Conflict and Marriage
Excellent or Praiseworthy is posted on Monday and Thursday nights. Be angry and yet, do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. – Ephesians 4:26,27 We all…
Putting on the Armor
I don’t know about you, but as a soldier the thought that I might lose any ground to an adversary makes me dig deeper, ball up my fists and redouble my efforts to fight and win ... As bad as physical defeat is, Paul tells us in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus that the physical battles we face are a diversion. The reality is that the physical battles we fight are caused by the spiritual battle that is going on in the background. These days we are getting more and more accustomed to fighting a physical enemy that uses tricks, lies, ambushes, coercion and terror to try to destroy us. Our physical enemy is merely following the lead of our spiritual enemy---the difference being that our spiritual enemy can also penetrate our homes and directly target our families.
“Tailgating”
Excellent or Praiseworthy is posted on Monday and Thursday nights. “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one.” — Genesis 2:24 “As the Scripture says, ‘For this reason…
Shine On
Jesus was talking to a gathering of followers and just after telling them that they were like salt, He also told them that they were like light. They were salt because God used them to preserve those around them, but they were also light because through them, Jesus intended them to illuminate the truth of who God is. What is interesting to me in these verses is that Jesus doesn’t suggest that a city in a valley or a light under a bowl has any less light, He just focuses on what to do with the light. This is a call to do more with what we have.
Bitterness and Marriage
Disagreements are a natural part of marriage. We should always try to resolve them gently and quickly, but it is also very human of us to let things go on for longer than they should. And if we leave it too long, the strong desire to blame the other person for all our problems can become a habit–and then a constant part of our relationship. This entrenched and hostile blaming is bitterness.
Fearless Love
Men can’t be romantic all of the time. Even women will eventually run out of romantic energy--we just don’t see that as often, as they tend to always outlast men. In the military, while not impossible during a deployment, romance is much trickier. So does that mean there is less love? Of course not. So if constant romance is not love, and loving each other is critical to maintaining a healthy relationship, what do we have to do?
A New Year Every Morning
Excellent or Praiseworthy is posted on Monday and Thursday nights. “…my spirit is depressed. Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.” …
Shine On
My wife and I have only lived in military housing three times in my career. We have mixed socially outside of military circles more than inside. So, after many years, my wife doesn’t consider herself to be a "military" wife and she thought that she had little to offer those around her. One day we were with a couple who had just heard that the husband was being called up to deploy to Afghanistan. Read more . . .
Better Than Jewels
Andy Stanley, senior pastor of North Point Ministries, says that we often fall into the trap of asking what is the right or wrong thing to do, when a much better question to ask is “What is the wise thing to do?” From a military point of view, what is right or wrong is a tactical question.
A Little Respect
We know a lot about respect in the military. We give each other honor out of respect for things military personnel do, rank that is held, and courage and leadership we see displayed. We wear medals that our superiors bestow on us to honor our contribution. We know about honor and respect and we like it when we get it. Why then is it sometimes so hard for us to apply this knowledge at home?