Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.” “Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” -I Samuel 16:11, NLT Not much has changed in years … Continue reading “Age Isn’t the Issue…”
Category: Sin
Not A Disappointment…
When my divorce went through, it was hard. The finality. It felt like a death. But to me, it was not so much a death of my marriage as the death of someone I had once cherished. Maybe I was always deluded. Like King Saul, maybe she never really had the character to be my … Continue reading “Not A Disappointment…”
Divorce As Moral Injury
While doing my year-long residency as a chaplain at a Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, I gained education on a relatively new area of research and work for professional chaplains and psychologists working especially with combat veterans. Most people today are familiar with the acronym PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), but I would be surprised if many … Continue reading “Divorce As Moral Injury”
When Divorce Is Always Unacceptable….
When divorce is treated as always unacceptable by Christian leaders… anything else is acceptable. -Lying is acceptable. -Stealing is acceptable. -Physical abuse is acceptable. -Emotional belittling and vitriolic diatribes against a spouse and the kids is acceptable. -Adultery is acceptable. In short, any sort of sin that you can imagine is acceptable. As long as the goal … Continue reading “When Divorce Is Always Unacceptable….”
How An Evangelical Seminary Professor Viewed Adultery
These past few weeks I’ve been critiquing an old book by Dr. J. Carl Laney entitled The Divorce Myth: A Biblical Examination of Divorce and Remarriage. I am spending a great deal of time tackling this book not so much as I believe it is a seminal piece of literature on the matter. My point … Continue reading “How An Evangelical Seminary Professor Viewed Adultery”
Inconsistency When Evangelicals Deal With Divorce
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the Lord detests them both. -Proverbs 17:15, NIV When going through my ecclesiastical trial to keep my license, I experienced many questions unrelated to the most important issue regarding my divorce–namely, that my former spouse committed adultery and refused to repent. I remember all sorts of exploration about … Continue reading “Inconsistency When Evangelicals Deal With Divorce”
More Madness From Dr. Laney
In a sense there is no “innocent” or “guilty” party in a marital break-up. It takes two to make a marriage and it usually takes two to make a divorce. While one partner may be the major contributor to the difficulties, it is hard for me to designate the other partner “innocent.” Did that spouse … Continue reading “More Madness From Dr. Laney”
Emptying Words Of Goodness
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. – 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, NIV It is hard to make sense of a experience when the words and actions do not … Continue reading “Emptying Words Of Goodness”
“I felt like a used tissue paper.”
“I felt like a used piece of tissue paper. Just thrown away in the trash.” – Vineyard pastor. The quote might not be exact. However, I will never forget the idea. This brave pastoral spouse shared to a young Vineyard Church about her experience of being sexually assaulted. She vividly described how she felt the next … Continue reading ““I felt like a used tissue paper.””
Hosea Was Called!
When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the Lord.” – Hosea 1:2, NKJV What strikes me as in last post is how Biblically educated men can miss this very special call upon Hosea’s life. It starts … Continue reading “Hosea Was Called!”