A Devotional for Christian Couples and Singles
Welcome, friends. This devotional series highlights over 150 health and safety phrases and terms found in the Bible. I call it the first message of the Apostolic Gospel of Jesus Christ. The opening chapters of Genesis thread this Good News throughout the Old and New Testaments—appearing across more than 3,000 verses. Perhaps you’ve never heard these terms named this way, but I assure you: they are impossible to separate from the life changing message of Jesus.
These devotions are written for Christians with their families in mind. It connects to a comprehensive Bible study with indexed commentary on these phrases and terms. You’ll also find a “Key Vocabulary” section to help with definitions, natural revelation, and age-graded instruction for children and grandchildren. My prayer is that these truths would replace the harmful voices that often try to educate our families through fear, addiction, and exploitation—especially on pornographic platforms. I pray you will join me.
After each devotional piece, you’ll find a “more in-depth” study on the specific Scriptures. If you’d like, you may also take steps to complete a certification in Biblical Health and Safety. May I encourage you to go slow and carefully through the in-depth study? You’ll find it more satisfying than reading on your phone while you drive—which I cannot recommend.
And finally, may I enthusiastically suggest enjoying this content with the humans you love?
Devotion One
Flying Perks of Pink Freud
Waiting for group three to board the plane on route to fly-fish with my Michigan family. I’m wearing my airport favorite t-shirt sporting a picture of Sigmund Freud. The caption reads, “Pink Freud…the dark side of your mom.” Fanatics of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon tend to love this shirt—at least the verbal ones.
Freud, the cigar-smoking father of modern psychology, believed the reproductive system formed from feelings toward one’s mother or father. He taught that human arousal and desire spring from unseen drives, and that reproduction begins with taboo attraction. In clinical terms, many would call this “pathological.” I don’t know any therapists who openly embrace that lens.
With regret, however, faith-based people often end up practicing what the psychotherapist preached. Christian intimacy and reproduction are frequently described through taboo, shame-portrayed language—what not to do, what not to touch, what must be avoided at all costs. In short, for many, intimacy is treated as “pathological.” And perhaps that is one reason many of us received little training from parents or pastors about how God made us to long, love, and belong.
At times you might wonder how a beautiful Gospel truth of Jesus—including reproductive longing—became awkward and abnormal to discuss among faith-based communities. Here is the good news: God never treats His image as pathological. If feelings feel broken or frightening, it is usually not because God designed them that way. Abnormality comes from an evil source, not from a good God. The sensations and longing you notice toward your partner or potential spouse are God-given, and they stand at the heart of the first command given to humankind: “Be fruitful and increase.” This phrase begins every relational covenant God made with the people He loves in the book of Genesis. A lifelong covenant with your partner is first framed by a loving Creator-God—tenderly, intimately, and with care. (001H. Be Fruitful and Increase, pah-RAH rah-BAH (Genesis 1:22) Strong’s, H6509 and H7235)
So why did God create the most powerful—and at times frustrating—system in the human body? Because the One who inspired the Scriptures sees you, knows you, and has compassion for you. Benevolent Creator recognizes that you need more than religious rituals and creeds to truly see and be seen. A Father-God scripts intimate bonding with another so that isolation does not win. And a gentle Savior understands that without compassionate presence, you may never experience the transforming life-change of forgiveness and grace of the cross of Christ.
Even the opening command of Scripture—the beginning of the Apostolic Gospel of Jesus Christ—begins with intimacy language. God sees seven times in Genesis chapters 1 through 4. I call them the seven intimacies: Spirit, beauty, regenerative rest, pleasure, compassionate presence, reconciliation, and the intimacy of intercourse. (Please see Key Vocabulary for the Seven Intimacies)
If you are in a long-term covenant, may I offer you a simple practice for this week? Share the intimacy of Spirit with each other. Before you talk about intercourse, pray together in a beautiful place—a park, a garden, a beach. Plan for genuine rest so both of you can feel refreshed. Choose together some mutual pleasure that heals rather than pressures: a meal, a friendship, an adventure. And before disagreements arise, covenant to respond with compassionate words, never with rage or shame. I call this intercourse neutrality without negativity.
Group three has been called. Gotta go! Before you board the plane, a detailed process takes place. This involves immutable steps backed by the greatest military super-power in history. Enforced by armed security trained for live fire the plan looks like: Reservation, payment, luggage without explosives, bottles with less than 3 oz., verified-unable-to-be-faked identification, facial recognition software, belt off to undress, pockets empty, spread eagle for x ray techs, ugh, belt on to redress, pay for 12 dollar cup of coffee, wait, be patient, wait some more, find your seat, don’t hang your body over the arm rest, sanitize tray table, knob, and seat belt buckle, don’t stare at your neighbor’s movie, limit drink or you may know the excruciating smell of trouble within the torturous loo. Oh, and don’t forget to keep learning contentment with the familiar rhythm of waiting. We all get there at the same time and… its worth it.
Reaching that destination requires focused preparation first, and then a careful flow from gate to seat to landing. So it is with intimacy. It requires healthy and safe process. You may have tried to “land” without what was needed to get there—and without what would be required to return.
This intimate process is rich with relational beauty and connection with Jesus. You are loving Him through the beauty of His creation. You are resting. You enjoy appropriate godly pleasure—which can be healing to the brain and body. Then trust grows through compassionate amends. For my single friends, you may find the intimacies of Spirit, beauty, regenerative rest, mutual pleasure, compassionate presence, and reconciliation filling the places longing creates—until God provides a right and whole covenant partner. Neutrality without negativity can still bring meaning to seasons without intercourse intimacy. And remember: it is the careful preparation before we board that helps ensure we land at the destination.
Lord willing, we will return to repeat this journey—again and again—because love is patient, and grace is irresistible, some say.
For my friends in a long-term covenant, after this beautiful process, can you speak about setting aside time just for the two of you to be intimate? Not for selfish ambition, nor for pressure, but for gratitude—seeing one another with wonder before God, in beauty, with mutual pleasure, and with compassionate reconciliation. Does intimacy feel difficult or awkward right now? Perhaps the billowing smokescreen of miseducation—fear and shameful old scripts—has made it harder to breathe in the truth God intended. While you take time to heal, can you still find contentment in spiritual connection? Can you pray? Can you enjoy the beauty of creation and restorative rest? And if needed, can you seek support from a trusted, compassionate counselor so that amends become real, not just hoped for? The Gospel is light and life. Hope for the despairing and rest for the weary. Still.
Well, we arrived, and now we deplane soon. All I have dreamed and longed for waits for me at baggage claim. Now, everyone, play nice. We all have the same destination in mind. Don’t push. Be patient. Don’t light that cigarillo in the cabin, sir. I know you are anxious to land and get to the end. But it’s the healthy preparation and safe process that matter. Contentment comes from relationships built on love, trust, and the person of Jesus—neutral about intercourse, but never negative. Not pathological. Never condemning what reflects the heart of God. What you long for is near, at the baggage carousel with open arms.
So here is my final encouragement, offered with gentle honesty: God sees you. A tender Savior knows the gate and understands delay. He sees what is broken keeping you from your final destination.That is why he came to make at-one-ment (intimate) with a loving God through his sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from death. Whether you’re seated, standing, single, partnered, healing, or learning again, His love is already moving you toward the landing. And one day soon, you won’t just board the journey—you’ll look back and realize you made it through together, with grace doing what grace always does: safely carrying you into wholeness and peace.
And, by the way, I have found no Biblical evidence of cigar smoking Apostles of the first century CE.
For Deeper Study
This is the study I mentioned at the introduction. Please don’t hurry. If you are short on time can you wait until you have more bandwidth?
Check out the Biblical certification on: The Apostolic Gospel of Health and Safety. Can you read together chapter one? This gives you the health positive terms of Genesis chapters 1-4. I think you may enjoy this Biblical study. You will also find ways to teach and protect your children and grandchildren while taking pleasure in these amazing teachings from Scripture.
Following are some excerpts from the certification content. Please check out the link for the Biblical certification for The Apostolic Gospel of Health and Safety.
Chapter One
The Apostolic Gospel of Health and Safety
Syngenesis Health-Positive Terms
In Genesis chapters 1 to 4, gentle Bible teachings follow that can help shape how the mind learns about health and safety. Four simple ideas are: Be fruitful and increase-
teaching that life is meant to grow in a healthy, God-honoring way; family affection-
showing that love, kindness, and care can help families feel safe; and to know fully-reminding us that intimacy belongs in a loving, respectful relationship, not in harm.
These premier Biblical words can help build a safer, more caring understanding of relationships and family.
001H. Be Fruitful and Increase, pah-RAH rah-BAH (Genesis 1:22) Strong’s, H6509 and H7235
The first healthy phrase in the Bible is “be fruitful and increase.” Even though it talks about having children, notice how it begins. In the early part of Genesis, Scripture speaks in a gentle way that even young children can understand. It talks about living things growing—like plants—so families can learn the idea of growth and life before anyone tries to talk about body details.
This matters because the first lessons we hear about growing, love, and families can shape how our minds understand safety and respect.
Genesis Can Help Parents Teach Gently
You may also notice that in Genesis 1–5, the words and ideas about reproductive health called syngenesis are written in a way that is gentle and easy to understand for young children. The Bible starts with simple, life-giving ideas first—growth, family, love, and God’s design—so families can teach without fear. In other words, Genesis gives a safe starting point to begin with love and respect, then teach safety and truth, and keep the conversation age-appropriate. That is why these early Bible phrases matter so much. They help set the foundation for health and safety—long before children face bigger questions later in life.
001H. Be Fruitful and Increase, pah-RAH rah-BAH (Genesis 1:22) Strong’s, H6509 and H7235
In the first two chapters of Genesis, health and safety ideas are written in a kind and gentle way so even young children can understand. The opening pages have no scary or harmful “snapshots.” They help children feel that God’s world is safe, good, and cared for.
Why Compassionate Truth Matters
Research supports what Scripture has taught for a long time: families shape how a child handles safety and well-being for life.
But when health and safety topics are ignored, or when they are taught with fear, the brain may learn to feel anxious. Instead of feeling safe enough to ask questions, children may grow used to “default” reactions like avoidance (wanting to hide or escape), fear, anger, shame that never gets talked about or healed, and even a kind of mental shutdown. That is why it’s so important to talk to children with compassionate truth. Please see the “Shutdown” section in the Key Vocabulary, because it can be one of the biggest barriers to teaching health and safety.
The Apostolic Gospel Begins in Genesis 1–2
The Apostolic Gospel of Health and Safety starts in Genesis chapters 1–2. The words show a Creator who “sees” and says creation is good and healthy. Bible teaching for families can begin with the words “be fruitful and increase.” These words appear seven times in Genesis—starting the message early, gently, and clearly. (Genesis 1:22, 28; 8:17; 9:1, 7; 17:20; 35:11).
In ancient writing, seven often means something complete or full—like spiritual wholeness. The phrase “be fruitful and increase” first refers to animals, then to Adam and Eve’s family, then to Noah, and finally to Abraham’s family. In the Bible, there are no harmful pictures connected to these statements.
This phrase also begins every intimate relationship God made with humans (called a covenant). Every covenant in Genesis begins with this kind message: “be fruitful and increase.”
Clinicians sometimes use the word syngenesis for human reproduction. “Syn” means with, and “genesis” connects to the opening of the Bible: “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1). Syngenesis is a clinical term for reproduction (XX to XY) and for health and safety in faith-based families.
In Genesis 1–2, the phrase “be fruitful and increase” appears twice. Genesis 1:22 shows the first blessing the Creator gives—God blesses the animal kingdom. Genesis 1:28 gives the second blessing to humans: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).
The first blessing gives health through God’s care. Genesis 1–2 does not include negative or traumatic images.
Further Study for Greater Depth
The Hebrew word, be fruitful, pronounced pah-RAH, occurs 29 times in 28 verses in the Old Testament Hebrew Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC). (Strong’s, H6509) The Westminster Leningrad Codex is the premier digital edition of the world’s oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. Please click on (WLC) to hyperlink for deeper study or see the Key Vocabulary for more content on the Westminster Leningrad Codex.
Ra-BAH, meaning “increase,” appears 235 times in 215 verses in the WLC. (Strong’s, H7235). In the Old Testament, when linking to humans, the terms “be fruitful and increase” mean producing offspring through XX and XY reproduction/syngenesis. No negative images connect to this phrase in the Bible. Examples include:
“God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth,” (Genesis 1:22) and “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground’” (Genesis 1:28). Small children can learn about health-positive creation and reproduction/syngenesis without detail on intercourse intimacy.
The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel preached through one of the most severe catastrophes in Judah’s history: the collapse of the kingdom and the exile to Babylon (modern day Iraq) in the sixth to seventh centuries BC. Yet even amid national devastation, their messages did not end in despair. When these prophets spoke of hope, they echoed God’s life-giving intention for Israel—an intention captured in the covenant promise of abundance: “be fruitful and increase.”
What interests me is how this language functions not merely as encouragement, but as a covenant-shaped vision of well-being. From a covenant-theology perspective, “fruitfulness” and “increase” do more than predict future restoration; they interpret restoration as a renewal of embodied life, communal stability, and relational fidelity.
If we widen the lens, the Biblical vocabulary of covenant—understood through Hebrew and Greek terms associated with intimate relational commitments—appears throughout Scripture with striking density. Covenant language is woven into the Bible’s moral and spiritual architecture, not as a peripheral theme but as a guiding structure for how God forms human life.
The covenant narratives of Genesis especially stand out because they often begin with a health-positive preamble: “be fruitful and increase.” That repeated framing raises a provocative possibility: could it be that all Biblical covenants develop from—indeed, are built upon—the “Apostolic Gospel of Health and Safety”? Put differently, could we understand covenant not only as doctrine or obligation, but as the divine Good News that life can flourish safely and responsibly within God’s order?
If that is true, then covenant theology may be more integrated than we often assume. Perhaps this “Good News”—God’s intention for life, safety, and flourishing—does not sit alongside covenant faithfulness as an added theme. Perhaps it weaves through covenant theology across the entire Bible, shaping how God restores relationships, forms communities, and calls people to live in ways that protect both the vulnerable and the integrity of the whole life community.
In short, the hope Jeremiah and Ezekiel preached may be more than future comfort. It may be the covenant logic of God: restoration that enables life to grow, relationships to heal, and communities to become fruitful again—under God’s protective care.
Genesis 1:22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase (pah-RAH rah-BAH) in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
Ezekiel 36:11 I will increase (rah-BAH) the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful (pah-RAH) and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Be fruitful and multiply, Strong’s H6509 and H7235 occur 15 times in 15 Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC) verses.
001G. Be Fruitful and Increase, kar-par-pho-REH-oh and au-KSAH-no (Colossians 1:6) Strong’s, G2592 and G837
These syngenesis health-positive words form part of the covenant message in the Book of Genesis. They are written again and again—showing a consistent theme of God’s care and goodness. You can find them once in the New Testament too, at Colossians 1:5–6. The Apostle Paul speaks about how Gentiles (people who were not Jewish) belong in the Church. Paul connects the promises and covenant ideas from Genesis with the fact that God welcomes non-Jewish people into the Christian faith.
In the Apostolic Gospel of Health and Safety, this same idea matters. It connects the Old Testament to the New Covenant by showing how God’s blessing includes people from all backgrounds—and how faith in Christ brings them fully into God’s family.
A covenant is a close, trusting relationship built on honor and loyalty between God and the people He loves. You can think of it like a promise relationship—one that creates stability and commitment.
If covenants are built on health and safety, could that help explain why the Gospel spread so quickly in the first century? Is it possible that many first-century families found a “cure” for the violent sexual-politics of the Greco-Roman world?
In other words, could the apostolic message of healing, care, and safety—presented through the Gospel—have been one important reason (among many) that Christianity grew in a difficult and hostile environment?
Could it be that the Apostolic Gospel of Health and Safety was at the center of the change happening in early Christianity? Perhaps new believers were drawn in because they found the salvation, healing, and safety that Jesus brings.
Paul makes this connection in Colossians 1:6. There, he links the Gospel with the health and safety message of the New Covenant.
Colossians 1:6 Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing (kar-par-pho-REH-oh and au-KSAH-no) —as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
Bearing fruit and increasing, Strong’s G2592 and G837 appear once in one Morphological Greek New Testament (GNT) verse.
Be fruitful and increase appear a total of 16 times in 16 Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC) and Morphological Greek New Testament (GNT) verses.
Dear Parents,
The Bible gives parents a clear and repeated responsibility seven times: teach your children. In Scripture, this sacred task is never assigned to institutions. It is entrusted to families. That is because children are formed not only by what adults say, but by what they practice together—day by day, in ordinary places.
In today’s climate—where cultural confusion around gender grows quickly, birth rates decline, and many families lose a sense of how reproduction and family life reflect God’s image—home-based teaching is the cure. When parents intentionally guide their children, they help restore what Scripture presents as God’s design for human life: the image of God made visible through loving relationships and faithful “becoming together” (syngensis).
One simple way to begin is to take your young children into a natural setting. For example, can you take them to the forest or to the beach and show them the grounding exercises in The Creation Walk? Please see the Key Vocabulary for The Creation Walk, including the grounding techniques of the Seven Intimacies of Genesis.
As you walk, you might point out how nature itself shows fertility, flourishing, and increase—without needing to talk about human anatomy or function. You could say things like:
– “Look at these pine cones—they help make new trees.”
– “See how moss grows where it has what it needs.”
– “These mushrooms are signs of life working in a hidden way.”
– “The fish keep moving and growing in the water.”
– “Watch the sand crabs—they live, adapt, and move in patterns that help them survive.”
Keep it gentle and beautiful. This kind of learning is a soft beginning, where pleasure and positivity replace fear and confusion. Over time, these healthy experiences help shape children’s developing inner life—including the way their brains learn to process relationships. The Creation Walk becomes more than a lesson; it can become formative training for emotional safety and connection.
You may also take comfort in this: Genesis chapters 1–4 contain no negative syngenesis images. The early Biblical snap shots emphasize God’s goodness, creativity, and the health of life as it multiplies.
And God saw (was intimate with) everything he made and said, “It is supremely good and healthy!” (Genesis 1:31, Glen Maiden Translation)
Thank you for your valuable time. I believe history will look back at how people of faith like you embraced the Apostolic Gospel of Health and Safety—carrying a message of healing and protection into our homes, our communities, and our daily choices.
This Good News addresses core cultural pressures, including the decline of the human species, violent gender politics, human euthanasia, and the normalization of divorce and abuse in faith-based homes and institutions. The Gospel also calls for integrity in Christian leadership—so that trust, truth, and compassion guide how we raise the next generation.
To help equip you for this work, I would love for you to participate in a free Biblical certification examining over 150 unique terms and phrases found throughout more than 3,000 verses of Scripture.
And as we seek clarity in God’s Word, may we also offer something practical and faithful—an alternative to the exploitation promoted by human traffickers on pornographic platforms, especially as we protect our children and grandchildren. What if you and I could help turn the primary narrative back toward God’s design for human flourishing?
I hope you will join me to pray, to care for our children, and to stand together for health, safety, and holiness rooted in the Apostolic Gospel.
