and wedding ceremony, one of them said to the other, “I don’t feel love for you anymore.” The other spouse burst into tears. How isContinue reading “When a heart grows cold – Ezekiel 35-36, Part 1”
Sex and death: Is God’s way best? – Ezekiel 24, Part 5
This week in Ezekiel chapter 24, we’ve learned at least two important things about God’s heart. First, his desire for holiness, and in particular, how that relates to human sexuality. Second, his desire for us to trust him when it seems he has allowed something terribly unfair in our lives, in particular the death ofContinue reading “Sex and death: Is God’s way best? – Ezekiel 24, Part 5”
Engaging Scripture 