Have you ever been out on a large lake, or even the ocean, at night? Over the centuries, thousands of ships have crashed and sunk during the night because they hit rocks or sandbars which they could not see. In an effort to save these sailors and their ships,...
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: Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the...
As we prepare for Thanksgiving, I am reminded of the first thanksgiving. A small church had relocated their church family from England, to Holland, and then finally to the new world. They were compelled to find a place where they could worship God according to the...
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 was counseling a twenty-one-year-old man regarding his strained...
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 offense, and yet their behavior never changes. After a while, the...
Imagine that you are out shopping and a man comes walking to- ward you with a video camera and a microphone. He is doing person-on-the-street interviews. The microphone is thrust in your direction and the question is, “In your opinion, what is the purpose of family?”...
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 of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become...
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 or no attention to what is important. Have you ever been on a long...
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 proceedings in the last three weeks than in the past two years. While we do...
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? — Romans 2:4 Family conflicts start very early in life. Ray (9) and Milly (11) were working on cleaning the kitchen...
