11) — Relationships

Fifty years ago, Sam Rayburn was in his 17th year as the Speaker of the House when he discovered that he had terminal pancreatic cancer. He then surprised everyone by announcing that he was leaving Washington D.C. to return to his hometown, Bonham, Texas. Why would someone leave Washington with its fine hospitals for a […]

When criticized

David was in a tough spot. His son Absalom was after his throne and his life. He was led to believe by a dishonest counselor that Mephibosheth, the son of his beloved Jonathan and the one for whom he had cared for many years, had turned against him also (cf. 16:3-5; 19:24-25). Those he loved […]

When should I confront a brother?

A few days ago, I came across a question, “when is an issue important enough to correct someone?” The issue in that post seemed to be centered on correcting incorrect information (e.g., if something is not true, how often and when should I attempt to correct it?), and in that regard was helpful. However, that […]

Wanna date my daughters???

Thabiti Anyabwile’s friend Fred Zaspel has an insightful funny bone when it comes to thinking about dating his daughters. First, Dad has some rules about life and the young man who might want to date his daughters (click the picture): And then he has a helpful application (click the picture): Amidst the humorous manner […]

Impoverished believers

Mark Dever and Paul Alexander identify one of the things that makes a believer impoverished and weak in his spiritual life — and their assertion is in contradiction to the call of our day and culture: While our individual walks are crucial, we are impoverished in our pursuit of God if we do not avail […]

Tozer on spiritual maturity

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been thinking on Sunday morning about spiritual maturity as both the goal and result of ministry. All our efforts in the church and in our relationships are to see spiritual maturity produced in others, and when we make that our goal, God will accomplish that very thing! This […]

Sunday Leftovers (3/14/10)

We live in an entertainment culture. We go to the gym to exercise, step onto a treadmill and have a TV screen facing us to watch. But most don’t watch – they have their own private entertainment in their own headphones. Or perhaps you prefer an aerobics class — so you exercise there to the […]

Book Review: In-Laws

Title: In-Laws: Married with Parents Author: Wayne Mack Publisher: P & R Publishing, 2009; 48 pp. $4.99 (available in the GBC bookstore for $3) Recommendation (4-star scale): I have dozens of books on marriage and many more on men’s and women’s issues — how a man can be a godly husband and lead his wife […]

Today’s Quote (9/14/08)

Don Whitney, Simplify Your Spiritual Life: The easiest and most direct way to experience [the] blessings of koinonia [fellowship] is just to talk with another believer about the things of God. This includes anything related to knowing God, Christian living, understanding the Bible, and applying it to particular issues such as work or family or […]

Today’s Quote (9/13/08)

Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: The Christian life is not meant to be lived privately in isolation from other believers. It is to be lived as members of the Body of Christ. God wants to use our times of adversity to deepen our relationship with other members of the Body — to create a greater sense […]

Today’s Quote (9/12/08)

William Ham: There are many things which a person can do alone, but being a Christian is not one of them. As the Christian life is, above all things, a state of union with Christ, and of union of his followers with one another, love of the brethren is inseparable from love of God. Resentment […]

Today’s Quote (9/11/08)

David Hegg, in Reforming Pastoral Ministry: Those who take pride in their independence and self-sufficiency will not come to prize a fellowship of interdependence until the myth of their independence is reformed according to the truth of Christ. The fruit of true fellowship demonstrated through mutual dependence among believers, comes only as we acknowledge our […]

Today’s Quote (9/10/08)

David Hegg, in Reforming Pastoral Ministry: Fellowship among believers is the fruit of fellowship with Christ. To produce the first, you must fertilize the second. What elevates true fellowship far above what the world would call friendship and belonging is simply this: Our relationship with fellow believers is a demonstration of our union with Christ, […]

Today’s Quote (9/9/09)

David Hegg, in Reforming Pastoral Ministry: Fellowship is a mutual participation in a common life that gives rise to shared enjoyment and responsibility.…The relationship that exists between believers is one of shared life, not merely the sharing of the things that fill our lives. To be sure, this relationship of interdependence, of interlocking lives, necessarily […]

Fellowship – broken and reconciled

A number of years ago, one of my former seminary professors was preaching at a public event for men and exhorted us to expand our relationships by saying (and here I paraphrase): Every man needs three relationships: you need a Paul — someone walking ahead of you who will build into you, a Barnabas — […]