Reconciliation

The Gospel – Key To Change

by Tim Keller

The Greek term “gospel” (ev-angelion) distinguished the Christian message from that of other religions. An ‘ev-angel’ was news of a great historical event, such as a victory in war or the ascension of a new king, that changed the listeners’ condition and required a response from the listener.So the gospel is news of what God has done to reach us.It is not advice about what we must do to reach God. What is this news? God has entered the world in Jesus Christ to achieve a salvation that we could not achieve for ourselves which now:

1) converts and transforms individuals, forming them into a new humanity, and eventually

2) will renew the whole world and all creation.

This is the ‘good news’—the gospel. And it is good news in three important ways.

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Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage

I know of two couples personally who got married at a young age and then went through tremendous trials and troubles in their marriage, and for one reason or another they ended up divorcing. After a time, and finding their way in life, after even more trials, they ended up remarrying each other again.

Remarriage to the man or woman you first married is more prevalent than you would think. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to have the knowledge beforehand of knowing you will remarry your spouse, so you could skip the divorce part of it, work on the marriage and stay married?

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To the Family: Rebuilding Relationships after Addiction

Psalms 23:6 KJV
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Recovery from addiction and alcoholism provides many rewards and gifts that help you on the spiritual journey through the good and bad times you will encounter living life on life’s terms. Nobody said the road would be easy so you we have to remember that God does not give you more than you can manage. Put your trust in God and God will take care of you.

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Sticks and Stones

Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.

Really? I think that innocent childhood adage should be revised. Sticks and stones can break my bones but words … can break my heart. Broken bones will mend, but surgery can’t heal a broken heart.

This week I’ve been thinking about criticism. I’ve discussed Criticism vs Feedback and Keys to Responding To Criticism. One additional thought seems crucial to the basic premise of SetFreeToday.

You might guess that an event in my own life has prompted this analysis, and you’d be correct. I’ve been watching someone close to me in a wrestling match with criticism disguised as feedback.

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Love Is Forgiveness, Compassion, Submission and Respect

A healthy marriage is made up of compassion, submission, respect and forgiveness. Did you notice that I didn’t even use the word “love”? That’s because all of the above constitutes love. When you demonstrate these character traits with others you are essentially turning these words into loving action. Love is being submissive, compassionate, respectful and forgiving.

Forgiveness is Love

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Reflections on Alcoholism (Living with an Alcoholic)

It’s never easy living with an alcoholic. Sometimes we try so hard to live with the alcoholic that we end up enabling them to drink. The problem is we don’t see the alcoholic as being sick but someone we don’t like to be around when they are drinking.

If they were in bed sick with the flu we would know how to care for them, but when they are drunk sick there is nothing we can do, other than watch them drink themselves to oblivion. Sometimes we take it personally and think they drink so much because of something we have done, but we shouldn’t blame ourselves for the addictions in other people.

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Loving Your Alcoholic Wife

If anyone knows what it’s like to live with an alcoholic wife it would be my husband, who for several years, battled with my addiction with me. That’s right, he battled alcoholism with me. Because I have been sober for fifteen years I can write about addiction with confidence. Alcoholism is a family affair and without knowing how to handle addiction, being married to an alcoholic is an ongoing battle. It does not matter who is the alcoholic, wife or husband – what matters is how you handle the affects. If your wife is an alcoholic there is great hope in her recovery by how you manage the addiction.

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