Quality and Quantity

For most of my life, I have felt good. But all that time I didn’t really know how good I felt. It took “precious” trials of life, such as cancer, to see how wonderful physical life truly is. So that is why I am not using a Jedi mind trick when I think positively about…

Finances for the Faithful

Ecclesiastes 10:16-18 compares the state of two nations. One is woefully prepared, having a child as king and princes feasting in the morning. The other is blessed, having a mature king of noble birth and princes feasting at the appropriate time. The conclusion, then, is that a nation needs appropriate controls in order to thrive….

Being Together

At the very beginning of humanity, God declared that it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). It is important for us to have companionship and help that we cannot receive from any beast of the earth or bird of the air. This was one of the first things that Adam learned…

Numbers…Numbers…Numbers

It seems to be human nature to emphasize and think highly of large numbers of people, in particular as it relates to churches. After all, if such a large number of people believe or do something, it must be a good thing. Right?   Actually, not really. Nowhere is this more important than in religion. Unfortunately…

The Consequences of Sin

Throughout both the Bible and the pages of secular history, we can read of the disastrous consequences of the errors and misconduct of men. The Biblical account of Adam and Eve’s disobedience is not a mere myth but a God given record of their transgression and the effect that it brought on all generations since…

Relics of a Dying Age

Have you ever kissed a statue? I have. As a boy, I attended St. Andrews Catholic Church in Abilene, Kansas. I also attended its school from the third to the eighth grades. A part of the school’s routine was to attend Mass. The interior of St. Andrews church building was quite elaborate. High on the…

1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). As our Brother Paul…

Sitting With Christ

Ephesians was written during Paul’s initial imprisonment in Rome.  It was written at the same time as Colossians and was delivered to the respective congregations by the same man, Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7).  Of the 155 verses in Ephesians, 78 are repeated in identical or similar language in Colossians.  While Paul spends much of…

The BIG Shutdown

Any time that a factory, or refinery, or mass transportation facility, or banking system, or even a major retail store shuts down, the lives of a certain number of people will be affected.  When the government of a powerful nation is shut down, it may not only affect the lives of the citizens of that…