God Appoints Trouble for you Because He Loves You

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. – Jonah 1:17 (ESV)^[1]

Let’s pretend you’re in Sunday school and your 3rd grade teacher tells you the story of Jonah and the whale. It sounds pretty cool doesn’t it? You go home and tell your mommy about the story of the man swallowed by a giant fish.

Your mom begins to tell you how great God is and what He can do. She also tells you Jonah was a Christian. You kinda dismiss the fact he was a Christian since you already assumed it anyway.

As a third grader it doesn’t connect with you how God would prepare trouble for one of His children. And it doesn’t matter anyway. You believe God and there is nothing He can’t do.

Besides, you’re tucked away in your bunk bed, with your favorite stuffed animal, and mommy and daddy are in the next room. It’s a wonderful life.

The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. – Jonah 2:5-6 (ESV)

When the storm chases you

Now, let’s step into your future. You’re no longer eight years old or in a third grade Sunday school class. You’re unhappily married and have been for what seems like an eternity.

Your marriage has the feel of a prison sentence. You’re daily drowning in the belly of hopelessness as the weeds of discouragement are wrapping around your head and the bars of bitterness are closing upon you.

Nope, you’re not in the third grade any more. Your safe little world where God was big and trouble was small has turned into a war between two worlds and God now seems distant. The question we’re asking is, “What has changed?”

• Has God changed?
• Have you changed?
• Is God still big, good, kind, and loving?
• How have your beliefs about God changed?
• How has your world changed you?

Perhaps you’re not in a stormy marriage. Maybe your storm is some other kind of relational tension. The storm is not the main thing anyway. It’s merely the context for God to show Himself strong; we to show ourselves weak, and God to be magnified through our inability.   Continue at Rick Thomas

The Trouble with the Tongue

Is it a sin to talk too much? Well, that depends. When we read the warnings in Scripture concerning the power of words we may be tempted to stop talking all together! However, we quickly realize this is not the answer. That would be too easy. The right response is the hard road of self-discipline and love. The hard road is the application of wisdom in the restraint of the most powerful muscle in our body. That got me thinking about the dangers of talking too much. There are many and include the following 8 warnings. 

1. Excessive talk may open the door to sin. “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19). “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (21:23). “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (13:3). These verses seem to say the more you talk, the more you will sin. The reason for this is found in the sobering truth of James 3:8: “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” We must discipline ourselves to refrain from speaking when it is not necessary. This is one mark of wisdom. “He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive” (17:27, 28).

2. Excessive talk may fuel gossip. Webster’s Dictionary defines a gossip as, “a person who chatters or repeats idle talk and rumors.” Idle talk and rumors define the content of gossip. However, it is important to realize that the accuracy of the information being chattered about is not the issue. It could be true or false. The issue is there are some things that simply don’t need to be, and should not be, repeated because the negative effects of gossip are numerous. It destroys friendships: “He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends” (Proverbs 17:9). It causes strife: “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases” (Proverbs 26:20). It leads to the betrayal of confidences: “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip” (Proverbs 20:19 NASB). It hurts others deeply: “The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body” (Proverbs 18:8). The Puritan, Thomas Watson, said: “The scorpion carries its poison in its tail, the slanderer in his tongue. His words pierce deep like the quills of the porcupine.”   Continue at Paul Tautges

Dude, Where’s Your Bride?

As I speak at different venues across the country, one of the recurring questions I get comes from women, young women in particular. Their question usually goes something like this: “What is up with men?”

These aren’t angry women. Their question is more plaintive than petulant. I’m not quite sure why they ask me. Maybe because they’ve read Just Do Something and figure I’ll be a sympathetic ear. Or maybe they think I can help. They often follow up their initial question by exhorting me, “Please speak to the men in our generation and tell them to be men.”

They’re talking about marriage. I have met scores of godly young women nearby and far away who wonder “Where have all the marriageable men gone?” More and more commentators–Christian or otherwise–are noticing a trend in young men; namely, that they don’t seem to be growing up. Recently, William Bennett’s CNN article “Why Men Are in Trouble” has garnered widespread attention. The point of the post is summarized in the final line: “It’s time for men to man up.” Sounds almost biblical (1 Corinthians 16:13).  Keep Reading  >>>