Category Archives: Jesus

The Parable of the Ugly Christmas Ornament

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Jason

In the Bybee family, we have a tradition of decorating for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. The boys and I get in the attic and bring down all of the Christmas boxes and while Sunny puts out all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Devotional, Faith, Family, Gospel, Hope, Jesus, Love of Christ, Missiology, Preaching, Scripture, Sunny | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

True Faithfulness

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Jason

One of the distinctive marks of the Kingdom of God is the way success is measured. This is one of the primary clashes between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world. In worldly kingdoms, success is about … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Devotional, Eschatology, Faith, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Scripture, Sports | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

On Despair and Hope

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Jason

In the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election this week, many people I know are exuberant. That’s probably not surprising, given that I live in a military town in a “red” state. Folks around here are generally conservative by nature, both … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Blessings, Culture, Disappointment, Eschatology, Faith, God, Gospel, Hope, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Politics, Race, Scripture, Social Issues, Theology | 1 Comment

Essential

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Jason

We’re days away from the most important election of our lives. At least that’s what we’re told. On Election Day, I’ll be 48 years old. By my count, this is about the 7th or 8th time in my adult life … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Culture, Devotional, Eschatology, Faith, Gospel, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Mom, Politics, Scripture, Social Issues, Stewardship, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Boundaries in Families, Part 3

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Jason

Within our families, we are trying to balance being connected with standing separately. Psychologists refer to this as self-differentiation. This is when I can voice my own thoughts or views, even if they’re different than yours. And yet, while doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Boundaries, Faith, Family, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Marriage, Preaching, Scripture, Sermon on the Mount | Leave a comment

Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Respect, Part 4

Posted on September 26, 2024 by Jason

The boundary problem of control Loving people well means respecting their boundaries. To disregard someone’s boundaries is to attempt to exert control over them. As we noted in yesterday’s post, compliant people have a hard time saying no. And controlling … Continue reading →

Posted in Boundaries, Christmas, Disappointment, Faith, Family, God, Jesus, Marriage, Parenting, Preaching, Scripture | Leave a comment

Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Respect, Part 3

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Jason

The boundary problem of compliance Compliance is when we don’t respect ourselves enough to maintain healthy boundaries. Compliant people have “fuzzy” boundaries. Their “yes” and their “no” doesn’t really mean anything. An example of this is the person who claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Boundaries, Faith, Family, Friends, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Parenting, Preaching, Quotes, Scripture | Leave a comment

Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Respect, Part 2

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Jason

It is a fundamental biblical teaching that every human being is deserving of a modicum of respect. Here are some of the key reasons for this: Everyone is deserving of a baseline level of respect because every human being is … Continue reading →

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Respect, Part 1

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Jason

In our Boundaries series, we have identified three biblical principles for developing healthy boundaries: Today we turn our attention to the third of these principles: the principle of respect. Healthy relationships are founded upon mutual respect. When someone shows that … Continue reading →

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Developing Healthy Boundaries: The Principle of Responsibility, Part 2

Posted on September 9, 2024 by Jason

One of the most common boundary violations is when we over-function. Over-functioning is when someone assumes too much responsibility in a particular relationship. It’s when one person assumes responsibility for someone else’s yard. That’s what’s going on in the story … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Boundaries, Culture, Faith, Family, God, Jesus, Marriage, Parenting, Preaching | Leave a comment