Think About It

Well, we made it – the last day of 2020. When we began this year, I think most of us were already a little bit stirred up. We were inundated with the news of the presidential impeachment process. Most of us were dreading the upcoming elections that were still almost a year away. The vast majority of people had not heard of George Floyd, but there was already an undercurrent of social disunity. 2020 did not necessarily get started on a positive note; but once we got a quarter of the way into the year, we realized how bad it was going to get! Folks, I am going to do everything I can to put 2020 behind me, but before I venture into 2021, I think I need some reflection. So, what do I take away from the past year? Maybe the most important lesson I have learned is to understand that human life is fragile and unpredictable. We can make all the plans we want (and, believe me, I did); but our plans are just expectations that we will be able to do something in the future. Planning is ...

How do we deal with all the negative information out in our world? While I would like to blame today’s society for inventing negativism, it has always been around. Ever since mankind began to assess life, pessimism has been a constant nemesis. In fact, every so often I like to go back to Jacob’s assessment of his life to help regain perspective on mine. Here is one of the great men of faith of the Bible and this is how he described his journey, “So Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.’” (Genesis 47:9). Yep, part of the human condition is seeing a half empty glass. So how do we deal with the temptation to see the worst in life? Here are a few suggestions: 1. When you hear negative news, consider if it will directly impact yo u. While we need to be empathetic, we cannot carry everyone’s burdens ...

In a normal year, I would probably be encouraging you to relax, take some time away from the people around you and relax. Typically, the holidays are filled with the stress of appointments and visitors, but this year, we are craving those things. We wish we could enjoy those family gatherings and office parties; but the reality is that we are probably still several weeks (if not months) away from larger gatherings. So, as we approach those cold, dark days of winter without the ability to interact the way we would like, how do we maintain our connections and overcome our loneliness? 1. Keep continued contact with people . If you feel comfortable with small socially distant interactions, take advantage of them. Rather than hosting a huge weekly gathering, spend a few minutes every so often visiting with people. Again, it doesn’t have to be a long time, but even a couple minutes spent interacting with living, breathing people can have a positive effect on us. 2. Write letters . L...

Do we believe that we could wake up tomorrow and the virus would be gone? Do we really believe that we could wake up tomorrow and the virus would be gone? Now, I do not have any inside information; but this does give us a real application to our level of faith! Do we believe that – if God chose to do so – He could eradicate COVID-19 from our planet? If so, this is the type of faith that Jesus was talking about in Matthew 17:20 when He told the disciples, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”. While there has been some discussion as to whether this challenge was applicable to all believers or just to the original apostles, it does give us insight into what faith can do for us. After all, what kind of faith did it take for a small, regional band of believers to spread the message of Jesus aroun...

Can you imagine standing in a pitch-black field, then all of a sudden having some spectacular being proclaim, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)? If that wasn’t enough, out of nowhere come multitudes of other heavenly beings shouting, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:14). While I can’t speak for you, I imagine I would have done exactly what those shepherds did – first, I would have shaken in my boots from fear … then I would have said, “I gotta see this” and headed off to Bethlehem. Every time I hear this story, I am a little bit jealous of those shepherds – wouldn’t it have been great to have seen (and heard) what they did? While the sights and sounds of the bi...

What are some of your most special holiday memories? While I do remember a few gifts, some of my most important memories involve more of who I was with than what I got. Our family often lived quite a ways away from the rest of the family, but periodically, we would travel back to South Florida for Christmas. (Even to this day, my thought a White Christmas is more about sand than snow.) We would spend Christmas Eve with my Mom’s family and Christmas Day with my Dad’s parents. More often than not, the Christmas Day dinner involved traditional fare, but Christmas Eve was highlighted by fresh fish and oysters. There were Christmas cookies and holiday cakes at the Schurmann gatherings and egg nog (made with ice cream) at the Whartons. There were a lot of people (and a bunch of kids) at one place and often it was just our family at my other grandparent’s house. Fifty years later, I can still remember waiting our turn to unwrap the presents that sat under the metallic tree at one place and t...

One of the things I have missed out on over the last few months is that ability to do public speaking. I am blessed to be able to preach on Sundays, but I also enjoy going out and doing training for people around the community and throughout the nation. I was invited to share at three conferences this year; but, unfortunately all of them had to be canceled. So, when I was given the opportunity to speak to a local group, I jumped at it … then came the reality – I was supposed to address the group at 5:00 a.m. (yes, that is 5:00 IN THE MORNING). Due to the nature of the material I was presenting, and the groups I was presenting to, I was going to have to get up at 0-dark-thirty, drive an hour and be ready to go before sunup! I was feeling pretty bummed about this, until I realized something – I get to speak in front of a group … this is what I had been hoping for … no matter what time of day it was. As I thought about my challenge, I got to thinking about the Old Testament prophet I...