Posts by Richard Parrish
How Well Do You “Shabbat?”
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8 ESV). “It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:17 (ESV). It was apparent my friend was searching for the…
Read MoreGuard Your Anger
“A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression” (Proverbs 29:22 ESV). Have you noticed? There are a lot of angry people today. Public protests regarding any issue increasingly move from dialogue to insults and, often, from name-calling to violence. Angry people are quickly offended and reactionary. I’m not…
Read MoreKeep “Short Accounts,”Not “Long Accounts”
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV). As a boy, my mother disciplined me for behavior prompted by my anger. Unfortunately, my insistence on having my way, combined with my immaturity, caused me to fail to…
Read MoreLet Go of Anger
“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:15 ESV). Why is it difficult to “keep short accounts?” Why do I continue to relive an injustice? Do you ever find yourself reliving an…
Read MoreBe Angry for The Right Reason!
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!” (Psalm 37:8 ESV). “And he [Jesus] looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart…” (Mark 3:5 ESV). The Bible often defines anger as sinful. The Psalmist admonishes us to “refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.” Yet Mark allows us to see that Jesus was not…
Read MoreCharacter Assassination
Unresolved conflict can bring out the worst in us. You’ve tried to resolve issues but appear to be at a stalemate. What do you do? One unhealthy maneuver is to find ways to attack your opponent’s character. “If I can’t get her to budge, I will do what I can to damage her reputation or credibility!” You…
Read More“Lumpy Carpets”
Recognizing conflict appears to be reasonably straightforward. But is it? When two individuals have a heated argument over some disagreement, it’s usually a sign of conflict in the room. Referees officiating a basketball game call fouls based on their point of view (from what they observe). But what they see is not always what the…
Read MoreIn God We Trust: Our Anchor in Uncertain Times
“And again, ‘I will put my trust in him’” (Hebrews 2:13a ESV). I’m from an era where one’s word was their bond. When someone committed to something, you could trust them to ful fill their promise. It used to be that a handshake was more than a polite gesture. It was a firm, reliable commitment…
Read MoreDespair and Hope
The other day I read the following passage from Psalm 6: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?” (Psalm 6:2–3). As I slowly reflected on those words, they revealed emotions I had been…
Read MoreArmenian Refugee Update
Where will we go? What will we do? How will we survive? These are agonizing questions that arise because of adversity. These are questions many refugees ask each day. On February 20th, I’ll be returning to Armenia to minister to pastors and leaders and check on several of our outreach projects. I’ll also be helping…
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