Category Archives: Kingdom Values

The Parable of the Ugly Christmas Ornament

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

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

Not Knowing

I wrote this a few years ago about going and not knowing, which is the essence of faith.

Posted in Blogging, Devotional, Disappointment, Faith, God, Hope, Scripture, Theology | Leave a comment

On Despair and Hope

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

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

Carrying the Grief

I read a poem the other day by a writer named Liz Newman. She talks about missing someone as an experience of simultaneously carrying both grief and love. When you think about it, grief and love come from the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Dad, Disappointment, Eschatology, Faith, Family, Hope, Poetry | Leave a comment

Boundaries in Families, Part 3

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 3

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

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

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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