Archive for the ‘Family’ Category
Sexual Purity – Christian Dating
Recently a friend posted on Facebook the following question: If a man cannot stay sexually pure while he is single, why would God trust him with someone the Lord really loved? This question generated quite a bit of discussion and a few responses of my own. What follows are the responses I made to the initial question but edited and expanded for the purpose of my blog. I don’t include that written by others, other than the original question.
Knowing my friend and his desire to honor God I knew that the original question is a rhetorical one. So in my first response I summed it up as follows: In other words, if you want a special someone for a wife (or husband) – be a special someone. God takes sexual purity seriously, so should we.
What follows are the rest of my contribution to this thread as well as further amplification and clarification of the theme. Read the rest of this entry »
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Men Of God
Yesterday I found an article linked from a friend’s Facebook status. It was entitled “Where Are All The Men?” I found the subject matter interesting and “clicked through”. It starts out talking about a Facebook page called “Praying People” and the fact that about 81% of the “fans” of that page are female. From there the author goes on to remark on the disparate numbers of women vs men in the church. This is a phenomenon I’ve noticed in churches, although not in the ones where we minister. Back about 1997 I took part in a city wide gathering of church leaders. When the deacons were asked to stand there were three men standing amoungst the crowd of women. Those three were men from our congregation, the rest of the city’s deacons (at that particular meeting) were all women. Read the rest of this entry »
Boys vs Men
Boys live only for themselves; men fully enjoy life’s pleasure but also live for a higher purpose. Boys try to find themselves in what they buy; men find themselves in what they do. Boys base their identity on what they consume; men base their identity on what they create. Growing up doesn’t have to mean donning a gray flannel suit. It really means taking an active role in the world instead of a passive one. Making an impact. And creating your world instead of consuming it.–Brett McKay
Wow! I just got that from a friend on Facebook. Good stuff there, and a lot to reflect on. Really, there is a LOT of difference between men and boys – and little has to do with age. Read the rest of this entry »
Little Pitchers Have Big Ears
Family lore tells us that one time my parents were discussing some matter of grave importance while traveling down the road. One of them remembered that they were not alone and said, “Little pitchers have big ears.” A little voice from the back seat, where my sister was playing with her dolls, piped up saying, “I have big ears!”
One never knows when a child is listening. One never knows what message is being picked up by “little pitchers”. Our actions, our attitudes, our words – they all reach the ears and eyes of the children around us. What an awesome responsibility we face as parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and every other category of person who interacts with a child. Jesus Himself warned against causing the little ones to stumble.
The Voices
Growing up is not an easy task. When one is tiny, new born and newly arrived at home, there are no choices and most things are laid out for one with everything necessary being provided. But as one grows and begins the maturation process one begins to have choices. At first the choices are simple, such as: “Shall I wear the red shirt with stripes or the checkered blue one?”; “Shall I play with the ball or the fire truck?”. But as we grow, we are continually faced with more and more complex choices. To make things even more interesting we also have voices talking to us about the choices we have.
Marriage And Maintenance
Marriage is like a motor. No maintenance tends to cause breakdowns. Are you changing the oil and ensuring proper cooling of the system or is your marriage merely a case of rapid wear and blown headgaskets waiting to happen?
Looking to stake the tent tighter
I do believe that we are but pilgrims and strangers on this earth. We are on a journey, hopefully along The WAY, and therefore our stay here is but temporary. But part of that journey is learning to serve God by serving others and it behooves us to do the best we can where God places us or where He leads us.
We know that God lead us to our current place of residence and ministry. We sought His face and His wisdom and His guidance – and He brought us here and has kept us here in the face of many trials and problems. We also know that our enemy does not wish for us to be here. Read the rest of this entry »
Some thoughts on marriage
This afternoon I was going through my e-mail and came upon the following quote:
“The most important consequence of marriage is, that the husband and the wife become in law only one person… Upon this principle of union, almost all the other legal consequences of marriage depend. This principle, sublime and refined, deserves to be viewed and examined on every side.” –James Wilson, Of the Natural Rights of Individuals, 1792
This got my cogitation gears to turning and soon I flipped (clicked) to Genesis.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman, ‘ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Some Thoughts On Pornography
Pornography, porn, dirty pictures, “art”, nasty movies, “eroticism”, freedom of expression… what is it all about? What is, after all, this thing called “pornography”?
The word “pornography” is derived from the greek language. The etymology is as follows:
- Greek pornographos, adjective, writing about prostitutes, from porné - prostitute + graphein – to write
But, what does that mean for us today? And why am I writing about this topic? Today the term “pornography” relates not just to “writing about prostitutes” but also to pictures and videos of women who’ve no more morals than a prostitute. And this “industry” is having a negative influence on our society. Read the rest of this entry »
Thoughts On Facebook
There’s a “social networking” website called “Facebook“. I was a bit leery of such places for a while. The whole “My Space” and such whoopla left me cold. And then I started paying more attention and saw that there’s actually some value to these places. So I set up an account. And then started finding friends, and friends started finding me. The whole thing is interesting, because it shows how we all have rings of influence in our lives. It’s interesting to take a look at friend lists on other people’s profiles. It’s amazing how many of us know the same people – and yet each of us knows oodles of folks the others do not know.
