Romantic love is idolatry, fueled by lust.

January 14
	Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
	Matthew 22:37-39
The phrase ‘like unto it’ means ‘linked to it’. In other words, the first and second commandments are inextricably linked together. The problem is, most of us separate the two because we have a ‘TV Dinner spirituality’ ... TV dinners have the entrée, peas, mashed potatoes, and the cherry dessert all in separate compartments. And that’s just what we do spiritually. ‘Oh, yes, I love God,’ we say. ‘I’m going to worship Sunday night.’ But on Monday we call our boss an idiot behind his back and on Wednesday we complain about how our neighbor idles his car too early in the morning Yet Sunday finds us worshipping the Lord once again. We compartmentalize our lives, thinking that how we treat people has nothing to do with our relationship with God. Jesus says our walk with God is not a TV Dinner. Rather, if we really love God, we will inevitably love people and our walk will resemble not a TV Dinner, but a Chicken Pot Pie. No longer compartmentalized, the peas, potatoes, and chicken will all be mixed together. Truly, if our love for God is genuine, it cannot help but flow into a love for people.

January 12
	And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart ...
	Matthew 17:1
Scripture records three times when Jesus took Peter, James, and John apart from the others to minister to them in very definite and special ways. Interestingly, each of those occasions dealt with death ... The first time Jesus singled out Peter, James, and John, He took them into the house of Jairus, whose daughter had died. After moving out the mockers, Jesus brought the young girl back to life, and Peter, James, and John saw that He was victorious over death. On a second occasion, Jesus would take them into a garden called Gethsemane. As He prayed, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not My will but thine be done,’ Peter James, and John would understand that He was submitted to death. And here in Matthew 17, Jesus takes the three up the mountain where they will see Him glorified in death. I believe Peter, James, and John needed these special times of instruction concerning death because these three apostles would each have very unique encounters with death ... Peter would be the first disciple to be told of his death. In John 21, Jesus said, ‘Peter, they’re going to stretch out your hands and carry you where you don’t want to go.’ And that is exactly what happened when Peter was crucified upside down. James was the first disciple put to death — sawed in half lengthwise by his persecutors. John was the last of the disciples to die. Banished to the seemingly God-forsaken island of Patmos, it was a ninety-year-old John who received the Book of Revelation. The Lord uniquely prepared Peter, James, and John for what each of them would face. And He will do the same for you. He will prepare you through Bible studies, radio programs, friends, and books for what lies ahead for you personally. It’s amazing to me how I’ll study something or hear something only to discover a week later that a situation arises in which I need that exact information. Remain sensitive to His voice and then see the Lord’s faithfulness in lovingly preparing you for what lies ahead.

Homosexuality is a developmental disorder defined by the failure to establish a permanent bond with a member of the opposite sex. Psychologist Richard Cohen, in "Coming Out Straight: Understanding and Healing Homosexuality" (2000) argues it is caused when a male child fails to bond with his father. By having sex with men, the adult gay is trying to compensate for father-love denied in adolescence.

The essence of manhood is to lead and support a family.

Take my yoke upon you ...
	Matthew 11:29
‘Tekton’, the word translated ‘carpenter’ in Matthew 13 to describe Joseph, is the word we use for a finish carpenter rather than a framer. Tradition has it that the carpenter shop where Jesus worked with His father, Joseph, specialized in making yokes. Because there was always a lead ox yoked together with one who would follow, the yoke was designed in such a way that the lead ox would pull the greater weight. Thus, Jesus used an analogy illustrated daily in His trade and clearly understood by those who listened to Him when He said, ‘Yoke with Me. Let Me be the Lead Ox. Don’t try to figure out or change My direction. Let Me lead you.’ A story is told of a battleship cruising the Atlantic off the northern coast of Maine. One stormy evening, the Commander was notified, 'Sir, there’s a light ahead. Oncoming vessel.’ ‘Signal the oncoming vessel to change his course 10 degrees to the west,’ ordered the Commander. The message was sent. But a light flashed back, ‘Change your course 10 degrees to the east.’ ‘Signal again: Change your course 10 degrees to the west. I am an Admiral!’ barked the Commander. The light flashed back: ‘Change your course 10 degrees to the east. I am a Seaman Third Class.’ By this time, the Admiral was incensed as he thundered, ‘Signal again: Change your course 10 degrees to the west. I am a battleship.’ And the Seaman Third Class transmitted the message which would settle the altercation completely and decisively when he said, ‘Change your course 10 degrees to the east. I am a lighthouse.’ As we impudently and impetuously say to the Lord, ‘Lord, let’s go my way,' He answers, ‘No, we’re going My way. I am the Lighthouse. I am the Light of the world, the Rock of your salvation, the Creator and Sustainer of your soul. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the One Who knows the beginning from the end. Trust Me.’

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
	Matthew 6:25
Does this mean we should live recklessly? No. The word ‘thought’ implies anxious thought or worry. The word ‘worry’ literally means ‘to strangle’. If you’re worried about what you’re wearing or eating — about what you have or don’t have materially — your personality will be tied in knots and strangled. It doesn’t take much to strangle us. Even minor things worry us and sometimes destroy us. I read that it takes sixty trillion droplets of fog to cover seven city blocks. Sixty trillion droplets or seven city blocks worth of fog can close down airports and tie up traffic. Yet if you condensed those sixty trillion fog droplets, you would end up with only half a glass of water. That’s a perfect picture of what worry is all about. You begin with something little — only half a glass of water — but you start thinking about it and wrestling with it, wondering, ‘How is this going to work out? How am I going to do that?’ And pretty soon, you can’t see straight and your airport is shut down. You’re not hearing from the Lord and you’re not soaring with the Lord like you once did because you’re all fogged in. That is why Jesus said, ‘Don’t take any anxious thought whatsoever.’ Don’t let worry strangle you. Don’t end up in a fog.