Something has gone wrong with forgiveness. As wrong and as self-destructive as a bitter, vengeful spirit is, isn’t there something missing when we say, I need to forgive to get the anger out of my own stomach? Is it really Christ-like to say that we need to unconditionally forgive others so that we can get […]
“I can’t forget what happened. I don’t trust you anymore, and I don’t think I could ever trust you again.” Those words are like a trump card. Whoever uses them wins the hand (assuring mutual defeat) by acknowledging a loss of hope. It doesn’t matter what cards the other player is holding. Mutual trust is […]
Long ago, Solomon wrote, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). Could this ancient proverb offer insight not only for hurting people but also for the family members and pastors who are called upon to help them? Overwhelming problems So many of us […]
When does the absence of submission double its meaning? I learned something this week that has carried with me into the weekend. Let me see if I can put in words a thought that I find compelling. In the ongoing debate about the role of husbands and wives, we’ve probably all heard both sides of […]
In my last post I ended saying, “From all that Jesus says about His Father, it’s clear that He wants us to love and trust His Father as He does.” A Father of Biblical Proportions Many of us, however, have not found the help we are looking for in an invisible Father. We are troubled […]
In my last post, I ended saying, “In a day when so many of us long for a return to family values, it is disappointing to discover that a good dad is hard to find in the Bible.” But maybe this is a disappointment that can work in our favor. A Different Kind of Father […]
Let’s see if we can help one another through an issue that seems to be pretty common. Feel free to disagree with me. We’ll learn more if we talk to one another. Here’s a start on what I’ve been thinking about a problem that has some serious implications on our ability to pray and trust […]
Some of us have a hard time relating to God the Father. We sing to the Son, pray to the Son, and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” But when Jesus talks about His Father, He touches issues that may be affecting us more than we realize. Maybe our problem is that His Father doesn’t […]
Do we have a high enough view of marriage to respond adequately to marital abuse? Before answering, let’s consider one woman who represents many. To personalize her, let’s imagine her as our daughter or friend. She doesn’t know where to turn and blames herself for ending up in a bad marriage. We know she isn’t […]
On Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar, a big fish story is read in synagogues. As worshipers fast, confess their sins, and reflect on the words of Moses and Isaiah, they listen once again to the account of a catch and release that is so amazing no one would believe it […]
