Have you ever encountered some setback, problem, challenge, or even tragedy, and some well-meaning person says to you, “Everything happens for a reason.”
Other versions of this philosophy are expressed this way.
“God doesn’t make mistakes .”
“God must be up to something.”
“You must be very special for God to trust you with this.” Continue reading
Filed under Life
Some time ago I was chatting with a fellow preacher who told me about a mutual acquaintance who had resigned from the church where he was preaching and had taken a secular job.
When I expressed surprise, he responded, “Well, I guess he’s a part of the “Great Resignation.”
“Is that really a thing?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” my friend replied. Continue reading
Filed under Work
Have you noticed in the past 12-18 months the number of reports dealing with mental health problems people are facing?
The virus has not only taken a toll on us physically and affected our economy and politics but also impacted us emotionally and psychologically.
One survey showed that 51% of young adults say they feel down, depressed, or hopeless.
Another survey found that 40% of all Americans have reported some mental health issues related to the pandemic. And 11% had considered suicide. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
“The cross is the center of the world’s history; the incarnation of Christ and the crucifixion of our Lord are the pivot round which all the events of the ages revolve” once wrote the British minister, Alexander MacLaren.
Not only is the cross, the center of the world’s history, but it is also fittingly the center of why Christians assemble on Sunday. It is the center of what we will be doing today. Continue reading
Filed under Sunday Seed Thoughts
Good Morning From Beverly Hills, Florida
Occasionally my blog mentions something that occurred “on this day in history. Today our household is celebrating such an event. It was on February 19, 19– that a baby girl was born about 60 miles north of here. Her name– Norma Jean Slaughter. While that birth won’t receive any national recognition, it’s pretty important to us. Happy Birthday, Sweetie! Continue reading
Filed under Weekly Recap
The other day Norma Jean and I were eating in Cracker Barrel and I saw a plaque as we were leaving with “Rules For Marriage.”
I said, “That would make a good Friday’s list.” However, it would be even better to actually live by these “rules” in my marriage. And your marriage.
With only a slight modification, plus the addition of Bible verses for each one, here they are.
9 RULES FOR MARRIAGE Continue reading
Filed under Friday's List to Life By
Norman and Berdyne Fultz, friends of mine from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, shared an interesting incident on facebook that occurred this week.
The Fultz’s were eating at an On the Border restaurant on Monday evening celebrating their 70th Valentine’s Day together. Their meal became a little sweeter when the server informed them that an anonymous gentleman had paid their bill.
Apparently, he noticed them when they entered the restaurant and told the server they were “a cute couple,” and wanted to buy their dinner. Continue reading
Filed under Discipleship
“The hardest thing about milking cows,” once quipped a farmer, “is that they never stay milked.”
Isn’t this true of so many areas of our lives? Doing something once is not enough. It must be repeated over and over again. Like… Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
You don’t have to be a “news junkie” to know that crime in the United States is increasing.
Violent crime is especially on the rise according to FBI statistics. And not just in our major cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Even in our rural community of Citrus County our local newspaper, The Chronicle, reports murders, rapes, and armed robberies.
Recently President Biden met with New York Mayor Eric Adams to discuss the crime problem and proposals to reduce violent crime. Continue reading
There’s an old joke about a woman whose husband died and she had inscribed on his tombstone words to this effect:
“The light of my love has been extinguished.”
In time, however, her heart healed, she met another man and fell in love. As she planned to remarry, the inscription on her first husband’s tombstone bothered her. Continue reading
Filed under Renew in '22, Word of the Week
ThePreachersWord 