By Jim Hays on 6/7/2010 3:06 PM

A recent headline jumped out from my daily read of the Dallas Morning News: Book Questions Monogamy, Suggests Adultery Comes Naturally.

Here is a bit of the article…

Christopher Ryan devoted his dissertation to an examination of the roots of human sexual behavior and suggests, in a new book co-written with his wife, psychiatrist Cacilda Jetha, that we re-evaluate the idea that monogamy comes naturally to men and women - and look at whether it should even be something we require of our spouses.



In their new book Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality, to be published this summer by HarperCollins, Ryan and Jetha point to anthropological and biological evidence that humans are designed to seek variety in sexual experiences.



The myth, says Ryan, who writes a blog at PsychologyToday.com, is that "you should be completely happy, completely fulfilled with one partner for 50 years. But that's not the design of the human organism.”

Hmmmm.  The myth that...

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By Jim Hays on 6/7/2010 2:31 PM

By Jim Hays on 6/7/2010 2:21 PM

By Jim Hays on 4/6/2010 9:59 AM

“But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (Romans 7:6).

We could not, and cannot, keep the law of God. Trying to be righteous when one failure, one transgression, one sin, makes us guilty ensures that we cannot be righteous through works of law-keeping. But, we have died to that basis of righteousness. 

We've died because we surrendered that way of being declared righteous when we confessed Christ as Lord and were baptized into his death (Rom. 6:3-5). This death -- our death to ourselves and our baptism into Jesus' saving death -- frees us from the law.

The gift of the Holy Spirit gives us the presence of God within us, the power to overcome sin, leads us the way of righteousness, and ensures that we will be raised from the dead. Jesus' sacrifice is the pivot point of all human history, ensuring forgiveness when we are saved and ongoing forgiveness when we falter....

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By Jim Hays on 4/3/2010 10:30 AM

Our elder Mike McMahan lost his mother on Friday… appropriately enough on GOOD FRIDAY.

Even in his hour of grief, Mike passed along to me this email from one of our brothers in the faith.  It’s certainly worth sharing….

At noon the whole country was covered with darkness,which lasted for three hours (Matt. 27:45).  Of course the sky is dark!  People are killing the Light of the World!  The sky weeps.  And a lamb bleats. 

Remember the time of the scream?  "At about three o'clock, Jesus cried out."  Three o'clock in the afternoon—the hour of the temple sacrifice.  Less than a mile to the east, a finely-clothed priest leads a lamb to the slaughter, unaware that his work is futile.  Heaven is not looking at the lamb of man … but at "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).         

One man wrote,  which I think is very appropriate, don’t think of it as “Good Friday”—think of it as “God's Friday”.

It was the Friday on which God's plan of salvation...

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By Jim Hays on 3/17/2010 7:41 AM

On the Fox News Channel the last few weeks, they have been running a commercial that every time I see it, it gets my attention. It’s for a new web site called iamnotashamed.org.

It’s really a lot like facebook, where you just log on and tell why you are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Thousands and thousands of people who call themselves Christians have done this.

The home page of the web site says this:

“I Am Not Ashamed” began as a simple conversation and a prayerful consideration of what message America needs to hear most right now.



We wanted a message that would be a clear call to Christians around the world to stand unashamedly and uncompromisingly on the bible.



Today, “I Am Not Ashamed” has evolved into a full-fledged campaign that encompasses all areas of media—from Facebook, Twitter, the blogosphere and YouTube … to the Internet, print, newspaper, billboards and television.

I believe...

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By Jim Hays on 3/17/2010 7:36 AM

In Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus says, “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

When you get right down to it, life is really all about who you are trying to please. When all is said and done, who do we want to claim they love us, claim they're proud of us, and claim us as their own? I want Jesus to do all three with me! None of what I accomplish in life will mean a thing if those three things don't happen when I meet Jesus face to face.

You see, Jesus lived only to please His Father and He was successful! The Father said this about Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased!” (Matthew 3:17).

Jesus was never afraid to declare the goodness and glory of His Father! He spoke of God boldly and without reservation. Shouldn’t we strive to do the same? What’s keeping us from speaking boldly about God and Christ? What prevents us from...

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By Jim Hays on 3/3/2010 8:55 AM

Paul writes in Romans 1:20… 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Psalm 19:1 says,

1The heavens are telling of the glory of God;          And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Everything that is … was created by God and for God. His creation is a visible reminder of just how powerful and glorious He is. If we fail to pause everyday and admire the beauty of God’s creation, that’s our loss.

You can stare out this window and see the beautiful view it provides and know that there is a God. Anyone who does not believe has no excuse. They’re foolish. Take a look around you! And see the glory of Almighty God.

I like some of the emails I get that have beautiful pictures in a Powerpoint presentation and songs that talk about how great and powerful God is.

But really, the best way to view God’s...

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By Jim Hays on 3/3/2010 8:52 AM

I knew that the Victorian house over here on Parker behind the funeral home was for sale, but they just put up the “For Sale” signs within the last few weeks. I think that’s a beautiful house and Deborah has always wanted a Victorian.

But as I cruised by and looked at the beauty of the outside of the house, I wondered, “What all is wrong inside the house?” Even if the walls and floors are in good shape, what about what’s inside the walls or under the floors. It’s the things you can’t see that can give you fits, right? Things like the foundation … or the plumbing … or the electrical wiring.

Things may look great on the outside … but on the inside everything might be just a great big mess.

And then I wondered, “How many Christians are like that?—on the outside, they look like everything is hunk-dory. But on the inside, behind closed doors, in those places that you can’t really see … things are just a great big mess.”

When we were showing our house in Los Angeles, we would get ready for...

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By Jim Hays on 2/22/2010 11:14 AM

Barack Obama was swept into office on a wave of hopes and dreams founded on his promises of a better life and a more competent government. With this first year in office now behind him, many Americans are considerably less enthusiastic about his performance than expected. A new survey conducted by The Barna Group shows that Christians, who formed a large segment of his support, are even less enthralled with the president’s handling of the job than are other Americans.

In the 2008 election, 42% of all born again adults voted for Barack Obama. The born again vote represented 40% of his aggregate support in the general election.

Job Satisfaction

   Most Americans are not satisfied with the job the president is doing. Currently, just 42% are either completely satisfied (15%) or somewhat satisfied (27%). One-quarter of adults (24%) are divided, saying they are “somewhat...

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