Surely they should follow God, but following God requires that we observe and follow leaders who are following God. Mature Christian mentors help our faith develop and our understanding of God’s will to grow.
Continue reading SHOULD CHRISTIANS FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE, OR SHOULD THEY ONLY FOLLOW GOD?
Jeremiah. When asked to become a prophet, Jeremiah politely told God no. “I’m too young!” Jeremiah argued (Jeremiah 1:6).
Continue reading PROPHETS WHO DIDN’T WANT THE JOB
Though his name bears the Hebrew word for peace, Absalom was anything but peaceful. He murdered his half brother and led a coup against his father King David.
Continue reading ABSALOM
For good reasons, some of which are associated with the universal male tendency toward sexual conquest. In general, the heart of a man will roam, while the heart of a woman seeks a home. Male sexual energy persists past female menopause, causing men to seek younger partners-or at least to be vulnerable to the temptation of doing so. The male by nature has no long-term investment in pregnancy; he may inseminate regularly with no time lost for childbirth. How are these biological appetites to be curbed, directed, focused?
Continue reading WHY ARE HUSBANDS SINGLED OUT AS THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING A MARRIAGE STRONG?
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
Continue reading SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY (ISAIAH 40:6-11 “COMFORT FOR GOD’S PEOPLE”)
Engaging in sexual intercourse prior to marriage. The Song of Songs is an extended poem extolling the virtue of sexual fidelity between a king and his chosen bride. Sexual desire runs strong throughout the song as the king and his beloved anticipate their union together. At intervals the poet repeats a refrain counseling sexual restraint: “Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you, by the gazelles and the wild does of the field; do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time” (Song 2:7 HCSB; 3:5; 8:4). To the church in Corinth, a city well-known for
Continue reading BIBLE DEFINITION OF THE DAY (PREMARITAL SEX)
There are a number of cautionary tales in the Bible, but few are as seamy and sad as this one.
Looking down on the city of Jerusalem form the atop his royal palace one fine spring evening, Israel’s King David spotted a fine young woman. She wasn’t merely attractive; she was “very beautiful.” And, of all the things she might have been doing, she was bathing. Continue reading WOMAN OF THE DAY (BATHSHEBA: THE VERY BEAUTIFUL WOMAN WITH THE VERY TRAGIC LIFE)
Isn’t it amazing how an entire life can change in a moment? That’s the way it happened for the unnamed woman we meet in John 4.
On a nothing-special day in the Samaritan village of Sychar, she was minding her own business when she realized her household water jar was empty. It was unbearably hot out. Perfect, she thought. She probably wouldn’t have to see anyone or talk to anybody. Grabbing her water jar, she slipped out the door. Continue reading WOMAN OF THE BIBLE (THE SAMARITAN WOMAN: MEETING THE THIRST QUENCHER)
This verse is part of Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). An estate was normally divided by a father among his sons at his death. But the father in this parable did so while he was still alive. Continue reading A SQUANDERED INHERITANCE
Ancient Israelites attached a severe social stigma to rape. A young woman victim was “ruined”-she became an outcast with no means of financial support and no prospects for a family of her own. So the law imposed on the perpetrator the responsibility of care for the victim-providing her a home and family-at considerable cost to him. Such an arrangement also reduced the need of the victim’s family to seek forcible revenge, thus sparing the culture much violence. Continue reading OLD TESTAMENT LAW REQUITES A MAN WHO RAPES A VIRGIN TO MARRY HER. WHY FORCE THE VICTIM OF SUCH A TERRIBLE CRIME MARRY THE PERPETRATOR?