Ecclesiastes 12:10

    A web comic called Basic Instructions by Scott Myer once had a comic that talked about dealing with the all too familiar phenomena of what to call the romantically involved couple that lives together but is unmarried.  The title of the comic was “ How To Refer To Someone’s Not Spouse ”.  While I wouldn’t agree with everything in that comic, the term Not Spouse (Not Husband or Not Wife) is one that I think is probably right.  They may live like they are married but they are not.      This “act married but not” state is becoming all too familiar within modern culture.  It is no longer considered wrong or taboo.  The concept of “married relationship” with someone you are not married to is accepted and even encouraged. If someone wants to have a married relationship outside of marriage, why should anyone else care?    The Bible clearly doesn’t think that this practice is acceptable.  Hebrews 13:4 says...

  It’s a strange phenomenon that I have seen since my first days in ministry.  It goes something like this:  A person will slowly and habitually miss church services, until the point they lose any connection to the body.  Then some trial will come along, an illness, a death, a family or spiritual struggle that will make them long for the support that comes from that body.  Since they have been absent for so long, the chain of communication is weak and the support they desire does not come or at least come quickly enough.  They then lash out at the body for being uncaring about them and abandoning them.  But the body didn’t leave them, they left the body.    I think people often get the order of need confused when it comes to the body.  While a body doesn’t function to its fullness without a given part, it still can survive.  But take any body part and remove it from the rest of the body it will die.  The body suffers if ...

    The hardest decisions are not between good and bad but between good and better.  Oh, we might say a decision is hard when really mean the consequence are hard to live with.  We know one way is bad but we really want to do it anyway.  The choice is clear but our desires and weakness make us want to choose poorly.     What I mean by hardest however, is when we are unsure what to do.  Both ways are correct and any decision feels like something is good is left behind.  Which way is good and which way is better?      I see these type of decision exemplified in scripture, such as when Jesus is healing people in Mark 1:32-38. People are in need and Jesus is healing them but Jesus makes the decision to go to another place to preach. Also, in Luke 10:38-42, when Martha gets so caught up in her preparation that she forget to listen to Jesus.  Or in Acts 6 when the apostle have to figure out how to so...