#onelove2014: Gems from the last session
I wanted to share one more post about my experience at KCC's One Love Women's Conference last Saturday. Though all three sessions were amazing, Bryan Chapell's touched me the most. His topic was "Just Mary: An Expression of Christ's Love for the Vulnerable" from Colossians 3. He started out addressing the age-old question, "If God will forgive me later, why not sin now?" So, "mathematically", this question makes sense, but he reminded us that the
Launching twitter coverage of Oxygen 2014
I'm in Sydney at the Australian Technology Park today and I'm excited to be covering Oxygen 2014 live from today until Thursday (It's not too late to register by the way). To follow our live twitter stream, follow our twitter account @teaminfocus! We'll be tweeting throughout the day there. My goal will be to provide more in-depth and periodic coverage here on the blog. My mum, Joy Harris, is here as well and will be
#onelove2014: “Do you love me?”
Nancy Guthrie just spoke at One Love women's convention here today, helping us understand how to respond to God's amazing love. From John 21 where Jesus asked Peter three times "Do you love me?" we see Jesus graciously offering forgiveness for the three times Peter denied him. Words can't be taken back, but this is another example of how love starts with God. With Jesus' comment "What is that to you?" he points out that
What does God’s love look like?
Isn't God so awesome how he does that... when what someone presents from his word is just meant personally for each lady in the convention centre today?! Personally for all of them, even though they are each in a different stage of life with different needs! That's what happened in this last hour at OneLove2014 when Nancy Guthrie spoke to us on "What Does God's Love Look Like?" I ended up in tears as she
God’s opinion of abuse
And so begins Series 4 of our marital abuse posts: helping the abused. Up until now, my goal has been to define abuse. Below is a list of the topics we've covered so far. Series 1: How to spot an abuser Series 2: Why the abused stay Series 3: Why abusers abuse Now, Series 4 will explore what we can do about what we know. God's opinion of abuse It may seem useless and even
Why abusers abuse: Abusive background
In this series on why abusers abuse, we discussed the lust for power and how it turns into an addiction. One other idea to explore is the part an abuser's background plays in his current behaviour. Facts “In a family where violence is observed by the children, but not addressed in a healthy way, little boys and girls learn perverted views of how men and women are to relate to each other.”1 “85% of men
Why abusers abuse: Addiction
In the last post , I suggested that narcissistic obsession with power is the root of abusive behaviour. It does not take many instances in which a new husband exerts his authority at the expense of his wife—and she allows this (believing God wants her to submit to everything her husband says)—and a pattern is established. The abuser's sin nature becomes intoxicated with power and the behaviour pattern becomes entrenched. In spite of the destruction
Why abusers abuse: Power
Abuse is evil. God hates it!1 Why does an abuser abuse? What is going through his mind? Abuse of power Jason Harris explains the relationship between abuse and power. Abuse implies there is power given for the purpose of protecting and building those under the abuser's authority, not for self-serving purposes. Mere self-focus leads to passive abuse (neglect), but aggressive pursuit of selfish purposes, combined with a twisted view of power, leads to more active
The big picture
In 2008, I had the great privilege to travel to Israel. Obviously as a Christian, a trip to the Holy Land was significant to me because of the chance to visit locations I have read about in the Bible. However, one unexpected impact that hit me was number of generations that have lived in the Middle East. Having grown up in Australia where civilisation in urban cities is only two hundred years old, I had
On Steve Pettit as the new president of Bob Jones University
My alma mater and the flagship educational institution of American Fundamentalism, Bob Jones University, has just announced the appointment of Steve Pettit as the fifth president of BJU. I received this news with gladness both for BJU and for Steve Pettit and I feel a sense of sobriety as I consider all that this appointment means. I hope that you will join me in praying that God will give Pettit a spirit of wisdom and