Think About It

Four years ago I underwent quintuple bypass surgery. As evidenced by the fact that four years later I can write about it, things went fine. In fact, when I think back on that day, I really don’t have an emotional reaction. I remember being wheeled into pre-op, speaking to the anesthesiologist and waking up a couple times in ICU. From my perspective, the surgery wasn’t that big of a deal. Due to my condition when I checked into the hospital, I didn’t have too long to worry about it and thanks to the strong drugs, I slept through the entire event. I might have been the one going through the procedure, but it was my close friends and family that were enduring the crisis and trauma. They worried about me, they had to take time off of work to be there with me, they had to wait for several hours before the surgeon reassured them I was going fine. When I think back on it, they had the much more difficult task. After pondering challenges for a while, sometimes I wonder if this phenomen...

Have you ever been asked to pray for a solid Christian who is facing what appears to be a terminal illness? If so, what do you pray for? When I was younger, the most natural prayer in this situation was for healing, but the older I get the more internal conflict I feel in automatically praying for healing and deliverance. In the back of my mind I hear the Apostle Paul saying, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). This may sound a bit odd, but is praying for their healing and more time on earth really doing them a favor? Please don’t think I am heartless, my intent is quite the opposite … I want them to be truly happy! So, back to the original question – what to pray for? I think there are two things we can pray for in these circumstances. First, we can and should pray for God’s will to be done. Jesus taught this lesson when He prayed for God’s wisdom when He faced the cross (see Matthew 26:42). Yet, another prayer might be for God to hear the p...

There are a lot of scary passages in the Bible, but one that tends to send shivers up my spine is the warning, “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” (Hebrews 6:4-6). These verses are often found at the heart of the debate of once saved always saved or whether we can lose our salvation. Many academics have argued about various merits of this verse, but at least for a moment, I want to get away from the theological discussion and ask a very personal question: Are you still right with God? If you have made a commitment to Him the past, are you living it in the present? It can be tempting to argue that God’s loving grace can cover us, but let’s get down...

I understand the frustration many of us have with the world around us. We are inundated with reminders of just how bad this world can be. The topics we hear people discuss, the music we overhear in public, the lessons that are taught in our schools, the priorities of our government and even the values of our community remind us that the morality of the world does not mesh with ours. It is easy to become discouraged – and it is natural to feel like we are being overwhelmed – but we need to keep in mind two things: First, we must never give in to the influences of the world. We cannot swap our higher calling with their lower life. While this option is possible, I think the more probable response is to just give up – to crawl into the safety of our faith and hide. Even though this seems appealing (and it most definitely isn’t as bad as changing sides), running away doesn’t make the world a better place in which to live. Hiding doesn’t help anyone. I think it is interesting that ...

One of the most beloved passages of scripture happens to come from one its most admired writers. The 23rd Psalm has endeared itself to believers and is even well-known by those who aren’t active participants. While the whole poem is inspirational, I have been thinking a lot about the 4th verse, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”. Have you given much thought to what the “valley of the shadow of death” might be? It could be looking into a dark and treacherous valley filled with physical dangers or people seeking to take advantage of those who enter it. Maybe it is remembering the friends and family who have walked into the valley and never came back. It might even be coming face-to-face with our own mortality – knowing that one day we will fall victim to death. No matter how we perceive the valley of the shadow of death, the good news is that we don’t have to walk through it ...

Unfortunately, there have been so many mass casualty incidents that we are starting to see a response in the post-incident pattern. A typical reaction is trying to find the justification for these tragedies. How many times have we heard investigators say, “We are looking into the reason that this person would do this.”? A common theme of reporting is to try to affix the person’s rationale to the event. Even around the water cooler or on social media people will say, “I just can’t understand why someone would do something like this.”. Folks, if I can be as blunt as possible, I would like to weigh in on this discussion. There is NO REASON anyone should do this! None! There is no rationale that should lead someone to picking up a gun and killing several people. There is no reason a person should get in a car and drive other multiple pedestrians. There is no rational logic that would lead someone to plant a bomb in a place that would produce mass casualties. We can’t explain it ...

If you have read much of what I write, it didn’t take you long to realize I am pro-police. (Yeah, that’s an understatement.) I make no pretense about my feelings: I am a cheerleader – I am biased. There are several reasons for my feelings: my father-in-law and my dad were both officers. I have been involved in some form of Law Enforcement for most of the past three decades. I have great friends and mentors who have been or currently are officers. I have laughed and cried with them. I have married some and buried some. I am not a cop groupie … I am the real deal. Having said all of that, I would like to acknowledge this as National Police Week and today as “Law Enforcement Memorial Day”. This week honors the profession, while today reminds us of the realities of the job – there are some officers who went to work one day and never came home. As I ponder this week, I think about two important things: First, as a nation, let’s be appreciative of what Law Enforcement means to o...