Can Christians live together before marriage?
That title deserves careful thought as we seek a biblical answer: “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” (Hebrews 13:4). “Marriage should be honored by all.”—Even if your parents were bitterly divorced or you’d rather save for a beautiful […]
Judge Jesus’ way (Part 3)
One of the hardest but most important parts of judging Jesus’ way is to judge yourself before you judge anyone else. Jesus taught, “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5). First judge your own sin with an […]
The buddy system
It seems to me that over the course of the past decade or so, the media has revealed a lot about Christians getting caught doing very un-Jesus-like things. And it hurts. It hurts to reflect on the fact that someone who loves Jesus got caught up in something that breaks Jesus’ heart. It hurts to […]
When stuff owns you
I remember the garage sale of garage sales. The big day came. After people came and went, most of my stuff was still sitting in my garage. My wife gently pointed out that I had priced things too high. A garage sale where things don’t sell is a sign that you don’t own your stuff. […]
Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen to Good People?
When life’s trials challenge your faith, discover peace in God’s revealed love and promises, trusting His unseen purposes are good.
Surgery-free transformation
An affluent city near us is known for its plastic surgery. It’s such a blessing for cancer patients, burn victims, or people who have been disfigured in car accidents. However, it’s very tempting for those with disposable income to use it to turn back time, erase wrinkles, lift that which sags, give where the Lord […]
Fix your eyes
My husband is an avid cyclist. As he was teaching our kids to ride their bikes, he offered a piece of wisdom I’ve never forgotten: “If you see something in the road that you want to avoid, don’t look at it or you’ll ride right through it.” I thought he was crazy. But as I […]
The tightrope of salvation
One of the reasons so many people miss out on heaven is they think that getting to God is like shooting free throws instead of walking a tightrope. If you’re playing hoops, shooting 99 percent is NBA All-Star good. But if you’re walking a tightrope across the Grand Canyon, hitting 99 percent of your steps […]