Tried With Fire

Need a coffee jump-start on Sunday mornings? If so, this video from Back Row Baptist is for you:

The Mortification of Spin team interviewed Dr. Diane Langberg , a Christian psychologist who specializes in counseling victims of domestic violence. It's well worth the 28 minutes and 36 seconds. Of note, I wanted to highlight what Dr. Langberg said about believing the victim: You believe what you hear. It is very rare for people to do false accusations, and they seem to occur mostly in these really bitter, awful custody battles. But usually people want home to be nice. They don't want to stir up a mess. That's why they hide it... Again this does not mean that false allegations do not occur, but I have done this work for forty years and I have had two . Listen here … (Edited to correct quote.)

Is It My Fault?: Hope and Healing for Those Suffering Domestic Violence , Justin S. Holcomb & Lindsey A. Holcomb, Moody Publishers, May 2014, 240 pages. Domestic violence (DV) is a difficult subject and one that is often misunderstood. Consequently, victims may not realize that what is happening to them is abuse . Also well-intentioned but uninformed counsel may re-victimize those already hurting. Is It My Fault?  brings this topic to light for the victim and those who would help her. To give a brief overview, this book is divided into three sections: Part 1 - What is Domestic Violence? -  This section lays the groundwork by defining DV and its extent. Contrary to what many may think, abuse is not just physical. Neither is it a relational issue but one of control. [21] Domestic violence is a pattern of coercive, controlling, or abusive behavior that is used by one individual to gain or maintain power and control over another individual in the context of an ...

What does the phrase, "Here I stand", bring to mind? Martin Luther or a line from Frozen's hit song "Let It Go"? Well, how about both. Find out more here.

Arlington National Cemetery Thank you to the men and women of the armed forces who gave their lives to protect the citizens of this country and even  those beyond our shores.

Source "We needed Christ as a life-buoy when we were sinking in the waves of sin, but we need him to be our food and our drink now that he has brought us safe to land. When we were sick through sin, we needed Christ as medicine; but now that he has restored our soul, we need him as our continual nourishment. There is no lack which a Christian ever has which Christ cannot fully supply, and there is nothing in Christ which is not useful to a Christian." C.H. Spurgeon

Careful handling of the Bible will enable us to "hear" it a little better. It is all too easy to read the traditional interpretations we have received from others into the text of Scripture. Then we may unwittingly transfer the authority of Scripture to our traditional interpretations and invest them with a false, even an idolatrous, degree of certainty. Because traditions are reshaped as they are passed on, after a while we may drift far from God's Word while still insisting all our theological opinions are "biblical" and therefore true. If when we are in such a state we study the Bible uncritically, more than likely it will simply reinforce our errors. If the Bible is to accomplish its work of continual reformation of our lives and our doctrine - we must do all we can to listen to it afresh and utilize the best resources at our disposal. Exegetical Fallacies , 2nd edition, D.A. Carson, Baker Book House, 1996, pp. 17-18.