According to an often repeated story, legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi, once expressed his frustration by stopping practice and saying to his Green Bay Packer professionals something like, “Let’s start at the beginning. This is a football. These are the yard markers. I’m the coach. You are the players.” (Although I haven’t been able to […]
One of the most memorable church services I ever attended was a communion service preceded by a message on a controversial war. A young pastor began by honoring those members of the congregation who had family members or friends serving in our country’s military. Then he paid an equal tribute to those within the church […]
The hyrax (also called a coney or rock badger) is a rodent-like creature mentioned at least four times in the Bible and still common in certain regions of Africa and the Middle East. I caught a picture of this one a few years ago while visiting En-Gedi on the western Shore of the Dead Sea. […]
What if everyone who confessed to being a follower of Christ would agree to, and then to comply with, the following terms of political engagement? To avoid denying our citizenship in the kingdom of God, and to reflect well on the real Leader of our lives, We will be so committed to truth telling that […]
The Prophet Zechariah makes some arresting statements about the Feast of Tabernacles when he predicts regarding the end times, “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, […]
Today, on the 15th of October, 2008, Jewish people around the world are celebrating Sukkot (the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles). Once again a nation is remembering how God provided for ancestors under the severe conditions of a barren wilderness. For the people of Israel, this seventh and last of an annual cycle of Jewish […]
In my last post I referred to #4 of 12 Step Recovery that says, “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” Then I used Paul’s letter to the Romans as a basis for some soul searching. In the process of taking my own inventory, I sensed again why 12 Step Recovery has been […]
Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” And Step Four of 12 Step Recovery talks about making “a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” Both resonate with the wisdom of Jesus. So, if we haven’t already been doing so, how different would our lives be if, once a week, we asked our […]
Years ago I saw a colorful poster that said: “Jesus of Nazareth requests the pleasure of your company at a dinner to be given in his honor.” The fact that the poster hung in a public place seemed so appropriate. The Jesus of the New Testament offered his friendship to everyone (John 3:16). But it’s […]
With global markets sliding, banks failing, and personal questions about employment, retirement accounts, and home mortgages multiplying, it’s not surprising that many of us have been worrying more than usual. Sometimes my thoughts echo the person who said, “If you’re not worried, you don’t know what’s happening.” On the other hand, we’ve all found that […]
