There are many things in life in which we engage, traffic, observe, and function, which we do not love. For instance, I think of the many over the years who do not love their jobs, but out of necessity they keep them. When I pastored up in Columbiaville starting in 1981, most all the men …
The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree
We’ve all heard the saying, “The apple didn’t fall far from the tree”, when describing traits of a son or daughter who reflect characteristics of one of their parents. The idea of course is that there is an obvious connection of likeness whether that is in the realm of the physical, in terms of personality, …
Kisses
You remember the old song by Louis Armstrong; “As Time Goes By”? The famous opening lyrics are: You must remember thisA kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sighThe fundamental things applyAs time goes by But I wonder if a kiss is just a kiss. In August we enjoyed a family vacation …
Loving Jesus More
Love! Wow! Has there ever been a more poignant theme as love? We are told by some that “love makes the world go round”. There are many different kinds of love. There is sacrificial love, friendship love, and erotic love. And there are many things to love in the world. Some of things people love …
The Balm in Gilead
What if you were sick? I mean really sick with a serious life-threatening disease. But thankfully, there was a physician who was expert in the disease you were suffering and her cure rate was 100%. Moreover, this doctor was available. She lived right in your area and there was a spot open on her schedule …
Bandwagon Christianity
There is a phenomenon that has become idiomatic in our culture called “jumping on the bandwagon”. The phrase was first seen in 1848, when a famous clown named Dan Rice would use his horse drawn circus bandwagon to transport politicians around town while the music attracted the public to an area where campaign speeches were …
Auto Correcting Damnation
Who does not love auto-check features of grammar check and spell check on our devices, right? I am a fairly good grammarian when I write. While I do not know English grammar rules meticulously, I can write and speak correctly. But in terms of spelling, not so much. I am not an innate speller. There …
Proverbial Admonitions
I spend a lot of my “spare” time reading the Bible. So, as I sat down to do some Bible reading, I found myself in Proverbs and my eyes and thoughts alighted on Proverbs 22:22-25. One of the struggles we have with Proverbs is that our model of interpretation is often skewed from the start. …
Criminalizing Christianity
Did you realize that down through history, Christianity has been led by notable criminals? Starting with Jesus, who was crucified on a Roman cross as a criminal, to the Apostles, all who died a criminal’s death save John (who died in exile on the isle of Patmos), to the many like Jon Hus, William Tyndale, …
The Americanization of Christianity
Over the years, publishers have come up with many different ways to “market” the Bible. Some have thought that any new translation into modern language is some kind of a ploy to sell more Bibles. I am not of that opinion. New, conservative, and orthodox translations that have come out in the last 110+ years …
