Ecclesiastes 12:10

  John chapter eight might just start with one of the strangest recorded events in the life of Jesus. That is saying a lot in a book that contains numerous miracles and wonders. It is strange because of all the things it leaves out. It tells us about Jesus’ writing but doesn’t tell us what he wrote. He is asked a question and he doesn’t give an answer. Angry men are in a mob ready to kill yet end up slinking away one by one with no definite reason as to why.   The story is about a woman caught in the very act of adultery and then caught up in the political games of the Pharisees. They want to test Jesus to find something they could use against him.  She is a pawn in that test.   So, Jesus says nothing. He just stoops down and writes on the ground. They push for an answer. He eventually responds, “ He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her ” The perfect person gets to go first.   But no one does. One by one they lea...

   I recently read about an interview with a former Disney star about a peculiar practice of their shows. If you were a fan of the Disney channel back in the day you might notice how every so often the show would slightly change its name. For example, Hannah Montana became Hannah Montane Forever , The Suite Life of Zac and Cody became The Suite Life on Deck, Liv and Maddie became Liv and Maddie: Cali Style.    Same show just a new name. Why? Money.   The company had a deal that they would not have to pay full scale to the actors or crew for the first three seasons. When the time came to up the pay, they just changed the name so technically it was a new show and they could reset back to the lower pay.   New name but the same old thing.   But it isn’t just big business that does this. We do it as well. We take old sin call it something acceptable. We do away with old denomination names but keep the same old man-made traditions. We call ourselve...

  Here is an old saying worth considering: “Never trust a skinny cook”.   A friend of mine once said this at camp. That year our camp cook was a man of let’s say ample portions. That year we ate good. His remark was about how in a previous experience, the camp cook was a waify thing that didn’t seem to think you need much to get by. That year he didn’t eat so good.  Now consider a passage of scripture: In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. 1 st Timothy 4:6   In this passage, Paul is describing the traits of the man tasked with instructing the brethren. In order to do that however he must first be a man who is well fed himself. Fed on words of faith and sound doctrine. A man that is starved himself won’t be very good at feeding others.   That is why it is important that we take care to make sure t...

  I remember many moons ago, my young daughter leaned over in the pew and asked me, “Was He praying or preaching?”  It was a rather good question. The fellow had been leading a prayer in service but it wasn’t really one. His statements were more indictments, his lines were more telling than asking, and his attitude was more ‘let me tell you how it is’ than “let me ask of you”.   It wasn’t the first or last time I’ve been involved in a prayer like that. I say involved because some I pray like that. More focused on the me and less on the Him. Much like the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-10, I can tell you all about me and all about them, show you all my goodness and why they are all wrong.  I pray for my enemies, how God should smite them, and how unfair it is in how they treat me.   That however is praying about them, not for them. Now don’t get me wrong, prayer is a place where we can lay our hurt, our fear, our frustration before God. Yet we never need to th...