Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
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This is not what you would expect for a typical celebration. The place was wrong. Who would want to hold a celebration in a barn? At least not in a barn actively being used for its normal purpose; housing livestock. We would certainly not invite only strangers to join us with close friends and family excluded. We would want to have music, but not have the musicians singing and performing miles away from the celebration site. We expect presents for the 'birthday-Boy' but we would want them to be...
Isaiah’s prophecy continues having called the future Messiah ‘Wonderful’ he goes on to call Him ‘Counselor’. It is a term we hear used for lawyers, judges, and experts in the Law in courtrooms. Most certainly we will see Jesus, The Christ, fulfilling that role. He was accused of destroying the Law and the Prophets, but responded by saying He did not come to destroy the Law or Prophets but to fulfill them. (See St. Mathew 5:17-20) This He certainly did helping people see and understand the depth of meaning, the spirit, not simply the Letter of T...
It was a challenging time for the Prophet Isaiah. He was required of God to preach judgment upon his people. That is always painful. Of course God is right in bringing judgment to the Divided Israel. They had not obeyed God and not fulfilled God’s requirements for them. On a personal level, Isaiah had served God faithfully under the good kings Uzziah and Jotham. But, King Ahaz has come to power and he was not a good king in spite of having the godly examples of his father and grandfather and the godly advice and warnings from Isaiah. Isaiah t...
Please continue your worship and thanksgiving. No doubt, there are those who are missing some loved ones at this Thanksgiving Season. The thing is they had no idea last year this would happen. Death creeps up on us. We never expect it. I also hear of families who do not enjoy holiday-get-togethers because they involve arguments and often end in unhappiness and unpleasant memories. There is a Scriptural phrase that comes to mind regarding this: "My brethren, this ought not to be." I would echo...
Last time I asked you to ‘Pray for the Persecuted.’ Please continue. This week I want to urge and encourage you to take advantage of Thanksgiving Day. I know for some it will have a difference emphasis. For some it will be ‘Turkey Day.’ They will spend the day focused on food and enjoy a large, traditional meal and probably lots of snacks all day long. For others it may be ‘Football Day’ and they will spend hours in front of the T.V. There really isn’t time in only one day to bring to God...
The last two weeks in November have been named (I don't know by whom) "Weeks of Prayer for the Persecuted." Persecution can take many forms: from being spoken to or about in cruel, mean, or unkind ways to being kidnapped, raped or murdered. We may say, "Sticks and stones, can break my bones, but words will never hurt me." It's just not true. Words do hurt, a lot, often for a long time, with serious consequences. Often we presume persecution is focused against Christians. That is true but often...
I am pleased Pastor Joel Kletzing is writing in the Herald. I believe him to be a man of God. Once you have read what he has written, check it out to see if it is true. Then, check out what I have written to see if it is true as well. Through the history of the people of God, both Jewish and Christian, there have been those who did not speak the truth. There were false prophets. Jeremiah particularly had trouble with them. There were also false teachers, Paul, John, and others had trouble with...
Not long ago, there was a story about a whale entangled in fishing nets. It was likely going to cost the whale her life. But, fortunately there were scuba divers who worked together to cut the nets away and allow the whale to go free. There are spiritual entanglements we should be aware of just as dangerous, or more so, than fishing nets. There is a specific story in II Kings 3, with surrounding Scriptures, about just this very thing. The nation of Moab and its king Mesha, were subjugated to...
I was meditating the other day and a hymn, “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be,” popped into my head. It led to my thought chain bringing up other hymns: “America the Beautiful,” “For the Beauty of the Earth,” “How Great Thou Art” and you can add others, I am sure. Then I got to thinking about all the poets and song-writers and the beauty they wrote about. It brought me to the great Psalm-writer and his words: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim His wonders…” (Psalm...
I want to look at Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel. He suffered all sorts of affliction (meaning physical or mental pain or suffering testing a person’s ability to function). In the end, he triumphed over his afflictions and became an instrument for God’s use and glory. Joseph’s affliction began early in his life, through no real fault of his own. His father favored him above all his brothers. They were jealous and hated him. They actually plotted to kill him. He was a teen-ager when this...
I hope you have lots of friends. But I hope you have at least one that is extra special. This one I would like to see you name and own as an “accountability partner”. This one is so special you can tell him/her anything. You know they will keep your confidence. More than that, they will keep you accountable. You can ask for their help and prayers. You can confess your weaknesses and your temptations. You will ask them to pray. More than that, they will challenge you to live in a way that is righ...
Imagine: You just said or did something very hurtful to your dearest loved one. What is worse is you knew it would be hurtful and even intended it to be so. But, you did it anyway, then left in a huff and were gone all day. It was a miserable day. You could not even call to apologize. Calling would not be best anyway. You need to do this in person, face to face. You were going to see this loved one tonight. As soon as you caught sight of them across the room, you went right to them and began to apologize. Perhaps tears came to your eyes and to...
You may not like or may even disagree with my title. That’s O.K. I think I can justify it. Here is a simple response. I have never done this experiment but I have heard it was true from multiple sources When a chick is due to hatch, if you help it break out of its shell it will not survive. There is a thing called an ‘egg-tooth’ on top of its beak. The only purpose for this appendage is to allow the chick to peck around the shell and crack it. The chick then must push against the shell and break it open enough to come out. The rationale is th...
Let’s take a look at the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ as focused in Galatians 5:22-23. The first three are love, joy and peace. They reflect personal attributes that benefit others because others rejoice in them. The next three, longsuffering, (patience) gentleness, and peace relate toward others as an individual who is demonstrating them relates to others. I once heard someone explain longsuffering and/or patience as some translations say, attribute longsuffering toward other humans who really test/...
I’ll try to focus this ‘Thought’ on those of my peers who are say, sixty plus years of age. St. John 15, encourages us to bear fruit for God. There is no ‘statute of limitations’ on this. God still expects us to bear fruit even in old age. What do we need to do to accomplish this? Number 1: we need to be close to God, firmly attached to Him and allowing Him to live in us and rule our lives. I have illustrated this close connection by likening it to electricity. A loose or faulty connectio...
I think I would like to focus this ‘Thought’ on those of my peers who are say, sixty plus years of age. We may have aches, pains, recognize we can no longer do the things we once could, true. Still we should be and can be producing good fruit. Scriptures speak of fruit in several places. I think primarily of Galatians chapter five and St. John chapter fifteen. We might add a fruit not mentioned in either of these two Scriptural passages: That is the fruit of ‘thankfulness’. It is easy to focus on the things we see as “wrong” and not be than...
Perhaps you have heard someone say, "I'd like to go back to the 'Good Ol' Days". Maybe you have even said it yourself. Of course it really cannot be done and we have no idea how far they would like to go back. We could replicate some of the things from the past: i.e. going to the 'outhouse' on a ninety degree day and enduring the swelter and stench or on a 15 degree day and brushing a skiff of snow off the seat before occupying it. You could turn off heat in the winter and have no heat in your b...
You likely have seen a sign such as my title displayed at a doorway or gate. There is a purpose for this. Only certain people are allowed to pass through the entrance. All others are kept out. You must have a proof of who you are and that you are one of those allowed entrance before you can enter. To try to gain entrance without the proper I.D. means you will be barred from entry. When you display your identification, the guard checks it against his list. If your identification matches what is...
Fidel Castro, Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin. What do these men have in common? Each was a leader. We may not have liked them or their leadership, but people followed them. Like it or not, people need leaders. Scripture talks about people being like sheep and needing a shepherd. You may already be tired of hearing political rhetoric. This ‘Thought’ won’t be that. Israel had some great leaders. Styles were different but to some degree, many leaders were successful. Moses may have been the great...
As we travel through life, it is a good thing to remember the "T" things that are involved. Hopefully they can help us to keep on the straight and narrow way and not to be greatly discouraged as we move on from the cradle to the grave. Life is a "T"est. We see this over and over but still we can easily forget. Of course not many children want to hear the words: "We will be having a test today." But the reason for tests is to see what we know or how we'll handle situations of life. There is a...
We have looked at ‘Passion Week’ through Scripture. Hopefully you found this helpful. Now, I would like us to look at just a few of the flashes of passion Jesus had during this time frame. Jesus displayed great compassion as He (a) lamented, weeping over the future destruction of Jerusalem and saying He would have gathered them safely as a hen gathers her chicks but they refused. He displayed (b) righteous indignation while clearing the Temple, saying “My Father’s House shall be called a ‘hous...
I am feeling led to look at ‘The Tithe’ in this week’s Thought’. Basically The Tithe is giving to God, one tenth of grain, vegetables, fruit, and domesticated animals produced that year. There are other associated words, i.e. offerings, gifts, sacrifices, but I just plan to look at ‘tithe’. The original tithe seems to be voluntary. Abraham, celebrates his victory in a war. He dedicates one tenth of the spoils of war to Melchizedek, known as the priest of God, and King of Salem. The second I note...
Sometimes we think we are starting over with a “clean slate” at the beginning of a New Year. It may seem like we have found the “delete” button on our computer and are ready to push it so we can start fresh. That can be a great feeling but it just is not so. The bills we amassed in the past year are still to be paid. Health issues must still be dealt with. Any apologies we need to make we must still make. In other words, “We cannot start over.” But that does not mean we have no opportuniti...
Inspiration for this ‘Thought’ comes from John Glick. Lots of things look good just as they are. But in order to be useful, some things must be crushed or broken. Many of those things are food items. We sometimes purchase “whole grain cereal.” But, it is not really whole grain. The grain has been ground into flour and then further processed in order to create the cereal. You would be disappointed if you opened the box and found whole-kernel-grains of wheat, rice, oats, or corn. Of course...
As I think on “things we lose,” I am not talking about car keys or the remote control but more important things. I am thinking about spiritual blessings. Things like “peace,” “contentment,” and a host of other things. In the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, one line proposes, “O, what peace we often forfeit, O, what needless pain we bear”, and the reason given is, “All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Scripture invites us to come apart from the world and rest/abide in...
It is true that our children did not have basic “terrible anythings” but they had another childhood disease: “Asking Questions.” They asked dozens...hundreds, perhaps even...thousands. I think the chief one was “Why?” You know you can ask “Why? about facts, stories, incidents, activities, almost everything. You can even ask “Why? why is a question?” My wife was not very sympathetic either. She said, “It’s your own fault. They ask a simple question and you preach ‘em a sermon.” Probably, “gui...
When Haman cast the lot (Pur) I expect he was frustrated it would be a whole year until his vengeance was satisfied. But it is certainly a good thing from Mordecai’s perspective. He has almost nine months to get things fixed up for the Jews to at least defend themselves. Two things need to happen: The message must get into the hands of everyone. Those who hear this new decree must believe it is true. Getting it out works this way. The messengers were well mounted. They had horses (for flat p...
The time of fasting and I believe prayer is over. Queen Esther is about to put her life on the line for her people. She dresses carefully in her royal finery goes to the palace and the throne room. In the throne room all is going along smoothly. The itinerary is being carefully followed and there are no interruptions. Suddenly Queen Esther steps through the door. One by one courtiers see her, gasp, and stop whatever they are doing. She is not on the agenda and faces death. The king, perhaps...
Last week I gave a tiny introduction to the Book of Esther. I introduced Ahasuerus. Secular history knows him as Xerxes and I will call him that. We also lean on secular history to tell us about the times. Xerxes the Media-Persian king had a vast Empire. But as is often the case, he wanted more. He waged a war against Greece, which was to become the next World Empire. We heard about this a bit in the Book of Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision. It was of a statue, head of gold, chest of silver, b...
Two Old Testament books bear a woman’s name as title and are about the lives of those two women. One is Esther and I want to spend some time looking at her life and ministry. We can see and understand God is moving and shaping throughout the book yet His name is not mentioned. We can also see the two prime characters in the book are much involved with God and dependent on Him and yet prayer is not mentioned. It is alluded to but not actually stated. The setting for the book is following the f...
This is my 2,100 “Thought.” I want to thank those who have supported my writing over the years. I am not sure exactly how to go about that but will talk with Editor Anna Baughman to do so formally. When I started to do this more than 40 years ago, I had no idea how long it would last. I am grateful for the opportunity. I do hope you have found some of the articles helpful to you. As you might guess, sometimes it is hard to squeeze everything I want to say into the space available. There hav...
What is a leader? It is someone who provides direction, goals, motivation, and perhaps sets the pace for the group. He possesses authority either because he has earned it or it has been given to him by someone in higher authority. His leadership can be in some specific discipline or an overall dimension. Since I write about religious or Biblical subjects, my definition of a leader is within certain perimeters. Israel is a three-dimension-people. They are first family; the offspring of Abraham,...
“I want to always love You and be what You want me to be forever.” This was my closing sentence last time. Since God loves me (and you) perfectly, I think this should be my response to Him. When I was a child, we sang a hymn during worship services with these words: “Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole, I want Thee forever to live in my soul. Break down every idol. Cast out every foe. Now, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” A chorus followed. That song resonated with me. I did and do...
The Journey has begun. The Son has left His home in Heaven. I asked John McConahy to do an illustration that would project a prosperous man leaving. But this was not truly the case. When The Christ left, He took nothing with Him. Philippians 2 tells us that The Son was absolutely equal with The Father. But, He left all that splendor behind. It has been long ago that I began courting Sharon. But I well remember I tried to dress and look my best. When Christ came to earth, He did not come with an...
When I ask our good friend John McConahy to do our Thanksgiving illustration, it will likely be a Thanksgiving table loaded with celebratory food. He will do a great job as usual. He might feature a large turkey with the carving tools beside it. There could be a number of steaming bowls, dishes, and platters of food and of course the place settings for the family. He might even include people. There could be grandpa with caving tools in hand and his family gathered around him. This would certain...
Sometimes things overflow. Sometimes we overflow. I know three men who faced near-death situations. When each talks about it, they choke up and are unable to speak for a while. Tears course down their faces. Perhaps, because they are men, they get embarrassed about it, though it is perfectly natural and I think wonderful. They should not be embarrassed. Life is precious to all of us. The thought of losing one’s life brings him or her to the deep well of emotion. Those emotions overflow. P...
I am so glad for an oven with a glass in the door and a light inside. It gives me opportunity to view the cake as it is baking. I can see it begin to pull away from the sides of the pan without having to open the door and risk upsetting the baking process. I want to spend time looking at the Prophet Jeremiah. In His Own special and unique way, God looked upon Jeremiah as he was growing in his mother’s womb. Jeremiah could not see himself as a prophet and protested in two ways. He said he c...
My thanks to Editor Anna Baughman for allowing me extra space for the last “Thought.” Today, we look at Isaiah 55 and we will likely switch to another book next. LISTEN EVERYONE, Isaiah begins this chapter. The message of the “Suffering Savior” is truly first of all for the Jews but God wants everyone to hear. For He loves everyone. God not only does not want anyone to be destroyed. He wants everyone to come in humble repentance for the sin committed so He can forgive and restore them to a right...
Isaiah has a special story to tell in his 53rd chapter. It is a conundrum, at once horrible and beautiful. It is a story of man's inhumanity to a man and God's tremendous love for mankind. Isaiah wrote almost 2,800 years ago. Since then, for about two thirds of that time, it was interpreted to mean Israel and all the world would one day receive a Suffering Savior called Messiah. Then about 1,200 A.D., interpretation began to shift and Israel looked at this story, beginning to substitute the...
We closed last time with: “His answer was:” specific and 100 percent accurate. Isaiah said, do not be afraid of this man nor of the words he has spoken. He will not enter this city. Not even one arrow will fly from his army into Jerusalem. He will hear a rumor and it will cause him to leave this siege and return to his country. He will die there. Your land will of itself produce food and good crops the next two years without any work on your part. For the third year, you will need to plow and...
For a prophet to be considered a prophet, speaking the Word of the Lord, he must issue prophesies (predictions) that are specific and 100-percent accurate. To prophesy that something is going to happen somewhere, is not enough. Nor is it enough for a prophet to say something is going to happen in hundreds of years from now because no one will know if that prophesy is going to come true. Isaiah did indeed prophesy of coming things. He prophesied a man named Cyrus would free Israel. He made this...
I did not plan to spend lots of time in any of the Old Testament Prophets/Books. But, already I have digressed. Last week’s “Thought” on “The Vineyard” gave us something to consider. I know these words are from God, through Isaiah, to Israel. But, we can always take God’s word, search it for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and/or for instruction in righteousness to help us be better equipped to serve God. Warren Wiersbe proposes that Isaiah has preached his sermon, or used his parable and now begins to act like a troubadour and to sing a...
You have heard it. A blaring sound comes across your media. The words are: “This is a test. This is only a test…” Then you will be told it is not an emergency but if it had been an actual emergency, you would be told what to do. This test is given to prepare us. God also gave a test. You will find out all about it by reading Deuteronomy chapter 8. It is a two-part test and it is administered over many years. Moses is addressing the people of Israel. He is nearing the end of his life. He has led Israel for forty years. Because of his sin, he is...
The Old Testament is about twice as large as the New. Yet, churches spend much more time in the study of the New. I am not negative about this necessarily but am concerned we begin to think the Old Testament is not important. It most certainly is. We can glean much knowledge about God and ourselves from it. I plan to spend some time in the Book of Judges. It was a challenging time. The dynamic heroes have passed on. Moses spent forty years leading Israel. There was great lament when he was...
