Winston Churchill said, “Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” A less remarkable person reportedly said, “If you try to catch two rabbits, you’ll catch none.”
The help-wanted ads clamor for a person who has “multi-tasking skills.” Do those exist? It seems as though a person may do more than one thing at a time but may make a mistake because attention is diverted. Continue reading “One thing at a time”
Those weeds are a pain in the neck….and back….and knees. For those of us with physical impairments, there are methods to compensate for those aches and pains.
Scattered around the overflowing flowerbeds in our yard are multiple milk crates, turned upside down and carefully placed among the plants. They allow me to reach the weeds and plant the flowers without bending at the waist or kneeling.
Often you may find a “reaching tool” lying on a bench or leaning against a fence. Continue reading “Posture is important”
“After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!’” (Revelation 19:1-2 NET).
As we mentioned in our previous article, John’s Revelation is not the easiest to understand. There are many explanations and interpretations, but there are also eternal truths in the word-pictures that John used to paint a picture for us. Continue reading “God’s judgments are true and just”
“But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners” (1 Timothy 1:8-9 NKJV).
During a discussion of a preacher’s work in an Asian country, the response came repeatedly: “I must rebuke them.” The brother’s idea of the mission of an evangelist was to reprove and correct, to always search for wrong and chastise the guilty. Continue reading “Properly using the law of God”
There is a television show using the above name that depicts the CEO of a company donning some disguise and working in a local branch. Imagine the CEO of Burger King or ACE Hardware going to a local branch in Baton Rouge Louisiana or Lufkin, Texas and seeing his company from close up. They take off their thousand dollar suits and don a company uniform. They leave their plush office with the view and live in a cheap hotel. Continue reading “Undercover boss”
It took a truck to deliver the 10 pizzas, since the motorcycle deliverer couldn’t manage them all. So here came the owner in his vehicle. And right on time, too.
The pizzas were part of our going-away party, after church, for our son Joel, his wife Tansy, and our two grandchildren. (The fact that they’re the children of our son and daughter-in-law is incidental, understand.) They spent 11 months living down the street from us and will be returning this week to the U.S., as planned.
This was the first time we’ve had grandchildren living near us. It was a grand experience. They were able to see us in our home setting, rather than a few days visiting in their home once a year or so, and then gone again. Continue reading “A help to many, including me”
The transfiguration of Jesus must have been an amazing sight for Peter, James, and John. Still, the significance of the event could be misunderstood.
Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone until after he was raised from the dead (Matthew 17:9). Why weren’t the other disciples to know? Why keep the knowledge from them?
The reason was probably simple: people can misunderstand. Continue reading “People can misunderstand”
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34 ESV).
How would you like to spend much of your day cutting weeds, branches, and vines for your goats and cows to eat, then carrying that fodder uphill for a mile or more? What about doing that every day, week in and week out, throughout your life? Or what about beginning each morning Continue reading “Everyday concerns”
“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He declared in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!’” (Revelation 14:6-7 NET).
John’s Revelation is not the most straightforward scripture. There are many explanations and interpretations, some of which have merit and some are more in the realms of fantasy. But whatever interpretation we want to place on it, there are some eternal truths that we can see in the word-pictures that John used to paint a picture for us. Continue reading “Fear God and give him glory”
Must we wait for tragedy to make things right? Continue reading Nearsighted fools