Think About It

Throughout my life I have been exposed to a lot of wisdom.  Some of it came in deep discussions with wise people and some of it came from digesting pages of well written thoughts.  Yet, some of the most applicable truisms come from simple observations.  Some of them may have been said to me and I may have read a few on bumper stickers, but they all contain nuggets of sagacious wealth: 1.  You are never as good as your supporters tell you, nor are you as useless as your critics profess .  Some people have the ability to assess objectively, but many have an agenda – either good or bad.  Let’s be cautious in reading our reviews. 2.  When you believe you are important, try ordering around someone else’s dog .  Often our leadership is found in the relationships we build (both with our pets and our people), not in our own innate talent.  Let’s be committed to being humble, especially around those with whom we don’t have a relationship. 3....

Have you ever been filled with angst then, all of a sudden, someone comes and offers assistance?  Maybe it was being worried about something and someone provided an insightful word of advice.  It could have been struggling with our children, then a trusted friend offered to help us (either they providing us respite or words of wisdom).  Maybe it was facing uncertain future and a righteous person came along and prayed with us.  No matter the situation, most of us have been wound up about something when, just at the right time, someone else provided us with exactly what we needed to alleviate the tension.  While these interventions can be viewed as God-sends, have you ever thought why we received that blessing?  The most obvious answer is that the assistance was something we needed at the moment, but there maybe something else – could it be that we were being prepared for the future?  The Apostle Paul reminds us, “ Blessed be the God and Fathe...

Of all the holidays celebrated in the United States, the most uniquely ours is the Fourth of July.  This mid-summer observance doesn’t just honor the date of a proclamation, it also symbolizes the principles upon which our nation stands.  The day isn’t just about fireworks and fresh watermelon, it captures the heart of a moment that shocked the 18 th Century world and shaped the history of the last two centuries.  Today is a neat day for the United States. Throughout today we will hear words like liberty, freedom, justice and equality.  Even though these are incredible words, they are shallow without the meaning attached to them.  It isn’t enough to stitch these words on a throw pillow or plaster them on a bumper sticker, we must understand the concepts and defend them in each element of our lives.  Many people have fought and died for these principles and there are still a lot of people around our world who would be willing to give up all they have to ...

        When someone asks us to pray for them most of us are more than happy to oblige.  We are willing to support one another and often their request is pretty straightforward – they ask us to pray that a disease is cured, a burden is lifted or a blessing is granted.  While these prayers are pretty focused, what happens when they ask us to pray for them and don’t give us any directions?  Sometimes they may not know what they want, other times they may have conflicting options or there might be a few times when they don’t know how to put into words what they want.  There may even be a few times when they ask us to pray for something and our wisdom tells us that what they are seeking is not in their best interest.  What do we do when there is no direction or conflicting directions? When it comes to these times of prayer, there are at least two things we can do.  First (and always) we should be praying that the Lord’s will be done....

There are a couple of ways to wage war … one is to rely upon strength and might and go toe-to-toe with the enemy.  This might be an effective strategy for those forces with superior numbers or advanced technology; but, what about a David facing a Goliath?  The concept of waging war as an underdog is called “guerilla warfare”.  This type of approach uses things such as imagination, passion, speed and mobility to wage war on a “superior force”.  Rather than relying upon a few major battles to win the war, the guerilla forces take the fight to their adversary using quick strikes and skirmishes to accomplish their goals. While military history is full of these tactics I got to thinking about this concept within the context of our spiritual battle.  While it is true that, as Christians, we serve the All-Powerful God there are many times when we are outnumbered by the forces of satan.  He has the numbers and the conventional power of temptation, sin, greed, im...

        In early September, 1935 one of the strongest hurricanes to ever develop in the Northern Hemisphere was just off the Florida coast.  At the time, hundreds of U. S. Military veterans were working on a project to bring rail travel to the southernmost part of the United States.  Weather forecasting was not as sophisticated as it is now, often relying on hunches and history to supplement scientific data.  The area was not serviced by an adequate highway system and the only reliable transportation was the railway.  On Labor Day all of these factors came together in a horrific event that took the lives of almost 500 people; half of whom were the veterans working in the WPA Camp.  A train was sent from Miami to Islamorada to rescue those in harm’s way, but it was too little, too late.  The train, the camp, the railway and the community were destroyed.  In retrospect, there wasn’t much that could have averted the property damage to...

        When the Apostle Paul wrote to a young minister he was mentoring he painted a rather grim picture.  He began by warning him, “… i n the last days difficult times will come.   For men will be   lovers of self,   lovers of  money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents,   ungrateful,   unholy,   unloving, irreconcilable,   malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal,   haters of good,   treacherous,   reckless,   conceited,   lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of   godliness, although they have   denied its power …”.  (II Timothy 3:2-5)  If that wasn’t bad enough, he went on to caution, “… evil men and impostors   will proceed   from bad   to worse,   deceiving and being deceived ”. (II Timothy 3:13)  That sounds pretty rough doesn’t it?  Could there be any hope for him as a Christian or for the...