Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!” But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner.” (Acts 26:24-26) What should we expect from the world? Do we ever think, if we j

National politics sure do bring out some interesting points of view. Those in Hollywood, in the general news media and among the so-called Washington insiders are very bold to make their views known. More than once I heard Rush Limbaugh say that anyone who worked in or around those groups, and was a Republican, but especially a conservative Republican, had better keep their views quiet or they would be openly attacked. I’m assuming he meant verbally attacked for the most p

I heard about a group of Geography students who studied the Seven Wonders of the World. At the end of that section, the students were asked to list what they each considered to be the Seven Wonders of the World. Though there was some disagreement, the following got the most votes: Egypt's Great Pyramid, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Panama Canal, the Empire State Building, St. Peter's Basilica and China's Great Wall. While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that on

There is going to be a lot of loud conversations regarding the US Constitution. Most of us do not spend time discussing “substantive due process” which is the umbrella under which the supreme court in the past has “found” certain “rights” including abortion, same sex marriage and other controversial matters. In short, “’substantive due process’ is a term used in constitutional law discussions when the court has chosen to ‘protect’ certain rights even when those ‘rights’ are

Caleb (of “Joshua and Caleb” fame, Numbers 13, 14) stood just across the banks of the Jordan River, at a place called Gilgal. As one of two oldest of the people, in the process of taking the “Promised Land,” he wanted to make a special request of Joshua. Specifically, he wanted the land around Hebron. He said, “So now, give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there with great fortified cities” (Joshua 14:12

It is an undeniable truth that Jesus has a deep desire for his flock to live in unity. That truth comes to light in passages such as John 17:20-21. Jesus says, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Why does Jesus say it is so important for all of God’s children to b

Unless you have been hiding under a rock or vacationing in Bora Bora, you have seen the financial turmoil and craziness of the last two years. First the world economy was shut down by COVID and now we see the pain of starting up again. Gas, autos, houses and food prices are red hot and crazy. Those of us who lived through 2008 have seen the world economy almost totally fail before when the stock market went sideways and some very big, very old investment banks went bankrupt.

James asked the question, “What is your life?” Knowing James 4:14 so well, most of us jump immediately to his answer: “your life is a vapor, mist, that is here for a moment and then vanishes away.” However, is the uncertain nature of our physical lives the only way in which that question can be asked and answered? “Bro. Paul, what is YOUR life?” Is it a fair question for us to ask the apostle Paul what his life was like? What did HE do with HIS time and money? What were H

On any given day come into our kitchen and you will find notes written on a small dry erase board on our refrigerator. The words vary from love notes between Libbie and me, to grocery lists, to notes for myself. I often write notes to myself as a “to do” list. The board is a convenient place to post things to remember; memos. I have heard there are people with near photographic memories who remember everything. I don’t have one of those and I need reminders. Reminders ar

A few years ago I was visited by a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. She asked, “Are you concerned about global warming and the eternal damage that we are doing to the earth?” When I said, “No” She was visibly stunned and taken aback. “No? How can you not be concerned?” I answered, “Because the earth is not eternal; it’s a temporary creation of God and will be burned up.” “Oh no,” she replied, “the earth is God’s ultimate creation for his glory and his children will liv

The inspiration of the Bible provides lessons for life in sometimes unexpected ways. Years ago I was a guest teacher at a church camp. My assigned topic was Barnabas. Under an open air pavilion, teenagers sat around, and on, picnic tables. The sun was warm and the slight breeze made for a beautiful morning as I set the background for our study in Acts. The book of Acts is filled with passion and principles for living as seen in the lives of men and women long gone but whos

Regardless of party affiliation, most Americans watch anxiously as the votes begin to roll in for a presidential election. It is a very big deal for America and the world. Please, don’t ever forget, who is in power matters -- in the country and in the church. As Obama began his second term in 2012, marijuana was voted legal in Colorado and Washington. Same sex marriage was approved in Minnesota, Washington, Maine and Maryland. California voted a huge tax raise on residents

Do you remember playing the game “Go Fish” when you were a child? When Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John to be his disciples, he promised to make them fishers of men (Mt. 4:18-19). In giving the Great Commission, he was essentially telling them to “Go Fish.” Here are some lessons to learn from that game. You have to ask for what you want. If you want someone to come to church with you, or have a Bible study with you, you have to ask them, directly and specificall

Perhaps you can relate to this situation. Years ago I received a phone call that began with the caller saying how much they valued my knowledge, judgment and opinion, then asked if I would be willing to help them. I said I would. They proceeded to describe a situation in some detail. The issue seemed fairly straight forward and I offered my advice. However, as I spoke they interrupted several times to tell me why they thought my advice was wrong! Finally I asked, “Why d

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). This verse follows Paul’s well-known description of Jesus Christ’s ultimate example of humility. We often quote this verse, but what exactly does Paul mean when he tells Christians to ”workout” our own salvation? The Greek word “workout” means to work in order to bring something to its co

On many occasions I am asked to translate in person for somebody. But, one of the hardest things to translate are documents. One of the many documents I translate for people are documents related to vehicles, houses, etc. The people I translate for understood the basics of the documents when they signed them. But they did not know the details of the policy. One thing I have found out is that people complain about a situation they are in, because they ignored the rules of what

As I reflect on the week and the state of the world there is a lot to ponder. I don’t think I can write better words to comfort your hearts and challenge your minds than these that came from the Holy Spirit long ago. As Paul said, “Think on these things.” Tim Orbison “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity ... Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall

There they were. Three young people playing basketball. What fun they were having! Laughing, jumping, hot doggin’ it with visions of greatness in their minds. WNBA, here we come! I started counting their shots. One. Two. Three. Finally, a shot cleared the rim and then fell through the ragged net. Shouts of joy erupted, along with hand slappin’ and high fives for everyone. They kept playing. I kept count. Two shots out of ten trickled through the net. That’s only twent

Bro. Tom Holland once told a group of us a personal story about an experience of his on a mission trip in a third world country. An older woman and her son had heard the gospel and had been baptized. Bro. Holland and another brother from the States were following the woman and son back to their “home.” When they got there she just kept saying “I am so happy! I’m so happy!” Bro. Holland said as he gazed about and took inventory of the primitive “hut” that these people lived

The tree trimmers moved through Big M last year. Huntsville Utilities periodically “clears the lines” to minimize power outages by cutting back any tree or branches that could potentially fall onto a power line in a storm. Several of the maple trees in my front yard got cut back, again. They often look a little funny right after but when spring comes the trees grow back. But some of my neighbors had trees with huge holes cut out, right through the middle of a tree’s canopy.