I have been asked many times in the past few days what I wanted for Christmas. I am one who always looks to give to others, but I never ask for one specific thing for myself. We all are searching for the perfect gift to give special people in your life for Christmas. Some of […]

What do you focus on? I hear a lot of people who focus on the bad, their failures, the things they don’t do well, and other weaknesses. I am amazed how often, after playing a round of golf, we only focus on the things we do poorly. We seldom talk about all the good things […]

When is the last time that you have been angry? Several things in our daily routine can stir up our feelings of anger. Traffic jams and road rage, bad call in a ball game or players and coaches making decisions you don’t agree with, children who won’t get out of bed and cause you to […]

When family or friends call me on my cell phone, they usually begin the conversation with questions like, “where are you? what are you doing? or what are you to? I usually reply with one of these answers, I’m where I’m supposed to be, where are you?, or, I’m doing what I need to be […]

My Bible reading this morning came from Matthew 14 where the account of Jesus walking on the water is recorded. As I read these verses, one thing stood out to me. Peter was the only one of the twelve who asked Jesus to allow him to come to him on the water. All twelve witnessed […]

December is here. Christmas is near. We celebrate God’s perfect gift to us and it’s that time of year again when we begin to pick out gifts for people in our lives. On whatever day you choose, you will exchange those gifts. I admit, I have never been a good receiver of gifts. When I […]

How often do we find ourselves comparing what we do with what others are able to do? As a young minister, I often found myself comparing my preaching to that of other preachers. I compared the way I pastor to the way other pastors handled things. As a golfer, I often compare my game to […]

In my school days, the teacher in a class would call roll every day to see who was present and who didn’t show. When you name was called you simply answered “here.” The response meant I am here again today to further my education. I’m ready to learn things that I didn’t know yesterday. There […]

There is nothing I enjoy more than hearing someone sharing a story they are passionate about. It doesn’t matter what the subject may be, I just enjoy listening and watching them tell their story. I’ve watched people who couldn’t stay seated as they shared their enthusiastic rendition of what they saw or heard. Many of […]

The church is challenged like it has not been challenged before. It’s time we step up and have a voice in the communities where we live. The challenge is to get Christians to move out of the comfort zone we have been in over the last years and do something different. We have got to […]

I read a story this morning of a man who was offered a promotion that included a big pay raise and a rise in prestige with his company. The man turned the position down. Although he had a house to pay for, children to raise, and could have used the extra money, he said no […]

We often hear and use an expression to express appreciation for a good deed someone does for us. The phrase is “God Bless You.” I have used it often as a parting word when leaving a person or group of people. The phrase “God bless you” means “good word.” We are expressing the fact that […]

There is a new technology being used in several sporting events these days, it is called instant replay. The officials can go back and look at the previous play if there is any doubt on its outcome. I guess doubt is a part of everything in life these days. When is the last time you’ve […]

History tells us that the 100+ pilgrims that left Holland and sailed to America dealt some very adverse conditions. The first Thanksgiving week was held with many of the men, women, and children whose dream it was to live and worship free in a new country having died. But all the hardship and disappointment didn’t […]

I am not sure very many people can identify with what Job faced in his walk with God. God only knew how strong Job’s faith was and did not allow him to face anything he was not strong enough to handle through his faith in God. What faith Job had! He lost his whole family, […]

Every day we have things attempting to take up our time. Family, church, work, children’s activities, hobbies, community activities, holidays, and places we volunteer all want a piece of the pie. How do you determine where and when to do which of these activities? How do you determine what is important to you? How do […]

You all know what it is to give away something you no longer need around your house. Many times we hand it down to other family members, put in yard sale, or take it to a charity thrift store. Very seldom would you ever give away something that you need or still use. The things […]

I hear one four letter word used quite often in conversations today. The word is not what you are thinking, the four letter word is hate. I heard a person say yesterday that he “hated” it when leaves begin to fall. I hear people say they hate driving certain roads and cities because of traffic. […]

Nothing changes your life like an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude is the world’s healthiest human emotion. Gratitude actually increases your immunity to sickness. Have you noticed that most ungrateful people are also unhappy people? Ungrateful people are hard to please, they never have enough, and little if anything satisfies them. Showing gratitude is a world […]

How many times do you remember your parents telling you that you were going to be okay? It may have been after you struck out your last bat in a little league game, fumbled the ball in an important football game, made a foolish mistake driving the automobile, after the breakup of an important relationship […]

There is a saying I’m sure that you have heard, “Time heals all things.” Time makes the hurt from a loss lessen. Time helps us forget some things. Time can only do so much to help us get over our past. It takes faith and patience for us to recover from the pain of our […]

How many times have we said things we wish we could take back? It would be great if our words came with an eraser so we could remove the ones we wish we hadn’t spoken. Many of the offenses we face or cause in this life is because we speak before we think. We often […]

The word integrity is slipping from our society. We are living in a world where people do whatever is necessary to get ahead or stay afloat. People are most interested in who or what you think they are than what they really are. Job tells us that until we get our lives right and live […]

Times of being afraid is something we all deal with in life. Fear can come from so many different angles and often hit us without warning. Fear can be overwhelming at times. God knew we would face fears. Fear is addressed in the Bible by many different writers, so their audiences throughout history knew the […]

Jesus ministry was so needed and popular that crowds of people came to hear him and be healed of their diseases. Can you imagine what it would be like today if a revival was taking place, people were being touched and healed, and the preacher slipped off somewhere to pray instead of attending service? That […]