Ecclesiastes 12:10

  Fred and Martha were driving home after a church service. “Fred,” Martha asked, “did you notice that the preacher’s sermon was kind of weak today?” “No, not really,” answered Fred. “Well, did you hear that the song leader was off-key?” “No, I didn’t,” he responded. “Well, you certainly must have noticed that young couple and their children right in front of us, with all the noise and commotion they made the whole service!” “I’m sorry, dear, but no, I didn’t.” Finally, in disgust Martha said, “Honestly, Fred, I don’t know why you even bother to go to church.”   It’s good to be observant, but if all we can do is find fault, maybe it would be better if we didn’t pay attention. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.    James 5:9     Don’t be the person that only bothers to bother others. One of the greatest lies we believe is that our criticism and co...

  Today, it seems like cameras are everywhere. Stores have them to check for theft. Cars have them to record accidents. Most of us carry them around with us wherever we go, ready to whip them out and record anything that we like. Anywhere you go, you might be recorded.   But no place might be more surveilled than Great Britain. There are a reported 5.9 million closed-circuit cameras watching the people. On a single block in Canonbury Square in Islington, North London, there are 32 cameras trained on the streets, alleys, and even on people’s properties. The irony is that Canonbury Square’s biggest claim to fame is that George Orwell lived there while he was writing 1984.   I don’t know how this makes you feel, more secure or more surveilled, but in reality it isn’t anything new. While we might have only recently been able to watch everyone’s every move, God has seen it all for all time. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and lai...

    There has always been something at the scene of the cross that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.   In reality, none of it makes sense. How could they do that? How could He go through that?  Why did this have to go that way? It all boggles the mind. But the way I am referring to is the motivations of some of the actions at the cross.   We are told that those in attendance at the crucifixion were insulting Jesus. The chief priest and scribe make sense. Not in it was right, but they had been out to get Jesus for some time; you can understand their animosity. The crowd, in the same way, has a logic to it. They had been whipped up into a stir against Jesus by the leaders. Those insults go hand in hand with a mob mentality. Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him. Mark 15:32    It’s those that were crucified with him I just don’t get. If anyone understood his agony, it would be those experiencing it beside him. They ha...

    It seems that whatever it is we want, the when we want it is now. In the ancient world, when something was done quickly, it was described as “ that very hour” (Matthew 8:13, John 5:42). Today we think in terms of the second (or even the millisecond)!   The reality is that some things take time. With that in mind, let's consider Revelation 2:21, “ I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. ” In this passage, Christ is speaking to an issue with immorality in the church. By no means does he condone this, yet still he says he gave time for repentance to happen. Now that time was coming to an end because of the lack of repentance.   Yet, we must acknowledge that some time was given. Often when we confront a person about an issue, and there isn’t an immediate reaction, we think it did no good.  But that may not be the case. Some things take time. Time for behavior to be changed. Time for hearts to melt. Time for conv...