I wonder if you have ever thought about the kind of courage—but also the kind of conceit—it takes for a young man to ask a father for the hand of his daughter. De Witt Talmage once considered this in a discourse on marriage and, frankly, his thoughts are hilarious. I trust you’ll enjoy reading aboutContinue reading “The Endearing Conceit of Young Men”
Tag Archives: love
Another Word for Love
Agape is one of several Greek words in the New Testament for love. It is most commonly used when referring to God‘s love for us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4, etc.). For clarification, there are different forms of the word agape. The verb form, ἀγαπάω agapáō (to love), occurs 143 times in the NewContinue reading “Another Word for Love”
An Open Letter of Love
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21) When Paul wrote these words to the members of a small church in Rome, he wasn’t merely imparting some sage advice. He wasn’t merely trying to inspire them with a platitudinal ideal to shoot for. These words came stained with the bloodContinue reading “An Open Letter of Love”
Jealousy That Guards Our Heart
Deuteronomy 5:6-11 Jealousy is an undesirable, negative emotion, which is fueled by anger or selfishness. According to James 3:16, “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” From today’s passage, however, we see that there is a different perspective on the word when it’s applied to God: “For I, theContinue reading “Jealousy That Guards Our Heart”
Judgment without Mercy
James 2:8-13 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty ofContinue reading “Judgment without Mercy”
That Makes Me So Mad
Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-17 Reflection: It can be comforting to see that the earliest Christian communities struggled with divisions and conflicts. In spite of their experience of God’s grace and strength, and in spite of the spiritual gifts they had received, they fell into competing factions, with groups of people forming around different church leaders.Continue reading “That Makes Me So Mad”
Steel Butterflies
Reading: Romans 12:9-21 Reflection: If we allow our view of love to be too strongly influenced by what we see on our television screens, we will probably come to the conclusion that love is nothing more than a rather untrustworthy feeling over which we have no control. We may long for the butterflies in ourContinue reading “Steel Butterflies”
A Divine Intimacy
Reading: John 2:1-11 Reflection: The miracle of turning water to wine is well known. It has probably been preached and written about from every possible perspective. But it remains a significant moment in the ministry of Jesus, and an important window into understanding the character and mission of God. Throughout the Scriptures God’s relationship withContinue reading “A Divine Intimacy”
Unfailing and Unshakable
Reading: Psalm 36:5-10 Reflection: At the wedding in Cana (which is the main reading for tomorrow), John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus revealed God’s glory. This means that, in this act, Jesus showed us what God is like. The picture of God that we see in Jesus is much like the picture we see inContinue reading “Unfailing and Unshakable”
Heart and Mind
God may well renew our minds through the reading and understanding of His Word but it is in our hearts that He chooses to take residence. He can with our discipline mature us in our wisdom of His ways but it takes His direct intervention into our souls to address the needs of our heart. Continue reading “Heart and Mind”
Intentional Faith 