We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1 Comment Most couples don’t fall apart because of one dramatic moment — they drift. Life gets full. Work, children, ageing parents, household routines… it all presses in. Before we know it, we’re living alongside each other, not with...
Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate. Mark 10:9 Comment I always find the part in a wedding service where the minister joins the bride and grooms hands together and prays this verse over them, so powerful. It is acknowledging that right from the start of our relationship, our marriage is under attack and there are forces that...
Praise be to the Lord for He showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. In my alarm I said “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the Lord all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but the proud...
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand that he may lift you up in good time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. 1 Peter 5:6-9 Comment I was in...
But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood – idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! Revelation 9:20 NLT Comment A report a few years ago by UNICEF concluded that...
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after...
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it. Prov 18 v 21 Comment Q. “What’s wrong with men?” A. “Everything they say and everything they do” We laugh because it’s a joke, but relationships come to grief when criticism becomes entrenched – one spouse can’t think...
Stolen waters are sweet (because they are forbidden) and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knows not that the shades of the dead are there! Proverbs 9 v 17-18a Comment Keeping secrets from our partner is dangerous. However innocent a friendship seems, if we start to conceal or relish having secrets from our spouse it signals DANGER. We often...
What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. Eph 4:25 (MSG) Comment Continuing our walk through The Message’s paraphrasing of Ephesians we come to this encouragement to...
Scripture “This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with...
