Think About It

When Gerald Ford was sworn in as Vice-President on December 6, 1973 he walked into a hornets nest. Ford was replacing Spiro Agnew who had resigned because of questionable (if not criminal) activities. Before his term was over, he would again replace someone who had failed to live up to his promise to the American people. I am almost certain Vice-President Ford failed to realize just how far-reaching these words would be; but after he took his oath, he made a pledge, “I promise my fellow citizens only this: To uphold the Constitution, to do what is right as God gives me to see the right, and…to do the very best that I can for America.”. I would imagine that the years that followed were fraught with headaches and heartaches, but I am impressed with his vision. There was no way he could right all the wrongs or even make good decisions for people who failed to do that on their own – all he could do was do the best he could. If you are a good and moral person, it is probably tempting ...

When the Jews returned from Babylonian Captivity, they had a lot of work to do. In addition to the damage done in the occupation, the great city had been unoccupied and idle which intensified the deterioration. By the time of the return the temple was in disarray and the walls of the city were ineffective. Repairing the walls became a focus of a guy by the name of Nehemiah who led the occupants in the rebuilding. Unfortunately, not only did they have to be involved in heavy construction, they also had to endure the criticism of their enemies. The adversarial leaders could be heard saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?” (Nehemiah 4:2). Fortunately, Nehemiah had the heart of a leader. He prayed for God’s deliverance and it took it one step further by keeping the people focused on the work they had to do. Neh...

I have several things in my office that have been in my office for a while. The particular problem with these items is that they don’t work – and haven’t for a while. Oh, when I set them aside I had every intention of getting them repaired, the problem is that once I set them aside, I kind of forgot about them. In the beginning, I probably thought, “Oh, I need to take care of that problem” but each time I didn’t do it, it became easier not to do anything. Eventually, they just became a part of the background of my office and I ignored them. If I did an inventory of my office, I would realize something needed to be done, but until then they aren’t much more of an afterthought (if even that). The reason I bring up my broken items is to show how easy it is to ignore things that are damaged – even people. Sure, if we look for them, we’ll see them. If we do a specific inventory of them or their issues, we’ll see them; however, until we do they have a tendency to just blend into the ...

I get so many offers that, someday I am going to miss out on a really good one! I have been told that the Crowned Prince of Kenya would like to share his millions with me. I have gotten emails that tell me I can say good-bye to car repairs simply by paying SMALL monthly payments. I have left free prizes and inexpensive grand vacations unredeemed just because things seemed a little too good to be true. It wouldn’t surprise me if I haven’t already missed out on something that was both legitimate and a great deal just because I am tired of all the hype of the hucksters! Unfortunately, we face something like this in our religious lives. We live in a society that is constantly offering us something that is better told than true. There are promises of health and wealth if we join a certain church. There is the allure of fun and fulfillment if we seek out another one. It seems like everywhere we turn, someone is trying to entice us with something that will make us happier than we’ve ...

I am fascinated by tornadoes. I spent a lot of my life in the Midwest, so this time of year everyone kept at least one eye on the horizon. In fact, I have a picture of one of the most powerful tornadoes to ever hit the Wichita Falls, Texas in my office. I have always been a weather nut, but when people start to mention tornadoes, it gets my attention. Now, I need to be clear about something – I have never actually been in a tornado, so maybe that is why I find them so fascinating. I saw a small one a few years back, but there really wasn’t any immediate danger, so I still find them interesting. Those people who have experienced tornadoes don’t share my fascination with them – in fact, they may not even be able to discuss them without reliving the terror they experienced. The reason I share this perspective on tornados is a parallel I see in our society today. Have you noticed how eager we are to talk about people in crisis? We all have opinions about addictions – or homelessne...

For the last couple of years I have been trying to come up with a solution to the navigation and entertainment system in my car. (That’s a fancy way of saying I don’t like my car radio.) I know what I want, but I can’t seem to find it. Either it won’t fit in my vehicle’s dashboard or it won’t work well with an Android phone. Additionally, if I do find something that looks promising, I look at the price tag and wonder if the ability to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd while mapping my course to see my granddaughters is really that big of a deal! I know what I want, why can’t someone just make it for me! The other day, during a recent rant, I got to thinking about how great it would to be able to build what I wanted. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to imagine your perfect solution, then build it? As I thought about this possibility, it took me back to the Old Testament book of Genesis. Isn’t that what God did during that first week of the earth? He envisioned the perfect world, then sp...

When I was a young adult, I would look at people who were forty and older wondering how they had made it that far in life! Yes, I considered them old – but I also wondered how they could be that mature and still not understand life! I was barely out of my teens and had all the answers! The older I get the more I cringe when I think about that “other self” from decades ago. Now, I wonder how I escaped being derailed by my opinions and how I avoided being punched in the nose for my cockiness! It is tempting to try to pick an era of life as the best, but thankfully God has allowed us to co-exist in a mutually beneficial society. We are at our best when we blend the zeal of youth with the caution of age. We can make a real difference by capturing the idealism of young people and the experience of maturity. We build bridges on the brawn of youth and the insight gained through the decades. When I was younger there was a lot of talk about a “generation gap”. As I look back on the dec...