Elijah is one of the most intriguing characters in the OT. Rising out of obscurity in 1 Kings 17 during the days of Ahab and Jezebel, he becomes the central figure of the narrative between chapters 17 -19 and picks up again as such in 2 Kings 1-2. From earliest Sunday School days, children have …
New Year’s Eve: 2100
I now have 10 precious grandchildren. Each one of them has been born in the past seven years. That means that if the Lord tarries his coming and they live healthy life expectancies, the oldest of them, Dray, would be 87 when the year 2100 is christened. It is not an impossible thought that all …
God’s Calyxes
For many long years I have been reading the Bible. I’ve probably read from Genesis to Revelation somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 times. Yet, there are still things I read that confuse me and about which I do not have a grasp. So, I was reading through Exodus recently and kept coming across this …
The Right Stuff
It was 1983 when a movie entitled “The Right Stuff” came out. Can it really be that long ago now that such a “contemporary” movie came out? Anyway, if you have never seen it, it chronicles the breed of men called “test pilots” out of whom came the first Americans in space. They came to …
…and Peter
One of the dearest and most cherished aspects of the character of God is his tenderness toward wounded sheep. While mythological deities and pagan gods were often petulant, resentful, and retributive (tit for tat), the God of the Bible is presented as “bending over backwards” for those who are distressed by sin and truly repentant. …
Our Hope, His Holiness
1 Chronicles 16:29 says, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.” Isa. 6:3 “And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" As is …
I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up
I am now 65. Ticks me off! I’m not ticked because I’ve lived 65 years of a good life. I’m ticked because that famous catch phrase, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up”, now applies to me. It comes from the Life Alert people who sell devices that you wear that will connect you to …
Perspective: A River’s Just a River
Since my early teen years, I’ve been a big fan of Broadway Musicals. I played in a production of The Music Man during my High School years and ever since then I have loved so many of the songs that carry the narrative of the story in a musical. This is not to say I …
The Choicest Beaches
Some of the greatest memories of our family times as our children were growing up are connected to Lake Michigan. Not unusual for a Michigan family born and bred. But the several times we vacationed as a family that resonate in my memory were at places like Silver Lake, Little Sable Pointe, Ludington, Grand Haven, …
Can’t Stand Prosperity
Prosperity! The very word conjures up myriad definitions and concepts. Prosperity means different things to different people. The word in general has a positive connotation, kind of akin to “human flourishing”. Its most common meaning is “success, affluence, wealth, fortune” in connection with material prosperity. This is the way most in America, and in most …
