Valentine’s Day is coming soon. Isn’t it romantic?! The focus is on hearts, cards, chocolates, roses, and various gifts. Many couples decide to get engaged on Valentine’s Day. Some plan their weddings for the month of February. How wonderful to be in love!! Yet, there seems to always be the question of how to hang onto that “lovin’ feeling?” What is true love anyway? How can we have lasting love . . . that “‘til death do us part kind of love?” Here are some marks of love that stands the test of time.   

Lasting love is committed. There is an attitude of sacrifice. Commitment communicates that no matter what happens, I will be here for you . . . for better or worse. There ...

It’s the month of love and love is the cry of our hearts, isn’t it? We want to love and be loved and so we ask the question, “Do you love me?” That was the same question Jesus asked Peter post-resurrection. In John 21:15-17, Jesus asks Peter that question three times. Why three times? The Bible makes it clear that it takes two or three witnesses to confirm something as a fact (Deuteronomy 19:15, 2 Corinthians 13:10). Peter had publicly denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed (John 18:25-27). Jesus had taught His men that to deny Him before men meant that He would deny them before His Father in heaven (Matthew 10:33). The result for Peter is that Jesus would have to deny him as one of His own and Peter ...

“Fake it ‘til you make it.” Ever heard that expression? It first gained traction in Alcoholic Anonymous circles and now is a staple. What does it mean and is it true? “Fake it ‘til you make it” expresses the notion that even though you don’t feel a certain way, pretend that you do feel that way until the feeling becomes real. Probably what we react to in the phrase is the “fake it” part. We would say, “it isn’t true, honest, or real. It’s a fraud because we don’t feel that way but we’re pretending like we do.” In our thinking, genuine feelings should precede our behavior and to do otherwise is dishonest.

I want to challenge that thinking. ...

American Idol was a very popular singing competition which ran on television from 2002 through 2016. Some of the winners became singing sensations with enduring careers including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jordin Sparks. I must confess, though, that I always bristled at the title of the program. God regards all idols as demons hence my discomfort with the title for the singing competition. Idols are described in 1 Corinthians 10:19, 20 this way, “What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.”

Does America have idols ...