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The following exercise was developed to help someone who sought help to deal with bitterness in her marriage. Hopefully you can glean biblical principles and insights for your heart as you seek to grow in your love for God and love for others. A. WHERE TO BEGIN 1. Continue your own, personal pursuit of the LORD. as you grow in your love for the LORD, you will grow in your obedience. 2. Study the Gospel of John chapters 12-17; note how your obedience is motivated & enabled by your love for Christ & abiding in Christ and His love for you. 3. When your focus is on Christ’s love for you, when His Word is dwelling in you richly (Col. 3:16), your growing love will produce obedience (Jn. 14:23) and will either prevent bitterness or dispel it (compare Eph. 4:22-24 & 4:31). B. PREVENTING BITTERNESS 1. Each night before you go to bed, ask the LORD, “Are there any 'logs' that I need to deal with from today? (Mt. 7:1-5), confess your sin(s) to God and each other. 2. Then, ask...

Image from https://kristusjezis.cz There is a push to ask questions on the relationship of culture to sexuality and lust. Statements like, "God made my body, why shouldn't I and others love it," "Aren't we just animals anyway," and "How can this be wrong when it is accepted in so many other places in the world" are now common place and with them is the overarching idea that modesty and purity are based, not upon absolute truth, but instead on cultural subjective norms. To this thinking we look today. The human body, like all creation, was created perfect by God (Gen 1:31). However, sin did mar that greatly. The misguided premise has been made by some that clothing is a result of the fall and man should pursue a pure view of the body rather than seeking to cover it. This, however, is based on a false notion. While man takes fig leaves and recognizes his shame and need for covering, he is not the only one who clothes himself. G...

On December 11 and 18 (both Sundays), I will be leading a two-part Gospel Institute class/discussion called Parenting and Sexuality in the Washington library from 10:30-11:45am. I'd love for you to join me. This class is for those with teens or those who are preparing to be parents of teens and will cover topics like helping our kids see a higher joy as they mature, resources for parents, gospel-centered tech use, and how our marriages can help shape our kids' view of sexuality.  I was reviewing my notes and found something I have quoted in the class that I wanted to share. The quote is from Matt Smethurst on an post he made on the Gospel Coalition site and can be found here .  "I think it's a series of conversations beginning around puberty where we help them see that their new desires for romantic and sexual intimac y can either lead them into sin or lead them to greater fellowship with Christ and (possibly) to a future spouse. The self-control we hope our children ...

As someone who works with youth the issues of modesty and purity seem to come up rather often in conversations. How does one pursue modesty and purity in a self-centered and sexually driven culture? What are they even? How are we as a church to help others pursue these things? There are so many questions in these areas and our culture certainly does not help answer them in any way that honors the Lord or upholds His Word and desires. Thus, it seems good to at least delve into these topics a bit and, if nothing else, hopefully start us thinking and conversing on these topics a little more. I believe it necessary first to define a few terms and to do so Biblically... modesty - choosing to act in such a way as to not draw away attention from Christ or others to oneself. 1 Tim 2:9-10 is not talking about the women wearing too little clothing and needing to put more on in any way, nor is the dress described necessarily seductive in any way in that cultural time. ...

Have you ever had difficulty understanding what it means to “ have faith ”? I remember asking my  Sunday  School teacher what the word “faith” meant. He read Heb. 11:1, but at the time, it just didn’t make sense to me. I find that many adults wrestle with what it means to  “have faith”  and certainly all of us have difficulty continuously living  by  faith. Years ago, I came across a very practical definition from Dr. Ron Alchin at the Biblical Counseling Center, Arlington Heights., IL. As I meditated on this and studied through the principles, I began to share this with others. Over the course of time, I’ve added several nuances that helped me gain understanding and motivation to practically apply the truths of this definition. Dr. Alchin has graciously given me permission to do what I wanted to with his initial ideas so, I offer you the following definition of faith. You may recognize some of the phrases, as James MacDonald quotes the original de...

  “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”  I John 3:2-3   (NIV) It was in early September of last year that my mom was diagnosed with cancer. We were told that it was not curable, but with aggressive treatment, there was a high percentage its harm could be minimized if not put into remission.   Less than three months later, a year ago today, I said, “I love you” to my mom for the last time.   She passed from this earthly life into eternity and met Jesus face to face.   Today as I think about my mom, my heart is filled with sadness and joy.   It is overwhelmed with sorrow and hope.   It is filled with sadness because I think about the things I miss:   talking on the phone with her as I drive to Peoria, hearing h...