This coming Thursday will be the 69th annual observance of America’s National Day of Prayer. What many do not realize is that the observance of this day is a national law, not just a day proclaimed by some special interest group. In 1952, President Truman made the National Day of Prayer an annual observance. His…
My government stimulus check arrived last week. I have two things to say about it. Number one, I am very glad that those in need are able to receive such assistance. Number two, a benefit of being retired is my income has remained the same. I have not been fired, laid-off, or placed on a…
Some days, it is not so much who you are as it is where you are. Years ago, when I was the Baptist Campus Minister at the University of Texas, I proved this to be true. One of my staff members and I arrived late for the weekly Austin Baptist Association Pastor’s Luncheon. When we…
Yesterday was Easter Sunday and I kept thinking of the word, “empty.” For many churches yesterday’s message of an empty tomb was delivered in an empty worship center. These are the days of coronavirus, when churches are under government orders to remain closed and worship can only happen online. Who would have dreamed that the…
It had been one of those long, sleepless nights – the kind where you keep waking up and talking to God. The issue causing my insomnia, was troubling, and I kept thinking, that I just needed to keep talking with God about it. After all, I had spent a career teaching and preaching that God…
Thanks to the Coronavirus, I am sheltered in place, but I am also going cold turkey. Wikipedia defines “cold turkey” as “the abrupt cessation of a substance dependence and the resulting unpleasant experience,” No, I don’t have any drug addictions to cancel, nor am I an alcoholic, and I never smoked, except once in first…
I had occasionally sung in the shower, but I had never sung at the sink before. Now, thanks to the CaronaVirus, I am told to wash my hands many times each day and to continue for a minimum of twenty seconds. (I confess I have not washed enough to reach the level of one who…
Two facts face us today. We are in a global crisis – a pandemic. No use to quote statistics related to the Caronavirus (COVID-19), since they are changing so rapidly that there will be a wide gap between what I write and what you read. The second fact is that leaders from presidents, to governors,…
Recently I passed through Buffalo, Texas and wondered. Have you ever reflected on an early life decision and wondered how things might have gone had you made a different decision? I was in my final semester of my first seminary degree and serving as pastor of my second church, when two choices presented themselves to…
This past weekend I attended my High School class reunion – Reagan High School in Houston, Texas. The name was changed a few years ago by the Houston School Board, because they discovered that John H. Reagan was actually Postmaster of the Confederacy, and that was considered too racist. The school name was returned to…