Ecclesiastes 12:10

    On May 31 st, 1848 the home of John Fox began to experience strange rapping noise. Mrs. Fox, described as gullible and excitable, told the neighbors about the unusual phenomenon. They of course wanted to hear for themselves. The noises seemed to center on the two daughters Margaret, age 8, and Kate, 6. The noises seemed random and mysterious until someone suggested a simple code, which allowed the raps to answer questions. Slowly the family and visitors to the house were made to understand that a disembodied spirit was generating the sound.   An older married sister, Leah, returned for a visit and discovered the local interest in the strange raps. She quickly organized a Society of Spiritualists and took charge of her young sisters, promoting their occult powers. For a hefty fee, audiences could commune with the spirits and ask their own questions.   The girls became the center not only of a Victorian fad, but also a religious cause. The new religion ...

  Every preacher has one great sermon, that doesn’t mean he is a great preacher. A student can ace a test; it doesn’t mean he is going to pass the course. An athlete can have a great year, but that doesn’t mean he is going to the hall of fame.   In his autobiography of his stand-up career, Steve Martin had this to say: It was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: Like lucky cards in poker, you can count on them occurring over time. What was hard was to be good, consistently good, night after night, no matter what the abominable circumstances .   Yet when it comes to faith some think differently. Faith is a moment. A once and done kind of thing. In the right place, at a certain time, when the mood is right, I will have faith and then that’s all I need. I really felt the presence of God. I was on a spiritual high. I was moved.  Faith is momentary.   That, ho...

For the last few months, it was Pokémon Go. Before that is was Flappy Birds. Before that, it was Angry Birds or Temple Run. That app that everyone is playing, at least for the moment.  Now everyone is on Instagram before that is was Facebook.  Before that it was Myspace.  Before that it was Xanga. The “it” social media site everyone was using.   O.K. maybe these references are too new for you, then think back to your pet rock, yo-yo, the Stretch Armstrong, Cabbage Patch Doll, or your pogo ball.  All those fads that were so hot that everyone just had to have them. But then just as fast as they faded in they faded right back out.   Unfortunately, the fad for many people isn’t a toy or a game but their faith. " In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;  and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, ...

  An aquarium manufacturer was in the midst of a major business crisis.  Despite their best efforts, a large percentage of its custom made glass aquariums were arriving at their destinations broken, if not completely shattered.  Desperate to figure out a shipping solution that wouldn’t break the aquariums or the bank, they turned to Edward de Bono.  De Bono was no experts in aquariums or glass or even shipping methods, he was however known for being an expert in thinking.  He had literal coined the term “ lateral thinking” in his 1967 book.  His solution not only eliminated the company’s breakage problem, it also ended up saving them money in packaging as well!   What was the solution?  Instead of packaging the aquarium for shipment, he had them instead place the label on the aquarium itself.  That way the handlers could see for themselves they were dealing with glass and mishandling it would affect them personally.  Now the packa...

  Initially, there were no or few postal regulations governing packages mailed by parcel post.  So when a Salt Lake City Company wanted to construct a bank in Vernal, Utah, in 1916, they ascertained that the cheapest way to send 40 tons of bricks to the building was by parcel post.  Each brick was individually wrapped and mailed. The postal rules were promptly rewritten.   There will always be those that will in their craftiness come up with ways to skirt the rules.  Those that look for loopholes or create them, thinking they can get away with something.  To combat it, we try to make more rules and regulations but then that makes things worse for everyone and just gives the schemer more ways to do what he was doing from the start.  Simple clear rules are the most difficult to bend or break.   In 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4 we read, “ But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the...

  I tend to watch a lot of sports on television, so I also tend to watch a lot of commercials.  While I love recording shows so I can skip through the commercials, it just seems wrong to not watch a sporting event live, so I have to muddle through the ads.  I might not be so bad if they weren't the same commercials over and over.  What’s worse they are not even good commercials.  Mostly, they’re not all that funny, or entertaining.  Why do they keep showing them the same old things over and over again?   Well, years ago my father explained to me a little something about the nature of advertising.  The key is not necessarily to entertain, or to get noticed but to be remembered!  For example, there might be a lot of buzz about the funny ad that ran during the Super Bowl.  People can tell you what the ad was about but nothing about the specific product. It was a car ad but which car company? You see that ad was noticed b...

    A preacher friend was lamenting how frustrating of an experience he had recently trying to get the full names of visitors.  He had introduced himself with first and last name to a couple different young couples but they had only responded with their first names.  He went to check the visitor cards but they had not filled them out.  “ How are we supposed to reach out to them if we don’t know who they are?” he retorted.  To him it was an absurdity, but I think I understood their reluctance.    Younger generations are much more protective of their personal information. While older generations don't think much of giving out names, numbers and addresses; younger generations have become very suspect .  In the digital age information is valuable.  Personal contact information is a highly sought out commodity.  Marketers want that information so they can fill your in-boxes with offers.  Telemarketers want...

Crazy hypothetical: Fame is Fleeting * You have a choice between forms of fame. #1. You can be famous for a specific role (like a spokesperson for a national company; i.e. Flo from Progressive, or the Maytag Man) Everyone will know you (recognize) but not know who you are (name, anything else about you) This role will make you a good amount of money and comfortable lifestyle but not super rich. This will be all you will ever do but people will remember you after your gone #2. You will be infamous, everyone will know you but for something negative. (Think Steve Bartman or reality show “villain”) You will have a mark in history that no one will ever forget and everyone will know all about you. This role won’t make you much money and be the sum of your career. #3. You will be “That guy” the person that has lots of roles in lots of movie and shows but is never the lead actor (sometimes referred to character actors). People might recognize you but not know your name. ...

  The city of Butte, Montana had a problem when the large strip mine in the area closed down in 1992. They were left a 500-acre, 900-foot-deep lake of stagnant water filled with a amalgamation of toxic metals and acidic mine waste known as the Berkley Pit. An overflow of the pit would be an immediate danger to the entire community. Elaborate steps have to be to be taken to scare away waterfowl with loudspeakers, firecrackers and a boat, since some geese that have touched down there for a drink were then had been found dead, their insides scoured with burns and sores.    So what could they do with a pit of toxic water? Simple, sell tickets! The city found out that people would pay to come in and see the mess. One a chamber official calls it the “biggest tourist draw in southwest Montana." They even have plans to increase the ticket prices because attendance has been so high.     It goes to show that people can be drawn in to see anything. Sadly, many chu...

  Those of us that lived thru the 80’s will remember the “Crack Cocaine” epidemic. When the “crack” version of the drug cocaine hit the streets, news outlets screamed about the dangers of this new drug that was 50 times more dangerous than cocaine. Stories of “crack babies”, infants exposed to drug by their mother, which were permanently damaged and unable to function as human beings. Congress reacted to the crisis by drafting legislation known as the 100:1 rule, which meant that having one gram of crack was as bad as having 100 grams of cocaine. That made anyone in possession of 5 grams of crack was enough to classify a person as a dealer, leading to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.   The only problem was that the information that led to the outcry was bunk. The expert that testified before Congress had made up all his statics, just as he had his credentials as an expert. In reality, there is absolutely no difference in danger between crack and powder cocaine. ...

Recently, I took the kids to an amusement center that had very large mirror maze. It wasn’t long after we entered the maze; my daughter Maggie spotted what she through was the correct path and took off in a sprint. Before I could get the words out, she discovered the wisdom in my warning “Don’t run!” as she crashed into a mirror. Her eyes had been deceived by the reflection. In a mirror maze, it is always a good idea to proceed cautiously. Life can sometimes be like that mirror maze. It may seem there are lots of correct paths, when in truth there is only one. We can become distracted and confused especially if we move too fast. Proverbs 14:15-16 tells us, “ The naive believes everything, But the sensible man considers his steps. A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, But a fool is arrogant and careless .” We may want to run to every new idea, sprint to the “easy” solution, or dash along with the popular fad, but if we are not careful to check our steps, we may find oursel...