I have always had fears. When I was a child, I feared being separated from my parents. When I was a teen-ager, I feared being unaccepted by my peers. When I was a college student, I feared not finding the perfect mate for life. When I was a Seminary student, I feared not finding God’s…
“What can we do for you?” That was the question asked of ten church planters in an area where less than 2% of the population claim to be a part of evangelical Christian churches. All but one responded with the same first answer – “pray for us.” There were other answers with other expressed needs,…
Always strive for excellence. A well-known professional golfer, after not winning the Masters Golf Tournament, was reported to have said, “I’m not good enough . . . in 13 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to play for second or third place.” I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and hope…
The second most exciting event of that first Easter was a case of heartburn. Early that Sunday morning, Jesus, dead since Friday afternoon, came out of the grave, alive forevermore. That was the best Good News of the day. However, later that same day, a believer named Cleopas and his friend, were walking home from…
The last few days have afforded us an interesting study in human nature. The lottery hit $640 million and people went wild. Faced with an infinitesimally small chance of winning, folks who had never played the lottery previously, defied all odds, rushed to convenience stores, and asked how to select their numbers. The nightly news…
You never know who is watching you. For several months I have been doing my early morning walking at a nearby shopping mall. Since the stores do not open until later, the only people in the mall are walkers and there are a good number of them. Fast walkers pass slower walkers and slow walkers…
A child desperately wanted a new high-tech gadget. He had heard about it from older friends. He begged and pleaded his parents for the gadget to no avail. He cried for it, promised he be good forever if he got it, and offered to give up other possessions if necessary. Still the parents did not…
I remember the sweet smelling aroma just outside my bedroom window as I was growing up. I knew it as the night-blooming jasmine, although it was officially known as Cestrum nocturnum, a species of Cestrum in the plant family Solanaceae, native to the West Indies. All I knew was that a powerful, sweet perfume was…
Elbert Lafayette Crawford was my great grandfather, whom I never knew. He was from Mississippi as was his wife. They married in Ft. Smith, Arkansas and moved to central Texas where she died at the age of 38. He was a farmer in Bell County, Texas where he died and was buried in the Wilson…
I confess it is a challenge for me to find many exciting verses in the book of Leviticus. However, one caught my full attention this week. How does God show holiness? There are other answers, but one answer is found in Leviticus 10:3, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near…