On a beautiful Sunday morning there were signs. There were negotiations, there were warnings, there were plans, there was a grand scheme. There was deception. There was a belief things could be managed, that our country would be safe. There was also one missing component in the policy making of our country on that Sunday morning, December 7,1941. Like today, there was a refusal to believe what the Bible said about the human heart: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” —Jeremiah 17:9 I have no way of knowing what this December 7th will bring. But I do know that the reality of the deceptiveness of the […]
Monthly Archives: December 2018
13 posts
Humility and power are seldom connected. Humility is associated with peace, passivity and keeping a low profile. A humble person is not considered a person to be feared. When your kids are out of control, humility is probably not the first thing you pray for. In our culture humility does not inspire awe. However there is a different way to look at humility. The most courageous, loved, feared and hated man ever to walk the face of the earth described himself as humble. This man began his life on earth in a stable because there was no room for him anywhere else. But while his birth was ignored by people the heavens above erupted with mighty angels praising his birth. […]
This is part two of a series of posts contrasting discipline with retribution. In the first post of the series, I highlighted this consideration: Biblical discipline must not be seen as payment for the sins for which the discipline was administered. Retribution is not the goal of biblical discipline! In response, the question many of you raised was, “How does this work itself out in everyday family life?” This post will begin to address that question. In the first post, we saw how Psalm 103 provides direction on how to address the sins of your children. David calls us to compassion with these words: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. As a father […]