BCNE News
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Happy at home
If it's been a while since you perused Deuteronomy, I highly recommend a refresher. There are several surprises scattered like Easter eggs throughout. One of the most stunning expectations is this: "When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken." (Deuteronomy 24:5)
Are you celebrating the Gospel?
What would you expect Jesus’ first miracle to be? Healing the sick? Raising the dead? Walking on water? Jesus’ first miracle was to make 120-180 gallons of exquisite wine. Jesus attended a wedding in Cana. His mother was also there and playing an official role when a potential disaster happens—they ran out of wine. That doesn’t seem too cataclysmic, but for the custom of that day, weddings would last a week and to run out of wine would be a serious social embarrassment. Lawsuits could be brought against the groom’s family!
Four ways to honor marriage
God commands us, “Let marriage be held in honor among all…” (Hebrews 13:4a) The word “honor” is sometimes translated “precious” in the Bible. It is used to talk of precious stones used in the Temple (1 Kings 7:9-11 in the Greek translation of the Old Testament), of the precious stones that make up the walls of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 18), and of Christ’s precious blood (1 Peter 1:19). In other words, whether married or single, young or old, Christians are called by God to prize marriage. It was created by him for blessing and to be embedded in the world as a pointer to the Gospel (Ephesians 5:22-33 which quotes Genesis 2).
A woman’s place is in the home
My dear neighbor posted a sign in her yard that says: “A Woman’s Place is in the Resistance.” The sign faces my house so I’m drawn to it every time I go outside or pull into our driveway, and it has sparked so much thought. Is our place in the resistance? What does that even mean? Where is the place of a woman? What about a Christian woman who is a wife and mom? I’m convinced by God’s Word that our place is actually in the home.
Becoming an inefficiency expert in relationships
COVID-19 totally changed my pastoral rhythms. It seemed like the weekly tasks quadrupled! I felt like what was once 45-50 hours per week in a pre-COVID world became 60 or 70 hours per week in spring and summer. I learned to cut corners and do in 10 minutes what once took 15. Because traffic was less dense, I could get to a spot in 30 minutes that once took 50. Every trip and every task became an area where I was looking to save time and energy — get things done with excellency but increased attention to efficiency. I felt like one of those bike riders in the Tour de France, speeding downhill through the Alps, trying to lean into the bends and turns just right at terrifyingly blistering speeds, saving inches to beat an opponent by seconds or less.