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Divorce, Remarriage & The Bible
Although we think of divorce as something unique to our modern world, divorce is nearly as old as marriage itself. It is recorded in Ancient Mesopotamia, Rome and Greece, and is addressed in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Before Mosaic Law an Israelite could easily send his wife on her way with nothing, for any reason, and still demand she return if he later changed his mind. It made her undesirable for marriage to others and likely subjected her to a life in poverty if her husband never called her back. Although the Bible is clear that God’s intention for marriage is that it be a…
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When God Wakes You From a Dream
Life is interesting, the way one event kind of propels us into another. Sometimes we may wonder why we had to journey a particular course or why we were held up from a destiny we had always imagined, only to discover our life mysteriously comes together according to plan, even if it’s not really what we thought we wanted. This is where life had taken me, into a crash landing where I survived, but vacillated between discouragement and heartbreak. To make matters worse, that stent of my journey was a place I had been before, like a GPS gone haywire and sending me down the same stretch of highway over…
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Why Dreams are Important
In the book of Genesis, the Bible says man is made in the image of God. For many this concept is hard to comprehend. How are we made in the image of a supernatural being we can’t even see? If we consider what we know of God we may understand this better. We know God is creative. We know He is compassionate, yet just. We know He loves unconditionally and we know He is ultimately good. Of course this is not an all inclusive list, but these few are enough to see how His nature can be displayed in us. A more complicated attribute is that God is a triune…
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At Least I’m Not a Tax Collector
Apparently tax collectors, back in the day, were pretty unscrupulous characters, who had no qualms with taking a nice chunk of pie for themselves as they collected for the government. In the Bible they’re even relegated to their own category of wickedness when the religious elite, the Pharisees, criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. The really cool thing is, Jesus never shied away from tax collectors. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” he told his disciples (Mark 12:17), and on at least two occasions he invited himself to dine with a tax collector, in their home, with all their friends (Matthew 9:10, Luke 19:5-7). He…
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When God Speaks Through a Dream
Years ago I dreamt I was in a pool swimming under water. The dream was so vivid, I can still remember the pale legs around me and the crystalline blue water. As I was swimming I began to run out of air and no matter how hard I tried to swim to the surface, I couldn’t make it. As I neared the end of my breath, ready to collapse, I broke through the surface and sat straight up in bed. It was the only time I’ve ever woken from a dream like that, and after decades I still remember it. Even then I knew it was significant, but only in…
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To be a Woman
Its an unusual time in our world. Everything is changing; our role in society is constantly evolving, we are maturing and aging, yet our lives are never really any better, just different. As women, we’re torn between so many responsibilities and still must go home to cook dinner when the day is over. We have children to care for, though our efforts are so often mediocre at best, after everything else is done. We dreamed of love and marriage as little girls, but are disillusioned and divorced, single and broken-hearted. We gave our love too quickly, before we even knew his heart. The feminists say it’s our right, we can…
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How Free Love Broke A Nation
We live in a culture that scoffs at what might be referred to as, “the prudish ideals of generations past”. Uncommitted sex has become the norm, an icon for the masses, a prerequisite for marriage, a right of passage into adulthood, a viable entertainment option. It’s entrenched in pop culture: music, movies, advertisements and fashion. There are few parts of our lives untouched by the glimmer of sexual immorality. Yes, sexual immorality…it’s an ugly word, conjuring images of golden idols and God’s wrath, but is it really just sexual activity in the throes of drunken pagan worship from the Old Testament? The truth is sexual immorality is simply any sexual…
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Alone in the World
Many people believe you shouldn’t feel lonely if you are with others, but I can attest to the fact we can be surrounded by people and still feel very disconnected and alone. One of the darkest seasons of my life was when I was still living at home, surrounded by family, yet inside I was sinking into the depths of something I couldn’t escape. I was alone in a world where I didn’t feel I belonged, going through the motions of living a hopeless existence, and everything I did to break free from the darkness only strengthened its grip. It was during this time I began to consider suicide and…
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The Purpose of a Mask Mandate
We’re all accustomed to rules that bring order to our world and keep us safe, and most of us don’t think twice about why we shouldn’t drive drunk or take things that don’t belong to us. These rules just make sense and are enforced by our justice system. In the not so distant past, I remember living by the rules and somehow I still felt like a free-living American with some power over my own life and decisions. Apart from the responsibilities of my job and family, I went where I wanted, wore what I wanted, and did what I wanted to do. No one was guilting me over not…
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The Purpose of a Snack Mandate
I’m fairly compliant by nature and although I might fuss a little over the inconvenience of having to follow particular rules, I’m all for law and order, and am grateful for those who help keep us accountable; at least most of the time. Upon occasion I run into situations where the rules just don’t make sense, and no matter how you flip it around in your head, the purpose seems lost. These are the enigmas that make up this series, Lost in Execution. We begin with The Purpose of a Snack Mandate. Last week my little girl started back to preschool. It was an exciting day to see her heading…
