Think About It

This year has been a pretty quiet hurricane season – at least so far. Unless I am forgetting something, the mainland of the United States has been spared a significant storm and even though there have been some storms in the Caribbean, it has been a pretty moderate season. Now, having said that, this week is promising to bring a significant storm to the southland of the U.S. coast. We can be thankful for how things have gone through most of the hurricane season, but some of our friends and neighbors need to keep an eye on the tropics. Each year I am fascinated by the storm season. I track storms as they spin out in the Atlantic or the Gulf. I plot coordinates, look at forecasts and watch as these freaks of nature seem to take on a life of their own. Maybe it is because I spent a lot of my growing-up years in Florida, but I also believe that one of the reasons that I am fascinated by these powerful storms is because it reminds me of the nature of God. Not only does it remind me...

Have you noticed how much confusion there is in today’s world? I guess it has always been that way, but – at the very least – it isn’t getting much better. I think this really struck home with me last week when I attended a High School sporting event. On one hand, young people are being told to respect their bodies and avoid sexual or gender stereotypes. On the other hand, many of the current styles and fads are designed to emphasize sexuality. Young people are told not to allow people to see them as objects of admiration, but they are encouraged to act and dress in ways that promote the very thing they are supposed to be rejecting. Adolescence is a confusing time as it is, this can’t be helping. Again, I am sure that people who watched my generation said the same thing about us, so this is a reminder that as times change many things remain the same – and so should the warnings offered to each generation. Centuries ago, the Apostle Paul reminded a young friend of his, “Let no ...

As you might expect, I am a big believer in identifying with a church and attending worship services. I think it is vital that we, as God’s people, demonstrate our faith and embrace a spiritual manifestation of the profession of our faith. However, there is another side to Christianity. It isn’t enough to just advocate that we are religious, we must prove it – and not just by following a predetermined set of rites and rituals. We must put the Lord’s principles into action. Centuries ago, a wise religious leader challenged the people of his day, “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice.” (Proverbs 21:2-3). In other words, we must do more than just talk the talk, we must walk the walk. We must have a heart of treating people with respect and making sure that they are cared for – by society and by us! Let’s make sure that we find a way to attend worship assemblies when ...

Have you ever met someone who did not want the responsibility of being a teacher? They might have had the mental acuity to be able to educate others, they just didn’t want to be accountable for influencing the lives of others. They might even refer to the New Testament and advocate, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1). Now, while I understand their hesitancy, there must also be a continuity. You see, if people do not want to bear the responsibility of teaching others, they mustn’t use their influence to sway other people’s opinions. If they aren’t willing to be formal teachers, they probably need to stop posting on social media or trying to shape opinions by debating philosophies. It is incongruous to claim that we don’t want to be “teachers” where safeguards and protocols are in place to ensure validity; but to use our position as informal leaders to get people to do what we want them to do or th...

Are we doing too much? In a world that is notorious for trying to get away with as little as possible, this may sound a bit odd; but for a lot of us it is problem. There are several people who voluntarily overbook ourselves. Not only do we volunteer too often, we are also hesitant to delegate the things we could let others do. While filling our calendars with activities can be viewed as an attribute, there are times when it may actually be a detriment. Not only are we tempted to do things halfway (just to get things crossed off on our checklist), but we are also apt to be overwhelmed by having too many things to do and too little time to do them. One additional problem develops with our attitudes about the people who don’t do as much as we do, we tend to see them as slackers and resent their inactivity. So how can we overcome feeling overwhelmed? The most obvious approach is to say “no” when something needs to be done, but there may be another way to approach our overbooking and ...

After Peter affirmed his faith in Jesus, the Lord made an interesting observation about His church. Jesus noted, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” (Matthew 16:18). Much has been made about the focus on this statement, but one of the lessons I take away from this observation is that the Lord’s church will not go away. There is nothing that will destroy the church – not oppressive persecution, destructive heresies or even a perception of disinterest. Interest in the Lord’s church may ebb and flow, but it will never go away! While this may be a nice thought, it is an important reminder to believers, especially in today’s generation. There are a lot of people who proclaim gloom and doom for Christianity, but Jesus has promised us that His message will not go unheeded, nor will it be overcome by forces of evil. Let’s not fall into the trap of lamenting the demise of the church. Mark T...

Are you a “fan”, “supporter” or “disinterested”? The other day, I got to thinking about sports fans and figured that I could fit most of them into one of three categories. There are some people who just aren’t interested at all. There are people who are supporters of one particular team. They are fanatical in their support of their team, but outside of that, they really aren’t all that interested in other teams. Then there are fans who not only follow their team, they also know about the other teams in the league. They are familiar with standings, statistics and the progress of the sport. So, which are you? The reason I bring this up isn’t necessarily to discuss a particular sport, rather it is to ask if you have ever thought about how it applies to religion? There are people who have little to no interest in spiritual things. There are others who are very tuned into their particular type of faith – either as broad as Christianity as a whole or as focused as their denominati...