Random Musings

Last night, I was thinking about relationships and how they sometimes fall apart before you even realize there is a problem. Have you ever had a friend suddenly get angry with you and then you realize it's been building for a long time and you didn't see it coming? Or, have you ever said something that you didn't know was received in the wrong way until months or years later? I've been thinking alot about that lately and last night, a passage of scripture came to mind that I had never before thought about in this context. When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. - James 1:13-15 Here's where I think this applies in our relationships. I think, sometimes, we get an idea planted in our head ab...

It seems I've heard alot of talk lately about how Christians aren't to judge. We are all familiar with passages like Matthew 7:1-5: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. But, is it possible there is a difference between judging someone and holding someone accountable? I believe that there is, even if that line may sometimes be quite fine. As this question was presented to me recently, I've begun looking for answers in the Scriptures. It seemed appropriate to start w...

As I was growing up, my mom’s favorite verse was Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” I can remember growing to cringe everytime she responded to our questions with that verse. “Mom, can we go see this movie?” “Is it pure and lovely?” “Well, it’s PG-13, so probably not” “Then, no”. AUGH! How frustrating for a teenager! Nothing in the world is pure and lovely! Wait. Maybe that was her point. As I’ve grown up and had the opportunity to look back at my upbringing some, I realize that my mom was teaching us to be discerning about what we let into our minds and hearts. If we couldn’t apply that litmus test to the upcoming activity and come away clean, then it’s something we probably didn’t need to do. Today, as I was thinking about conflict in relationships and how sometimes we get so far down a ro...