Ecclesiastes 12:10

  Andrew Jackson hated debt.   So when he became president, He worked hard to make sure the United States would be in the black. By 1835, he had reduced what the country owed from around $58 million to zero. For the first time in its history, the country was debt free.   It lasted for a whole year.      Since there was no national bank to store the excess money (because Jackson had done away with it) the surplus couldn't be placed there. It was decided that the money would be given back to the states to be split between them. Like a kid getting a big, fat check from grandma at birthday time, the states went on a spending spree and began printing money—lots of money.   Jackson tried to stop the runaway train, but it was too late. The states were buying up land and spending like mad. This misspending resulted in a long depression, and the government found themselves borrowing money, again. The glory days of a debt-free America l...

  In a contest for the toughest president of the United States, it would be hard to go against Theodore Roosevelt.  He was known for his “manly” pursuits hunting big game, climbing the Matterhorn, participating in boxing match while president. (These weren’t play fights, he lost the vision on one eye because of them!)  Once before he was about to give a speech an assassin shot him in the chest.  Roosevelt refused to go to a hospital and insisted on giving his speech, still wearing his blood-soaked shirt!   Teddy might have become tough but he wasn’t born that way.  He was a sickly child that suffered from severe asthma that almost proved fatal.  As was a young boy, doctors discovered that he had a weak heart, and advised him to get a desk job and not strain himself.  He was homeschooled because of his many illnesses and spent most of his time indoors.   But then as a teen his father, whom Teddy Roosevelt revered, told his son, “ ...

   It is a simple truth that we might miss the significance of; large things are made up of smaller things.   As one author put it;   Drops of ink are shaped into letter, letters are arranged into words, words form sentences and sentences combine to express thought. Great forests are made of trees that grew from sapling that started as small seeds.  Walls are built from many stones. An ocean is formed by drops of water.  Be they dead stone, living flesh or rolling sea, all things hold to this truth, large things are made from smaller things   This truth isn’t just in nature but in our lives as well. Principles determine our choices. Choices create our actions. Our actions form our behavior. Our behavior defines our character. Our character established our worth.   What we are and the value of it comes from the everyday minor insignificant thoughts and actions.   We may think,”Oh that’s no big thing why bother”, but l...

  Why not let someone else pay for it all?    That seems to be the new thinking.   You see the hints of it everywhere.   Friends reposting just in case Mark Zuckerberg is giving away millions on Facebook.   Email forwards that might get you a piece of Bill Gates’ fortune.   People lined up at the convenience store to buy a worthless piece of paper that might turn into a windfall. Folks feeding nickels into a machine hoping it will turn them into millionaires.   Links to group funding sites to have someone else pay for my desires.     What they all have in common is the desire to gain wealth without work.  Let someone else who has more give it to me. I deserve simply because I desire.  It seems the American work ethic has changed quite a bit in the last several years.   That should not surprise us since the American worth ethic used to be a Christian work ethic .  I think many have forgotten that th...

   Who is the person that is least likely to fall away from the Lord?  A preacher?  An elder?  A Bible class teacher?      Well, we all know far too many examples of just those sorts of people that have been pulled into sin and away from their God.  It can happen to anyone.  Even those that would seem least likely need to watch out, because someone that teaches others can themselves be found wanting. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;   but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified . 1st Corinthians 9:25-27    The Apostle Paul understood even he could be disqualified.  He had warned his fellow Apostle Peter when ...

   It happens to all of us when want to do the thing we know we shouldn't do.   When we want to fire back to a snotty Facebook comment or eat the extra cookie our waist lines can’t afford, or slough off the task that needs to get done.   There is little voice in the back of your head that says, “Don’t”.   It may be small, and barely a whisper but let me give you some advice, listen to it.     Don’t.  Don’t take that drink. Don’t click that link.  Don’t say what you know you shouldn’t.  Don’t succumb.  Don’t go there.  Don’t do that.  Don’t give in to the temptation.    Just don’t.    Think, how much misery has it given you when you disregarded that voice?  The quick drop of pleasure you get from not listening will quickly be drowned in the sea of regret at the consequences of ignoring what you are really saying to yourself.    That voice may be weak and p...

  I hate negative compliments.   What is a negative compliment? It’s like when a person that tells you “have you lost weight because you don’t look as fat as you used to”. Now it’s said as a compliment but it really isn’t, it is thinly veiled criticism. Now the negative can be thrown right back at you but usually the negative is directed at someone else.  It is not a statement of praise for you as much as it is an attack on someone else.      It’s when the lady walks up to the gospel meeting preacher standing right next to the regular preacher and says, “We haven't heard good preaching like that in years!”.  It’s when a person says “the other deacons don't do half as much as you do”. It's the member that exclaims for all to hear, “That was a great sermon on sin, some people here really needed to hear it!”.  You are not lifted up; you are just the way to tear someone else down. It seems on the surface t...

  There was a church where the preacher and the song leader were not getting along. As time went by this began to spill over into the worship service. The first week the preacher preached on moving forward and letting go of the past. The song leader led the song " I Shall Not Be Moved ". When he preached on how we should pay our debts, the song leader led " Jesus Paid it All ". When he preached on gossip, the song leader led the song " I Love to Tell the Story ."  With all this going on, the preacher became very disgusted and told the congregation during the evening sermon that he was considering resigning. The song leader led " Oh Why Not Tonight" ? As it came to pass, the preacher did indeed resign. The next week the preacher informed the church that Jesus was leading him elsewhere; the song leader led " What a Friend We Have in Jesus" .   This may be a funny story but in reality when brothers bring their personal differe...

   Have you noticed how many people are getting in trouble for things they said?  The modern media has become an attacking watchdog for what people say.  If you slip up and say something that doesn't fit into the current thinking, be prepared to face the consequences.  Sports stars, celebrity cooks, politicians, clothing designers, radio hosts, and comedians have all recently been vilified for their comments.  For a country with a founding principle of free speech, it seems we like making people pay when they say something they shouldn't .     Freedom to speak does not however mean freedom from the consequences of speech.  We may have a legal right to say what we want but that doesn't mean our speech will not cost us .  Jesus told us in Matthew 12:36-37, " But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.  For by yo...

Crazy hypothetical: Data or Troi * If you had to choose which who would you rather be:   A person that always knows exactly what any person they come in contact with is feeling and has a total and instant empathy with them, so much so that they then share that same feeling. Any emotion a person bring with them is now your own. Or,  A person that has no emotional connection to any person, so much so that they often confused by any emotional response. They are distance and aloof from the feelings of other, so they recognize them but they are not affect by other emotions expect on a logical level. [i] Who would you be? *Crazy Hypothetical is a mental game that gives you a conditional choice that gets you thinking about a subject. I used these for several years as discussion starters in Bible class. This one can be used to examine how and why act towards people. [i] IE I know that that person is angry but it won’t intimidate me but I can understan...

Monday Morning Scattershooting while wondering why people think I'm being condescending. It’s just that I'm too busy thinking about far more important things they wouldn't understand.     I have to admit I am getting a little tired of Facebook.  To be honest I never much cared for it. [1]   Now however the noise is getting a little overwhelming.  Too many opinions, too much information, too much bickering, too much meddling, too many busybodies.  For some reason, people can’t handle making comments.  I now avoid the comment section on any website. Not that there are not good point in some discussions, but to get to them you have to wade thru so much junk.  I still can’t believe how people don’t think about what they are saying in public forums.  Maybe it is the false mask we think we have online.  We will say things to a screen that we would never say to person.  As Oscar Wilde put it, “ Man is least himself when h...

The Final Countdown Crazy hypothetical: * There is the possibility that a counter can be place in your visual range that will tell you exactly when you are going to die. It will be a date displayed in the corner of your eyes so that all time you will see the date of you death. This counter will adjust as you do things that will put you in danger thus shrinking your life span and as you do things that might help you to live longer. Would you want to have that counter if it was perfectly accurate? How much do you think it would affect your behavior? What if it was not perfectly accurate but rather a probability based on an average person? *Crazy Hypothetical is a mental game that gives you a conditional choice that gets you thinking about a subject. I used these for several years as discussion starters in Bible class. This one is good for discussion about choices that change our life and how we view our own morality.

            Over the last couple of weeks our home has been infected with Olympic fever.  We have been enthralled with the Olympics Games.  It is easy to get hooked on the competition. Many races come down to the millisecond, matches to the last point, games to the last second buzzer beater. It is amazing to see the athletic skill of so many different people in so many different events.  Even outside the competition there are so many interesting stories of the competitors and their struggle and dedication to becoming the best in the world.             These type games are not however just a modern day fascination. People in the first century were very familiar with their games as well. The Corinthians had their own races known as the Isthmian games which occurred every other year and was second only to the Olympic games.  Paul uses their sports awarenes...