The picture is black & white, faded a bit, with torn edges, survivor of six decades. It is a group of Royal Ambassadors, standing in front of their church family, receiving recognition for their accomplishments, proudly claiming to be “Ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Standing next to me in the picture, is my friend,…
When we get that for which we pray, we say God answered our prayer. When we fail to get that for which we pray, we say, God didn’t answer our prayer. Is it possible that God answered your prayer by saying, “no?” When some would-be followers of Jesus requested to first bury their father, the…
Have you ever returned to a place that was once home, only to be surprised as to how much it had changed? I did so recently (I have twelve cities that I have called home for a time). Proud of the progress, I was likewise sad that much of the old was either gone or…
Yesterday I began my twenty-fourth interim pastorate. As far as I know, all have been thankful for my service, but not all have expressed their thanks the same way. On the next to last Sunday at a small church, my watch broke, so on the final Sunday they presented me with a very expensive watch,…
The first nurse I ever met was Inez Gilliam Crawford at Kings Daughters Hospital in Temple, Texas. She was my mother and that’s where I was born. The most recent nurse I met was last week at the Texas Health Hospital Clearfork Surgery Center where my wife was having hip replacement surgery. Separated by decades,…
Attending a baseball game recently, I had a flashback to my own playing days and this interesting reflection – I never hit a Home Run – not in Little League, Summer Baseball Camp, Pony League, High School, College, Semi-pro Softball, Church League Softball – not one Home Run. In a world where the Home Run…
It finally happened! I was introduced as an “old timey preacher.” The only time I dislike introductions is when I have to live up to one. So what were they expecting out of me? What is an “old timey preacher”? True, I’m older than most preachers who introduce me these days. Was the introduction because…
I have a question for those who speak of “praying on the armor every morning.” Why did you take it off the night before? I know. You say you can’t sleep with all that armor on. The Roman soldiers did, especially when they thought the enemy was near. The analogy to spiritual warfare and the…
I’ve always had books. I learned early the value of being well-read. My pastor-father had a large library and upon his death, some of it added to mine. Henry Ward Beecher, a clergyman and writer from an earlier generation, wrote, “A little library, growing every year, is an honorable part of a man’s history. It…
As a workaholic, I never cared much for solitude. Oh, I knew about it and my need for it, but I just never made time for much of it. I could quote Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God” and even learned the NASV translation, “Cease striving and know that I am…