Why did you marry your spouse? Most of us would quickly reply, “Well, I just love him/her!” Really? What does that mean? I’ve had the privilege of being a pastor for more than forty years. Over the decades, I’ve provided premarital counseling for more than one hundred couples. Often when I’m meeting with a couple for the first time, I’ll ask, “So why do you two want to get married?” I will often...
Every Christian parent deeply desires their children to know and love the Lord. One way we can disciple them in this direction is by teaching our children the attributes of God. The more they know about his character, the more reasons they’ll have to be in awe of who he is and what he has done. In the last few years, I’ve thought a lot about how to approach this teaching. There are many options:...
There’s one in every family or group of friends. You know, the one that is indescribably, intensely passionate about politics or exercise or clean eating. The evening is going just fine, then someone mentions “the topic” and everyone goes wide-eyed like you just said the name, Voldemort. All casual conversation and fun leave the room with a loud rushing sound, and the void is filled with awkward...
The desire to marry and have children is honorable and good (Genesis 2:18; Psalm 127:3–5; Proverbs 18:22). But like many good desires, the desire to be married can become idolatrous and ruinous if one puts that desire ahead of his or her commitment to pleasing God. Tiffany was a college senior whose chief ambition had been to get her “Mrs.” degree before graduation. She was a Christian and was...
In a relational crisis, determining realistic expectations and identifying wise nonnegotiables is difficult. It can feel like trying to corral a bag of spilled marbles on a ship during a tropical storm. With every new piece of information, with every conversation that goes poorly or well, with each memory you’re trying to recontextualize, it feels like the marbles (i.e., expectations) move all...
