He was called by one reporter, “a walking billboard for reconciliation.”
Douglas “Pete” Peterson served as a U. S. Air Force captain during the Vietnam War and was shot down during a bombing raid near Hanoi in 1966. For six and a half years he was held as a prisoner of war. He was humiliated. Beaten. Abused. Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week
The word “communion” is often used to refer to the Lord’s Supper as in “we take communion every Sunday.” However, it has a much broader meaning.
The word translated “communion,” from the Greek word “koinonia,” is often translated “fellowship.” It is also rendered “contribution,” “companion.” “partaker,” and “partner.” Continue reading
Filed under Sunday Seed Thoughts
I didn’t watch last night’s Republican debate. Did I miss anything?
Did Donald Trump insult anyone? Did the other candidates react with similar retorts? Were they still taking about the size of hands and what that possibly meant? Were there any personal attacks?
Actually I did see a CNN headline this morning that read “Republican Debate Turns Dirty.” Continue reading
This quarter at Hickman Mills we are studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Though I have read, studied and taught it many times, it is always fresh, rich and challenging with modern-day application.
The study reminded me of a story related years ago by Phillip Yancey, in his book “The Jesus I Never Knew,” about a Texas A&M professor, Virginia Stern Owens, who assigned her students to write a short essay on the sermon on the mount. Here’s a sample of some of the student’s reactions: Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
“Jacob’s Ladder,” was a 1980’s hit written by Bruce Hornsby and performed by Huey Lewis and the News. Remember them?
The song was set in Birmingham, Alabama, and married the Biblical image of Jacob’s ladder with someone who rejects a proselytizing evangelist, preferring to struggle through life one day at the time. In part the lyrics go like this. Continue reading
Filed under Great Bible Verses
Fifty years ago I made the decision as a teenager to preach the Gospel of Christ. Although there have been various opportunities, interests and even the need on occasion to “make tents,” I’ve never wavered from my primary passion.
The commitment to preach has taken Norma Jean and me to many cities and states throughout the years–from Maine to California. And even a mission trip to Kazakstan. We have lived and engaged in located work in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and now Missouri. I have tried to approach what I might do and where I would live based on the exhortation in James 4:13-17. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Does the Bible teach that God’s providence works in human events to care for His people and accomplish His purposes?
What is God’s will for our lives?
Do the unexpected events that occur in our lives demonstrate the work and will of the Lord working to influence our choices and decisions?
These are questions each of us will face, sooner of later. They each relate to our word of the week, providence. Continue reading
Filed under Providence, Word of the Week
I recently came across an old piece from S. H. Payer that has taken on new meaning for me. I hope it speaks to you in a personal way.
Live each day to the fullest.
Get the most from each hour, each day, and each age of your life.
Then you can look forward with confidence, and back without regrets. Continue reading
Filed under Sunday Seed Thoughts
Sometimes when visiting a cemetery, I like to look for old grave markers and read the epitaphs. Many are predictable. Like “Rest in Peace.” “Loving Mother.” Or “Faithful Father.”
However, some people, or at least their relatives, exhibited a sense of humor about the choice of epitaphs. Here are some actual inscriptions on tombstones.
Ezekial Aikle, buried in the East Dalhousie Cemetery in Nova Scotia, died at age 102. His Epitaph? “The Good Die Young.” Continue reading
Filed under Opportunity, Service
Some of the world’s greatest men and women have been saddled with disabilities and adversities but have managed to overcome them. I’m not sure of the origin of this piece, but it expresses this thought well.
Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln.
Subject him to bitter religious prejudice, and you have a Benjamin Disraeli. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes a Franklin D. Roosevelt. Burn him so severely in a schoolhouse fire that the doctors say he will never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham, who set a world’s record in 1934 for running a mile in 4 minutes, 6.7 seconds. Continue reading
Filed under Adversity
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