How to Resolve Conflict with Your Spouse (Part 3)

Wisdom … is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others … James 3:17 (LB) *** *** *** *** If you’re going to pull together when you’re pulled apart, you have to: Concentrate on reconciliation, not resolution. Reconciliation means to re-establish the relationship; resolution means to resolve every issue by coming to agreement on everything. That’s simply not going to happen. I don’t care if you both love the Lord and are both deeply in love with each other, there are some things you’ll never agree on because God has wired each of us differently. …

Movie Review: W.

Ah, the movie event of the year! Well, sort of…Oliver Stone was originally going to do a film about the My Lai massacre, and it got scrapped. So, what is a 60+ year old conspiracy theorist director to do? Why, make a movie about the current president of the United States, of course! And when you see Oliver Stone attached to something about a Republican president, all the right can do is roll their eyes, and the left licks their chops. But, hold on a moment. Before jumping to a conclusion, let’s give Stone a chance. I mean, he had …

How to Resolve Conflict with Your Spouse (Part 2)

Live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you had only one mind and one spirit between you … in humility think more of each other than you do of yourselves. Philippians 2:3-4 (PH) *** *** *** *** If you’re going to pull together when you’re pulled apart, you have to: Convene a peace conference. Conflict does not resolve itself. It must be dealt with intentionally. Conflict gets worse when you leave it alone. Jesus says don’t ignore it. Deal with the issue while you can. If you’ve got something wrong with somebody or they’ve got something wrong …

James 3 Illustrated

Powerful short movie.

How to Resolve Conflict with Your Spouse (Part 1)

You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. James 4:2 (NIV) *** *** *** *** Sometimes the biggest conflicts in marriage are over the most trivial issues. One of the silliest fights Kay and I ever had was over bath soap. If you’re going to pull together when you’re pulled apart, you have to: Call on God for help. Pray about it. Before you go to your spouse about the problem, discuss it with God. This may solve the problem right there. Practice what I call “ventilating vertically.” Many of you are very good …

How to Develop Self-Discipline

God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NCV) *** *** *** *** God wants you to develop a self-discipline that pushes you to do things, even as others are giving up. Over the years, I’ve observed six key expressions of self-discipline: People with self-discipline master their moods. They live by their commitments, not their emotions. People who do the right thing even when they don’t feel like it accomplish most of what gets done in the world! “A man without self-control is as defenseless …

How to Overcome Discouragement

Then the people of Judah said, “The work crews are worn out, and there is too much rubble. We can’t continue to rebuild the wall.” Nehemiah 4:10 (GWT) *** *** *** *** Discouragement is curable. Whenever I get discouraged, I head straight to Nehemiah. This great leader of ancient Israel understood there were four reasons for discouragement. First, you get fatigued. You simply get tired as the laborers did in Nehemiah 4:10. We’re human beings and we wear out. You cannot burn the candle at both ends. So if you’re discouraged, it may be you don’t have to change anything. …

Movie Review: Body of Lies

I had mentioned in my review of “Burn After Reading” that the opening and closing shots are amusing and poignant to what the film is about; in that, here’s a picture of the globe, here we focus on a random area, and see random events that prove to be much more hectic and dramatic than they should. In “Body of Lies”, it’s pretty much the complete opposite effect. The film revolves around two characters throughout, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Now, I’m going to go ahead and let you know that the trailers for this film have been …

How to Fight Spiritual Warfare

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)   *** *** *** ***   There are four things we need to do when we are battling spiritual warfare in our lives:   1. Acknowledge the adversary. Satan is real (1 Peter 5:8-9). When you’re being attacked, it’s proof that you’re a believer. The more you make an impact for God, the more the Devil is going to fight you. You never …

Drawing Out Your Child's Heart

I heard John Piper say in an interview with Mark Driscoll that one of the things he most regrets about about his time parenting his now adult boys, is that he didn’t work hard enough to push inside their hearts and draw them out. He taught them the Bible, he disciplined them to be responsible, he cheered them on in sports and activities, but he feels like he didn’t do enough to teach them to understand and nurture their hearts. Watch the video and fast-forward to the 34th minute to hear John talk about this. What a challenge! I want …