Blog
Words Hurt
One of the greatest lies we were told as children was that little rhyme: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. All the while we stuffed those slurs deep inside. We reminded ourselves that the words carried no weight, but if they were so meaningless, why do we hear them over and over again?
The name-calling doesn’t end when we leave the school playground. Once we discover the power of words, we begin using them to attack Those who have inflicted pain on us.
Unless you have been a life-long Christian, you may be quite skilled with the weapons called words. Let’s look at the verbal bullets used in marriage. Where there is a couple, there is conflict.
How to Pray for Our Husbands
Wouldn’t it be great if we could sit down with Jesus, maybe over a pizza, as He taught us how to pray for our husbands? Well Jesus won’t be eating pizza with us, but we can learn how to pray for our men by reading His instructions for husbands in Scripture.
Let’s start with this passage found in 1 Peter. Husbands are to dwell with their wives with understanding.
Before We Pray Our Suffering Away
We’ve all been there. The illness that disrupts our daily lives. The financial meltdown. The darkness of depression. The heartache of abandonment. The grief over a precious loved one. Nobody likes suffering, and we don’t want it to last one minute longer than possible.
But it is in our suffering that we grow. We are refined. We mature and blossom.
Consider the suffering of Job. He lost all his livestock, all his children, all but one servant and a wife with messed up theology. Not to mention three friends he probably wanted to lose.
We are privy to the agreement between Satan and God, but Job never knew why he suffered so dramatically.
What Does the Bible Really Say About Wives and Submission?
Submission has become one of the most misunderstood commands in Scripture. Men have used it to rule over their wives with force and even abuse. Some churches have made women inferior to men as a whole.
Let’s see what submission really means.
It’s Not the Happiest Time of the Year
IT’S NOT THE HAPPIEST TIME OF THE YEAR For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him...
From Bitter to Blessed
Have you walked through a season where you felt abandoned by God? I have, when depression clouded my mind. Maybe, you feel God doesn’t love you, or God has withheld His blessings from you, while everyone around you is abundantly blessed. Do you think God’s mad at you, or are you angry with Him?
Start Thinking Like the New You
Do you like yourself? Here’s a better question: are you comfortable in your skin? As Christians, we are new creations, but someone didn’t send that memo to our brains. We don’t think like new creations. In fact, we still think like worldly Christians.
Filling the Empty Parts of Our Marriages
Most couples begin their marriage at a climatic peak and full of joy, but this couple’s wedding day had some major problems. Mary, the mother of Jesus, told Him they had run out of wine. Mary went straight to Jesus with her dilemma, and I love that she didn’t tell Him what to do.
This is Your Promise
Have you found yourself in a situation where you wish God would descend a divine staircase, pull up a chair, sit down, and give you clear direction, like when He talked to Abraham? Was it so easy for Abraham to believe God’s incredible promises because he spoke to God as a friend?
Tapping Into the Resurrection Power
I’ll never forget that warm autumn day when I got that text. I held my phone as if it might leap out of my hands. After eight painful years, I had heard from my daughter. Joy, unbelief, and astonishment blended together in my heart as crimson leaves fell to the ground.
I’d prayed for this every day since she left us. I knew this would be the beginning of a difficult rebuilding process, but I accepted that challenge just to hear from her again.
Our focal verses come from Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church. Paul didn’t pray for God to fill them with power. We have all received His power at salvation. Instead, Paul wanted the Ephesians and us to realize His power flows through us by the Holy Spirit.