Some helpful links

A dear friend who’s a pastor once asked me what steps we can take to guarantee that our churches won’t drift from the Lord and even become apostate. “Alas,” I said, “we can’t guarantee that.” Why not, and what hope do we have? Dr. Godfrey explains in What Judges Teaches the Church

Believe it or not, Most of Us Disagree With Jesus. David Garner writes, “Let’s get … specific, calling out a point where most of us smugly disagree with Jesus. And I don’t mean just those outside the church! From pastors to parishioners, we find ourselves less than eager to talk about a subject Jesus demands we address candidly. We dodge his call, but his message and our avoidance techniques open a window into our souls.”

Christina Fox writes, “A friend recently thanked me for the hospitality I had extended to him and his family over the years. Feeling uncomfortable with the compliment, I responded, “Actually, it’s my husband you need to thank. I learned it from him.” I think my comment surprised him. Perhaps because it seemed as though I’ve always had a heart for hospitality. The truth is, for a long time hospitality was hard for me.” Keep reading The Heart of Hospitality

Tim Challies writes, “So you want to sin, do you? I get that. I’ve been there. I’ve been there today. And yesterday. And the day before. Can I beg just four or five minutes of your time? Then you can go and sin all you want. But first I want you to read just a few words and take a moment to consider them.” Keep reading So You Want To Sin, Do You?

I believe that one of the great problems in our modern society is a rebellion against God expressed in defying the 5^th commandment, not only by those under authority, but also by those exercising authority. In my opinion, we see a glaring example in the USA with the tensions between people and police, with some people rebelling against lawful authority and some police abusing lawful authority. But it seems that a less spoken-of violation, especially among people who are actually trying to obey the 5^th commandment, is taking place in the home. Does a Husband Have the Authority?

• to take his wife’s phone away, preventing her from making calls?
• to take his wife’s car keys? House keys?
• to physically prevent his wife from leaving the home?
• to physically force his wife to accompany him when he leaves the home?
• to lock his wife out of the house?
• to keep financial documents away from his wife?
• to take the wife’s personal property without consent?