The Periodically

In 1997, Ed Welch wrote a book titled When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man. 1 The fear of man is not an uncommon struggle. Indeed, it is a struggle, we may say, that everyone faces to some degree. Welch writes, “Fear of man is such a part of our human fabric that we should check for a pulse if someone denies it.” 2 Furthermore, this struggle manifests itself in numerous ways. Consider the following questions:   Have you ever struggled with peer pressure? Are you over-committed? Do you “need” something from your spouse? Is self-esteem a critical concern for you? Do you ever feel as if you might be exposed as an imposter? Are you always second-guessing decisions because of what other people might think? Do you get easily embarrassed? Do you ever lie, especially the little white lies? Are you jealous of other people? Do other people often make you angry or depressed? Do you avoid people? 3  Of course, we could a...

What a blessing it will be, Lord willing, to bring Psalm 139:13-16 before you this Sunday--on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. When preparing a sermon, there is so much to say, but one cannot get to everything. I'm leaving a small portion of my sermon here on the blog in case I can't get to it on Sunday. What is below is a screenshot of my manuscript. The screenshot speaks to how to lovingly and graciously talk to our friends who may have a pro-choice standpoint. Notice I say "friends" because they are made in God's image as well. They have a soul that we want to see come to know Christ as their Savior. With that in mind, I've come across the acronym SLED. Hope it is helpful! Ben Davidson

It was the end of the week and my paper was due on Monday. I had about 25% of my paper done; the rough draft that is. I had studied and mapped out the passage I was writing on in Ephesians chapter 5, but inevitably things came up and my laptop closed. With an appointment a few towns over - and in an effort to remove myself from distractions in my home - I decided to leave early and go to a coffee shop there. I set up my office-away-from-home and planned to spend several uninterrupted hours writing my paper. I had roughly 3 hours to spend at the coffee shop until my appointment would necessitate I leave. I was nearly one hour in with a lot of work yet before me when I noticed a woman in front of me. From my table I noticed her at the checkout aisle asking a lot of questions with her strong accent to the barista. After ordering, while she waited for her food, she began taking pictures of the coffee shop and menu with permission from the workers. When her food came she began taking pictur...