Ephesians 5:31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” (Ephesians 5:31) The first purpose of marriage is loving companionship—the unity of two in a relationship mirroring the nature of God himself (see Eph. 5:22-23). One way to violate this unity...

2 Corinthians 13:9-11 “For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. …. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Cor. 13:9,11) Paul prays for the perfection...

Exodus 15:2 “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Exodus 15:2 It was a dry time in my pilgrimage. My life had gone stale and times of prayer had become a dull routine, so I went away on one of those retreats. “What’s wrong?” I pled with...

Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. “(Psalm 23:3) How can you know God’s will? Through the Bible, as the most explicit way. But suppose you need to know His will about something that isn’t revealed in Scripture—nonmoral choices that we often face in life....

Ephesians 5:22-23 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” (Ephesians 5:22-23) The marriage relationship is used throughout Scripture to instruct us concerning God’s desired relationship with people....

Matthew 22:39 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) My 9-year-old granddaughter Natasha, and I set off at dusk down a rural road. On the first curve we met a pickup truck with its lights still off. “Look at that!” I said, “That’s illegal! He could be arrested for that.” “But maybe his...

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) Temptation always masquerades-it looks so appealing, promises so much good . That’s why it’s a temptation....

Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by...

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called son] of God.” (Matthew 5:9) We have in the New Testament the combined affirmation of government force and the lack of condemnation of those exercising that authority, supporting the overall biblical distinction between government and the private individual and the legitimate response of each...

Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Matthew 26:41) Today let’s cover two weapons available to us for overcoming temptation: prayer and the church. There is the story of what I put in my prayer notebook “T & T.” Every day I pinpointed the enemies of a renegade tongue...