Think About It

I was skimming through some of the proverbs of Solomon and came across an interesting one.  The wise king observed, “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” (Proverbs 14:1).  As I thought about this, I got to thinking about how true this is – not just in homemaking, but in so many aspects of our lives.  Whether it is as an individual, family, church, community or a nation; more often than not, we are our own worst enemies.  So often, we are afraid that some adversary from the outside is going to invade our space and wreak havoc on it and, while that can happen, all too often the damage done is self-inflicted.  Either through making bad choices or giving into infighting, we are responsible for our own implosion. As we look internally – into our own lives and in our own entities – let’s make a commitment to build on what we have and make it better.  It takes very little skill to wreck something, but it takes ca...

Over the last several decades, one of the most politically and religiously debated issues is the value of life.   While there have been some variations on this theme, one of the most common centers around Psalm 139.   Now, before we get too far into this discussion, I want to let you know that I am not here to debate the political principles, my point is to remind us we need to make the most of the lives God has given us.    When David reflected on his personal existence he noted, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14).   Respecting life is not something to be reserved for a moral, spiritual or political debate, it is something that should be at the core of who we are – we should respect the life God has given us enough to make the most out of it!   We have been given talents and opportunities to love others and worship the Lord, and we need to take ...

Several years ago, some communities were struggling with their relationship with Law Enforcement.   In those communities there were people – good, moral, spiritual people – who seemed to be at odds with government.   An interesting thing came from this conflict; it’s called the Faith and Blue Program.   Rather than complaining about each other; houses of worship, law enforcement agencies, religious organizations and community groups began to work together to build partnerships that promoted understanding and common goals.   Over the next couple of weeks, you might hear about these Faith and Blue events, and I encourage you to take advantage of them.   Some are spiritual, some might even be somber and some are nothing more than fun and games; however, they all serve the purpose of building partnerships to create stronger communities.   I am a big believer in annual Faith and Blue Events; yet, my challenge goes beyond this program – I encourage all of us to...

Last Sunday morning I was walking through the auditorium of the church building and found a centipede. I didn’t really feel like I needed to stomp on it, so I decided I would relocate it outside. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished and as I picked it up it stung me (or bit me or pinched me or whatever centipedes do). Needless to say, I was irritated, but I continued on with my quest of setting it free. I guess that the bug did what bugs do, but that didn’t make me none too happy. The reason I am sharing this with you is that it didn’t take me too long to see a spiritual application. How many of us are like that insect when it comes to our reaction to God? The Bible instructs us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). He saved us from certain spiritual death and destruction. However, how do we react to Him? How many of us fuss at Him, turn our backs on Him, critic...

The other day I was talking to one of our church leaders and he made an interesting statement.  We were visiting about some of the things we were doing in our young people’s ministry, and he said that one of his goals was to give them some positive memories of the church that would last them a lifetime.  In fact, he pointed to why he supported putting in a playground on our church property.  It may not have had an immediate spiritual impact, but he wanted the people who grew up in our congregation to back to look back and remember those times fondly. As I thought about this I was reminded of Solomon’s admonition, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6).  It is easy to see the spiritual nature of biblical education and moral development, but there is another side to it as well.  If our children know that we care about them … if our children feel safe and loved … if our children are building ...

I have talked to a lot of people who have lost friends and loved ones recently.  I don’t know if people are dying at a higher rate, but I do know that I am aging and so are the people around me, so maybe that’s why death may be more prevalent.  The older we get – and the older our contemporaries get – the more likely death is going to be a part of our lives.  Yet, even when it comes to young people, there is plenty of death in the news and in our community. When I was growing up, I used to hear there were only two things for certain in America – death and taxes – and that’s pretty much true.  The fact that there is death in the world shouldn’t be surprising to any of us.  Nature affirms it and the Bible confirms it.  Yet, before we become too macabre, there is something different about Christianity’s approach to death.  Humans accept that death is a fact of life and while the timing can be shocking, the fact is well-known. Yet, to Christians, death doe...

Well, baseball season is over.   I know, I know … there are some of you who have teams in the playoffs and others who don’t really start casually watching games until the season moves into the fall, but after watching scores of games during the summer, unless my team is in the playoffs, I’ll probably pass on the rest of the year.   As I look back over the 2025 season, I am disappointed, but I have to keep in mind that the season also provided me with hours of entertainment and (at times) some excitement.   No, the games didn’t always go the way I wanted but compared to other things going on in the world, it wasn’t a bad way to spend a few months. Have you noticed how critical we can be – not about our teams, but about our lives?   As we go through life, it is easy to fuss about this or complain about that, but for most of us life isn’t all that bad.   Sure, we win some and we lose some, but all-in-all we get to enjoy good times with the people we love.   ...