you choose Q: did Judah marry Tamar?
Q: Did Judah marry Tamar? In the Genesis 38 text it says Judah it says Judah did not sleep with Tamar again after she became pregnant? —Victoria
A: Genesis 38:1-30 tells us that Judah fathered Perez and Zerah, the twin sons of Tamar. Genesis 46:12 listed them as his sons together with Er and Onan. In the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew 1:3 says…
run
I was 7 years old when I was first exposed to pornography. Some kids had found it, and I naively agreed when they offered to show it to me. In today’s digital world, the stakes are much higher. More than a frozen picture in time, the power of video erodes what little innocence remains in our world.
temple or idol?
After recent trips to two different amusement parks, I realized that our broken sense of sexuality is most visible in public places, not our bedrooms. People are in love with their own nakedness. I live in a region known for its hot summers, but what people choose to wear is more about the dictates of cultural norms than keeping cool.
the right time
I recently officiated the marriage of a young couple. After the ceremony, the bridal party headed out for some photos prior to the reception. My wife and I were invited to the bride’s home for some sweet fellowship and treats on the family’s backyard patio. Suddenly, the mother of the bride emerged from the house with tears in her eyes. She held up her daughter’s purity ring and with a choked up voice and tender smile, uttered, “She left this on the kitchen counter.” The decision of the young woman to wear a purity ring had been an outward sign that she had vowed to remain sexually pure until marriage. Now, the ring was no longer needed.
true love
When I stopped by a nearby restaurant to pick up some food, a guy and a girl standing in the parking lot caught my attention. Their arms linked together, the guy craftily reached to place his hand between her legs. My heart sank, and I began to pray that they know the beauty of glorifying God with their bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5).
my sister wisdom
My twin sister and I are very close. We attended the same schools, and we share many things in common—same room, same wardrobe, and—most importantly—same faith. Aside from God, no one knows me better than she does.
free your mind
“Sow a thought, reap an action: Sow an action, reap a habit; Sow a habit, reap a character; Sow a character, reap a destiny.” —Samuel Smiles
One of the first things I realized after I was wholly surrendered to my Christ was that my thought life had gotten me in A LOT of trouble. My thoughts ended up becoming my…
you choose Q: Is God concerned and involved in who we choose to marry?
Q: Is God concerned and involved in our choice of marriage? —Olabisi
A: Yes, God is concerned about who we choose to marry. The Bible clearly states that God wants us to marry someone of the opposite sex who shares our same faith (Matthew 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 6:14-16). He desires for us to pick a mate whose primary allegiance is to…
what do you worship?
"Whether it’s a supernatural being . . . science, money, wisdom, information, ritual, power or love,” says social commentator Hugh Mackay, “most of us assign the status of god to something in our lives.” The truth is: Modern, secular people still worship something even if they’ve abandoned belief in God.
The first chapter of Romans describes this human religious impulse…
casualty hookups
According to Dannah Gresh, casual hookups can lead to casualties. In an article for CNN titled Nothing Brief about a Hookup, the author presents a compelling scientific case for the bonding process that occurs between two people who have sex—a process of special chemicals being released during the encounter. She explains that “there’s nothing biologically brief about a hookup,” and that…
hypocrisy & idolatry
This morning in my Bible reading I read in Romans where it is talking about hypocrites. This is something that always hits me. I never, ever want to be a hypocrite. I want to practice what I preach.
“You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You…
disobedient doubt
What do these famous men have in common: Sigmund Freud, Jean-Paul Sartre, Bertrand Russell, Karl Marx, Pablo Picasso, and Aldous Huxley? They all declared that they did not believe in God, and all were sexually promiscuous. Coincidence?
In The Making of an Atheist, James Spiegel explains that many modern thinkers expressed doubts about God, at least in part, because it made…
sacred things
Canadian logger Ron Fahey took the heat for removing some logs he intended to use as firewood. The de-branched specimens had been lying in a woodpile on the campus of Mount Alison University. Fahey had been given permission to snatch logs found on the grounds. But this particular stack of wood was actually a “sculpture” named Deadwood Sleep. Fortunately, the hardworking logger…
sexuality and the Bible
In his booklet What the Bible Says—and Doesn’t Say— about Homosexuality, Mel White makes the following claim: “The Bible is a book about God, about God’s love for the world and the people of the world. It is the history of God’s love at work rescuing, renewing, empowering humankind. It was never intended to be a book about human sexuality.…
