Articles
Your Home: A Lighthouse
Dr. Rob Rienow shares three action principles on how to make your home a lighthouse and be a light shining for Jesus to others.
Does Following Jesus Mean Leaving Family Behind?
Hate your family?
Did Jesus teach that following Him meant leaving family behind? Beyond that, didn’t Jesus say that loving Him fully means hating our family members? Here is what Jesus said.
Thanksgiving is Needed Right Now
Thanksgiving is needed in our world and in our families right now. Not because life is easy, because it is not. Chaos, sickness, and the fear of death swirl around us. We can and should give thanks because God is on His throne. We can say, from Psalm 100, “Know that the Lord is God.
Healing Through Listening
The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. — Proverbs 15:31 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. — Proverbs 23:22 I...
Repentance: A Five-Step Conversation
There are five powerful ingredients we can include when we ask forgiveness from a family member. Before you share these things, it may be helpful to begin your conversation this way: I want to have...
Repentance Continues with a Change in Behavior
True repentance does not stop with a change in our thinking, but continues with a change in our behavior. We have all experienced people in our lives who apologize to us over and over for the same...
God’s Grand Vision for Your Family
Are there nights when you whisper a desperate prayer, “God, why did you give me kids?” Don’t feel guilty. If we don’t know why we’re doing something, how can we do it successfully?
Planting Seeds of Bitterness
In Hebrews 12:14–15, God tells us, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root...
A Vision of God’s Purpose for Your Family
When it comes to parenting, sometimes it feels as if just surviving each day is a success. We can get so caught up in the demands of the day, running our crazy family schedules, that we give little...
Helping Families Through COVID-19 & Beyond
The COVID-19 pandemic has put extraordinary pressures on marriages and families. I was speaking to a family attorney yesterday who told me that he has received more calls to initiate divorce...
Healing Through Repentance
Family conflicts start very early in life and are rarely one-sided. Unfortunately, It’s not always easy to recognize or focus on our part in the conflict.
3 Phases of Forgiveness
Forgiveness and reconciliation is a three-phase process, and I will summarize it here. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed. What can be written in just a few pages may take years for the Lord to...
Pray for Your Own Heart
When I am in the middle of a blowout conflict with one of my sons, I am squarely focused on his disobedience, his bad attitude, his irresponsibility. Obviously, the entire reason why we are in this...
How Many Times Do I Need to Forgive?
When a family member does something that hurts our feelings a couple of times, it may not feel like a big deal to forgive them. What if they do it ten times? Fifty times? Now it is a different...
The Crucible of Family Relationships
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry...
Every Family Is Hurting
Every family experiences conflict, hurt, and brokenness. There are two big reasons for this reality. First, each of us struggles with sin and character problems. Therefore, when multiple people with...
How to Talk with Your Kids About the Coronavirus
All of our lives are being impacted by the Covid19 virus. Don't miss this opportunity to talk with your children. Here are seven things your kids and grandkids need to know. 1. God is in control....
Your Family & the Glory of God
Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "only for the glory of God." This is a theme that runs through the entire Bible, that all of creation exists for His glory. If this is true, then God created your...
Encouragement for Teens: Living for Christ at Home, Part 1
This is the first in a series of posts by Lissy Rienow that will address how, as teenagers, we can learn to be Christians with our families.
Impressing a Child’s Heart
Think about the things your parents taught you growing. Corny sayings? Some jokes? A few snippets of wisdom? But what deeply impressed your heart? What will impact your kids’ hearts?
The Power of God’s Word
God’s word is powerful and Satan knows it. He is always employing strategies to keep those who have faith in Christ from growing. Learn what some of those strategies are and one critical strategy of your own to keep him from succeeding.
What Is a Limited Church?
Is your local Church serious about the Great Commission? If yes, then maybe it’s time it started doing less.
What Fills Your Family Calendar
As parents, we are frequently oblivious to something that dramatically impacts the faith and character of our children—our daily family schedule.
Pluralism & Relativism
Today’s young people are saturated with pluralism, which has become unfortunately intertwined with relativism. The philosophy of relativism suggests that all statements of fact depend upon one’s perspective. In other words, all statements of truth depend upon your point of view, and are relative in comparison to the point of view of others. If we tell someone that we believe Christianity is true, we frequently hear the response, “I’m glad that you’ve found something that works for you. Christianity is true for you, and my beliefs are true for me.”
The Power of Servant Leadership
In our culture and communities, we talk a lot about leadership. How can you be a leader among your friends? How can you be a leader at school? How can you be a leader in the world? However, although leadership is a valuable attribute, I believe that we have lost one of the most important aspects of leadership. Like anything in life, we can look to the Bible to find what it means to be a true leader.