Think About It

The shortest verse in the New Testament contains two words: Jesus wept (John 11:35). I am sure that these circumstances surrounding Jesus’ tears weren’t the only time Jesus cried, but a look back at the context of this observation can teach us a lesson today. Have you ever thought about why Jesus wept? Was it because Jesus was sad that Lazarus had died? Was it because Jesus lamented delaying His trip to see Lazarus when He first got word that His friend was sick? Was it because He wished He could have done something to prevent the death? No, I really don’t think these played into Jesus’ emotional response. Jesus understood that He had the power to reverse death and He had made the conscious choice to delay His trip to Bethany. I also believe that Jesus had already made up His mind that He was going to raise Lazarus when He shed the tears, so what prompted them? I get the impression that what got to Jesus was the sadness of the people around Him. John observes, “When Jesus th...

Jeane and I have been married 41-and-a-half years. I can be precise because Valentine’s Day is our half-anniversary. I would like to say that I was romantic enough to plan it that way but I probably should just stick with the good fortune of luck. When I look back on the last four decades I will be the first to tell you just how blessed I have been. However, when I reflect on our time together, I can see some themes that have helped provide us with longevity: 1. Friendship . Throughout the years we enjoyed being together. We were friends when we got married and have maintained that relationship throughout our marriage. If you are looking for a way to stay together, start with hanging out together. 2. Forgiveness . I would like to say that we have agreed on everything and have never gotten crossways with each other but, again, we need to stick with the truth. While we have had our spats and disagreements, one thing that has helped us move forward is a willingness to ask for a...

Overshadowed by yesterday’s big game was the 214th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The man who would become the 16th president of the United States was born in Kentucky a mere three decades after our nation was founded. Lincoln was important in shaping our nation’s policies and perspectives, but the thing that tends to draw me to him is just how quotable he was. While some of his famous words have come from speeches, the ones that tend to impress me come from his conversations. The other day I was reading a few of his sayings when I came across this one, “How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? Four. Saying that a tail is a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”. This quote may have come from the 19th Century, but it is as applicable today as in the day it was uttered. There are a lot of people who are trying to rephrase principles to fit their agenda; but the truth of the matter is that truth is still what matters. We can try to be as convincing as possible, bu...

As I drove by a signboard of a local elementary school, I noticed a saying that caught my attention, “Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education”. I kept that concept in mind until I could do a little research on it origin. As I did a little digging I found out that it is a quote from Martin Luther King that comes from an article of his that appeared in the Morehouse College campus newspaper. As with many people, King’s youthfulness generated some thought-provoking perspectives. Interestingly enough, the teenager’s reflection on education came from his time in school where he balanced the rhetoric with reality. My takeaway from this observation is that success doesn’t merely come from being smart enough, it is also dependent on being good enough! Education has been an important part of humanity’s development throughout the years, but it isn’t just what we know that helps us mature, it is also what we put into action. Gaining knowledge (and even handing out...

When the Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (I John 4:1) he challenged believers to make sure that we guard our lives from false teachers. We have a responsibility to know the truth and live by it – yet we also need to make sure to identify those who intend to mislead others. All believers have an obligation to protect the whole. Now, having said that, I wonder sometimes if we spend too much time trying to keep people out of the churches and we don’t spend enough time trying to help them get into heaven? Do we pounce so hard on people who don’t think the way we think that we squeeze the desire to learn more about Christianity right out of their souls? Rather than trying to help them find a better way to live, we alienate them with a hostile spirit. In essence, rather than saving a soul, we are more interested in “winning” the battle. We must be ...

As I was reading from The Proverbs the other day, I came across an interesting concept, “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.” (Proverbs 21:13). In essence, the notion is that when we fail to help others, people will tend to refuse to help us when we have a need. Not only is this true from an individual perspective, I also believe that it plays out in society as well. When we make it a point to help others, people are more apt to help us when we have needs. When we dig into our pockets to help those impacted by acts of nature, recessions or catastrophes; they will be more apt to reciprocate when bad things happen. It’s kind of the philosophy of what goes around comes around – but, this time with a positive spin. Not only is it morally good to help others in their time of need, it can be an investment in our own future. Jesus seems to echo this sentiment when He teaches, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (M...

What do you do when you have a close call with disaster? I believe there are one of two ways people react to brushes with calamity. The first is to be thankful that what could have happened didn’t happen. Whether we assign it to fate, good fortune or divine intervention, we appreciate the fact that somehow we avoided the negative impact of misfortune. While a hearty “Thank God” would be in order, even a “Whew, that was close, I am glad it wasn’t as bad as it could have been” can help us maintain a healthy attitude. Now, I mentioned there were two reactions – the other is to obsess about what might have happened even though it didn’t. We might play the worst case scenario of what almost befell us over and over in our minds. We might continually focus and refocus on what went wrong that took us to the precipice of disaster. When taken to the extreme, this can lead us to over-evaluating our failures that led up to the incident and preoccupying our minds with just how close we came...