“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him.” (Matthew 21:10-11) The wise men from the east found Jesus when no one else did. The Jews had been waiting for their Messiah for years, but they missed Christ’s birth. Even after the wise men tipped off the Jewish leaders about the time and place of... Read more
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. . . . Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. . . . In this same... Read more
I remember reading about a study that was done on the ways little boys and girls played. The differences became very clear as the researchers observed these children, especially in the way the kids used words. Little girls talked when they played. They made their dolls talk. They made their animals talk. Everyone talked to each other. But little boys? They just made noises. Car noises. Boat noises. Lightsaber noises. Grunts and explosions and war noises. There’s a difference in... Read more
How does adultery happen? It begins in a variety of places—at church or at work, with a neighbor or with a friend— but it always starts with walls and windows. This is what I mean: Anytime you are talking with a person of the opposite sex, and you start to veer into inappropriate conversational territory, what happens is that you open up a window with them. And every time you open up a window with someone of the opposite sex,... Read more
(Adapted from Jimmy’s newest book, When Life Hurts) When I speak to married couples, I often ask two rhetorical questions. The first is this: “How many of you have spent your adult lives struggling to overcome the problems of your past?” Most people nod in agreement. We can all relate. Then I ask the second question. “How many of you would like your children and grandchildren to grow up without having to deal with those problems?” This is when everyone... Read more
In previous weeks we have discussed negative and destructive communication traits. Once those have been identified and removed from a marriage and family environment, it’s important to replace them with something positive. A positive atmosphere is one of the foundations of a healthy family. Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” This scripture reveals that the secret to entering God’s presence is praise and... Read more
The Bible says that bad company corrupts good character (1 Cor. 15:33), but the opposite is also true: Good company strengthens character. When you see a great marriage, you can be assured that there are other great marriages around it. Scripture has quite a lot to say about how powerful community can be in influencing us in positive ways. The author of Hebrews writes, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,... Read more
Let’s be honest: raising great children while simultaneously building a great marriage can be tricky. Some couples bring up great kids, but their marriage suffers in the process. Others have a great marriage but their kids aren’t doing so well. The key is to do both at the same time. How do you do it? One major thing to remember is that success—in both of these endeavors, marriage and kids—requires unity. In Mark 3:25, Jesus said, “If a house is... Read more
John Gottman is an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Washington, and he has done some fascinating research into the factors that lead to divorce. Through four main predictors of divorce, he can predict whether or not a couple will divorce with ninety-three percent accuracy. (Talk about an intimidating person to invite over for dinner!) According to Dr. Gottman, the number-one predictor of divorce is a critical tone, directed from one spouse to another. It’s not the occasional... Read more
(Adapted from Jimmy’s newest book, When Life Hurts) To the people of Israel, God once promised to show love to “a thousand generations” of those who love Him and keep His commandments, but to punish children for the sin of their parents “to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” (Deut. 5:9–10). The word we translate as sin in this passage is a Hebrew word that means “to bend or twist.” I grew up in the Texas... Read more
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