Articles

You are a being of both flesh (your body) and spirit and one is constantly at odds with the other.  Each of us is a walking, talking dichotomy. Your spirit aspires to do what is right, but your flesh demands that its appetites be satisfied.  Your soul?  Your soul is the part of you that wills which one wins. Your body is made of the stuff of this present world and so ...

Be a parent rather than a friend to your children.  They will have many friends, but you are the only mom/dad they will have to lead them to the Lord. Don’t endanger your impact in fulfilling this huge responsibility by trying to be their friend.  If it turns out that you become friends, great!  But let it happen as a matter of course, only. Make your home a have...

Our nation’s Declaration of Independence has no fewer than four references to the God of the Bible.  But what of individual state documents, especially their constitutions? Each of the fifty states has a constitution.  Only three states (New Hampshire, Vermont and Virginia) have no preamble to their constitutions.  Forty-five of the states that do have preambles make ...

Around the celebration of Independence Day (July 4th), we need to remember that Solomon stated: “Righteousness exalts a nation” (Proverbs 14:34).  What that exalting process involves was well stated by a Chinese Proverb: “If there is righteousness in the heart there will be beauty in the character.  If there be beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home, there will be order in...

Why, even though I am a veteran, does it bother me to hear this? Perhaps my problem is that the new social practice of thanking veterans for military service subtly reveals that such service is not as normal as it once was. It was my privilege to grow up in a day when a high percentage of those in our communities were veterans of WWII or Korea. I also came to understand that it wasn’t only those w...

Generally speaking, the importance of our mother’s influence is so naturally understood, that it requires no explanation.  Appreciation for the profound impact made by our fathers, however, may not be realized at first. Perhaps this is at least partly because mothers connect us to home & hearth where we spend our early years, while fathers tend to be our guides into the world at large af...

This week 39 students from our congregation are going to church camp and 5 adults to help as counselors and cooks.  Some of the students are members and some are friends/family of our members.  I'd like to encourage us all to be praying for our students by name as they are at church camp this week. Some suggested things to pray about are: they grow closer to God, they are encouraged spir...

The world, the government, the family, the church — all have a common foe, who quite consistently goes undetected.  As a result humanity and homes are hurting, society is suffering, while chaos and conflicts darken and dampen our days!  Unless we “wake up” to the deeds of the Devil, our dreams will consistently become nightmares!! The Devil and his disciples invariably dress up lik...

It didn’t happen here, the things I should recall It was long ago and far away, and my memory is small It happened in Lexington, Princeton too and a place called Cowen’s Ford But none of it happened here, in my present comfortable world  Afloat on great Lake Erie, it happened late one morning And later in old Mexico, it set the tide a turning  Then thousands met at Gettysburg, ...

Ladies and Gentlemen, CONGRATULATIONS on completing your childhood!  You are now ready to cross that threshold of adulthood called "Independence".  You now will be in charge of your life, right?  You will no longer have to be under someone else's thumb.  You will be free to make as many of your own decisions as you choose.  That's a good and yet scary thing.  We are p...

First she carried us for 9 months insider her body where we kicked, pushed and stretched to make room for ourselves among all her organs.  She carried our weight and suffered the changes our existence made to her life and body and then endured the pain of birth to bring us into this world.Then began the years of middle of the night wake-ups, runny noses, gross smelly diapers, bouts of cr...

For success in life, God is your greatest ally and his people your best friends – Few things will benefit you as much as seeking out God and his people wherever life takes you.  Evil companions will corrupt good morals (1st Corinthians 15:33), while those who associate with the wise will become wise (Proverbs 13:20).  Hang with people who will make you better tha...

Paul charged the brethren at Corinth to “imitate him” (1 Cor. 11:1-GK. Mimatai...ginesthe-imperative of ginomai), and he commanded the bretheren at Phillippi (relative to what they had learned, received, heard and saw in him), “these things do” (GK. Prassete, imperative of prasso).  Those verses seem to form a pattern that charges us to follow Paul’s pattern of behavior.  Therefore, it i...

I'm on a one-man crusade against the movie industry. Here's why. The rating system will give a movie an R rating for graphic violence, sex, or repeated use of the dreaded "F" word, but relegates the profaning of the Lord's name to a benign PG13 slot. It seems that blasphemy against God is less pervasive to a young viewer than common vulgarity or simulated sex. What's even more insulting is that it...

Ever heard of the above?  Chaff is a “cloud” of foil strips or metal coated fibers ejected from an aircraft to help mask it from enemy radar.  Flares are just that, flares, hot and fiery and also designed to be ejected from an aircraft to decoy any possible heat-seeking missiles away from it. Like chaff & flares, there are many things in life that serve as distractions from wha...

I have just read the “Opinion” page of the Oklahoman (March 18, 2018, p.14A) and “Views” of several (p.15A), covering thoughts about: Teacher pay; projected strikes if demands are not met; deep concern about our leaders in the Federal Government, including pregnancy and abortion.  That reading projects a conglomerate of charges, chaos, conflicting concerns, worrisome warnings, and agitated ci...

Spring is a wonderful time of year, grass is starting to green up, flowers are starting to bloom, the trees are budding, and my nose is going crazy from the wonderful Oklahoma allergies.  But despite the allergies, I still really enjoy Spring because it reminds me of renewal.  The power in fresh starts, new beginnings, new life. Today on Easter Sunday, we put an extra emphasis on the res...

In almost every edition of the weekly church bulletin there is a call for some kind of assistance.  Sometimes it is for teachers or some person to help clean the building.  At other times, we need a member to visit the sick or bring communion to a brother or sister who is a shut-in.  Whatever the situation we are usually asking someone to give up their time and energy, perhaps even ...

So many things in life disgust me! I watch the news and see things like the recent school shooting in south Florida and I'm disgusted.  I see people mistreating babies and animals and I'm disgusted.  I see criminals turned back onto the streets to commit more crimes and I'm disgusted.  I watch people act as if they are the only ones who make a difference, the only ones who coun...

I work on the premise that children know they are supposed to be corrected.  I believe that since their little minds are designed and created by God, they are divinely tuned to receive Godly instruction and correction in their behavior. Mind you, they are not mature enough to appreciate it, but they are wired to respond positively to it nonetheless.  Children will naturally com...