Think About It

One of the things that irritates me is going into a store and buying an electronic tool (okay, it’s probably more apt to be a toy), then being asked if I want to add an extended warranty to go along with it? Sure, if it were free, I’d be happy to take it; but there is generally a caveat that it is going to cost me another $29.95. If you ever see me in line and you hear me muttering to the clerk or the automatic checkout cashier, I am probably merely saying, “No, I just want it to work.”. I don’t want extra protection; I just want the product to last long enough to do what it supposed to be doing. I am not in the market for a guarantee, I am just wanting to buy a product that lives up to what it says on the box for a reasonable period of time. The reason for my sharing this pet peeve of mine is I wonder if God ever gets frustrated with us? He has offered to provide us with forgiveness and a value-packed life … all we need to do is do what we are supposed to do! He isn’t interest...

When I was a youngster, I grew up around church with all the religious sounding words and concepts. Growing up when and where I did, words like repentance, baptism, faith and reconciliation were pretty commonplace. I may have even been able to say words like “propitiation”, but it probably took a few more years to full appreciate their concepts. While I was familiar with many of the spiritually sounding words, I may not have been as entuned to them as I could have been. Take for example, the word “love”. What did it mean to “love your neighbor”? I think I was in high school when my mom provided a simple definition of love when she said it was wanting the best for the people around you. Wow – that made the idea of biblical love so much easier to grasp. Over the last few years, I have done a lot of work in the area of leadership. In fact, I have even become adept at using some of the terms such as “servant leadership”, “resonant leadership” … even “level five leadership”. But ...

It was on a Tuesday twenty years ago that the world seemed to be plugging along just like any other Tuesday. Some people in New York were voting in local elections, people in the Washington D. C. area were commuting to work. Farmers were working the fields all around the country – even in western Pennsylvania. In Pierre, South Dakota we were getting ready for our High School Homecoming and a major community event that was expected to bring thousands of people into the capital city. Then – in a matter of minutes – it all changed. As four planes were transformed into bombs, our nation and our history was forever altered. This year, September 11 is on a Saturday, but that year it was an unassuming Tuesday that produced a drama unmatched in our generation. Many of us will be thinking about 9/11/2001 this week and, as we do, I would like to add something to the mix. As we look back at that sad day in history, I want us to also look ahead to another dramatic event. Several Christian...

To say that the last eighteen months have been difficult would be an understatement. Not to say that the last year and half has been difficult on the workforce would be insensitive. The last couple of years has presented previously unimaginable challenges to American workers. Workplace safety took on a whole new meaning. Working in “silos” became more of a reference to workplace isolation than an agricultural location. Many workers had to provide their own information infrastructure while others put on personal protective equipment just to do their jobs. Job security no longer meant doing a good job and preparing for the next advancement, it also took on the additional responsibility of deciding whether or not to be tested or vaccinated. Some people were laid off – then rehired – while others watched as their businesses shuttered or their industry shut down. All in all, our economy has remained relatively stable, but working has been an adventure. On this Labor Day, I just want...

In his book, This Is The Day: Reclaim Your Dream. Ignite Your Passion. Live Your Purpose , Tim Tebow discusses his faith and personal philosophy set against the backdrop of his journey through baseball’s minor leagues. Tebow had been a major success in college football and made a name for himself in the NFL. He was already making a lot of money and influencing a lot of people when he decided to pursue his dream of playing professional baseball. In hindsight most of us know how his endeavor ended, but it was fun to read about his journey as he was making it. Particularly, it was inspiring to read about his quest of wanting to do something and seeing how he allowed God to influence his life as he did it. One of the neat aspects of the book was how this guy who had known a lot of success approached failure. He had been on top of the college football game and now he was riding a bus in the lowest of baseball’s minor leagues. Throughout this trek he struggled, but he never lost sig...

Do we ever feel like the world is pummeling us? Have we ever felt the constant pressure of society sucking the life out of us? Sure, I don’t know anyone who isn’t influenced by the difficulties we feel; but let me ask us a question. Even though we feel these pressures influencing us, are they serious enough to paralyze us? Oh, they can make us feel uncomfortable, but seriously, are they enough to destroy us or just create an uncomfortable feeling? As we go through life, it is tempting to feel the stressors of life – and because they make us feel bad – we feel like we are going to be overwhelmed. Yet is being overwhelmed inevitable or is the worst that can happen merely some temporary pain and inconvenience? As I was reading through the New Testament the other day, I saw Paul’s philosophy of life that said, “… we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the ...

You would think that if there was a stalwart in religion, it would be the Ten Commandments. After all, this iconic section of Scripture has become larger than merely being a set of verses in the Old Testament – it has become one of the best known and most loved sections of text in all of literature. Yet, even though it has endured thousands of years of use (and sometimes abuse) it isn’t without some debate. One of the sections of Scripture that is often discussed is the commandment, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8). Some modern religious beliefs translate this to mean that worship should be conducted on Saturday (the last day of the week) while others have applied this concept to how Sunday is to be approached in Christianity. Some people believe that since this ordinance is not repeated in the New Testament, it is not applicable to godly people today. Our space doesn’t provide us with the room to fully discuss this issue, but I do believe that no matte...