Well, I had a very challenging week and because my schedule failed to keep up with the budget of time this pondering is one that I wrote four years ago.  Please forgive me for the double dip, but perhaps the thoughts will be meaningful for some today; even if it is recycled. Once, when Jesus… Read More »

His work was almost completed.  Every prophecy of his coming and life on earth had been fulfilled, and now all that remained were the ones concerning his death and inevitable resurrection.  While fully God, Jesus was also fully human, so it would be only natural for him to have felt apprehension at the coming anguish… Read More »

“What is that smell?!”  If he’d heard it once that day, he had heard it 20 times!  He knew that he smelled… for goodness sake, he had bathed 4 times that morning… and still… yep… he stunk.    He stunk bad!  But it wasn’t his fault… not really… well… maybe, kind of… indirectly, but what could… Read More »

I coached a 4×100 relay team once that was really good.  They were able to place 5th in Division I at the Ohio State Track Championships.  These four guys were fast!  All of their split times were in the low 10.1, 10.2 range.  They should have been no worse than second at State… but that… Read More »

David Bowie sang it… “Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes — Turn and face the strange.”  Anytime change is realized in our life it feels a bit… well… strange.  We can easily become creatures of habit, and we are most comfortable when the status quo is maintained.  We use phrases like “Get out of your comfort zone” to describe how… Read More »

 Well, the Olympics are in full swing now and we are almost a week and a half removed from the opening ceremonies.  If you have missed the controversy over the opening ceremonies, you are never on social media, and you don’t watch conservative news programs.  The organizers of the opening festivities seemed to mock The… Read More »

I still remember the Sunday School classroom and where I was sitting in Lexington, Ky one Sunday morning as the teacher was giving a lesson on asking God to forgive us for our sins.  I believe I was in 4th grade or perhaps 5th. The teacher stressed that when we confess our sins to God… Read More »

Do you ever feel weary?  I’m not talking about the kind of weary that comes from a long day of working outside.  Do you ever feel weary… in your soul?  The weary feeling of: I-just don’t-know-if-I-can-keep-doing… whatever it may be… anymore.  My energy is just too low — the wind has disappeared from my sails… Read More »

Have you heard of David’s Mighty Men?  After David was anointed as the next King of Israel it would be almost 15 years before he would actually sit on the throne.  For 15 years he spent much of his time running from the current king, King Saul, who wasn’t thrilled at having a potential rival… Read More »

I received the letter below from a total stranger after a youth ministry outreach. The outreach wasn’t fancy. We simply took a bunch of drinks to populated areas on a Saturday afternoon and offered people a cool drink and to pray for them. PS Dear Students, I was deeply touched by your outreach efforts this… Read More »