Think About It

Today, we spotlight Grover Cleveland on the 114th anniversary of his death. You might recognize the name Grover Cleveland as a president of the United States, but there are a couple of things that stand out in his presidencies. The use of the plural of “presidency” might give you an insight into one of the factoids – he was the only person elected president in non-consecutive elections. He was elected president in 1885 and served until 1889. He lost the election in 1888; but was reelected in 1892 and served until 1897. Yet, did you also know that he was only president to be married while in the White House? In 1886, the nearly 50-year-old president married the 21-year-old Francis Folsom. While these unique facts are interesting, the reason for the spotlight is a quote of Cleveland’s that I came across. The man who would be a two-time president observed, “A government for the people must depend for its success on the intelligence, the morality, the justice, and the interest of the...

Several years ago, our church purchased one of those electronic signs that not only shares a message, it also lights up the neighborhood. Through the years, it has been a good investment and provided a lot of positive comments. Not long ago, the sign stopped working. When we opened it up we found that ants had built a nest in one of the electronic components. While we aren’t 100% certain, there is some speculation that it was those tiny little insects that took our multi-thousand dollar sign offline. As I thought about our sign – and those little critters – I got to thinking about how it is the little things that seem to overshadow the larger things in our lives. Have you noticed how easy it is for the little day-to-day worries can keep us from enjoying the major successes in our lives? Isn’t interesting how some seemingly insignificant lapses in judgment can outshine the good things we have done? It may not seem fair, but it is true … life is lived in the “details”. Let’s m...

 For those of you who may not have known, I spent most of the past two weeks in isolation following a positive COVID test. The good news is that I never really felt bad, the challenge was being away from people for almost two weeks. I had to cancel a speaking engagement, rearrange some trainings and rely on the kindness of some very talented people to cover my responsibilities, but all-in-all it was a pretty uneventful few days. I am feeling good and ready to get back to my daily routine. The reason I bring this up is to make an observation – when we face challenges and put our minds to it, we can still accomplish a lot. I was able to set up links to my computers and get just about everything I needed to get done from my home office. Since Amazon (and a host of others) offer online shopping and home delivery, I was able to shop for things I needed (and a lot I didn’t). With cellphones and VOIP office phones, it was almost like I was back in my office. Over the last several m...

Today is our Father’s day. Now I realize that last Sunday was Father’s Day in the United States – complete with cookouts, gifts and phone calls – but today is our Heavenly Father’s day. No, you won’t find the day written anywhere on the calendar, it is actually something to be celebrated in our souls. Centuries ago, King David observed, “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24). In other words, since today is a day made by God, it should also be a day dedicated to Him – hence the title “our Father’s day”. The reality is that every day is our Father’s day because He not only put in motion the elements that made this day come about, He also provided us with the opportunity to live, work and love in it. Because He is the Creator and we are the created, we should worship Him each and every day – again making it our Father’s day. No there really isn’t anything particularly special about today other than it is a day ordained by God ...

There is a lot of thought about freedom in our nation these days. Today, we celebrate Juneteenth and in a couple weeks we’ll commemorate Independence Day. At the heart of each of these celebrations is a sense of freedom – a chance to make our own choices and live our own lives. While this is what allures us to celebrating independence, there is another layer to freedom this is important. You see, with freedom comes responsibility. Being a nation based on freedom also comes with a responsibility to protect and support others. No, true independence isn’t just about what we get out of it, there is also an implied obligation to care for our fellow man so that they, too, can enjoy the blessing of freedom. Interestingly, this concept isn’t only applicable to our political freedom, it is probably most visible in our spiritual lives. When each one of us committed our first sin, we enslaved ourselves to satan – we voluntarily sold ourselves into bondage to evil. Yet, when Jesus came t...

Have you noticed how easy it is to become enamored by personalities? Whether they are entertainers, politicians, philosophers or even teachers, it is easy to become disciples of certain people. While there can be value in learning from others – and even being led by good people – we must be careful not to follow them blindly. People are human and inherently prone to errors; but some of them take this to extremes. Rather than being true leaders, they are manipulators whose purpose is to gather followers, not lead them. Jesus issued a warning against this type of discipleship when He said, “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14). So, if we must be careful about singing the praises of humans, is there someone we can follow without being worried about going astray? Yes! King David wrote, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord. O my soul! I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing pr...

One of the greatest professional football teams in history was the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The team went undefeated and culminated their season by winning the Super Bowl – the only time that has been done in the NFL. The team was led by the legendary coach, Don Shula, and was comprised of some incredibly talented players and several unforgettable characters. Most of these relationships remained intact throughout the years, but shortly after the joy of the Super Bowl Coach Shula and Jake Scott got into an argument that would last decades. After Scott was traded to the Washington Redskins, the two rarely spoke – and if they did, their conversations were short and anything but sweet. For decades, the two men stayed distanced from each other. The team would gather, periodically, to celebrate their success, but Scott was always missing. If asked about his absence, he was typically pretty curt and to the point. Yet, something happened in 2010 at a gathering that both men attended. When...