Articles

I don’t know how many times someone has come to me after I’ve preached a sermon and said, “I thought you were talking directly to me, because that is exactly what I needed to hear”.  Hey, it isn’t me.  Sure, I’d like to take credit for such, but I just preach the word as best I can (well, I’m sure I often fail to even do that) and it hits home with power where it lands on ...

I hated the Toronto Maple Leafs. Back in the fifties and sixties they were the arch rivals of the Montreal Canadiens when hockey in Canada only had six teams. My dislike of the Leafs stemmed less from hometown prejudice than their style of play. You see, Toronto was notorious for “sitting on the puck.” In hockey language of the day, this term described a team that would immedia...

It occurred to me on my last road trip, how much I rely on my rearview mirrors.  If you count the little, round convex ones, I have 5 mirrors on my car to keep track of what’s behind me and where I’ve been.  I check them often trying to consciously keep aware of the possible hazards behind me.  At the same time, I have to remind myself that whatever is behind me is importa...

Matthew recorded in his gospel exactly what our Lord said should be our focus: “But seek first His (God’s) kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”,  6:33. May I step out of my norm and offer a personal testimony?All of my growing-up years my mom went to church and took me with her.She never willingly missed a Sunday morning worship assembly.  But th...

Last minute Christmas sales and talk of the “fiscal cliff” were brutally replaced by headlines reporting that twenty children and six adults were murdered in a Connecticut elementary school last week. The President wept as he noted that, “We have been through this too many times…” and editorialists recharged their arguments for or against gun control.There was the anguished search for re...

The apostle Thomas is often remembered as a doubter because he refused to believe in the resurrection until he saw Jesus for himself, according to the gospel of John 20:19-29.Earlier, however, when Jesus had determined to return to Judea where his life was in danger it was Thomas who said to the rest of the apostles, "Let us go also, that we may die with him", John 11:16. Any way you cut it, that’...

Recently, on a cool fall morning, I awoke to the sound of my own breathing. Not snoring (although that has also happened before), this was the normal rhythmic sound of air entering and exiting my lungs. As I lay there wrapped cozily in my blanket and with my eyes closed, I couldn’t help but think of David’s words in Ps 139:14... “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelou...

When is the last time you made a proclamation?  Don’t be fooled by the official sound of the word.  It simply means to announce something publicly.Everything we do proclaims something about what we believe.  This fact makes it possible for every Christian to proclaim their faith in Jesus and their love for His bride, the church, to the whole world without saying a wor...

Moments of meditation on the Day of Thanksgiving, Echo Gratitude to be in the land of the living; A beautiful Sunrise or Sunset I was able to behold, Is more precious than a dapper-dressed body in a casket of Gold! If a hunger for riches should grow in You or Me,Would sparking diamonds satisfy before eyes that could not see? How wonderful that God created the gift of sight, Enabling us to read and...

I’m talking about the distance between sinners and God’s judgment. The phrase “stand in the gap” is taken from one of God’s messages to Ezekiel: I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30 It is a use of military imagery. The idea is that the wall of a city is breached at ...

Paul wrote a clear and detailed denunciation of the practices of homo- sexuality and lesbianism in Romans 1:18-32. In verse 32 he also wrote: ...and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (emphasis mine) Paul, the author of the above through the inspiratio...

There’s a “For Rent” sign in front of a house near my home. It’s for rent because the young mother who lived there with her husband and two young children com- mitted suicide recently. Her family has moved out and put the house up for rent. I think of her every time I drive by on my way to and from work and see that sad little sign. Here I am not one hundred yards from her front door, a two minute...

Two of the definitions the Merriam-Webster dictionary offers for entropy are: The degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity A process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder Entropy is the second law in the science of thermodynamics. It is not the kind of law you can choose to disobey. You and I are completely and totally subject to...

It is obvious that culture in this country is becoming more corrupt and carnal. Even people outside of Christ recognize the fact. Prisons and prisoners, addicts and drug dealers, pre-marital sex and out of marriage pregnancies, homosexuals and lesbians, robbers and rapists, car thefts and home break-ins, embezzlers and evil, crude speech — ALL ARE ON THE INCREASE! Since "evil companionships corrup...

I'm not a sports junkie, but being from West Virginia it does my heart good to see the Mountaineers having a good year in football. The game they played against Baylor on September 29th, 2012 is now an important part of their history. It was not just a good game for West Virginia, however. Yes, they won it 70-63 (whew!), but starting quarterbacks for both teams broke school records for passing yar...

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”- Jesus, Luke 12:48Never before in human history has there been such an opportunity to read, study and understand God’s word than there is right now in the United States of America.  Never!There is more literacy in the English language and more freedom and re...

You may have already seen this; it’s been around before, but certainly worth an- other look.Statistics Don’t Lie! Here’s how to stay safe in this world today, and prepare for the next. Avoid riding in automobiles...they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents. Do not stay at home because....17% of all accidents occur in the home. Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks...14% of all accidents ...

You know you’re a senior when the kid at the box office doesn’t want to see proof of age when you ask for the senior discount at the movies.  This scene along with the other signs of age have gotten me thinking about the future and what I want and don’t want as I go from being a senior to just being old.1. I Don’t Want Fake IndependenceI do not want to force my children to main...

He said His word, that is His teachings, are the rock upon which we must build our lives if we want them to withstand the storms of life:  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  - Matthew 7:24 After Hurricane Andrew blew through Florida in 1992 a film crew was surveying the da...

“An irate parent phoned her little boy’s Sunday school teacher. ‘Is it true that you told all the kids that they were crazy?’ she demanded. ‘No, I didn’t’, the teacher replied, ‘but I did tell them they should all be committed.’”¹The above quotation presents a two-fold problem: 1. Some words (like committed” have a dual meaning that can beget confusion! 2. We do need more children a...