Building on the Foundation

*Warning! This post contains trace amounts of sarcasm and was produced in a facility that also manufactures disdain for modern psychology and manipulation tactics.*   What is your love language? If you are under the age of about 35, this question will likely be posed to you at some point.  It is an important question as the health of your relationships seemingly depends on how you answer the question: what can others do to make me happy?  Have I told my spouse or friends how to please me?   The concept of “the 5 love languages” became popular in 1992 with the release of a book by Gary Chapman explaining these principles and how to get the most out of your relationships with other people.  After seeing the wonderful fruits of this book in the lives of my peers, it makes me wonder how anyone has experienced a happy and meaningful marriage without it.  Just think of the people who, for the last 5,900, years had no refined way to request from their spouse'...

  You are being watched. Every hour, every day, every second. There’s a creature crouching, waiting, stalking, watching you with hate-filled eyes piercing through the darkness. You never see him, yet he’s always there, looking for a chink in your armor, searching for an opportunity to strike. Yes, this adversary is Satan the Devil. The apostle Peter wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). “Know your enemy” is the famed maxim uttered by Sun Tzu, ancient Chinese soldier and author of The Art of War . Indeed, of such a dangerous foe, we cannot afford to be ignorant. After warning the Corinthians of a potential threat, the apostle Paul explained, “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor. 2:11). God’s Word tells us much about Satan’s attacks. He is “more cunning than any beast of the field,” more cunning than a slithering snake or a stalking l...

  From time to time, I like to watch National Geographic’s docuseries, Seconds From Disaster , especially the episodes covering airplane crash investigations. As the series illustrates, man-made disasters often stem from seemingly minor and easily overlooked errors. Most often, they’re caused by a chain reaction of such errors, any of which could’ve been avoided. Once there was a manufacturing defect in a jet engine’s turbofan. Over the years, and after 40,000 hours in the sky, this defect developed a stress fracture invisible to the human eye. Flight after flight, this hairline fracture grew, but maintenance crews never noticed. Finally, one summer day in 1989 at 37,000 feet above the earth, the fan ripped apart and shattered. Like rockets, these shards of titanium tore through the engine and the tailfin of the aircraft, severing the hydraulic lines and rendering the aircraft nearly uncontrollable. As the plane lurched toward the earth, the pilots summoned every ounce of flying sk...