There’s an old quote by the prolific author anonymous that captures the heartbreak of a relationship that never came to be.
“We were almost in love, almost forever, almost happy. Almost.”
Almost. “It’s a sad word, isn’t it? In a way, it’s a promise that never got made.” Indeed. As Beau Taplin opined, “It is the ‘almosts’ that break your heart.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
My friend, preaching colleague, and fellow blogger, Roger Shouse, is fond of saying, “Sunday is the best day of the week.”
He often speaks in his blogs about how special Sunday is to him and how much he looks forward to it. In one post, he gushed, “I love Sundays.”
Why? What makes Sunday so special? Why would someone speak of loving Sunday above another day? Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
There are many apocryphal stories and quotes floating around about C. S. Lewis. This may be one of them.
I read where a man who was dealing with doubts once questioned the British author asking, “Why do the righteous suffer?” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
This week I am in a meeting with the church in Belleville, Indiana. It’s a pleasure to be back in Hendricks County where I grew up. Returning “home” has unearthed so many memories.
Saturday we drove past the church building where I attended throughout my childhood and teenage years. It was where I went to Bible classes twice a week. Where I was baptized. Participated in worship services. Gave my first talk. And listened to and learned from the powerful preaching of Aude McKee. The building is now owned by another religious group, but there was a car in the parking lot. So we stopped and they invited us in. We walked into the auditorium and through the classrooms, thinking of Bible teachers and times spent learning God’s Word. So, many precious memories flooded my soul.
Filed under Passage To Ponder
On their 50th wedding anniversary, a couple was asked their secret to a long and happy marriage.
The husband said, “I have tried never to be selfish. After all, there is no ’I’ in the word ‘marriage.’” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
“He leads me beside the still waters”
How do you view God?
Several years ago USA Today published a survey that found over 31% of Americans saw God as an “Authoritarian.” They felt he was mostly angry and was ready to punish us if we didn’t shape up.
More than 24% viewed God as “distant,” and 16% saw God as “critical” and “judgmental.”
So, more than 70% held a view of God contrary to the teaching of the Bible and the thesis of this Psalm–”The Lord is my Shepherd. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
“He makes me to lie down in green pastures”
“”The strange thing about sheep is that because of their very makeup it is almost impossible fo them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met,” wrote the East African born W. Phillip Keller in “A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalm 23
Students in a Bible class were once asked to memorize Psalm 23. One little girl stood up and began “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Then she paused, as her mind went blank.
Quickly, she smiled and blurted out, “And that’s all I want.” Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalm 23
In his book, God’s Psychiatry, Charles L. Allen tells about a businessman who came to him for advice.
The businessman was talented, successful, and had risen to be chosen as president of his company. “Yet, along the way,” Allen wrote, “he had left out something, and one of the things he did not achieve is happiness.” Allen observed that he was a nervous, tense, worried, and a sick man. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder, Psalm 23
“Fellow citizens! Clouds and darkness are round about Him. The dark waters of the seas and stars of the skies form His pavilion. Justice and judgment are the establishment of His throne. Mercy and truth go before His face. Fellow citizens, God still reigns! He will enable the government in Washington to carry on.”
Those words were spoken by General James A. Garfield to an emotionally troubled and distressed crowd in New York City the morning after President Lincoln had been assassinated. Continue reading
Filed under Passage To Ponder
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