I love friendships. I guess that’s why I love my college Homecoming so much. I have friends that have come and gone. I have friends with whom I have completely lost contact. I have a few friends who have chosen to no longer be friends. But college friends – they are special, and as the…
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. As we “Remember those . . . who have spoken the word of God” (Hebrews 13:7), I like to share a long-ago newspaper-clipped “Prayer for my Pastor” which I assume is anonymous. I have used it many times. “Dear God, bless my pastor today. Make him too big to be…
I spoke last Saturday at the 95th anniversary of the East Texas State University (now known as Texas A&M, Commerce) Baptist Student Ministry. Many years ago, I served as Director and Bible Instructor for this ministry. In the brief three years I was there I touched lives with students who went on to become Attorneys…
As we sat in the airport awaiting our flight and watched as people boarded the flight at the adjacent gate – Allegiant Airlines flight 417, non-stop to Las Vegas, we noticed they were mostly happy people, headed for a holiday weekend or a vacation. Many no doubt planning to visit a few casinos, perhaps take…
We once had a beautiful long-haired dachshund. Even in her later years, all I had to do was say the word, “Go” and she would jump from wherever she was sitting and run to the nearest door. Funny how I have become like that dog. I know I need to say “no” occasionally, but every…
Fifty years ago, this month I began a six-year tenure serving as the Baptist Student Minister and Bible Instructor at Pan American University. This week I am speaking five times in three days to students at the same University (now called The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley). In preparation for these presentations, I journeyed…
It was a High School football game. He sat a few seats from me on the same row. After awhile he asked me, “Who are these teams?” I told him, then asked, “Where are you from.” His reply of ” Port Arthur” told me all I needed to know. Adjacent to the football stadium is…
Last Monday’s morning manna, “Things Seen and Not Seen in Hurricane Harvey” went viral so I am told. This week’s Manna may well go the opposite direction. I am getting really tired of small-minded people posting on social media that the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and now Hurricane Irma is God’s punishment on southeast Texas…
Having grown up in Houston, I sat glued to my TV set for hours watching the recent crisis created by record-breaking Hurricane Harvey. There were several things I did not see via all the media reports: • No protests by radical groups. • No police abuse, shootings, etc. • No Confederate statues pulled down. •…
Last week I participated in the North American Prayer Summit in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (the oldest and most easterly city in North America). Prayer leaders from North American countries, especially Canada, U.S. and Mexico met for four days to share reports and pray for their continent. It made me wonder about the possibility of…