One of the keys to maintaining a positive and influential relationship with your teenager (or any other person for that matter) is to be aware of and address a wounded spirit. The Bible tells us that a wounded spirit is hard to bear, that strife can separate friends, and that offenses bring with them a hardness of heart. If an offense in our home occurs, just imagine all the damage that can be done.

One of the first books I read in full-time ministry was In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters. Although it is specifically about excellence in business, I was captivated by the realization that if the secular world would care about excellence in the workplace, how much more should we care about excellence in ministry? I have been on a pursuit ever since to have a ministry that honors God.

In Matthew 18, we observe a scene in which Jesus brings a child into the midst of a large crowd. No doubt, as Jesus was speaking about entering into the kingdom of Heaven as a little child, the young toddler was melting the listeners’ hearts.

Nurture speaks of tutoring, educating, and training. This kind of instruction includes mild rebukes and correction but does not respond in a fleshly manner.

We know that progress in the Christian life comes by looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1–3). Additionally, God has designed the Christian life so that others lead us in the faith. For instance, a Christian parent should model God’s love and point their child to Christ.

I have concluded that it is far easier for God’s people to be different than it is for us to make a difference. In fact, it is often far more comfortable and convenient, even satisfying, to retreat into our minds, our homes, our churches, and celebrate our being different than the world, while smugly thinking ourselves to be a little better. However, that is not what the Lord commanded us to do.

February is the month for expressing love. I am glad there is one day set aside on our calendar to let others know how much they mean to us; yet does expressing our love have to be a “one day” event? The quality of our relationships is certainly not defined by the events of a single day! Valentine’s Day should . . .

One of the great travesties of today’s contemporary church philosophy is a lack of spiritual conviction. Notice I did not say a lack of communicating spiritual conviction, for that’s not the greatest problem.

Growing up on the island of Guam, I noticed palm trees with white paint around the base of the tree trunk. I remember asking my dad why those trees were painted white at their base thinking he would give me some profound answer. He simply replied, “The white is there to measure the growth of the tree.”

The Judeo-Christian roots of our nation are showing up these days in places many of us have never even noticed, but simply assumed as normal.