Everyone wants to be blessed. The problem is that we often view blessings as our gain at other’s loss. We are blessed if we win the lottery. Of course, that means that everyone else did not, and we got their money. We even tend to think that for God to bless us, others must not be blessed. And even further, we begin to feel that we are only blessed when we have more good things happening to us than are happening to others....
In marriage, the role of the husband is different from that of the wife, but the perspective and attitude are the same. Peter’s use of “likewise” or “in the same way” is common to both his instructions to the wife and to the husband and is probably referring to 2:13 where believers are exhorted to place their explicit trust in God by properly submitting to his delegated authority structures....
Since the new order has been launched in the resurrection of Jesus, every aspect of life is affected, including marriage. As all married people know, marriage can turn out to be not only different than expected, but difficult to navigate. For marriage to be anything like what God intended in the beginning, we need a new perspective. Peter is describing that new perspective in this whole section of his letter. He has already said that we have been freed and empowered to submit to God’s order by honestly respecting the delegated authority structures that allow society to function best. But just exactly how does the resurrection of Jesus affect the wife’s role in marriage?...
The previous proverbs have already said that wisdom is more valuable than gold or jewels. They have declared that God created all things by wisdom. It only seems natural that anyone wanting to make sense out of living in this wisdom-created world would want to embrace wisdom with all their might. So, where does one start?...
Keep ReadingEveryone prefers to be blessed rather than cursed. This desire often leads some to try foolish shortcuts to get some special blessing. They long for a special person to favor them, or they look for lucky charms...
Keep ReadingMy father had not read the contemporary books on rearing children, nor was he influenced by the politically correct crowd that is willing to put parents in prison for corporal punishment. He had not been informed about "time out." He kept his parenting instrument with him at all times, since it was holding up his trousers. My nickname was "Buddy." My normal name was Dudley...
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