I’ve often wondered what prompted the disciples of Jesus to ask Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). Many things happened between their call to follow Him and their request to be taught prayer. According to Luke, just one chapter prior to their request, Jesus described the harvest as “great” and the laborers as…
The African impala can jump to a height of over ten feet and cover a distance of greater than thirty feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a three-foot wall. Why? The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will land. If they…
I’ve come to expect the phrase at every doctor and dental visit of these “golden years” and there have been far too many of the visits to suit me. Somehow the diagnosis always includes the term, “age-related.” I’ve learned to live with the term. I know there are things I will never do again –…
I know a few people who weep on Sunday: preachers whose sermons could have used a few more hours of preparation before delivery; homebound folks who would love to be in a worship service but cannot; workers who, by no choice of their own, must be on the job during times of Sunday worship. But…
I read recently an estimate of how many people are reading books on prayer these days and I wondered how many of these readers were actually praying. With amazon.com listing 48,000 books on Christian prayer for sale, there is no shortage of reading material, and new books are being published daily. Certainly writing and reading…
Is there ever a good reason to despise someone? Maybe so. There seemed to be a good reason that the Jews despised Roman soldiers. The law said that a Roman soldier could require a Jewish citizen to carry the heavy military backpack for one mile. Many Jewish citizens had markers located one mile from their…
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Even though my mother re-located to heaven seventeen years ago, she fits the description of Able of Old Testament days, “he being dead still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). Although she had many memorable lines, her most remembered statement, reflecting her always-positive attitude, even in the midst of difficult circumstances, was “It will…
I had experienced what I determined to be a call from God to the ministry and was offered an opportunity to preach at the Star of Hope Mission in downtown Houston. Since I was still a teen-ager, my grandfather was strongly opposed to me doing so. I did what he may have thought disrespectful; I…
Most of the time, I succeed at what I plan. However, my preparation occasionally exceeds my performance. Has that ever happened to you? It happened to Jehoshaphat, when he was king of Judah. On one occasion, he tried to live up to the reputation of Solomon, who, as king of Israel, built ships and sent…
Have you noticed that in death, nearly everyone is spoken of in positive terms? Seems we are hesitant to say anything negative about one who is deceased. It reminds me of the rugged cowboy who attended the funeral of a scoundrel friend, one who had broken at least three-fourths of the laws in the Old…