Ecclesiastes 12:10

  An Ad hominem attack is one that rather than dealing with the situation or issue, you attack the person making the argument.  Some people by their character and conduct make this an simple job. It’s easy to state their flaws and let that ruin their words.  It might be easy but it's not always right.  Those whose arguments are only about tearing others down will themselves be easy to tear down.   Over the years, I have noticed the men that have had great success in long term ministry are not “brother bashers”.  It can be easy to pick out the flaws we see in others but that attack eventually will turn sour.  To last, you have to lift people up not tear them down.  Some of the preachers I think most highly of are ones that I can barely ever remember having a negative word to say about anyone .  These men are completely sound and will reprove error but they don't attack people .  They preach to problems not pe...

Mary the mother of Jesus is an important figure in the gospels. She is probably the reason we know about Jesus as a young person (Luke 2:19; 51).  We see at important events like at the cross (John 19:25) and in the upper room with the disciples in Acts 1.  This has led some to make her into more than any other disciple.  In some circles she is prayed to and worshiped.  She is looked on a special intercessor for Christians.  Is this the way Jesus wanted us to treat his mother?   Consider what Jesus said in Luke 11:27-28. In this passage Jesus was interrupted by a woman who exclaims, " Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed ." Her thought is the mother of Jesus must be special since she had a son like Jesus.  But Jesus refutes her and says, " On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it ."  Jesus says she is not any more special that anyone that would do what God comm...

    I was recently reading a sermon of Steve Minor’s where he talked about how it seems today we seem to regard busyness a sign of social status. The more things we have to do, more activities and sports we have our children in, the more groups and good works we are in, somehow make us some sort of “all-star family”. Being busy has become a status symbol - almost as if a hectic life is equivalent to worldly success.  He quoted an article by Barbara Stanny where she described the phenomena as ATBS – Addicted To Busyness Syndrome.  The comparison was made that busyness is a drug for some. That over scheduling give us a sense of purpose and meaning; we are busy so it must be important.  We don’t have to focus on problems because we are too busy to think about that. The rush to get all done becomes addictive. To some their world and self-image would shatter it they were not trying to do it all .   This kind of lifestyle has been around for...

   You may have heard the story of the three teens that shot a random person because they were “bored”. Apparently, three boys ages 15, 16 and 17 told officers they were bored and that they followed a random person out for a jog and killed him for " the fun of it ”.  As shocking as this story was, it came doubly so for me because the location was my hometown Duncan, Oklahoma.  It has always been a typical safe small town.  You would never think anything like this could happen there.  To see the streets you grew up driving down, now featured on the national news as a crime scene is startling.   As I have read the stories, I still can’t get over the motive for the crime; they were bored .  I grew up in Duncan and while it isn’t the center of entertainment, I always had something to do.  I can’t imagine anyone ever being so bored that murder would be the solution.  I have noticed lately however, how many people are constantly declar...

   I recently had a Facebook acquaintance post the follow statement “ Jesus doesn't require perfection, he requires a relationship.... ”    People seemed to think a lot of his remark.  Lots of different people claimed they “liked” it.  I think I understand something of what he was getting at.  That Jesus came to save sinners, and we all have sinned.  Jesus did say “ I didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance ” (Luke 5:32). But his statement still is wrong. Jesus does require perfection. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus very clearly says : " Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”        Here, in plain language, Jesus says we have to be something more than what we are.   It is not enough to know the right person; we have to be the right people.  This statement occurs right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, a lesson that very clearly says God expects m...

  Does it seem like everything is in a hurry these days?  We seem to be constantly rushing in everything we do, even our meals.  We eat fast food.  We make instant coffee.  We grab a meal in a bar as we fly out the door.   I’ll even admit to microwaving my pop tart because it takes a whole 30 seconds in the toaster. We have gotten used to instant gratification, we want and we want it now! We have no desire to wait.    But Proverbs 12:27 tells us:  “ A lazy man does not roast his prey, But the precious possession of a man is diligence ”.   To roast a meal takes effort and time and the lazy hasn’t got either of those. The time in preparation makes a better meal. Rushing and demanding doesn’t satisfy. Those that take the instant gratification mindset will be constantly disappointed.   Those they are diligent will be able to find the things that will bring long term happiness .

  Some proverbs seem so obvious we might wonder why it is even being said. If we consider it further there is often a deeper meaning. For example take Proverbs 12:17, which says  “ He who speaks truth tells what is right, But a false witness, deceit.”   An honest person tells the truth and a liar lies, that seems simple enough doesn’t it?    But think about it in another way, how do know if a person speaks truth?  Well, an honest person always speaks truth, no matter the situation, no matter the reason , he tells the truth. A liar well, he lies. Even in the he has no reason to, a liar twist the truth. His natural state is to lie.    So what does that say about how we should speak? If we make a habit of lying, no one will ever believe us even when we do tell the truth .  If we lie about little things we will lie about big things. Honesty is a habit and so is lying .  Being honest or being a liar isn’t something you turn on and off, it i...