Building on the Foundation

  Not That Four Letter Word Why do we date? What drives us to seek out someone of the opposite sex and spend exorbitant amounts of our time, emotions, and money getting to know them? Different people will have different answers to these questions, but there should really only be one answer. Some people seek out dating just to be in a relationship with someone. They yearn for a deep connection but don’t want the commitment that goes with a truly deep connection, so instead, they settle for a cheap imitation. Sometimes this dating relationship leads to living together without being married. Still unable to make the commitment that leads to true oneness, they will always have an essential part missing. There will always be a hollow part in their relationship that they won’t be able to fill. So if the reason we date is not just for the dating relationship, why then do we date? Dating is supposed to be a necessary evil on the path to marriage. It is not supposed to be the goal. We date ...

  Intro Music Time This is to be the first in a series of articles on dating. This particular article touches on both, as you cannot discuss dating without turning to marriage. As an unmarried young man, I have no experience with marriage and little with dating, so how could I possibly be qualified to write such a series? Well, experience-wise, I have zero qualifications, but there are a couple of things to offset experience. First, I have God’s Holy Spirit, and that covers a multitude of inexperience. Secondly, I have no experience, and that in itself is a qualifier. What do I mean by this? Experience can sometimes be a hindrance when writing about emotional topics, blinding us to what the Bible actually says, and there are few more emotional topics than dating. I have no stakes in the game, so in theory, I should be able to write a less biased article using only what the Bible says as my guide. With prayer and the Holy Spirit, of course. 1Co 12:8 for to one is given the word of w...

  The Big Question Let me get started by asking all of you a question. No, it’s not that big question. This question is a little more awkward than that. Show of hands. How many of you have ever committed adultery? How about murder? Idol worship? I can imagine not too many of your hands went up, but honestly, I didn’t expect them to. All of you who are reading this are probably good solid Christians horrified at the thought of committing adultery or murder, so why would I even expect any hands to go up? This isn’t a fair question, though, because I already know that most of you have committed adultery, and if you are a guy, you certainly have for our natural sinful state with no conscious effort to the opposite is adultery. Wait! Before you get upset with me, just hear me out a little longer, and I think it will all make sense!  Let’s Define Adultery To discuss any subject effectively, we need to all start with the same definition of what we are talking about; otherwise, confu...