Monthly Archives: May 2026

Decks, Dogs, and Marriage

This was posted on by .

Do you have a deck? It can be a blessing and a curse, depending on how old it is. The best day of it’s life was when it was new. From then on, it has been deteriorating. If you maintain it, it will last much longer. 

Is there a parallel to marriage? They look wonderful when they are first created. The  wedding photos are of a happy couple. Often, as the years go by, wear and tear on the marriage becomes obvious. If not maintained, the marriage deteriorates. Then the desire is there to tear it down (divorce) and build a better one. The thought is the next one will be  be better than the first (sure). 

Recently, on my way into a gas station, I noticed a couple of old guys in the front seat of a car. What caught my eye was they were both turned toward the middle where a German Shepherd’s head was protruding from the back seat. The driver was holding a large cup of water with ice, so the dog could drink out of it. Seeking to engage them a bit, I stopped and mentioned that it was pretty amazing to see the dog get to share that way. The driver said seriously, “I share ice cream with him, too.” Based on what I was observing, he meant a lick for lick. I wonder how many men treat their dogs better than their wives? 

Brothers, I plead with you. Invest in your marriage. Treat your wife as the treasure that she is. Love her, bless her, and build her up. Be the spiritual leader of your home. Be in the Word everyday and help her so she has time to be in the Word as well. Have family Bible time everyday. Communicate with her. Spend time with her. Help her. Support her. You won’t regret it! 

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself” (Ephesians 5:25-28).

Did Not Hear You

This was posted on by .

A reason one might not hear someone is that they didn’t say anything. These days, greeting children as they walk to school usually doesn’t even get a smile or a nod in response to our cheerful “Good morning.” Nothing. Okay maybe they have been instructed for safety sake to not talk to strangers, but even teenagers? We are an unwanted intrusion into their space.

Everyone with a phone is hammered with all sorts of unsolicited texts, emails, and phone calls. Yes, and there is a special word created for that. Has all of that hardened normal person-to-person communication? Likely, at a minimum it has had some affect. 

With all of the communication noise today, it is vitally important to not let that deaden us to heart-felt sharing with those we love. First of course is dedicated prayer time with our God first thing every morning no distractions, quiet and purposeful. Next, is communication with our beloved wives, our soul mates whom we have vowed to love and cherish. Do you have a date-night and other times of quality heart-to-heart dialog? Then also communication with our children. Life is crazy busy and unless our children are in trouble, they might not get good talking time with their dad. I had weekly one-on-one talking time with each child as they were growing up in our home. I loved that time, and it was so good. 

Communication is costly in time, but it is so vitally important for any relationship that is valuable to you to maintain. It isn’t just “gonna happen.” It takes being purposeful. I plead with you my brothers — make it happen. 

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).

What You Love

This was posted on by .

Teri and I were putting cardboard in the recycling bin next to a man unloading cardboard from his pickup. He bent over and picked up a carton that he had dropped. To my surprise, he kissed it and said “This is the best beer there is!” Even more surprising, the haul of cardboard was from his “church”! That local church has a liquor license, and I have been told it sells a lot of alcohol. 

Brothers, I pray you aren’t using alcohol. I’ve heard all sorts of justifications for Christian’s using it, but I plead with you to consider it poison. I’ve seen so many ruined lives as a result of it. 

In the Old Testament we read, “And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations” (Leviticus 10:8-9). The example that Aaron could not come near to God if he had been drinking was enough for me to never want to touch the stuff. As New Testament believers the Bible tell us this, “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:6). I desire to be close to my God always. If the Old Testament priests were forbidden from wine and strong drink when coming into His presence, alcohol would not be beneficial in my relationship with the Lord either.

Another thing to consider is even if you were able to control your use of alcohol to moderation, your example of using it, gives the green light to your children. What you might control, they likely will do in excess. I’m guessing you have seen examples of that already.”All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (1 Corinthians 6:12).

Faith or Anxiety

This was posted on by .

“Where faith begins, anxiety ends. Where anxiety begins, faith ends.” What do you think of those words? Do they have merit? That quote comes from George Müller, a Christian evangelist in the 1800’s famous for establishing orphanages in Bristol, England. He did not ask for money or donations, relying solely on prayer to provide for the thousands of orphans in his care. In my opinion, that man knew the reality of faith and anxiety better than most ever will.

Last month we talked about letting go of control. Why do we want to control? Often we are worried, anxious, or fearful about something so we try to do what we can to achieve the outcome we think is best. Our theme in last month’s Corner for overcoming control was trusting and obeying. He gives us responsibility for doing what He has called us to do – obedience. However, He hasn’t given us responsibility for the outcomes. We trust Him for those. Trust,which is faith, has the power to push anxiety out like the quote we started with says. But if you still find yourself with the worry and fear, what do you do?

Consider starting here. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). “Be careful for nothing” means don’t be anxious or worried. We are to make that choice not to be anxious. We can do that by purposely not thinking about the anxious situation because the thoughts make us anxious.

What do we do instead of thinking about it? We pray. These verses explain the content of the prayer. We are to express thanksgiving and bring our requests to God. Isn’t that what 1 Peter 5:7 is also telling us to do? “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” We cast our cares on Him Who is able to deal with them. If praying in your head isn’t working for you, what about getting down on your knees and praying out loud? I have often found that I have to pray out loud and speak right thoughts out loud for them to take over the anxious thoughts. 

Then there is something that is to happen. God’s peace, a peace that doesn’t make sense, keeps our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. If that peace isn’t there, it likely means we are still holding on to control. We haven’t really cast our cares on Him. We aren’t thinking with faith and living in the mode of trust. If we give God our requests, the God of the universe is more than capable of handling them.

Then we have this verse: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3). Wow! This is powerful. God wants our mind on Him not on our worries. When our minds are focused on our God, He keeps our hearts in “perfect peace.” Not just peace but “perfect peace.” Again we see our theme word – trust. Does it seem too simple? Would you say it doesn’t work? If so, I would ask if you have really done it. Have you taken your mind off the things causing the fear and anxiety and put your mind fully on Christ – worshipping Him, praising Him, thanking Him, and going through Who He is as God? Those are just three verses, but they are direct and clear. They are also easy to memorize. Can’t memorize? That’s what a very dear friend said to me for the past five years, but do you know what? She has just finished memorizing Psalms 121 and several other individual verses. She is thrilled. Her “I can’t” turned into “I can” when she put a little time and effort into it. What would those verses do hidden in your heart? “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalms 119:11).

Memorize the verses that are God’s truth and His plan to battle your fear, anxiety, and worry. Then obey them – just do what they say – over and over, if necessary. You have allowed yourself years and years and years of habitual anxious thinking. It will be a process as you let your faith truly begin as George Mueller said.

Easy or Difficult

This was posted on by .

Surely you’ve known people who have spent many thousands of dollars for a brand new car and then been highly disappointed in its reliability, and/or gas mileage. Some makes/models are just expensive new junk (in my opinion) and will underperform even low expectations. Likely, under reported, is the owner’s acknowledging how his driving habits and lack of routine maintenance might be significant contributing factors in said disappointment. There are some striking similarities to Christianity!

How satisfied are you in being a Christian? Has it “performed” for you the way you were hoping? What were your expectations and even more important, what did you base those expectations on? 

Did you expect it to be free and easy, and it has turned out to be costly and difficult? 

Were you over-sold or under-informed? What did you base your expectations on? What a friend said? A good preacher? A huckster? The Word of God? 

Are you in the Word daily seeking to know your Lord and understand how He wants you to live? Are you worshipping in a biblically sound fellowship and reaching the lost around you? 

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul” ((Matthew 16:24-26)?