Category: Christian Faith & Life
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Dealing From a Position of Strength
God’s way for resolving conflict is never easy. It’s never easy to acknowledge one’s sin in the face of a sworn adversary. It’s never easy to unconditionally forgive someone hell-bent on destroying you. It is never easy to love an enemy so intensely that you would even say a prayer on that person’s behalf. And…
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Testing…Testing
Just when you thought you were getting the hang of this revolutionary idea, just when you were beginning to see that a reconciliation strategy is the way to go, your enemy decides on a new peace-breaking strategy along the lines of a verbal insult, a physical assault, or hitting you with a nasty lawsuit. Now…
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A New Me
Let’s step back from our private battlefields for a moment to try to understand why we are not more eager to snuff out conflicts while they are still in the formative stage. The voice of our instructor is that of the apostle James, the author of a New Testament letter meant for all Christians, past…
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A Unique Commentary You May Have Missed
Dear undershepherds of the risen Lord Jesus, Last summer, in the middle of the pandemic, when pastors’ attention was largely consumed with adjusting to alternative ways of conducting gospel ministry under government-mandated restrictions, Northwestern Publishing House released a new professional book for pastors. The book is a commentary on the book of Isaiah—The Scroll of…
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The More Excellent Way
Instinct tells us there are two ways to put a quick end to these nightmares: (1) stand and fight or (2) run the other way. It’s been dubbed the fight-or-flight response. But when the fight-or-flight option is seen as the only recourse, we’re caught in a classic catch-22. The fight response only increases hostility and…
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First Things First
Though our behaviors do not always show it, we were originally hardwired with an innate appreciation for getting along. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, if at some level, all human beings desire peace. But the peace you and I know is only a faint glimmer of the peace Adam and Eve once enjoyed. Their peace…
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Living With Conflict
When conflict strikes nearby, we are often the last to grasp its seriousness and the least likely to have a clue of what to do about it. One explanation is that many personal conflicts begin so innocently, with a simple misunderstanding, an offhand remark, a misread gesture, a difference of opinion, or a challenge to…
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Five Smooth Stones
One of the small but beautiful wonders of Scripture is that God inspired its authors to occasionally divulge a curious detail for which no further explanation is offered. One such tantalizing piece of seemingly inconsequential information appears in the Old Testament story of David and Goliath. As young David prepared to face the enemy’s giant…