As a counselor, I often get asked, usually after one person has been deeply hurt by another person, “How can I know for sure if I can trust them again?” This is a great question—and a wise one—which, fortunately, comes with a lot of helpful answers. In fact, this is so important that our wellbeing and the quality of our relationships—and any possible reconciliation—depend on knowing and living according to the right answers. Therefore, with so much at stake, we should be relatively thorough in Continue Reading
Love and Discernment: Why We Need Both
Tens of thousands of people recently flocked to the tiny town of Wilmore, Kentucky, which has a population of just 6,000 (and also happens to be the birthplace of my lovely grandmother, Ruth). Why did these crowds come? Because they were told an amazing revival was happening, and they wanted to see and experience it for themselves. Interestingly, the school where this occurred, Asbury University, effectively ended these meetings after a few weeks, at least for outsiders/non-students. Someone Continue Reading
Are All Sins Equal?
“Sin is sin.” “All sins are equal.” “There is no sin that is worse than another, at least in God’s eyes.” Perhaps all of us have heard one or more of these assertions in their various forms. And most people I ask about this believe these ideas are biblical. However, “so that no one will deceive" us “with persuasive arguments” (Col 2:4)—and in order to walk in the truth and love others with the truth (1 Jn 3:18; 2 Jn 1:4; 3 Jn 1:4)—as well as not harm others with erroneous ideas, we Continue Reading
Socialism and Jim Jones: A Prime Historical Parallel
The only thing that brings perfect justice, freedom, and equality, perfect love in all of its beauty and holiness, is socialism, socialism, socialism . . . Socialism is God! —Jim Jones Do an internet search with the words: “Jonestown” and Santayana’s warning that, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” You will find a picture of a sign with those same ominous words hanging over Jim Jones’s throne-like chair, and hundreds of lifeless bodies lying all around it, Continue Reading