Article (Page 14)

A few weeks ago, I was burning the wood from two trees that had to be cut down. I’d piled the wood as far from any other tree as possible, but the fire was so hot that a branch about 30 feet above and off to the side of the fire started to smoke in several places. Even though I was spraying water on the fire the whole time and had wet down the nearest trees, the heat continued to…

Feeling sorry for yourself? Is it because of the “inconvenience” you have had to suffer during recent days? Wouldn’t honesty force most of us to say that is about all we have experienced? The question God asked Satan two times (Job 1:8, 2:3) might be worth thinking about if you are feeling sorry for yourself. Remember how it began? “Have you considered My servant Job. . . ?” Why should we consider Job? For one thing, we will see a…

One of the first things I do every week when I come in the office is to write on a 3×5 notecard of all the things I need to get accomplished for that week. Some weeks, it goes great. Some weeks, I find I’m adding things as fast as (or faster than) I am crossing them off. There are some days and weeks that are busier than others, but still things need to be done. Looking at my “to-do” list,…

Ever wonder what goes on at the annual elder/preacher retreat such as the one we had last weekend? First, after all of us arrive at our retreat destination, we have a manly meal together (lots of meat). Then, we’ll get down to the very serious business of praying through the directory. We mention each member and their family members by name, and ask God’s blessing on them. In other words, every one of you is mentioned in our prayers. We’ll…

Mosie Lister, though not a member of the Lord’s church, used his talents and abilities to write many well-loved songs and hymns. What he is most known for is writing lyrics and music that are relatively well-suited to sing and fit well into quartet or solo style. In 1960, Elvis Presley, the king of Rock and Roll, when he had a brief stint into so-called “gospel music,” recorded two of Mosie Lister’s songs– “Till the Storm Passes Over” and “His…

It’s a six-sided, enigmatic conundrum of a puzzle. The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 and has been frustrating millions of people throughout the following 46 years. When Erno Rubik created the Rubik’s Cube, he had no idea how to solve it. The creator didn’t understand how to solve the problem that his creation posed. It took Rubik over a month of continually trying before he found the solution. Mathematicians have done the calculations and have concluded that there are…

According to Numbers 13, when the spies returned from their forty days of investigating the land God had promised them, there was a divided opinion presented to the people. It was not a difference involving facts. All twelve spies agreed that the land was good. In fact, it “flowed with milk and honey” (Num. 13:27, 14:8). The difference was in regard to faith. Ten said, “We are not able. . .” (13:31). Two said, “. . .we are well able.…

Sitting on the shelf in my office is a beautiful hand-made mantle clock that sat on the mantle of my grandparents’ house for many years. Every time it chimes, it takes me back to the old house in Chandler, Texas. I love this clock (including the accuracy of time, the steady ticking, the hypnotic swings of the pendulum, and the hourly chimes), yet I come in on Monday morning and see a clock that is about “wound down.” So, the…

Sometimes, we can be so afraid that we might say something incorrect about the topic of the Holy Spirit that we might not say anything at all! As some disciples said, “we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). I’ve heard well-intentioned men pray, “Thank you God for what You and Jesus planned for us…” Or we might hear people saying, “I want to do what pleases God and Jesus.” I am tempted to ask,…

The headline reads, “Engineer’s ‘AI Jesus’ goes on to make terrifying apocalyptic prophecy.” That’ll get someone’s attention. “AI” stands for “artificial intelligence.” While the “artificial” part of the title makes sense, the “intelligence” aspect is silliness. An engineer and quantum researcher wrote an artificially intelligent algorithm which “learned” language by only reading the Bible. From there, the program was tasked with making “prophecies” based on the information it had acquired from “reading” the King James Version of the Bible. The…

Parents are rightly concerned about the physical development of their children. They will keep a close check on the height and weight of growing children. They will encourage them to eat food that will be healthy and will help them to grow stronger. Christians, of all ages, need to be concerned about our spiritual development. There is inspired exhortation for us to grow. In I Peter 2:2, the apostle writes, “…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word,…

Despite the funny looks I got from some of you (read: a lot of you) for wearing the Army green shirt and camouflage pants most Wednesday nights this summer, let me say this: I had a blast teaching Bible Boot Camp! Here are a few great lessons I appreciated being a drill sergeant in boot camp this summer:  We are blessed with really great kids here. Every one of them improved over the course of the summer in learning about…