When you’re stuck in traffic and late - it’s a challenge. When there’s a mountain of laundry, dirty dishes or a screaming baby in your house - it’s a challenge. When there’s conflict between brethren and former friends have become foes - it’s a challenge. Sometimes life can be very hard and that’s when it’s a challenge to remember WHY you’re doing WHAT you’re doing! Navigating through the icebergs of stress and pressure and worry can leave a person absolutely frazzled! Hav

It takes 10 years from planting for a pecan tree to become a fully producing tree. It takes 22 years, on average, to raise a college graduate. It takes 40+ years, as a rule, to produce an elder in the Lord's church and how many more years on the job until he is truly "seasoned" as a leader and effective shepherd? How long does it take to develop a "good" Bible class teacher? How long does it take to "grow" a good youth group? If you want corn. or tomatoes, or squash, you only

(Acts 4:33) “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” From time to time I am amazed by reading a simple verse and realizing its profound meaning. In your mind’s eye can you see a gathering of people sitting around two or more standing apostles as they recount the personal experiences they had with Jesus or the events surrounding his death and resurrection? To both the faithful Christians and to

There is an old adage that says, “you’ll find what you’re looking for.” Look for something good and you’ll likely find it. In that spirit, I want to focus on finding something good from two pests; crabgrass and fire ants. Crabgrass, goose grass, Johnson grass, chickweed, and suchlike, are all enemies of the well-kept lawns. Their tiny seeds lay in the soil like little biologic time bombs waiting to go off and grow. They go everywhere! They spread rapidly. They won’t ever

Few things press onto us the weight of obligation more than the final requests of those that we love. Survivors hold sacred the desires expressed by those peering soberly at their final moments on earth. Sometimes requests are put into writing and sometimes they are spoken with voices draped in weakness. Such words rise to a power rarely equaled. Those who bear the responsibility of others may expend considerable effort and resources insuring that spouses or children are p

Jesus created all things that exist (Col. 1:16). He used the objects in the world He created to teach the world how to live. For example, Jesus taught the principle, "by their fruits you shall know them." (Mat. 7:20). Literally, that would certainly apply to apple trees, pear trees, orange trees and such. More broadly it would apply to pecan trees, tomato plants and stalks of corn. But as a principle, it applies more broadly still. Judge a thing, or a person, by what it does.

Let’s just throw it out there ... criticism stings... but when things go wrong, or are wrong, criticism is what sounds the alarm. We have a love/hate relationship with criticism. We hate being criticized ourselves but we love criticizing things/others. The only warning you got with old cars was steam pouring out of the engine bay or hearing grinding metal from the brakes. Today’s cars have a gazillion little lights and a few gauges. Having them is better. Those lights, ga

Learning is the process of acquiring new information, knowledge, experiences, skills, behaviors and/or values. Learning is a natural and necessary process. When we’re young, learning comes easily, but continuous learning becomes more difficult to sustain with age. Note some thoughts. Learning is good for your brain. Just like doing push-ups exercises your physical muscles, learning exercises your brain and it can even make you mentally tired. However, the more you use you

Do anything health related and they’ll want to know your age. At my last eye exam, the doctor asked me if there were any changes that I was noticing in my vision. When I noted a couple of minor issues he remarked, “...well, that’s normal for your age.” Whether discussing trees, pets, paint or people, there are certain characteristics associated with physical age. Are there ”normal” qualities that are equally associated with spiritual aging? (Heb 5:12-14) "For though by

You’ve probably heard someone refer to someone else as a "good man." But what exactly is meant by such a description of a person? In Jeremiah 5:1, God told Jeremiah to see if he could find a good man. The remainder of the fifth chapter of Jeremiah describes God’s search criteria. 1st a good man is one who acts justly (5:1). The man whom God considers a good man is one who is fair and honest in his dealings with others. Those in the early church were said to be "having favor w

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all Thy wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in Thee, I will sing praise to Thy name, O Most High. Psalms 9:1-2 RSV Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and shield. Yea, our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in Thee. Psalms 33:20-22 RSV May all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee; may those who love thy salvati

Recently, I was putting together a futon that I purchased. It wasn’t particularly difficult, but was definitely time consuming. I was carefully following the instructions, when I got to a point where I was to use a very long bolt to fasten together two pieces of the frame. In my opinion, the bolt was much longer than needed, and I mused at the incompetence of the engineer who designed the piece of furniture. The long bolt was a waste and besides could be a danger since it stu

And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you." (Acts 24:24-25). The topic of Paul’s speech to Felix could form the basis for many sermons. Let’s explore self-control a bit. Self control re: Words Do you rem

Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Rev 2:4). The cold and dark time of year has come upon us. However, it won’t be that long until spring. It hardly looks like it at the moment but spring is surely on the way! In just a few months we’ll be working outside in our yards again. We’ll find peeling paint, growing winter weeds, split boards, rusted hinges and all manner of things that need fixing up. Soon the home centers will be insanel

What would a man endowed with great wisdom from God say about life? Well, among many other things, he would say (about a dozen times) to listen to our parents. (Prov. 1:8) My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; (Prov. 6:20) My son, keep your father’s command, And do not forsake the law of your mother. (Prov. 10:1) A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. (Prov. 23:22) Listen to your fat

We all agree that the right church is the church that existed in the first century, the church of which Peter, John, James, and Paul were members. If we can find that same church existing in our day, it will still be the right church. How do we know when we find it? We must ascertain its essential identifying features. We then need to search for the church today that has the same features. When we find it, we will have found the right church. As we open our New Testaments, wh

(1 Chr 16:1-4, 7-12) So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. And he appointed some o

A commercial jet overflew it’s destination airport by 150 miles and might have gone a lot farther had a flight attendant not come into the cockpit 15 minutes after their scheduled arrival time to ask what time they would actually be landing! It was 2009 when Northwest Airlines flight 188 from San Diego to Minneapolis/St. Paul stopped responding to ATC for approximately 80 minutes. Air Traffic Control or ATC, coordinates the flights of ALL commercial air traffic in the United

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave. Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus the Mighty to save.” Those sentiments, from Fanny J. Crosby, express an urgency for reaching out to the lost that is mostly absent among us. Who are the perishing? (Luke 13:3) “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that

Driving with a GPS is a normal thing now. Drivers under 30 could hardly imagine being without one! Most of my driving was done before they were invented and I have been very lost before. Being truly lost is a thing of the past. If you have a smart phone and a signal, your phone will tell you where you are and street by street how to get to your goal. If you don’t follow the right path sometimes it will announce “make a U-turn.” That means you’re going the wrong way. The