Surrender is a word that has taken on a generally negative connotation. For many, it has become synonymous with defeat or failure. Consider some of the dictionary definitions of the word: Cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority. Give up or hand...
A friend recently pointed out something very important from Genesis Chapter 1. It wasn’t anything I didn’t know, but the Holy Spirit used my friend to show me the verses in a new light. As God creates all that we know there is a common...
I vividly remember a Thanksgiving Day some 25 years ago. I don’t remember the meal or the weather, or the football games. I remember that our younger child, two or three years old, went missing. I remember the stages we went through. Calmly looking, calling...
I recently struck up a conversation with a man in a park. I mentioned that I was a pastor and after a brief conversation he revealed that he drank and smoked and asked if he would be welcomed in my church. I jokingly pointed out...
I will soon turn 61 years old. I remember when I thought that was old. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things I don’t remember these days. Perhaps the most frustrating memory lapses are when I forget passwords to online sites. And just this week,...
An old friend from college recently posted something on Facebook that held within it much more than first meets the eye: “People who wonder if the glass is half-empty or half-full miss the point. The glass is refillable.” This post was alcohol-themed, but I replied...
Who shot J.R.? That’s a short sentence that in 1980 created a television tradition that continues to this day: the season-ending cliffhanger. “Dallas” was one of the most-watched series on television at the time and much of America spent that summer waiting for the answer....
I recently discovered that two passages in the Bible create perfect bookends for my life. When I was a young boy, I was very strong in the Catholic faith. I asked for and received a Bible (which I still own) for Christmas when I was...
A friend recently told me that attendance is declining at their church. When I asked why, there were several reasons given. But the first was the worship music. Often people cite environmental rather than spiritual reasons for leaving a church or attending less regularly. “The...
Have you ever flown in a commercial jet when it was raining at takeoff? There is something amazing about slowly rising above the storm. If it happens during the day, it’s a special treat. For you, it’s suddenly a sunny day. Those below are wrestling...