Top 5 Reasons Christian Relationships fail
Let me just say, relationships are hard these days whether you’re Christian or not. But one would think that being a Christian would eliminate most of the problems we normally face in relationships right? WRONG!
Here are the Top 5 Reasons Christian Relationships Fail:
Unrealistic Expectations
Because you met them in church, they’re a ministry leader, or a man/ woman who loves the Lord, you expect for them to be perfect which is an unrealistic expectation.
The key to any successful relationship is having realistic expectations and boundaries. Communicate your expectations and boundaries to each other. Understand that even Christians make mistakes. We are not perfect. Make sure you’re not building a pedestal no one can reach.
Emotional baggage
Think of your emotions as a wound, and that your emotions need time to heal just as much as an actual cut would. It goes without saying that baggage will always affect your relationship at some point.
Unless you learn to deal with it in a healthy way, it will manifest itself in your relationship in one way or another. Don’t expect your next relationship to heal you. Take time to heal. You owe it to yourself, yourself future spouse, and God!
Pressure
“Why are you single?” “You still haven’t found a man yet?” “So you’re just content with being alone for the rest of your life?” Our loved ones may mean well, but it’s comments/ questions like these that can leave single folks feeling less than. It can be hard being the only single chick in your circle, I get it!
But don’t rush into a relationship looking for validation. Wait on God! Be patient.
Unequally Yoked
A lot of people get into relationships thinking they can change or save someone. We set out to try to make this person “see the light”, make this person who we want them to be instead of accepting them for who they really are. We try to make them desire Christ as much as we do. Which is good in theory but not in reality.
If you meet someone, you’re attracted to them, but the two of you are not equally yoked, there are ways that you can minister to that person without being romantically involved with that person. Let them evolve into the Christian God need to be before you become emotionally vested in a relationship that was built on a shaky foundation to begin with . Until then, guard your heart.
Settling/ Avoiding red flags
Sometimes we stay in a bad relationship way too long and we allow ourselves to endure heartache that very well could have been avoided had we had paid attention to the red flags. Red flags are God’s warning signs for what’s to come. Many of us ignore these warnings and then suffer later. If God is showing you who this person is, take heed. If something is unsettling about this person, pay attention .
Pray for discernment, but you must also be willing to accept God’s answer even if it’s not the one you’re hoping for.
Full Article can be found Here
4 Ways to better communicate with your Spouse
Four-step solution to the clam/crowbar predicament:
- Have three thirty-minute couple talk times each week. The man is responsible for scheduling these times and putting them on the calendar. Create a place in your home that is private, quiet, and comfortable with no distractions to talk—virtually all of your intimacy will occur during this time.
- The woman shares one-way and the man reflects what he hears.
- Men struggle with female communication for two reasons: they feel that women talk so much that they get lost, and they feel that women expect an instant response.
- Women: try to talk about one topic at a time, don’t expect him to respond, and categorize what you say into two buckets:
- Maybe-he’ll-respond category. These are topics that interest you and that your man may or may not find interesting enough to give a response.
- I-need-him-to-respond-topics. Always flag vital topics so your man knows that giving you a response is critical. Say something like, “Honey, this means a lot to me, and when you’re ready, I need your response.”
- Men meanwhile need to respond with reflective listening. This lets your wife know that you actually understand what she is saying.
- The man processes and responds. Identify the topics that you find interesting and plan to respond to. Keep a pad of paper handy and write down what you plan to respond to at the next couples talk time.
- Talk about a topic three times. Between couple talk times come up with new reactions, new perspectives, and new emotions about the topic. Talking about one topic in one sitting will never get you intimacy. Talking about one topic in three sessions, with both of you doing further processing in between sittings, will get you intimacy.
Find full article and the radio broadcast HERE
5 ways to bring up a Child in Christ
One of the great struggles we have today in the Church is preserving our children in the Orthodox Faith. Too often they seem not to be interested. Can we somehow motivate our kids to be excited about following Christ and being Orthodox Christians? I believe there is a way. It takes commitment and hard work, but it’s worth it.
1. Make Your Family Your Priority
More important than anything other than the Kingdom of God is our family. I believe if we’re going to raise Orthodox Christian families, our spouses and children have to be our highest priority, next to Christ and His Church.
For the believer, our journey with Christ and His Church always comes first. On that matter, the Scriptures are clear, the Fathers are clear, and the Liturgy is clear. At least four times each Sunday morning we call to mind our holy and blessed God-bearer and all the saints, saying, “Let us commit ourselves and each other and all our life to Christ our God.” Our relationship with God comes first, our commitment to our family comes next, and our dedication to our work is third.
As parents, we need to make a vice-grip-firm commitment that above job, above our social life, above all the things that vie for our time, we will prioritize our families.
If you’re busy, find a way to compensate. I made appointments with my children. If your time is in heavy demand and you don’t block out time for the kids, you’ll never see them. If someone calls and has to see you, you say, “You know, Joe, I’ve got an appointment. I can see you tomorrow.” You decide to prioritize your family.
2. Tell Your Children of God’s Faithfulness
In Deuteronomy 4, Moses is talking to the children of Israel about the importance of keeping God’s commandments. And then he speaks directly to parents and grandparents: “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren” (Deuteronomy 4:9).
Maybe you are a parent who came to Christ later in life and feel you didn’t do a good job spiritually with your kids, and now they have families of their own. Well, now you’ve got a crack at your grandkids! This opportunity does not mean that you become your grandchildren’s parent. But what you can do is tell those grandchildren what God has done for you, just like Moses says. Talk to them. If you’ve become more dedicated to Christ later in life, tell your grandkids about that. Tell them lessons that you’ve learned. Tell them real-life stories about God’s faithfulness and His mercy to you.
Moses goes on to explain the importance of such conversations by recalling what the Lord had said to him: “that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children” (Deuteronomy 4:10). Children who are rightly taught the Word of God will teach their own children.
And that is the same spirit we tried to keep in family prayer. When the kids were little, we read Bible stories to them every night. We would pray together. We did that all the way through, and as they got older we encouraged them to say their own prayers at night.
3. Love Your Spouse
Thirdly-and I can’t stress this enough-we do our kids a favor when we love our spouses. Psychologists tell us that even more important than a child feeling love from parents is for that child to know mom and dad love each other. Kids know instinctively that if love in marriage breaks down, there’s not much left over for them.
The beautiful passage that describes this love is in Ephesians 5. It’s the passage that we read as the epistle at our Orthodox weddings. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church”
(v. 25). That means, gentlemen, that we love her enough to die for her. We martyr ourselves to each other; that’s what the wedding crowns are about. I love my wife more than life itself. The crowns also speak of royalty. In my homily at the marriage of our younger son, I said, “Peter, treat her like a queen! Kristina, treat him like a king!” That arrangement works out really well.
4. Never Discipline Out of Anger
There are times when things go wrong, even badly wrong. I would love to tell you that none of our six kids ever missed a beat. Or that mom and dad were infallible. I don’t know of a family where that happens. I will say that on a sliding scale, three of our children were relatively easy to raise, three were more challenging. When some of them got stubborn in their teenage years, I would say to Marilyn, “Remember what we were like at that age? They’re no different than we were.” I was difficult as a teenager, and some of that showed up in our kids.
St. John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 4). The opposite of that is also true. There is no greater heartache than when our children do not walk in truth. We’ve had a few big bumps in our family. There were nights my wife and I were both in tears as we tried to sleep. We would say, “Lord, is there light at the end of this tunnel?”
One of the verses I memorized out of the Old Testament early in my own parenthood was Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, / And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Let me assure you, that promise from God is true. There were days I wondered whether our family would stand before the Lord fully intact. Thank God for repentance, forgiveness, restoration, and grace.
Two of my daughters have come to me independently as adults and thanked me for holding their hands when I corrected them. They both had friends whose dads embarrassed their daughters, disciplining in a way that was probably too strong. I encourage fathers to guard against a discipline or correction that engenders wrath in your children. After the correction, give them a hug and let them know you love them.There are times when a father may need to refrain from discipline on the spot because he is angry. Remember that line from “The Incredible Hulk”? “You won’t like me when I’m angry.” If that’s true for a cartoon character, how much more is it true for a real-life dad?
5. Help Your Children Discern God’s Will
Let’s look again at Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The phrase, “in the way he should go,” is not speaking of the way you want him to go. Rather, it’s the way God wants him to go. In other words, taking into account that child’s gifts, his emotional makeup, his personality, his intellect, his calling, you help him discern the path God has for him.
I’m really pleased that Peter Jon is a seminarian and that Wendy’s husband is an Orthodox deacon. But I’m no more pleased with them than I am with Greg, who is a marketing guy, or with Terri, who is a mom of five, or with Ginger and Heidi, who both work outside the home to help their husbands provide for their sons.
To repeat, our job as parents is to try to discern with our children what God wants them to do, and then train them in that way. Whether their calling is in business or law or retailing or service to the Church, I want them to be the best they can be, for the glory of God. And by the way, all of us are in the ministry of Christ by virtue of our baptism. We are ordained as His servants-lay or clergy. Therefore, whatever we do, our goal is to do it for the glory of God.
These, then, are the steps we have tried to take with our children. Thank God, these measures have produced good fruit. At our stage in life, it is wonderful with just the two of us at home to think back over the years and to thank the Lord for children, spouses, and grandchildren who are faithful. There is nothing like it.
That doesn’t mean there will never be any more problems. I’m naïve, but not naïve enough to believe that. There may be bumps yet to come in our lives. But as we confess at our weddings, “The prayers of parents establish the foundations of houses.” These years are not kickback time, but they are a time of thanksgiving.
May God grant you the joy in raising your family in Christ that we have known in raising ours.
Read the full article Here
- Published in Children's Ministry, Family, Life Planning, Marriage
To Drink or Not to Drink
To Drink or Not to Drink: By Norman Geisler
A Sober Look at the Question
The Main Points
- The Bible condemns using strong alcoholic beverages and drunkenness.
- In Bible times, they used light alcoholic beverages in moderation.
- Today, given the many harmful results of alcohol and the many non-alcoholic alternatives, total abstinence is the best policy.
Many Reasons Not to Drink (or use other addictive drugs)
- It is Condemned
- The Bible Condemns Strong Drink as a beverage.
- Today’s Beer and Wine are Strong Drink.
- Hence, Today’s Beer and Wine are Condemned by the Bible as a beverage.
- We Should not do What God Condemns.
- Therefore, we should not drink today’s beer and wine as a beverage.
Bible Condemns Intoxicating Drinks
“Wine is a mocker [yayin], intoxicating drink [shekar] arouses brawling, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Prov. 20:1).
“Do not look on wine [yayin] when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when is swirls around smoothly. At last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper” (Prov. 23:31-32).
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints?…Those who linger over wine (Prov. 23:29-30).
“Give strong drink [shekar] to him who is dying…” (Prov. 31:6).
“Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow strong drink; Who continue until night till wine inflames them” (Isa. 5:11).
“Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it” (Isa. 24:9).
“Woe to men valiant for mixing strong drink” (Isa. 5:22).
“But they [the priests and prophets] have also erred through wine, And through strong drink are out of the way” (Isa. 28:7 cf. 56:12).
Only false prophets say: “I will prophesy to you of wine and strong drink” (Micah 2:11).
“Do not drink wine (yayin) or intoxicating drink (shekar), you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting lest, you die” (Lev. 10:9 NKJV).
“When a man or a women makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the Lord, he shall abstain from wine yayin) and strong drink” (shekar) (Num. 6:2-3 NASB).
To Samson: “Now drink no wine or strong drink…” (Jud. 13:7).
To Kings: “It is not for kings, O Lemeul, It is not kingd to drink wine, Nor for princes strong drink” (Prov. 31:4)
To all Israel (in the wilderness): “You have not drunk wine [yayin] or strong drink [shekar]; that you may know that I am the LORD your God” (Deut. 29:6).
Note:
1) Total abstinence from strong drink was God’s norm for all believers;
2) Total abstinence from all wine was the ideal for all believers, and
3) was exemplified by spiritual leaders
Drunkenness is Not the Only Reason to Abstain from Alcohol
- It slows the thinking process (Prov. 31:4-5).
- It makes one dizzy (Job. 12:25).
- It is associated with self-centeredness (Hab. 2:5).
- It causes sickness (Jer. 25:27).
- It causes forgetfulness (Prov. 31:6-7).
- It produces delirious dreams (Prov. 23:33).
- It results in sleepiness (Gen. 9:20-25).
- It produces complacence and laziness (Zeph. 1:12).
- It numbs one’s feelings (Prov. 23:31-35).
- It leads to poverty (Prov. 21:17).
- It leads to brokenness (Jer. 23:9).
- It results in sadness and depression (Isa. 16:9-10).
- It causes sorrow (Prov. 23:29-30).
- It produces blackouts (Gen. 19:33-35).
- It leads to immorality (Joel 3:3).
- It encourages sexual perversion (Hab. 2:15).
- It results in guilt (Isa. 24:20).
- It causes injuries (Prov. 23:35).
- It can result in insanity (Jer. 51:7).
- It makes one vulnerable to his enemies (1 Sam. 13:28).
Beer and Wine are Strong Drink
Biblical wine was fermented but diluted 3 to 1.
Jewish Talmud: Passover wine was 3 parts water to 1 part of wine (Pesahim 108a cf. Shabbath 77a)
Inter-testamental Period: “It is harmful to drink wine alone, or, again, to drink water alone, while wine mixed with water is sweet and delicious…” (2 Mac. 15:39).
Some Pagan Mixtures:
Homer: 20 to 1
Pliny 8 to 1 (See Stein, “Wine Drinking in NT Times” Chirstianity Today, 6/20/75).
At 3 to 1 ratio it took 22 glasses of NT wine to get drunk
It was basically a means to purify and sweeten water.
Ancient Wine Mixing With Water “In ancient times wine was usually stored in large pointed jugs called amphorae. When wine was to be used it was poured from the amphorae into large bowls called kraters, where it was mixed with water…. From these kraters, cups or kylix were then filled” (Stein, “Wine-Drinking in NT….”
Taking Unmixed (Today’s) Wine Was Considered Barbarian by Pagans!
Mnesitheus of Athens said: “Mix it half and half, and you get madness; unmixed, bodily collapse”!
Early Church Father Cyprian: “Thus, therefore, in considering the cup of the Lord, water alone cannot be offered, even as wine alone cannot be offered” (Epist. 62.2.11)
Clement of Alexandria added: “It is best for the wine to be mixed with as much water as possible…” (Instructor 2.2).
- It is Condemned
- The Bible Condemns Strong Drink as a beverage.
- Today’s Beer and Wine are Strong Drink.
- Hence, Today’s Beer and Wine are Condemned by the Bible as a beverage.
- We Should not do What God Condemns.
- Therefore, we should not drink today’s beer and wine as a beverage.
- It is Deadly
- We Should not take what is Deadly.
- Taking Alcohol is Deadly.
- Hence, we should not take Alcohol.
Evidence that taking Alcohol is Deadly
- It causes more deaths than any other drug (about 200,000 per year).
- It is responsible for 70% of drownings & chokings.
- It is involved in 50% of all “freak accidents.”
- It causes some 27,000 deaths a year by liver disease.
- 30% of all suicides are alcohol related.
- 20% of all airplane crashes are alcohol related.
- 50% of all murders are drunk when they kill.
- 50% of all fire deaths are alcohol related.
- It causes about a third of all traffic deaths (It would be higher, if blood test were given to the dead too). (Statistics are based on US government reports)
III. It is Dangerous
- We Should Not do What is Dangerous to Society.
- Drinking alcohol is Dangerous to Society.
- Hence, We Should not Drink Alcohol.
Evidence that drinking Alcohol is Dangerous
- It contributes to more deaths than any other drug.
- It leads to drug addiction (18 mill in US=8.5% of population).
- It is involved in both spouse and child abuse.
- It contributes to mental and physical diseases.
- 45% of the homeless are alcoholics.
- It causes 500,000 injuries per year.
During Prohibition (1920-1933): social ills decreased!
Cirrhosis dropped 66%
Insanity decreased 60%
Arrest for drunk and disorderly conduct decreased 50%.
Spouse and child abuse dropped to an all-time low.
Addiction & consumption decreased for 55 years (up to 1975).
- It is Addictive
- We Should Avoid Addictive Drugs.
- Alcohol is an Addictive Drug.
- There are 16 million addicts in the US.
- Alcoholics outnumber all other addicts.
- 77% of high schoolers use alcohol.
- 29% of high schoolers drink heavily.
- 44% of 8th graders drink.
- 1 in 10 social drinkers will become addicts
Question: Would you get on an airplane if there was a 10% chance it would crash?
- We should avoid alcohol.
- It is Unhealthy
- We Should Avoid Drinking What is Bad for our Health.
- Drinking Alcohol is Bad for our Health.
- So, We Should Avoid Drinking Alcohol.
Proof that drinking Alcohol is Bad for One’s Health
- It is the number three health problem.
- It results in 1/2 million hospital admissions.
- It impairs the function of vital organs.
- It causes liver diseases.
- It contributes to heart attacks.
- It increases the chances of cancer 3-6 times.
- It is the number three cause of birth defects.
- It can cause insanity.
- It can injure the nervous system.
- It can cause impotence and sterility.
It is Unhealthy
- We Should Avoid Addictive Drugs.
- Alcohol is an Addictive Drug.
- So, We Should Avoid Alcohol.
- It is Costly
- We Should Not Do What is Unnecessarily Costly to Society.
- Drinking Alcohol is Unnecessarily Costly to Society.
- Hence, We Should Not Drink Alcohol.
Evidence that alcohol is Unnecessarily Costly
- Special services $7 billion a year.
- Medical services $19 billion a year.
- Loss of future earnings by death is $37billion.
- Alcohol related illness is $86 billion.
- Fetal alcohol syndrome is $1 billion.
- Loss of earnings of crime victims $10 billion.
- Crashes, fires, and crime is $24 billion.
- Total cost of alcohol abuse is over $184 billion.
VII. It is a Bad Example
- We Should not be a Bad Example.
- Drinking Alcohol is a Bad Example.
- Hence, We Should Not Drink Alcohol.
Note:
1) Children are imitators, and if we take addictive drugs, then they will imitate us.
2) They won’t do what we say but what we do.
3) We won’t convince them to stop their drugs until we stop using our drug (which is worse).
VIII. It is not Edifying
- What is not Edifying Should be Avoided.
- Drinking Alcohol is not Edifying.
- Drinking Alcohol Should be Avoided.
Paul wrote: “All things are lawful, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful, but all things do not edify (build up). All things are lawful, but I will not be brought under the mastery of any”(1Cor. 6:12).
- It Causes Others to Stumble
- What Causes Others to Stumble Should be Shunned.
- Drinking Alcohol Causes Others to Stumble.
- So, Drinking Alcohol Should be Shunned.
Paul said: “It is good neither to eat meat nor to drink [diluted] wine, nor anything by which your brother stumbles…”(Rom. 14:21).
Of course, strong (undiluted) wine is forbidden.
- It is Unnecessary
- We Should Avoid Doing Harmful Things That Are Unnecessary.
- Drinking Alcohol is a Harmful Thing That is Unnecessary.
- We Should Avoid Drinking Alcohol.
Note: We have plenty of good drinks that are not as harmful–water, milk, fruit juices, coffee, tea, and others.
Conclusion
- Even one good reason is a good reason not to drink alcohol.
- Two or more reasons are very good reasons not to drink it.
- Ten reasons are overwhelmingly good reasons not to drink it.
Hence,
1) We encourage all Christians not to drink it.
2) We require all church leaders not to drink it. (Not because it makes you more spiritual but because it manifests your commitment and maturity
If God Didn’t Want Us to Drink It, Why Did He Make it?
- It is a sedative (Prov. 31:6): “Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish.”
- It revives the faint (2 Sam. 6:2): “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the desert.”
- It is an antiseptic (Lk. 10:34): “He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn….” took care of him.”
- It is a laxative (1 Tim. 5:23): “Stop drinking only water, and use a little [diluted] wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
Answering Some Objections
Objection 1: The Bible only condemns drunkenness, not taking strong drinks.
Answer: Not so. One of the reasons it condemns strong drink is because it leads to drunkenness, but it is not the only reason. Strong drink itself is condemned.
It is also addictive and harmful in many other ways (physically, emotionally, psychologically, and socially).
Objection 2: Doesn’t the Bible actually commend using strong drink as a beverage in Deut. 14:26: “And you shall spend that money for whatever you heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine [yayin] or strong drink
[shekar], for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice with your household.”Answer:
1) OT condemns strong drink as a beverage (see X).
2) Unclear texts like these should not be used to contradict clear ones.
3) It was bought in strong (undiluted) form for ease in travel and storage, and for use as a medicine–not to drink as such.
4) Whatever drinking they did was in diluted form (see I).
5) In whatever form, the use here was specifically for a Jewish festival and is not a norm for general consumption.
Objection 3: It is legalistic to make extra-biblical laws like total abstinence which the Bible does not make.
Answer: It is not extra-biblical since the Bible condemns “strong drink,” and today’s alcohol drinks are “strong drink.”
Further, not every extra-biblical rule is legalistic–only those used as a condition for meriting God’s grace, whether for getting justification or sanctification.
Objection 4: The Bible says it is OK to take a “little” wine (1 Tim. 5:23) as long as it is not too “much” (1Tim. 3:8); It does not teach total abstinence.
Answer: It is speaking about a “little” and not “much” diluted wine [Hb.: yayin], not the undiluted intoxicants [Hb.: shekar] such as wine, beer, and whiskey which people drink today. We should totally abstain from these.
Objection 5: What about nicotine and gluttony? Aren’t they addictive and destructive too.
Answer: Yes, but we must eat food to live, but we do not need to drink alcohol to live.
Nonetheless, Christians should avoid all nicotine (since it causes cancer) and all gluttony (since obesity is harmful to one’s health).
Objection 6: What about studies which show that regular use of alcohol helps prevent heart disease (by increasing good cholesterol)?
Answer:
- They have shown a statistical connection, not a causal one. It is also known that “statistics lie, and liars use statistics.”
- It may be due to antioxidants present, not the alcohol.
- Other studies show grape juice has similar results.
- Even the statistically favorable studies admit there may be other genetic and environmental factors at play.
- The American Heart Association does not recommend it.
- There are other non-alcoholic methods, such as diet, exercise, and non-addictive drugs that can be used.
- The end doesn’t justify the means–if they are wrong (e.g., stem cells from abortion or alcohol for pregnant women’s hearts).
- It is a fact that non-drinkers live longer (52% vs. 40% live to 75+).
Objection 7: It makes me relax and feel better.
Answer: Don’t make your happiness depend on addictive drugs. It is both deceptive and dangerous.
If you want a high without a hangover: “Do not be drunk with wine in which is excess; but be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).
Objection 8: I need it for my nerves.
Answer: There are non-addictive diets and drugs that can help your nerves.
Better yet–try God’s plan: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus”(Phil. 4:6-7).
Total Abstinence is the Best Policy
No one ever had the following alcohol related consequences who refused the first drink:
No one ever got drunk without the first drink,
Nor got an addiction to it w/o the first drink,
Nor got a disease from it including: heart attacks, cirhossis, insanity,
Nor engaged in spouse or child abuse DUI of it,
Nor killed anyone in an accident DUI of it,
Nor caused any debt or injury DUI of it,
Nor caused anyone to stumble in their faith!
The Main Points
- The Bible condemns using strong alcoholic beverages and drunkenness.
- In Bible times, they used light alcoholic beverages in moderation.
- Today, given the many harmful results of alcohol and the many non-alcoholic alternatives, total abstinence is the best policy.
No Temptation is Too Strong!
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1Cor. 10:13).
- Published in Apologetics, Family, Spiritual Growth
Coal Basket and the Bible
Trust and obey
The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could.
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?”
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.” The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You will have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket,” and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got very far. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Grandpa, it’s useless!” “So you think it is useless?”
The old man said, “Look at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. “Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out. That is the work of God in our lives; to change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His son.”
- Published in Children's Ministry, Family, General Ministry, Leadership