Joseph M. Stowell, in his book Following Christ, asks these probing and penetrating questions:
Who among us has not gone astray and indulged our flesh in some manner?
Who among us has not taken a detour after a driving ambition?
Who among us has not flirted in their mind with adultery?
Who among us has not risked stepping beyond the parameters of what is right? Continue reading
Filed under Sin, Temptation
On this day in history, October 24, 1901, Annie Edson Taylor, was the first person to take the plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
The 63-year-old schoolteacher was hurting financially and seeking fame, so she came up with this stunt she thought would grab the public’s attention. Continue reading
Filed under Sin, Temptation
“Modern Day ‘Good Samaritans Make A Difference” was the title to a post last December on ThePreachersWord.
It was a heartwarming story about a homeless Marine veteran, Johnny Bobbitt who used his last $20 to help a stranded woman, Katelyn McClure, buy gas. As a result, McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, set up a GoFundMe page to help Bobbitt, which garnered over $400,000 in donations.
Sadly, we learned yesterday that the whole thing was a scam. Continue reading
Filed under Sin
My friend and preaching colleague, Wilson Adams called it “Symptomatology.” I thought he made it up. But it’s a real word. A medical word. But Wilson defined it as “treating symptoms instead of the real problem.”
“Truth is,” Wilson wrote in a recent facebook post, “we are becoming quite numb to school, church, and public killings. Immersed in a culture of violence, we are witnessing a lost generation without conscience moorings.”
“Why?” He asks. Continue reading
Filed under Sin
Yesterday we enjoyed driving around The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Although it was a little cool, we stopped for some short walks on trails. It was a very pleasant and relaxing day.
One thing you soon notice in the park is the various warning signs. There are trail advisories. Warnings against feeding the bears. The danger of biking down steep grades. The probation of climbing rocks in certain areas. There was even a caution to watch for possible snow and ice. Continue reading
Filed under Sin
“You think you’re going to be safe in church,” said Mike McPherson, as he waited at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Sunday for updates on his friend Joey Spann.
Spann is the minister at Burnette Chapel church of Christ, where a gunman, identified by police as 25-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson, entered the building at the conclusion of worship last Sunday and began “indiscriminately shooting at people,” police said, wounding six people. Continue reading
Filed under Evil, Sin, Uncategorized
Today is the 100th anniversary of the United States entry into World War I. It is an event that history says “changed America, and the world forever.”
Although the war erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pursued a policy of neutrality which the vast majority of Americans favored. However, Germany’s imperialistic vision would not leave America alone. Our ships were attacked as we aided Great Britain and our other Allies. Continue reading
