Ecclesiastes 12:10

    I always hated buying gifts for my Mom. If I got her something like a new set of pans, it was like saying “Here’s something you can use to go make me something to eat”. A gift for her was seemingly a gift for me.   There are however gifts you give that benefit you more than the receiver. For example, forgiveness. When you give it, you are giving it to yourself as much as you are giving it to them. Jesus said that when we forgive others it means God is forgiving us our wrongs (Matthew 6:14-15).  I once read: “ Heaven is where everyone's forgiven. Hell is where nobody's forgiven.  So, when we forgive we pull heaven down into our lives.  When we withhold forgiveness, we pull hell up into our lives ” Give yourself something nice today, Forgive.

  In the settlement of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway you are not allowed to die.   That might sound great but in reality, it is because of a dangerous problem. An explanation is in order. Longyearbyen is one of the northernmost places on Earth with any semblance of permanent residents, so it is very cold.  Now death can occur there like any other place but residences are not allowed to be kept there. Since the earth is so cold the bodies do not decompose. This is dangerous since also what might have killed them stays as well. For example, persons that died of the 1917 Spanish flu were found to still have the virus strain alive in their bodies. This could lead to the return of long-gone diseases. The spread could cause worldwide epidemics.   So the cemetery closed in 1930, accepting no future burials. The population is generally kept young; there's no elder housing in the area. If you get deathly ill, you will be airlifted to the nearest regional hospita...

 I forgive you.   Three of the most powerful words in all of language.  Forgiveness is a treasure some folks are desperately searching for. A treasure that in a lot of the world is very hard to find.   I think about what Hebrews says about Esau in chapter 12 and verse 17, “ For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”  For Esau no matter how much he wanted to find repentance and to get back what he lost, he never got the chance.  For many forgiveness is unavailable.   That is why it is so powerful when not only do we forgive but also show others how to find forgiveness. Everyone has a past, but not everyone has a future, at least not a future with hope and forgiveness. Yet they can find it, if we will help them. That is why the Bible is so clear on our requirement to forgive. " But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is...

  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...

     The parable of the Prodigal Son most interesting part might just be the twist at the end. The tale beings by telling us “ A man had two sons ” but then places the narrative in the hands of the younger.   We see his arrogance, his wastefulness, his shortsightedness, his misery, his loneliness, his realization, and his humbling. The story seemingly could end as the father runs to the younger son and welcomes him home proclaiming, “ bring out the best rob, kill the fattened calf ”!   But then there’s the beef.   We have forgotten about the other son. The one that didn’t leave. The one who has been with the father the whole time. Yet also one that has lost his way.     To him, the younger brother is the enemy. He has done terrible things; scenarios the older brother has made in his mind as bad as he can make them. How dare the father reward that kind of behavior! He has never even given his good son even a token of that kind of gift! W...

  I got to thinking the other day that the things in my life that cause me the most stress are the things I can’t do. Waiting on other people’s response, a problem I can’t solve on my own, a task I’m not equipped to perform.  If it is up to me I can do it or not do it and it really doesn’t bother me either way since I have the control. But when I don’t have control, when I too weak, too incompetent, too dependent, it bothers me since it emphasizes my weakness. I stress since I’m so helpless to do the thing I know needs doing.   I wonder if that is why the Scriptures tell us over and over again to trust in the saving power of Jesus. If there is anything we can’t do it is to save ourselves by ourselves. We are too sinful, too weak, too lacking. I can try to my utmost but I will always be lacking. Yet with the sacrifice of Christ, I can make it.  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likenes...

   One of those new buzz words we see in our world today is zero tolerance. The school has zero tolerance policy with those that bring a weapon onto the campus. The NFL has a zero-tolerance toward domestic violence. The company has zero tolerance when it comes to discrimination.    The idea is that certain behaviors are so reprehensible that there will be no mercy or acceptance. No grace will be given, any wrong doing will be fully punished, no one will get away with it.   I for one think zero tolerance policies are foolish. Not because people don’t deserve to be punished, but because of the hubris that we think there can be no exceptions. Situations are rarely cut and dry.  There are unseen consequences. Life has more shades of gray than we care to admit.  We don’t know everything or understand all the ins and outs of every possible occurrence. In our desire to punish the guilty we leave no room for redemption.   If there ever w...

    There are collections of bible translations know as Bible Errta that are a much sought after find for book collectors.  They are Bibles that were made famous because of a print error or mistranslation that caused a humorous or unique mistake.  When these errors were discovered the printers were force to destroy most copies making them a rarity.  Such examples included the Wicked Bible of 1631 that left out the “not” in the 7th commandment and the “Printers Bible” of 1612: in which some copies of Psalm 119:161 reads “ Printers have persecuted me without a cause ” rather than “ Princes have persecuted me…” Another famous one is the “Sin on Bible" of 1716 where John 8:11 reads " Go and sin on more " rather than " Go and sin no more ".     I was reminded of this mistake when I was recently teaching in John 8 and the women caught in adultery.  Even though the text is correct in all other versions, some still try to make that print error...

  We all have been betrayed. Let down by those we have loved. Dismissed by those we struggled for. Forgotten by the ones that should have cared about us most.  The boss tells you that despite your hard work, jumping thought every hoop and bending over backwards to please him, he doesn't think your performance is good enough and is letting you.  You know that it was but you also know it doesn't matter.  The girlfriend that tells you that she doesn't think “we right together anymore”, that all the time and attention you gave wasn't enough.  You suspect there is another man but it doesn't keep you from hurting.  The friend that was once a confidant, a kindred spirit, someone you would have given your life for, has told your greatest secret, turned against you, and abandoned you when you needed them most.  You want to strike back hurt them like they hurt you but you know it not the right thing to do....