Ecclesiastes 12:10

  An unusual detail is given in 1 st Kings 6:7 about the construction of the house of the Lord. All the stonework was done offsite so that there would be no construction noise made in its building. If you have ever been on a construction site you know the noise that comes about. Of course, the sound today would be different, but still, we can understand how odd that would be.   Still, why go to all that effort?     I think it says something about the reverence for the place God would dwell. We live in a world today of constant noise. People talking, air conditioners blowing, lights humming, music in the background. Silence is a strange phenomenon. Yet there are times and places where the noise seems to cease. Where something about the place or the circumstances draws the noise to a close. Think about a memorial or a cemetery or that moment in a ball game when a player is injured and the crowd hushes. The beginning of a prayer, the end of the performance, th...

 Robert ‘Bobby’ Brown lived an impressive life.  A decorated veteran of two wars, a noted baseball player who served on five championship teams, an accomplished physician, president of the Texas Rangers, and then the American League.  But before all that, he was just a young man trying to woo his future wife. When it came time for him to ‘meet the parents’ he gave his future wife this advice: “Tell your mother that I’m in medical school, studying to be a cardiologist, Tell your dad that I play third base for the Yankees.”       It’s always interesting to me how the different Gospel writers tell us about Jesus. Matthew gives Jesus the royal treatment presenting him as the Messiah, the king of Kings. Mark shows Jesus as a man of action, healing, performing miracles intent of saving mankind. Luke shows Jesus as one who would connect to everyone, rich, poor, Jew, Gentile. A man that changed the people he interacted with. John’s account is a proof; ...

    Big-time athletes must have it made. With those mega salaries, even with short careers, they must be set for life.  Not really.  An article in Sports illustrated found that 70%of NFL and 60% of NBA are broke within five years of finishing their careers in the league. So, it must be the stars that make it big? Well, if you look at the NBA's wealthiest players you might think that with Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson in the top 5. That is until you run across Junior Bridgeman. I’m guessing you never heard of him. Bridgeman played 12 seasons in the NBA until 1987 when he made his max salary of $350,000. In his career, he made a few million total but that wasn’t what made him rich, it is what he did with it.   While he was still in the league, Bridgeman would work for a local Wendy’s franchise to learn the restaurant business. When he retired from the NBA he bought it. Then another and another. Then a Chili’s until he owned over 100 different restaurants. He ...

     There was a big-time businessman who talked fast, thought fast, and made his choices fast. So, when it came time for him to hire an accountant, he didn’t want a long process. He had the top three candidates come to his office for a one-question interview. As each man came in, he simply asked them “What does two plus two equal?”. Well, the first man had previously worked for a science company so he was very exact in his answer “Two plus two equal 4.00000”. The second man whose earlier work was in banking answered, “Two plus two will double the sum to four “. Now the third fellow had worked for the government in the budget office, so when he was asked the same question, he turned his head looked to the left then to the right, and said” Well, how much do you want them to equal?   Some people are willing to make their answers whatever the one asking the questions wants to hear.   In 2 nd Timothy 4:3-4, we read, “ For the time will come when they will not e...

  Fires happen. We work to keep our structure safe but all it takes is some faulty wiring, a lightning strike, or an arson’s maleficence to see it all go up in smoke.  What if the church building burned down?  I could tell you there would be things I would miss. Some keepsakes in my office. The library full of good books. There would be some things I wouldn’t mind seeing go, like the carpet or my office chair. But in the end, I’d trust the insurance would be adequate to rebuild and the things would go on.  Because the church isn’t a building. It is the people. It is the assembly. Location or structure are not as important as the people and the purpose. Building are useful tools but they do not define the church.  So maybe we should make sure to keep the church as fire-safe as the building. Put out flaming tongues, make sure to douse any smoldering grudges. Be on the lookout for those that might want to spark a controversy. Check up on those that might ...