They called him the “King of Cool,” and it was a fitting title. He had the look. Bright blue eyes. Tough-guy persona. Style. His image communicated confidence. He had a troubled childhood and rose to the apex of fame in Hollywood staring in major motion pictures and becoming the highest paid actor of his time. It is said that he “exhibited a cool demeanor and style that made him a cultural icon, admired by men, loved by famous and beautiful women, and captured for eternity by the...
I saw a comic by Randy Glasbergen of two businesspeople conferring in an office, and the managerial-looking man holding a pen and paper says to the businesswoman, “We need to form a conflict-resolution team to settle the dispute over who should be chosen for our conflict-resolution team.” I think we’d all agree that conflict with others is the norm. But there is also conflict happening inside us. As Christians, there really is a battle within us. Our sanctification isn’t complete, so...
“I hate you.” Just like that, I said it. My mother quickly and firmly addressed it. I can’t think of another time after that that I told my sister I hated her. I was a little kid, but I have a faint recollection of my nasty performance. I cannot recount the number of insensitive, angry, spiteful, disgruntled, bitter, malicious, vile, vulgar, profane, blasphemous, deceitful, false, and hurtful words that I have said in my lifetime. I’m an excitable, extroverted, and expressive person...
Many things just aren’t made like they used to be. Many manufacturers have cheapened products by substandard design and quality control. We recently purchased a tiny remote control car for our youngest son for his birthday, and within a day or two, it malfunctioned. We returned it and purchased a different car, an upgrade, for a few more dollars. What a fun little car. It worked great until the boys launched it off our basement steps and the shocks broke. When I examined the now broken fun...
Kristina and I own a house together on a plot of land in the small town of Manheim. We also have four children who live in the house with us. Our house and land need to be maintained. There’s dusting, vacuuming, washing, sweeping, straightening, paying, filing, painting, building, repairing, replacing, trashing, tightening, mowing, watering, clipping, hauling, raking, blowing, shoveling, and on it goes. And this is just with our house and land. And we don’t even live on a farm which would...
The world is confused about many things, not the least of which is marriage and sexuality. Why? The world does not know or submit to God. Romans 8:7 says, “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” Many people set their minds on the flesh, often on several specific sections of the flesh, and their obsession with the flesh proves their hostility against God. They desperately need heart-transforming grace as we all...
Thankfulness is central to your Christian life. When you received Christ by grace alone through faith alone, the Holy Spirit was also given to you to produce the fruit of thankfulness in you and from you. Thankfulness is evidence of true faith. The thankfulness that the Spirit is producing in you will help you see and experience your marriage and sex differently. Discontent and criticism toward your spouse is cancer in marriage and the bedroom and the effective treatment is God’s grace and...
Are you confident that you are saved, that you have received God’s grace in Christ, and that you will forever enjoy God’s presence in heaven? Christians sometimes wrestle with the assurance of their salvation, however, God intends His beloved children to walk by faith in the joy and comfort of real assurance. I want you to have the joy of real assurance. Whenever you doubt your salvation, you should look to Christ in true faith believing the promises of God and resting in the security of...
This past winter I coached my daughter’s middle school basketball team. I loved the challenge. The girls were true beginners, but they worked hard and improved through the season. They learned the rules, the fundamentals, and how to play as a team. Fundamentals are laws that help players become successful on the court; the better you are at the fundamentals, the better you are at the game of basketball. When novices begin learning basketball, they usually display bad form when dribbling...
All the demands in life, including busy schedules, can sometimes pull us away from our family. So it is right and good to sometimes reevaluate our priorities and to focus on the family. Even more importantly, though, we should focus on Christ, for it is when we lose focus on him that our focus on other things, family included, becomes blurry. A careful focus on Christ brings perspective to everything else and helps us keep everything else in its proper place (or focus). So before we focus on...
