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All families have a lifestyle that is characteristic of that family, not only what they do, but how they do it. Some families are more disciplined, organized, with all activities carefully planned. Other families are more relaxed, more spontaneous. Some are academic with the pursuit of education primary and ongoing, while others are more entertainment and recreation oriented. Some are athletic, some into music, still other families attend church and other religious activities, while some families consider travel to be a major component of…

After I posted last week’s analysis of Paul’s famous agape love verses in 1 Corinthians 13, I realized that my own understanding of that passage had changed dramatically over the 60 years I have been familiar with it. I recognized that that change mirrored beautifully my own personal growth as a Christian, as God continues to bring me “to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of…

Some time ago, in a marital counselling appointment, I asked the counselee this question. His answer was not immediately forthcoming. Suspecting that it was a trick question, he slowly and cautiously answered, “Well, I think so.” During that session we discussed that the Bible teaches a husband’s agape love for his wife is the foundation upon which marriage is built. The husbands are commanded to “love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Wives are…

As we discussed last week, Corrie ten Boom in her book The Hiding Place, tells the story of watching her sister Betsie, in a brutal, barbaric, dehumanizing Nazi prison camp in 1944, live an attack-with-love brand of Christianity right before her eyes. It is this brand of the faith that Jesus says in Matthew 16:18 the very gates of Hell cannot stop. It does not take too many stories like Corrie’s to underscore that this kind of Christianity is generally not on display in…

One of the most powerful stories I have ever heard is Corrie ten Boom’s story of her life in three  German concentration camps over 10 months. As you probably know, she and her older sister Betsie were imprisoned for hiding Jews and Dutch resistance fighters in their Holland home during the war. The most intriguing and inspiring feature of the story to me is Betsie’s actual, demonstrable love for their German captors. Enduring unimaginable treatment in impossible living conditions, Betsie spontaneously, without effort, reacted…

When I published last week’s newsletter entitled, “Will Trump ‘Make America Great Again?’” I thought by using this title as an introduction to the idea that God is in the process of doing just that Himself, more readers would be enticed to open the newsletter. They would be introduced to the idea that God is, right now, establishing the rule of Jesus as “King of kings” on the earth, through His people. However, just the opposite was true! Readership declined last week. One of…

The answer to that question is a resounding, unequivocal “No!”, he will not—but Jesus,  just as unequivocally, will—and already is in the process of doing so, according to Psalm 110:1-4; Daniel 7:13, 14; Ephesians 1:20-22; Hebrews 1:13. These and numerous other biblical passages teach us that since His ascension to God’s right hand after His resurrection, Jesus is ruling right now from there through us, His people on the earth, until He puts all His enemies “under His feet!” When we finally lift our…

In my last posting, I concluded my series on the roles of men and women in the biblical family.  I would like to emphasize one last idea before moving on, that, if ignored, would not only render everything I have said on this topic previously not only useless, but actually harmful, even spiritually deadly. The ideas we discussed already concerning family roles and responsibilities were taken directly from the Bible and represent the holy, righteous, eternal law of God that Jesus said will never…

Last week we saw that Proverbs 31 leaves us with a powerful picture of the impact a homemaker with a vision of the kingdom of God will have through her home by exercising her gifts, abilities and business skills in the community around her.   What does she really want to do? What is she gifted to do? As we have seen. the possibilities, within the context of the home and her submission to her husband, are endless if she has the initiative to…

For the homemaker whose husband “safely trusts her” (Proverbs 31:11) because of her willingness to submit to his leadership and her creativity in doing so, the opportunities for her to use all the gifts and talents God gave her are limitless. That is the first task a homemaker accomplishes: gaining the confidence and trust of her husband. The second opportunity, as we saw last week, is as a clothier and and fashion designer, with the attendant commercial possibilities. Next in the description of the…