Think About It

Have you ever found yourself doing something seemingly innocent and then found out it was against the law?   Have you ever never given something a second thought only to realize your omission was a violation?   I realize there are a lot of people who knowingly and willfully violate the law, but I would imagine most of us have either mistakenly omitted or committed an act that made us lawbreakers.   Folks, there are a lot of laws out there, we are bound to miss (or misinterpret) some of them.     The reason I bring this up isn’t to complain about our legal system as much as it is to remind us of the value of the New Testament between God and His people.   As the transition was being made, Christians were urged to let go of the Old Testament filled with rules and regulations and adopt a focus on the grace and mercy found in Christ Jesus.   James warned the early believers, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, h...

If you are like me, you have been studying the Black Friday sales for a while now.   After thinking about what you need (or more probably, what you want) you have scoured the ads for just the right thing at just the right price that will fill the void.   Now some of those items you have been able to purchase online and have them delivered to your house, but others might require a special trip to a special store (maybe even at a special time) to acquire the thing that was going to make you happy.     As I thought about the American phenomenon known as Black Friday, I got to wondering what would happen if we applied this much diligence in our spiritual lives as we do our shopping.   What failings in our lives could we fix or what joys could we attain by thinking about what we need and pursuing the biblical principles necessary to fill void?   As I pondered this, I got to thinking about what Paul told Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God...

Happy Thanksgiving! I have said over and over that this is my favorite holiday of the year.   Not only do I like the traditions associate with it, I also like spirit of the day.   Any remembrance built on a desire to offer thanks for what we have been given has to be a good day.   I am sure that sometime today you will be asked to identify something you are thankful for, but I want to put a little bit of a different spin on it.   List one person you are thankful for.   They may be a historical character, family member or someone who lives down the street, but take the time to identify someone who has made an impact on you.   Maybe you like the way they think or maybe they did something that changed your life.   They may have bailed you out of a jam or set the good example that kept you on the straight and narrow.   No matter why or how they did it, they made a difference in your life.   Now. here comes the important part – share with someone ...

What are you afraid of?  Notice that I didn’t say “who” are you afraid of because we live in a time and place where living in fear of people is probably not as great a concern.  Sure, there are some people who fear certain individuals, but most of us live with the confidence that either we can protect ourselves or the government can protect us.  However, when it comes to other things, most of us have fears.  Whether it is health issues, employment, emotional challenges or something else that doesn’t exist in flesh and blood, most of us have our phobias.  The problem with this is that when we fear things like this, we’ll probably never be able to “defeat” them.  We may learn to live with them, but an unequivocal conquering might not be possible.  So, how do we learn to deal with fear?    Interestingly, the Bible reminds us that we don’t have to leave in fear because we have a relationship with the ultimate Protector.  The Apostle Paul wro...

A little later this week we begin what is traditionally referred to as the Holiday Season in America.  Over the next few weeks we’ll get to enjoy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day – and all the collateral events that go along with them.  For many of us this is the best time of year; however, there are some people who will struggle with the season.  I don’t know if the holidays empirically demonstrate a rise in issues related with depression, but I do know a lot of people feel down this time of year.  In this article, I don’t want to take the approach of telling people who are struggling to get over it, rather I would like to remind the rest of us that we can play a role in helping them.  Here are a few things all of us can do to offset the seasonal blahs: 1.  Keep an eye on people who are going through the holidays for the first time without that someone special .  The sadness and grief that comes from losing a loved one can ebb and flow for y...

Do you feel like you are walking around in a daze?   There are certain medical conditions or even medications that might create a mental fog; but there is something even more common.   How many of us have become so spiritually ambivalent that we just seem to be stumbling around in an emotional stupor?   We find ourselves somewhere between the rampant immorality of society and the traditions of a half-believed religion so we just kind of wander around unable to focus or get excited about anything.   We know the problem isn’t with the truths of Christianity, we just don’t have much of a focus.   Does that sound familiar?   Interestingly, it isn’t just a 21 st Century problem – it appears to have been around since the beginning.   Centuries ago, the Apostle Paul challenged the church in Ephesus to restore Christ to Christianity by writing, “For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’” (Ephesians 5:14)...

Friday; November 22, 1963 is a date that will live in infamy.     On this day 61 years ago President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas.   Through the years there have been a lot of theories about how it happened, but there is no doubt about what happened – the death shocked and saddened a nation!   Yet, in an odd way, President Kennedy’s death seemed to transfer political rhetoric into community action.   President Johnson used Mr. Kennedy’s civil rights platform to create some radical changes in the United States.   Science got behind the president’s dream of space exploration and become focused on a lunar landing.   In May, 1961 JFK challenged Congress, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing and man on the Moon and retuning him safely to the Earth.”.   On July 24, 1969 Apollo 11 was successfully completed when Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstro...