Articles

There has been much talk concerning Social Security that has a lot of folks in a lather. The government is suggesting a variety of ways to save it or make it more viable. Some groups want to abolish it in favor of private plans, others suggest delaying retirement or having part of the S.S. payments put into private funds. With the bulk of the population rapidly approaching retirement, it...

God said it.  He said it to Joshua.  He said it three times (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9 & 18). The third time God told Joshua to be strong and courageous, He also asked him, “Have I not commanded you?”   Doesn’t that sound to you like God wanted Joshua to understand that since He had commanded him to act, that there was no reason to be timid or afraid?  Go...

When do we have the right to become children of God?   John 1:12 states “But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God even to those who believed in His name.” This verse indicates the point in time in which we have the right to become children of God. It is when we receive Him (Jesus Christ) and believe that He is the Son of God. C...

“Sticks and Stones may break my bones…but words can never hurt me!”   Remember learning that? How’s it workin’ out for you?  This was the tool I was told to use when people called me names, made fun of me, or insulted me.  It certainly has never worked for me.  It never fixed anything nor did it make me feel any better.  Nothing can...

God teaches us that it is right to punish those who do wrong. When He or those authorized by Him (see Romans 13:1-5) punish evil as He designed, it is justice. When individuals take things into their own hands, however, it is usually for revenge. Justice is a matter of comparing one’s behavior with a recognized code of behavior or law. When the law is broken, justice demands a fitting punish...

September 11th is “Grandparents Day” according to the flower and gift industry. Certainly grandparents are worthy of a bouquet or an outing at the Golden Corral but if we really want to please them, how about some things that would truly make a difference in their lives? Staying in touch and visiting on a regular basis would be nice. Cards and flowers on one day without an on-going presence only h...

These words are surely addressed to praying people-like yourself. The Apostles were praying people, who upon hearing Jesus pray, still said:“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Would you like to improve your prayer life? G. Ashton Oldham might help our prayer life, when he wrote: “Prayer is the chief agency and activity whereby men align themselves with God’s purpose. Pray...

Jesus said the above in John 7:24. We usually hear people claiming that the Bible says not to judge and they are usually making this claim having judged someone for having supposedly judged someone else. They seldom catch themselves, however. Actually, the title quote above is incomplete. Jesus’ full statement was, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgmen...

“For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.” Romans 7:19 What evil do you want to do? I have mine. You have yours. Even the apostle who wrote the above had his. Need a list? Just off the top of my head I can think of gluttony, envy, arrogance, drunkenness, promiscuity, vulgarity, adultery, physical and/or mental abuse, theft, dishonesty, bul...

I cannot recall what it was like to be in my mother’s womb. Of course at that point I was incapable of understanding any of the wonders of the created universe into which I would eventually be born. But having been born, I would never go back. As children, we always looked to the next “phase” of our lives. We wanted to play with the big kids, to go to school, to go to the next gr...

Seems like I spend an awful lot of time driving. I’m picking up kids, going to the store, running errands…how about you? Most of the time my mind is running in different directions and everything is on autopilot, and my random thoughts flash in and out of my head (most I can’t remember and count as “senior moments”). But, the other day a stop sign caught my eye. STOP...

Discouragement is something that we all, from time-to-time, face. In fact it may be all around us. At times we are faced with challenges that seem impossible, or work that can never get finished or we have too many factors against us. It might be times of indecision, financial burdens, family conflicts or the loss of our job. We may be in times when our faith in the Lord seems to be drifting away ...

You see it often in the gospels; Jesus reaching out with his hand to touch people. He touched Peter’s wife’s mother on the hand and took away her fever (Matthew 8:14-15). He touched the eyes of two blind men and gave them sight (Matthew 9:27-31). He touched the ears and the tongue of a deaf mute and gave him hear-ing and speech (Mark 7:31-35). He even touched a leper to make him clean ...

I find it interesting that there are no specified instructions for how to hold a funeral service in scripture. There isn’t anything teaching us that we must have one, nor even any direct instructions as to what to do with the body. Yet God teaches us that there is something very special about death, especially the deaths of those who die having been faithful to Him: Precious in the sight of ...

God challenged Jeremiah about 2,600 years ago: “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, if you can find a man, if there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, then I will pardon her” Jeremiah 5:1 Jerusalem was doomed because her people had abandoned God. His justice, having been building ever since Israel’s de...

To brethren, living in corrupt Corinth, Paul closes his first letter to them: “Watch ye; Stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (I Cor. 16:13 AS). William D. Poe stated: “The most important thing in the world that makes young people civilized is good old people.“¹ J. Edgar Hoover adds: “The bulwark of religious training is vital if the line is to ...

If you look around when you are outdoors, with the exception of a few rare places on the planet, what you’ll see is an amazing array of plant life. Trees of every description decorate the landscape from the umbrella shaped Parana pine to the fern-like cypress and the cartoonish baobab. There are also grasses, carpeting the ground with color, texture and beauty. Shrubs and bushes abound that ...

As I write this note, the TV in my office is presenting a program on “Electric Fish”, in particular, electric eels. As I watch and listen I cannot ignore the evidence of our God’s majesty. How can anyone see creatures like these, and deny a supreme and tremendous creator? Even the word “creature” come from the same root as “create”. They are not “evo...

God created both Adam and Eve in His image. Each of them had a divine purpose. Adam was created first according to Genesis 2:1-18 noting for us that it was not good for the man to be alone. God then made woman from the man to be his wife, but more specifically, to be his helper according to 2:19- 24. Because of the weakness of our fleshly minds, we humans tend to make this relationship competitive...

Did you ever wonder why our paths have crossed? Did our paths cross by chance or was there a purpose? Will our paths cross again? As we look at these situations let us consider why our paths may have crossed. I remember 30 years ago, though it only seem like yesterday, that I met a young man, a very likeable man who was easy to be around, easy to talk to. He had a great out look on life, one of ha...