Posts

Wednesday; May 13

Do we know what we are supposed to be doing? For the most part, living good lives doesn’t surprise us – we know good from evil. However, that does not (necessarily) settle the issue for us. Maybe a more important question is “are we doing it”? Are we doing the right things? The other day, I came across an observation made by the New Testament writer, James, who challenged, “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21). While this is pretty straightforward, I researched this verse in the King James Version and found this, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”. I don’t always appreciate the KJV, but I just love that translation – it sounds really neat! Interestingly, as I did a little deeper diving into the spirit of the older translation and found that ...
Read more

Tuesday; May 12

When Jesus was creating His earliest disciples, He challenged them to find contentment by teaching, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6). When we consider what it takes to live a fulfilled life we have to remember that it is important to be filled with the spirit of Jesus. I am thankful that when we focus on the righteousness of the Lord incredible things can happen. Yet, the other day, I heard a song by Jerry Salley that put a bit of a different spin on this concept. In His song, “Just Drink The Water” he sings this statement, “I want to do more than just drink the water, I want to take somebody else to the well.”. Wow – what an awesome thought! Sure, it’s great to fill our lives with His righteousness, but imagine the joy of helping others find what they have been missing. If we are looking to help make a difference in the lives of others, we can do it in a couple ways. First, we need to be willing to talk abou...
Read more

Monday; May 11

I hope everyone had a good Mother’s Day yesterday. If you are a mom, I hope you were able to spend time with our children and that they treated you royally. If you honored your mother, I hope that is was a time of fond memories and a chance to reconnect in a busy world. Now, while I hope yesterday was a good day, there is one more wish I have for us – I hope we all make our mothers proud everyday. The challenge of celebrating a dedicated Mother’s Day is that it almost takes the focus off of the relationship we should have other days of the year. It also tends to lead us to believe that if we give her a gift once a year, we can lighten up for the other 364 days. This is not to say that moms want gifts year-round, but once a year doesn’t cut it either. We can we give our mothers something that leaves a continuing warmth in deep down inside by doing good things and being good people. When we live like we are supposed to live and be the type of people she hopes we will be, we can fi...
Read more

Friday; May 8

 When you hear the phrase “Miss Congeniality” what comes to mind? Okay, after thinking of the Sandra Bullock movies, what comes to mind? Interestingly, I think that the modern application of “Miss Congeniality” has taken something special and made it a negative. In reality, “Miss Congeniality” comes from a prestigious honor from pageants that is voted on by contestants, not judges. It is given to the person who is helpful and supportive. Unfortunately, it is too often perceived to be some afterthought awarded somewhere after the fourth runner-up. It can be seen as something given to someone who didn’t really win anything. That is not the intent of the award, but if we aren’t careful, it can be viewed as a glorified participation ribbon. The reason I bring this up is so that we don’t become so jaded when we don’t win the grand prize that we don’t value the accolades we do get. In an era when second place or runner-up is perceived as “first loser”, we must be careful not to ...
Read more

Thursday; May 7

The other day I was digging through some of the Old Testament and found something stopped me in my tracks.  Nestled in the wisdom of Solomon was this gem, “Do not say, ‘Why is it that the former days were better than these?’  For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.” (Ecclesiastes 7:10).  I have to be honest with you, I was a little surprised to find out that nostalgia has been around for such a long time.  Ours is not the first generation to look back and remember how good things were – or at least how good we remember them to have been.  We have been fooling ourselves with faulty memories for centuries!  Now, please don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying that all advances advocated by modern society are positive, but I do think it is good to be reminded that the next generation is not necessarily the one that is leading us to sure and certain devastation!  It has been said by every generation that has come before us and, yet, we still cont...
Read more

Wednesday; May 6

When you look around at society, what comes to mind?  It is easy to be disappointed when people don’t do what we think they should do, but I have to ask, do we really think that society is dedicated to doing what is spiritual?  I think we must be careful not to expect too much.  Now, having said that, we must be careful not to write off society.  Our job is not to judge them; our responsibility is to be out there with them helping them to become what they can and should be.  The other day I heard a song by Larry Cordle that was entitled, “Lost As A Ball In High Weeds”.  As I listened to the song, my mind went back to growing up playing sandlot baseball.  Our skills were not honed, and our ballfields were not manicured, so whether it was the result of a foul ball or an overthrow we spent a lot of time hunting for a ball hidden by the high weeds.  As I thought about this scenario, I remember the challenge of looking for the lost ball amongst the sti...
Read more

Tuesday; May 5

It seems like we have weeks designated to honor all kinds of occupations, but this one is pretty special to me.   This week is National Corrections Officers and Employees week.   While those who work in our nation’s corrections systems may not be in glamour positions, they provide an incredible service and do it, mostly, behind the scenes.   While many of the people in the criminal justice system balance their time with prevention, those in corrections focus on detention.   They are the guardians who serve as a barrier between society and those who have violated the norms it established.   For some people who are incarcerated – they are being punished for what they have done and others, they are being segregated to help keep people safe. Due to what I have been able to do over the last few decades, I have been privileged to know a lot of corrections officers, and I have to tell you that I admire what they do and the way they do it.   They voluntarily lock...
Read more