Think About It

I do my best to not allow my personal biases derail our time together too much, but every-once-in-a-while I find myself climbing on a soapbox.  Spoiler alert - today is one of those days.  I will be blunt, I am not a big fan Halloween.  No, I don’t think it is wrong to allow our children to canvass the neighborhood begging (or threatening people) for candy, but I think we must also be cautious about its dark side.  First of all, we must be careful that the day doesn’t become an excuse for destruction or debauchery.  Yet, another word of warning – we must be careful not to ignore the dark side of the spirit world.  Any day that honors the presence of the devil or dabbles in the unknowns of the spirit world in a positive way should be viewed with caution.  Folks, I don’t want to be the fun-police, but I also don’t want us to trivialize something that might be offensive to God.  I realize this comes from the Old Testament, but God warned the Israe...

Through the years I have mused that is much easier being a man than a woman; but, in today’s world, that tongue-in-cheek remark is dangerous.  In an age of scandal, accusation and accountability, being a man has taken on a whole new tone of sobriety.   Our society – from sociologists to politicians to entertainers to everyone else – is calling upon men to step up and be responsible.  We are being told that we must treat women with respect and hold other men accountable for their actions.  We have been promised that childish and inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated.  But, you know what – as I go back and reread this paragraph – what I see is what has always been expected for a man to be a man!  It has never been okay to degrade women.  Real men have always been challenged to be responsible; to support and encourage their families, their neighbors and their co-workers.  Some people may have carelessly tried to redefine what it means ...

          Through the years I have had to opportunity to work with audio and video media and I learned a couple of things: First, it is not as glamorous as it might appear and, second, I am thankful for the digital age because when film and tape were involved the process was a whole lot more difficult (and I know that because I messed up a lot). All-in-all, I think I would much rather do something live because once it is done it is done – with recorded media we  strive for perfection and never attain it. In fact, when I get into a negative emotional cycle I almost expect to make a mistake which causes me to lose concentration and guess what – I mess it up. Even when I get a usable recording it is easy to find the flaws.           The reason I bring this up is to expose the critical nature of humanity. While we all know that no one is perfect, it is tempting to expect it, then be disappointed when we don’t get it. Interestingly, ...

Over the last several months I have been concerned about the state of affairs in our society.  It seems like there is just so much going on that makes us wonder if there this any hope.  Well, after giving it a lot of thought, I came up with a brilliant (but simple) idea … people should start thinking better.  In fact, if they would just start thinking like me, all of life’s problems would be settled and we could move on in our quest for utopia! After reading the preceding paragraph I imagine that you are either unrolling your eyeballs from the back of your head (if you are still with me) or you are laughing hysterically!  While the thoughts are tongue-in-cheek, they hit a bit too closely to reality.  Have you ever heard the phase, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up.”?  It sounds silly, but often it is just sad.  We talk a good game when it comes to seeking wisdom and engaging in meaningful discussions, but what does that re...

When I was younger I loved the fall because I knew that the frigid weather of winter was right around the corner.  I really enjoyed the cold and snow, so the sooner we got to it the better.  In fact when the autumn temperatures were warmer than usual, I almost felt cheated.  Now, after spending several years in some pretty cold climates, rarely do I feel shortchanged by warm weather.  In fact, the longer we can put off the cold the better I like it.  I guess as my life ages, my perspective changes. When I was younger there were several Bible passages that challenged me.  One was found in the New Testament book of Philippians, “ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.   But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.   But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that...

I have been a Texas Rangers fan for most of my adult life, but for the next several days I am going to be a vocal supporter of the other team from the Lone Star state.  Though the years I have watched as the Houston Astros have fielded some really bad teams – in fact, a few years ago I actually felt bad for the franchise – but, this year is different, it is something special.  As you look at the 2017 version of the Astros you don’t see a lot of long time, big name superstars, but you do see a bunch of good players willing to come together at this moment in their careers and make something happen.  As I thought about this year’s Astros team it got me to thinking about another rag-tag group of people who had some success.  Did you ever notice that Jesus didn’t have a lot of high-profile religious personalities amongst His closest disciples?  As He configured a team that would change the world, He found people who were willing to pull together and follow Him tow...

          I don’t often quote modern pundits (much less stars), but the other day a quote from Tom Hanks caught my eye.  When he was honored by the National Archives Foundation with the "Records of Achievement Award" CNN quoted Hanks as saying, "’People are upset about what's going on today. They're furious, they're frustrated, they're worked up,’ Hanks said. ‘If you're concerned about what's going on today, read history and figure out what to do because it's all right there.’".  As I reflected on Hanks’ comments it got me to thinking about the greatest reference of all times, the Bible.  I would imagine that most of us would agree that our nation and our society are facing struggles, but the Bible helps to put things in perspective.  In the years leading up to the time of Noah (and the flood) the Bible notes, “ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his he...