Think About It

I don’t like traffic lights. It seems that whenever I am trying to get somewhere, they are always against me. About the time I am making progress, they stop me and I have to wait for what seems like an extortionately long time. They stop the long line of cars on the road I am traveling just so one or two other cars can enter traffic. If I had my way about it, I would eliminate traffic lights – well, at least in my lane of traffic. While the preceding paragraph is written somewhat tongue in cheek, there is an element of truth to it. Just watch as people get stopped by a traffic light: many of them bang their fist on the steering wheel, some yell some not-so-nice words and others just speed up and try to make their way through them before the light turns “too” red. While we sit there we are impatient, and we are quick out of starting blocks when the light turns green. The other day, as I was fussing about being stuck at a traffic light, I got to thinking about why I was upset...

One of the more consistent parts of godly religion is the presence of sacrifice. In the Old Testament, animal sacrifice was part of the Jewish religion. Personal and national sacrifice helped to appease God and cement the relationship He had with His people, Israel. When Jesus came to earth, sacrifice took on a new perspective. Jesus, the Perfect Lamb of God, became the once-and-forever sacrifice that covered all of our sins. Yet, interestingly, the idea of individual sacrifice did not completely go away. No, it no longer centered around leading a lamb to slaughter, it became something done on a more personal level. An example of this is found in Hebrews 13:15-16, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”. We, not our critters, have become the focus of sacrifice to God. In this passage we find multiple...

In honor of George Washington’s birthday, I was looking through some of his quotes and came across an interesting one, “Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.”. Apparently, this was written in a letter to address a situation were certain people were being misled – either intentionally or through ignorance. Either way, the truth needed to surface; but it wasn’t going to be an easy process. As I thought about this observation, I got to thinking about how true it is in modern society. Folks, there is a lot of misinformation in our world today. Some of it is intentional – designed to mislead people – while some of it is believed out of lack of knowledge. Either way, the result is the same. When we follow deception, we will end up lost. We can have the best or worst of intentions, but without truth we will never be able to make good or right decisions. While we might think that truth is so obvious that it would be easy to find, but in all honesty...

Do we love our fellow man? I men do we really love our fellow man? We all know that we should (it is the right thing to do) and most of us know that we must (because Jesus said so), but do we do it? It is easy to give lip service to love, but when was the last time we actually sat down and evaluated what love really is? Thankfully, we have a succinct reminder in God’s Word, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (I Corinthians 13:4-7). Are we doing these things? Are we showing the type of support to the people around us – those we like and those we don’t? It is easy to get lulled into a spiritual complacency that flippantly asserts our love for one another, but let’s make s...

I love to travel. In fact, I think that was why 2020 was so difficult on me – I couldn’t go on a couple of trips we had hoped. Not only do I like to travel, I like to plan travel. I am one of those people who will spend hours trying to find the best deals, the best flights, the best accommodations. It is sort of an odd version of hide-and-seek. Now, while I enjoy the game, I also find that I can get overwhelmed by it. With so many choices, I tend to find it hard to make a decision. Interestingly, it’s not that there aren’t ample choices, my problem is that there are a lot of choices – I just want to make the best one. If I am not careful, I get to the point where the fun and games of travel planning turn into anxiety. Isn’t that silly? Yes, it is … except on those nights when I am up to all hours of the morning trying the find the perfect selection. Now, the reason I share this with you – in addition to be a confession – is that I came across a good reminder the other day. ...

One of my favorite Bible sections to use during a funeral is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Most people might remember the passage because it provided the framework for the Byrds song, “Turn, Turn, Turn”; yet, it stands out to me as a reminder of the transition of life. As the wise man says, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven …” (v. 1). Most often, I reflect on the first few verses of the passage, but the other day, I was struck by an interesting phrase, “A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away.” (v. 6). As often as I have used this as a message of comfort, I had never really thought about how this section could encourage people who have lost someone – then, it struck me. So often, people try to hold on to those they love. Not only do they try hang on to life, but in do so, they also hold on to grief or lost opportunities. “If I would have only … they might not have died.”. “If I wou...

One of my favorite cop shows of all time is Dragnet. While there have been several iterations of the show, the common theme is Jack Webb playing Joe Friday. There are times when the acting was stiff and the message appears archaic, but I still like the show. The other day I was watching an older version of the show – from the 1950s – that dealt with young people and drugs (well now, maybe the show isn’t as corny as we make it out to be). In this episode a teenager takes a lethal dose of an illicit drug and dies in a park. As Friday assesses the situation, he offers this sentiment, “He was a good-looking boy – too young to be dead. You could argue that for a week, but you couldn’t change it.”. As I thought about what he said, I realized the observation was timeless. We can talk all we want about the waste of life, we can theorize about how things like this shouldn’t happen, we can lament the loss of potential; but all too often, we stand over it – having to deal with the realit...