Thursday, December 19, 2019

Why Do It?

Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. But the best gifts of all are those that do not come in boxes. Days ago, I received just such a gift. It came on the day of our annual Christmas Program. For the last several years, I have participated in our Sunday School Christmas Program. Although the program is comprised mostly of children, several adults are involved. Having neither children nor grandchildren, there is one question I am asked every year. “Why do it?” A few, it seems, just cannot wrap their minds around why I would invest my time and energy in this. There are...

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Giving

Giving is one of the things people associate with Christmas. This is inspired by the wise men who brought gifts to Jesus in the forms of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Others have written much about the significance of these gifts, so I will pass on that aspect. Scripture does not specify how many wise men there were. Since it specifies these three gifts, people easily assume that there were three wise men. We really cannot say how many wise men made the trek to worship Jesus. This got me thinking about giving at Christmas. For instance, my colleagues and I purchased and...

Thursday, November 14, 2019

All That He Did

I do many things for many people. This happens both professionally and personally. I certainly do not mind. The downside is that people tend to be aware only of what I am doing for them. They easily overlook the fact that other people turn to me also. Jesus understands that only too well. Many came to him. Most probably were unaware of all He did. Many came to him to be fed. Jesus once fed a crowd of over 5,000 with a small boy’s lunch. Moreover, there was food left over. This was the only miracle of His to be documented more than once. In fact, all four...

Thursday, October 31, 2019

A Bigger Plate

On Sunday, one of our young people was confirmed. I enjoy Confirmation services for many reasons. First, they remind me of my own Confirmation service many years ago. Second, the words written by those confirmed give me hope for the future. Third, it is always interesting to see which passages of scripture mean the most to them. Finally, it is interesting to hear their responses to two questions. One, what do you expect the church to provide you? And two, what do you expect to provide the church? Frankly, those are questions we need to ask ourselves as we journey through...

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Who Is Truth?

One of the most profound questions in scripture can be found in John 18. In this chapter Jesus is brought before Pilate. In verse 38, Pilate asks this question. John 18:38 (NET) - Pilate asked, “What is truth?” That question is just as profound today. Perhaps more so. In today’s world, truth is considered a relative concept. It has been stated that what is truth for one, may not be truth for another. This is impossible as truth, by its very essence, means it must be absolute rather than relative. As I tell my students: The truth is the truth… and that is that. Perhaps...

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Reflecting His Light

It’s that time of year when it gets dark earlier. Sometimes the sun is just setting behind me as I drive home. At these times the setting sun can cause buildings to have a soft glow. At the same time the sky behind them can be quite dark. The contrast between the two is often quite remarkable. This never lasts more than a few minutes at best. Just moments later, the sun dips completely behind the horizon and darkness begins to reign again. My thoughts turn to the light of God we are supposed to reflect to a darkened world. Turning on the news or scanning the headlines...

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Gone Too Soon

I have experienced several deaths this year. Most of these have occurred within my church family. Losing someone is never easy, but two of these were especially difficult because they were young. Both died in accidents. The first was a young lady of 19 who attended my church. As such, I knew her for a very long time and watched her grow up within the church. She was an absolute joy to be around. She made sharing the love of God look natural and effortless. This is as it should be, so she was one up on many of us, The second was a young man of 21. I only knew him...

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Keeping Busy-ness in Perspective

It seems these days I just don’t have enough time. True, we did have a holiday this week. But somehow that turns into getting five days’ worth of work done in four. Then things cropped up at home requiring my attention. Next, my physician reminded me it was time for my annual physical. I also have a speaking engagement at the end of the month for which I am still preparing. Also, I am facing another deadline at the end of the year that requires prep work now. Then, there are my other ministries (like this one) that cannot be ignored. I am sure anyone reading this can...

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Comfort in Troubled Times

It seems that I cannot turn on the news without hearing about violence. This is especially true about gun violence. Just two weeks ago, a mass shooting took place in the state in which I live. Within 24 hours, another mass shooting took place in a different part of the country. On Wednesday, in another state, six police officers were wounded while serving a warrant. That same evening, I received word that shots had been fired in the neighborhood where I live. Frankly, this kind of news is enough to frighten anybody. Fortunately, God provides words of comfort in troubled...

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Dual Roles

I recently watched two old programs that had something in common. In each there was an actor or actress who played two parts. In the first there was an actress who portrayed both the head of a corporation as well as the woman trying to take it away from her. In the second, an actor portrayed both a ruthless dictator and a man trying to put an end to his regime. The use of a single actor for dual roles was quite effective in each case. This put me in mind of one of my favorite Christian allegories written in the 1600’s by John Amos Comenius. It is entitled The Labyrinth of...

Thursday, July 18, 2019

The Shaper of My Faith

Faith is a very personal matter between a person and the Lord. That said, there are people in our lives who help shape our faith. In thinking about this, I can honestly say my mother did more to shape my faith than anyone else. As a child, she taught me to pray. As an adolescent, she encouraged me to study scripture. She did the things mothers are supposed to do for their children. But, she did so much more. As she went through her day, I could hear her humming or singing her favorite hymns. I also listened to scripture she recited. There were passages she would...

Thursday, July 4, 2019

No Thanks Required

This has been an interesting week in that I had two people thank me at work. The first was an intern who is trying to gain valuable experience. He had been assigned a task and was having some difficultly seeing it through. He turned to me for help, so I set aside the task I was working on to assist. I walked over and he explained to me both the task he had been assigned and where he had become stuck. My years of experience allowed me to see a better way of going about the task. This experience also led me to another conclusion. I did not merely tell him what I would do...

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Outer Space and Outer Appearance

It is hard for me to believe we are nearing the fiftieth anniversary of the first manned moon landing. I was a child while the race for space was taking place. In those days before the Internet, products and services used the moon landing in their promotions. I eagerly anticipated the moon landing and took in as much coverage as I could. Perhaps that explains my continued fondness for science fiction especially works from the 1950’s and 1960’s. It was great anticipating the progress we might have made. That said, many works from that genre and era depicted evil aliens as...

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Held to a Higher Standard

I had a wonderful time this week. It was my privilege to teach an adult class on the life of a man of God who lived in the 1600’s. This man devoted his life to improving education for children. This man felt that education would help lift mankind out of the cycle of cruelty and war. His methods were nothing short of revolutionary. In his view, education should not be limited to boys born to elite families. Rather, education should be for everyone including girls. He reasoned that a child’s first teacher would be his mother. Therefore, it was important that the mother...

Thursday, May 16, 2019

What Unites Us

I have been preparing to teach a class about a remarkable Christian who lived centuries ago. Part of my preparation involved anticipating questions I may be asked. One question I am anticipating is: “What would this man have to say about Christianity today?” Frankly, a great deal. But I think one thing that would surprise him would be the number of denominations that have arisen. I think he would be amazed at the number of different churches there are each claiming to be Christian. This put me in mind of a conversation I had with a friend long ago. We attended different...

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Time Alone with God

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? We all feel that way from time to time. Especially when we have others clamoring for our attention wanting one thing or another. Jesus knew what that was like. Scripture tells us that large crowds began to follow Jesus. But even Jesus needed some quiet time alone with God. Mark 1:35-37 (NET) - Then Jesus got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. Simon and his companions searched for him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking...

Thursday, April 18, 2019

The Church is Not the Building

John 2:19 (NET) - Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” The news broke recently about the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Like many others around the world, I continue to follow the story. More recent headlines discuss the money that is already being raised for reconstruction. As both a believer in Christ and a student of history, I am glad plans are under way. But Notre Dame is by no means the only one to be damaged. destroyed or abandoned. These others rarely make the headlines. When they do, it is usually for a brief...

Thursday, April 4, 2019

A Continuation of Acts

One account from the Bible has been on my mind a great deal lately. It can be found in the book of Acts in the eighth chapter. Beginning in verse 26 we are told about Philip. An angel tells him to travel south from Jerusalem on a desert road to Gaza. Along the way he encounters an Ethiopian traveling from Jerusalem where he had been to worship. Philip sees the man sitting in his chariot reading scripture. The Spirit speaks to Philip and instructs him to go to this man. Acts 8:30 (NET) - So Philip ran up to it and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. He asked him,...

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Love Never Dies

I have been working at the same place for almost three decades. Recently, I began going through some personal items as I simply cannot keep everything. It wasn’t easy going through years and years of memories and deciding which to keep. It was more difficult determining which I would take home. It was most difficult deciding which I would have to throw away. While going through these memories I had quite a surprise Among the things I found was a Christmas card. It was from my mother and it was dated just a few months after I started this job. My mother passed away over...

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Being Ready

One of my favorite stories is about a young Sunday school class. The teacher walks into the room and asks, “Who wants to go to heaven?” Every child raises his hand except for a boy named Timmy. This surprises the teacher. Still a bit stunned, she asks the boy, “Timmy, don’t you want to go to heaven some day?” “Oh sure, someday!” exclaims Timmy. “I thought you were talking about us leaving now!” We are a great deal like Timmy. On one hand, we say we want to go to heaven. On the other, we just do not want to go there right now. As Christians, our salvation is guaranteed...

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