Passions of the Heart: Biblical Counsel for Stubborn Sexual Sins

This year, the United States wrestled with how to balance accountability and compassion. Both elements are essential in criminal justice, immigration policy, and poverty-fighting. But how to tell when to apply which—and how much? Government tactics produced mixed results, while Christian ministries worked to provide challenging, personal, and spiritual help to those who need it.

At a homeless shelter in Joplin, Mo., a wall by the coffee pot is decorated with food stamps cards. Residents who give up the government benefit add their cards to the wall, symbolizing the way of life they are leaving behind. Jocelyn Brisson, now the shelter director for Watered Gardens, grew up on food stamps and took part in the program from when she was 18 until she turned 50, sometimes trading her card for cash to buy drugs or cigarettes.

Seattle plans to stop funding another tiny house village for the homeless after months of fighting with the property’s managers. It will be the second time the city has closed down a tiny house development.

(Eighth in a series on long marriages.)

Margaret Guth grew up as a missionary kid in Puerto Rico. Her husband, Dennis Guth, grew up on a farm in Klemme, Iowa. They met in high school and married in 1978, a year after Dennis graduated from college. Dennis was quiet and hardworking. Margaret was very relational. 

But a few months into their marriage, Margaret remembers crying frequently: “We weren’t connecting emotionally.” She felt increasingly distant from her husband. 

Los Angeles voided more than 2 million citations and arrest warrants for minor infractions related to homelessness last month. City Attorney Mike Feuer said the step would “help address root causes of poverty and homelessness” and allow city officials to focus on more important public safety issues.

(Seventh in a series on long marriages.)

Greg and Robin Reynolds were high-school sweethearts, but after graduation, they went separate ways.

Clint Bass was thrilled when his alma mater, Southwest Baptist University (SBU), offered him a job. He graduated from the private Christian school in 2000 and nine years later joined the faculty as church history professor. He and his wife (also an SBU graduate) settled in a modest brick house in small-town Bolivar, Mo., and joined the Baptist church across the street from the school.