"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)A gentle hold protects. A tight grip crushes.Paul gives parents two i...  Read More

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him." Psalm 127:3 (NIV)Ever lost sight of a child in a store? Three minutes feels like three hours. Now imagine three days. After the Pa...  Read More

"Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." Psalm 127:1 (NIV)Picture families walking uphill toward Jerusalem three thousand years ago. Toddlers ride on shoulders, moms count heads...  Read More

"Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor." Romans 12:10After all this talk of tearing up the scorecard, here is the one competition God blesses: a race to out-give. ...  Read More

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." Philippians 2:3Few ideas cut against culture more sharply than choosing the lower position. The...  Read More

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Ephesians 5:25When Paul tells husbands to love their wives the way Christ loved the church, he uses a striking...  Read More

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8Waiting is one of the most common strategies in any relationship. Waiting for an apology ...  Read More

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged." 1 Corinthians 13:4-5Most rel...  Read More

"Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship." — Romans 12:1There's an important distinction to remember: surrender belongs to God alone, an...  Read More

"Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." — Philippians 2:7Surrender can feel risky when it means trusting someone else, especially someon...  Read More

"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." — Mark 8:35This single sentence appears in all four Gospels, a rare kind of re...  Read More

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" — Jeremiah 17:9When relationships get hard, two popular solutions tend to surface. The first says the self is the prob...  Read More