Ecclesiastes 12:10

   Even if you are not into guns, you have probably seen an AK-47. The machine gun, also known as a Kalashnikov, are the guns you always see the bad guys carrying. That's probably because it was a Russian-made gun, but also because it seems every nation and terrorist group uses them.   The gun isn’t that accurate. Its ammo is heavy. You can’t customize it with scopes or grips or lights. Yet it is still considered one of the best weapons ever made. Why?    Because it works. Drag it through the mud, bury it in the sand, carry it through a swamp, fire it in a snowstorm, and it will still work. It is simple to use, cheap to make, and does exactly what it is designed to do.   It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done and continues to do it no matter what.   And that is a good thing.   We often judge things on their abilities. The more the better. In reality, the greatest ability is reliability. Those that look great but have no staying ...

    P.T Barnum had a problem. People were hanging around too long at his American Museum. Wanting to move more people out so he could move more in, he posted signs pointing "This Way to the Egress”.   Patrons unsure what that was but fascinated by Barnum’s unusual and varied attractions would follow the sign until they reached a door that said: “Here is the Egress”. After walking through, they were shocked to learn they had just left the building. They didn't know "egress" meant "exit"   Word matters. They have meaning. Mark Twain once said, “ The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’Tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning .”   There are words used that we sometimes think we know what they mean, but in reality, we might not be as sure of them as we think. In the religious world, people will co-opt certain phrases and twist them into meaning something the Bible doesn’t. Words li...

  It's funny how two jobs that take the same amount of time, occur in the same conditions, and require the same amount of effort can be felt in two totally different ways. The mental approach will determine if it’s a joy or a burden, if it’s easy or hard, if it’s meaningful or meaningless.   Author John Maxwell described it as the ABCs of energy drain.         A ctivity Without Direction—doing things that don’t seem to matter B urden Without Action—not being able to do things that really matter C onflict Without Resolution—not being able to deal with what’s the matter   In the end, what matters is if it matters to us. We can handle the work, we will accept the burden, power through the problem, IF we can see the purpose to do so. Churches would be wise to consider this in the work they do.   Often, we have programs and activities, and we forget to emphasize and reemphasize the why we do it. As time goes by, the w...

    In 1870, the James Robinson & Co. Circus and Animal Show wanted to drum up some publicity for a performance in Middletown, Missouri. As the clowns, circus performers, and animals paraded through town, the circus band played along while standing on the roof of a cage…that held two hungry lions.   Despite concerns that the roof wasn’t strong enough to support ten grown men, circus bosses ordered the band to keep on playing. So they did…right up until the moment the roof caved in. The musicians plunged into the den of hungry lions, who tore them limb from limb. Ten band members started the parade; only three survived.   You don’t play around with a lion.   In 1 st Peter 5:8, we are warned, “ Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour .” Yet, we often will play alongside the Devil, thinking that we aren’t going to fall into his clutches. The barricades we erected will ...

  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...

  In 1903, a Detroit lawyer by the name of Horace Rackham had his neighbor ask for his services in drawing up the incorporation papers for his new business. The cost was supposed to be $25, but the cash-strapped client asked if Rackham might be willing to invest in the company instead. Rackham had always been cautious with his finances and leery of the speculative nature of the stock market, but decided to trust in his neighbor.  So, Horace went to the Michigan Savings Bank to inquire about a loan so he could buy stock in the client's new company. The bank decided to lend him the money but warned Rackham that it wasn’t sure his investment was sound. The bank president told Rackham, “ The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad. ”   Against that advice, Rackham took out the loan and invested in 100 shares of his neighbor Henry Ford's new business. That choice would work out for him. 18 years later, he would sell that stock for 12.5 millio...

  In 1853, a contractor named John Coffee was hired to build a new jail in the town of Dundalk, Ireland. The project, however, proved too much, and during the construction, Coffee went bankrupt.  Unable to pay his debt, he was sentenced to serve time.   He became his jail’s very first inmate.   Sin works the same way. At the start, it seems like we are in control of it. But the longer it lasts, the more it takes over. Then, sooner or later, what we thought we were in charge of is now the very thing that traps us. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death . James 1:14-15   Sin is a prison we build for ourselves. The only escape comes when one is willing to pay the debt that put us there.  Sin is too much for us. We are not controlling it; it is capturing us. Only in Christ can our debt be paid and our fr...

    As the Civil War was beginning, Colonel James Ripley was the man responsible for arming the troops. He chose to outfit the Union troops with 50-year-old short-range smoothbore rifles that dated to the War of 1812. Now there were better rifles, the more modern long-range Enfield rifles, available, but he claimed they were too expensive. But cost was not the real reason; it was the fact that the Enfield company was based in England, which Ripley still hated fiercely.    The Confederacy didn’t hold onto that grudge. They were willing to buy the rifles from England. At the first Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, the Confederates devastated the Union troops and suffered a third fewer casualties because their Enfield rifles could hit targets at 800 yards, compared to the Ripley’s guns, which had a range of only 500 yards.   The Union did end up winning the Civil War, but according to some historians, Ripley’s ill-fated gun order made it last two years longe...

    Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “ Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen; few in pursuit of the goal.”   To find success, one must be willing to set one's pride aside to do what is best. That isn’t always easy, especially when we think we are right.  But thinking we are right is not the same as being right.   Paul was sure he was right when he attacked the church (Acts 26:9). Peter thought he was making the right call when he distanced himself from the Gentile Christians (Galatians 2:12). Diotrephes was sure he was protecting the church (3 rd John 1:9-10).   But they were wrong.   And sometimes we are as well.   If you can’t change a path that isn’t working, it may not be because you are dedicated to the cause but because you are holding on to your pride. Success is about making sure you are right before you dig your heels in. Being so set in your ways that you won’t seek to improve is the pat...

   German Chocolate isn't German.   It’s named after its creator, Samuel German, who developed a specific type of baking chocolate for Baker Chocolate Company.   Which wasn't named for the fact that it sells to bakers, but for its founder, Dr. James Baker.   You see this a lot in religion. People claim to be Christians but are not very Christian. Church that claim to be “Bible church” but teach things not found in the Bible.  Groups that have a practice in their name that they don’t teach are necessary. A church that claims to worship God but has a person as its name. A church that claims it is “of Christ” but rules itself by human traditions.   If we are going to use a name we better live up to it. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;  but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 1 st Peter 4:15-16   If...

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.   Proverbs 13:12     In the book The Fred Factor, the authors remark,  “ When people feel that their contributions are unappreciated, they will stop trying. And when that happens, innovation dies .”     Everybody needs a win from time to time. You can expect people to keep on going when they don’t feel they are going anywhere.  That's why it's a good idea when trying to develop a new positive habit that you don’t put the goal line too far away. Make sure you find a goal you can complete so you can have the will to keep going.     Too many times, in the church, good people give up not because they don’t think they are doing anything worthwhile, but because they see no hope/end in sight. Let’s not let that happen. Make sure we give folks something that a sense of completion that will encourage them to keep on.  

Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory   Proverbs 11:14      In 1870, the French were on the verge of war with Prussia. However, they had a secret weapon, the mitrailleuse. It was a new type of machine gun they had developed. Now, at that time, machine guns were recent inventions, and the government wanted to keep the technology a secret.    So it distributed the guns to military units…without instructions for how to use them. The instructions weren’t sent until after the war had begun.    But by then it was too late. Needless to say, France lost that war.   Lack of information is a great way to ruin any effort. Leaders who fail to share their vision with followers. People who fail to ask the counsel of those with experience and knowledge. When one side doesn’t or doesn’t want to talk to the other.  You can’t expect people to work together if they can’t / don’t speak together (...

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a citadel. Proverbs 18:19   A young lawyer was flabbergasted at the case he had just lost. He had the evidence. He had laid the case out perfectly. He had dismantled the opposition case. Yet when the jury return it’s verdict, they sided against his client.   As he told the story to a senior partner, He remarked, “I can’t understand that stupid jury!”  The older man responded, “That’s why you lost.  You didn’t understand them, you dismissed them as stupid. They could sense that, and no matter how good you presented your case, you couldn’t win them!”   It's just what we read in Proverbs. Once you insult or offend someone, it’s very hard to ever get them back on your side. If you make people feel dumb, or worthless, or beneath you, it's not likely that they will listen to you any longer.   This should be advice we consider when we teach the gospel to oth...

Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. Proverbs 10:4      Close enough. It's what we say when we can complete a task without really completing a task. When our work is good enough, even when it's not that good.  For many, it’s the work ethic of the disgruntled, don’t quit your job, just do it really halfway. The quiet quitter. Just enough to stay out of trouble. The show up but don’t show out.  Why do more than you have to?     Proverbs would tell us that it isn’t a wise course. Lazy work brings lazy results. It's not just in business this holds true.  Success is just surviving. If we want a fuller life, we have to be willing to work for it.     How about in your faith? Are you doing just what you have to, or are you diligently pursuing more?  Are you working hard to grow or are you letting others do the work while you coast along? Are you doing more than showing up, or a...

  Friends can make or break you.    David’s friend Jonathan stood up for him and helped save his life. (1 st Samuel 19-20) David’s son Amnon had a friend who helped him to commit a terrible crime and set forth a series of events that almost destroyed the kingdom. (2 nd Samuel 13). The wrong kind of friend will ruin you (1 st Corinthians 15:33). A good friend can keep you from falling (Ecclesiastes 4:9).   A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24      So, make the right kind of friends. People who lift you up not bring you down. People who celebrate with you, not use you to so they can be happy. People who bring out the best in you, not the worst. People who will tell you the difficult truth, not those who spout easy lies. People who enhance your reputation, not bring it down.  Friends can be our greatest asset or our biggest liability. It just depends on the kind of frie...

    There is a bad tendency in our world today to look back in history and apply modern philosophy and thinking to the ancient world.  It becomes very easy to judge those folks from our safer, easier, and protected perspective.  Yet the truth is that they lived in different times and under different circumstances that we couldn’t really understand without being in their shoes.  Before we pat ourselves on the back as being different and better, we might need to think more about how we’d be in those circumstances.   I think this is Paul’s point in 1 st Corinthians 10. He tells those hundreds of years later that those in ancient Israel were in a different world, but were still a lot like them. He then goes on to show how they failed to live pleasing to God, warning us to heed the example. He then says, “ Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him w...

     There is a popular energy drink that has the tag line that it “ gives you wings ”. Now this isn’t as literal as the cartoon ad makes it to be, but the idea is that it will lift you up for a bit.   While an energy drink may give you a boost for a bit (But it might also come at some negative future cost), it doesn’t do so for long.   If a weary world, there is a need for something to lift us up  In Isaiah 40:29-31, we read: He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.  Notice that the “wings” he gives us, the new strength that he provides, come when we “ wait on the Lord ”.  Most of the time, we need more energy because we have too much to do in too litt...