Think About It

Do we give satan enough credit? Now, you might be wondering if I have over-indulged in leftover Halloween candy when you read that question, but I believe that it is a legitimate challenge in our society. No, satan is not the most powerful being in our world; however, we must not underestimate his presence. Through his entrapment of many segments of the world, he wields an immense amount of power and control. People have sold their souls to him and are willing to do his bidding just to hold on to the superficial rewards he promised them. Yet, just as the old saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Making a pact with the devil is real and deadly! The Bible doesn’t not take satan for granted, in fact Christians are warned, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8). Most of us can quote this caution, but have you read the next verse? Peter goes on to encourage us,...

This weekend, Jeane and I celebrate the beginning of our sixth year in Southern Maryland. It is hard to believe we have been here for five years already. While I am not looking for someone to throw us a party, I do believe there is value in celebrating successes and marking anniversaries. We have seen the value of it in things like national celebrations (such as the Fourth of July) as well as the personal affirmation of remembering special days in our lives (such as sobriety anniversaries). No, we should not get stuck merely remembering the past, but by celebrating events and accomplishments, we can keep important things in mind. One example of this is the Christian tradition of meeting on the first day of the week. While the Jews of the Old Testament had several remembrances, the most common one we find in the New Testament era is the weekly worship assembly. Each Sunday (the first day of the week in the United States), we are called upon to reflect on Jesus’ resurrection fr...

In the Third Act of Shakespeare’s play, Othello, Iago remarks, “Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse steals trash; ‘tis something, nothing; ‘twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to thousands; but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed.” (I bet you didn’t think you open up one of my thoughts and read Shakespeare, did you!) I have heard this quote for years; but the other day I got thinking about it – not from the perspective of slander, but in light of our willingness to protect our good name. Most of us have put some type of protective system in place to keep our stuff safe. From the locks on our doors to elaborate alarm systems in our houses, we take great pains to keep people from stealing our property. Yet, do we have that same conviction about protecting our good name? Sure, it is wrong for someone to drag our reputation through the mud, but isn’t...

This month’s issue of Christianity Today had a very interesting article written by Tyler J. Vanderweele and Brendan Case. The October 19, 2021 article was entitled, “Empty Pews Are an American Public Health Crisis”. While I will not repeat the article here, I will encourage you to take the time to reference it. Basically, the point of the article is the parallel between a decrease in church attendance and an increase in mental and physical ailments. The authors tackle this work from researched analysis as well as non-scientific narrative. The bottom line is that when we remove ourselves from the regular gathering of like-minded believers, we risk our own individual health and welfare. When we regularly join with fellow Christians, we increase our happiness and contentment while decreasing self-destructive behaviors. In essence, we are better together. Have you ever thought about why God calls His people into fellowship with each other? As the Creator of mankind, I believe He...

D uring our time yesterday, I presented some thoughts about truth – but I left out an important aspect of finding truth. There are a lot of principles out there competing for our allegiance, but which ones do we accept? Just as there are a lot of ideas, there are many of them that are at odds with each other. One of the confounding questions that we often hear about truth is that for there to be truth we have to have an absolute foundation – which one do we choose? Is truth based on popular opinion, philosophy, constitutional law or is there something better? Well, I believe there is something that can be used as the epicenter of truth – something that is easily understood and conveniently accessed. When Jesus was about to leave His disciples to confront the issues of their era He prayed for their joy and their contentment. As He asked God to bless them He said, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (John 17:17). Folks, it has been 2000 years since that prayer was p...

When I was at the gym working out the other day, I looked up to one of the many TV screens in front of me and read an interesting question, “When did ‘shock politics’ replace telling the truth?”. My initial reaction was to yell at the screen, “Well, you should know because you were a part of starting it.”; but I refrained and just stewed about how often media outlets that include “news” in their titles have been reduced to “opinion” networks. Interestingly, my inner contempt led me to wonder something similar. My question isn’t as much about “when” as it is about “how”. How have we gotten to this point – and, oh by the way, I am not just targeting the media, there is enough blame to go around to a bunch of us. As I reflected on the lack of cooperation between competing opinions, I got to thinking about two concepts: hyperbole and partisan positions. I believe that we have applied hyperbole (using exaggeration to make a point) so often that we start to believe our own rhetoric. ...

Since my college football teams don’t usually play the early games on Saturday afternoon, I haven’t been watching the national pregame shows lately. Last weekend, since my team was featured in one of the early games, I tuned in and what I saw was disturbing. No, it wasn’t the announcers this time, it was the fans’ display that dismayed me. The homemade signs that were shown behind the set were, at best a display of bad sportsmanship and, at worst, just out and out rude! I am familiar with good-spirited ribbing between fan bases; but it seems to have been elevated to a new level (or maybe I should say has deteriorated to a new low). After being discouraged by what I saw early in the day, I was completely dismayed by the behavior at a nationally televised game later that night in which the fans delayed the game and put people in jeopardy by throwing trash onto the field when a call didn’t go their way. I understand being a huge supporter of a team – and even disappointed when thin...