An Ebenezer Thanksgiving
Posted on November 24
AN EBENEZER THANKSGIVING Do you know what an Ebenezer is? I often sang that hymn, “Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing.” The second verse begins with “Here I raise mine Ebenezer.” An Ebenezer is actually a huge stone that was raised to help us remember how God has helped us in times past. “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the... more »
Posted in Inspirational
How Are You Handling Anxiety, Stress, and Worry? Part Two
Posted on November 17
HOW ARE YOU HANDLING ANXIETY, STRESS, AND WORRY? PART TWO How are you dealing with anxiety, worry, and emotional stress caused by the pandemic? Last week, I suggested several dangerous avenues that people are walking. This week, I want to look at some more areas that are tremendously dangerous. Occult practices have seen a big bump in interest during the past year. This industry is now valued at $2.2 billion in the US and growing... more »
Posted in Inspirational
How Are You Handling Anxiety, Stress, and Worry?
Posted on November 10
HOW ARE YOU HANDLING ANXIETY, STRESS, AND WORRY? How are you handling anxiety, worry, stress and emotional frustrations? Indications are that we are not handling them well. Here are some negative ways we try to handle stress that end up making our situations worse. Use of Alcohol. It is estimated that one in five Americans are now abusing the use of alcohol. This is leading to psychological and physiological problems. The number of people seeking... more »
Posted in Inspirational
Follow the Leader
Posted on November 3
FOLLOW THE LEADER The TBK Bank Quad Cities Marathon is a Boston qualifier course. The 26.2 mile-run starts and ends in downtown Moline, Illinois. It carries the runners through some of the most picturesque scenes of our nation’s heartland. In the September 2021 race, a very unusual thing happened. Tyler Pence is a sports coach at the University of Illinois. During the race, he was far behind two Kenyan runners. Because the Kenyans were so... more »
Posted in Inspirational
Looking Thru God’s Glasses: Chance or Change – Part 17
Posted on October 27
LOOKING THRU GOD’S GLASSES: CHANCE OR CHANGE – PART 17 Most of us ask the question about how meaningful our lives really are. For some people, life is just a merry-go-round of meaningless activity. Life just isn’t measuring up to what it should be. We hide it in many different ways through alcohol, drugs, extra busywork, overeating, etc. What do you do about it? If you look at it through human glasses, you might see... more »
Posted in Inspirational Looking at Life Thru God's Glasses
Make-Believe or Reality?
Posted on October 20
MAKE-BELIEVE OR REALITY? When I was in the seventh grade, I received a board game for baseball. I made up a complete league of 8 teams of 15 players each. As I played the board game, I kept up with the batting average and win/loss record for every player. It was a fascinating experience, but it wasn’t the real world. When I look around today, I see a lot of people still playing make-believe games.... more »
Posted in Inspirational
From the Sidelines to the Frontlines
Posted on October 13
FROM THE SIDELINES TO THE FRONTLINES As Jesus started His public ministry, He began recruiting people who would be on His team. The people He selected were not influential community leaders or wealthy movers and shakers. A human resources person in our day would shudder in disbelief at the people He called. His priority was not picking five-star recruits, but making every recruit a five-star! (Tweet this!) Four of the first people He selected were... more »
Posted in Inspirational
The Perfect Game
Posted on October 6
THE PERFECT GAME It was a beautiful autumn afternoon in New York that October 8, 1956. The Yankees were playing the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series. The games were tied at two apiece. People were wondering who would pitch the fifth game for the Yankees. In the second game of the series, Don Larsen, who had had an unremarkable career, had been selected by Casey Stengel to pitch. He lasted two innings at Ebbets... more »
Posted in Inspirational
Two Sides of the Same Sign
Posted on September 29
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME SIGN At the bottom tip of England, there is a place called Land’s End. It is west of the English Channel and east of the Celtic Sea. There, you’ll see a sign which has two words on each side. On one side, it says, “The Beginning.” On the other side, it says, “The End.” It depends on whether you are arriving in England as to whether it’s the beginning or... more »
Posted in Inspirational
Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Rules or Relationships – Part 16
Posted on September 22
LOOKING AT LIFE THRU GOD’S GLASSES: RULES OR RELATIONSHIPS – PART 16 When you look at religion, what do you see? Looking through human glasses, we see rules. Looking through God’s glasses, we see relationships. It’s always been easy to confuse religion with rules. If you keep a certain set of rules, then you’re a religious person. And the rules seem to change in different settings. Sometimes I hear someone talking about another person’s faith... more »
