Facing The Fire

faith

Every Wednesday we’ll post something to do with doctrine and recovery.  — Facing the Fire “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire ---” I Corinthians 3:11-13 Any Christian feeling a call to service should get a good grasp on the parable of stewardship in Matthew 25:14-30. It describes a master commissioning his servants with differing amounts of money, then taking a Continue Reading

Graceless

grace building blocks

Every Wednesday we’ll post something to do with doctrine and recovery. Hope it helps. — Graceless Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.  - I Corinthians 13:1 I’ve had to look long and hard at what an angry man I can be. It happened when I wasn’t looking. More than twenty years ago I started experiencing those disappointments and betrayals we all go through when we’re involved in any kind of ministry or service. And good grief, we all Continue Reading

Of Morsels and Birthrights

freedom

Every Monday we’ll post something about maintaining your sexual integrity. Hope it helps. — Of Morsels and Birthrights Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. - Hebrews 12: 16-17 I used to think Esau got a raw deal. He was a young man of the earth, skilled in hunting and physical prowess, Continue Reading

Eternally Secure, Perpetually Striving

colorful sunset

Every Wednesday we’ll post something having to do with doctrine and purity. Hope it helps. — Eternally Secure, Perpetually Striving One of Christianity’s longest running arguments has to do with the believer’s security. If one has been born again, can he ever lose his salvation? If so, how? And, once lost, can it ever be retrieved? I’m not entirely settled on the issue myself. Some of my favorite scriptures (and indeed, ones I draw no small comfort from) bolster the “once saved, always saved” position. “No man is Continue Reading

Christians and Crisis

Panic and crise

Every Wednesday we’ll post something to do with doctrine and recovery. Hope it helps. — Christians and Crisis When written in Chinese the word “crisis” is composed of two characters – one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity. - John F. Kennedy Crisis is an overused word. Family crisis, financial crisis, emotional crisis, nothing-to-wear crisis — its force gets watered down when it’s heard too often. If your name’s out there on mailing lists, I’ll bet you receive any number of letters from Continue Reading

Zombied with Children

zombies ahead

Every Tuesday we’ll post something to do with restoring marriages. Hope it helps. — Zombied with Children  The current rage of all things zombie – The Walking Dead series on AMC, zombie movies, zombie apocalypse enthusiasts - is puzzling. The creatures are, after all, nothing new, having been described in countless novels and horror films, so why they’re enjoying such popularity now eludes me. And it’s not as if they have qualities you can connect with, as some monsters do. Frankenstein’s creature had a certain childlikeness Continue Reading

So Right, So Wrong

1870 Engraving of the Prophet Elijah

Every Wednesday we’ll post something to do with doctrine and recovery. Hope it helps. — So Right, So Wrong “The children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left.” - Elijah, downcast and afraid, from I Kings 19:10 How easily we can swing between two critical errors: doctrinal sloppiness and self-righteousness. Between the two I’d say doctrinal sloppiness is the easier one to notice. After all, something is either true or it’s not, the Continue Reading

Private Wars

Worried man with hand to forehead

Every Monday we’ll post something about maintaining your sexual integrity. Hope it helps. — Private Wars Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. - I Peter 2:11 The way we stuffed ourselves last week underscores one of life’s hardest truths: what we crave is often at odds with what we really want. We crave delightful food, viewing, smelling, then biting into the good stuff with relish. And we’re doubly grateful for a national holiday greenlighting our Continue Reading

With Love, Disappointed

disappoint

Every Thursday I’ll post an article having to do with either relational or emotional matters. Hope it helps. — With Love, Disappointed “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia --- At my first answer no man stood with me, but all forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.” - II Timothy 4:10-16 “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.” - Philippians 2:21  Live enough years and Continue Reading

Remembering and Honoring Veterans

Veterans Day

There’s honor in fighting, assuming the situation calls for it and the fighting is fair. So our Veterans Day remembrances and appreciations are good and relevant, and my hat tips while my heart says Thank You and Thank God for You to our Vets. Today’s the day for reflections on both the nobility of sacrifice and the misery warfare brings. Not that I know, not really. Scratch that – not at all. I never fought, and to this day I don’t know how to feel about that. When I was 18 (1973) we still had the draft and the lottery system, under Continue Reading