lifestyle-religion

Jesus said you are the light of the world. He didn’t say, “You might be the light, or you could be the light.” He said, “You are!” If you are the light of the world, how is your light today? Is it working at full power or are you “short circuited?” Listen; there are times when we all get “hit” with trials, trouble, and heartache. No, it is not just you, no one escapes. The key is not the trials, the key is how we handle them. Do we allow them to dim our light or does our light shine brighter because we know who is in charge?

When Jesus came the first time there were many who were in opposition to the promises God had indeed made to his creation. The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Micah would say, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

According to a new report was published recently in Human Evolution… All humans are descended from just two people! Scientists surveyed the genetic “bar codes” of five million animals - including humans - from 100,000 different species and deduced that we sprang from a single pair of adults after a catastrophic event almost wiped out the human race. The report concluded that 90 per cent of all animal species alive today come from parents that all began giving birth at roughly the same time, less than 250,000 years ago - throwing into doubt the patterns of human evolution.

This is part six of a series about my friend, Jerry, who departed from this world on November 9th, 2020, after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer. Jerry considered it his mission to win over every child. He also delighted in winning over dogs. Jerry boasted that there wasn’t a dog he couldn’t win over. I really think Jerry believed he was “The Dog Whisperer” (Cesar Millan). In Jerry’s defense, I think he had a perfect record until he encountered Jay-Jay, our ferocious, four-pound, black and tan Chihuahua. When you pinched Jay-Jay’s ears up and in, he looked like a miniature Doberman Pincher.

According to the Dictionary of American Regional English, words are a many-splendored thing. For Example, in Wisconsin a bubbler is a drinking fountain, in Tennessee and Kentucky a dry-land fish is an edible mushroom. Heavy rains can be categorized as toad stranglers in the deep south, fence-lifters in the Ozarks. Also, what you call a carbonated soft drink, whether soda, pop or coke, provides a clue about where you grew up. I just love words, don’t you?

This is part five of a series about Jerry who departed this earth at age sixty-eight after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer. Jerry was an old hippie with a need for speed. Jerry delighted in turning others on to new things. Jerry explained, “When you find something good you want to share it”. Jerry also looked for and discovered the good in others. Jerry’s son, Joel, testified as we sat reminiscing at Jerry’s bedside the night Jerry departed, “Dad is the ultimate hype-man. If you’re feeling down and need to feel better about yourself, all you need to do is hang around dad for a while.” And Jerry’s cousin, Karen, from Tennessee, messaged me on Face Book, “Jerry’s love for his family and friends was endless.”

The history of our great nation and the history of our faith is much more than an epic 12-hour television event that tells the extraordinary story of our past. How did we get here? As David McCullough observed, “History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”

This is part four of a series about Jerry, my friend and brother in Christ Jesus, who departed from this world on November 9th, 2020. Jerry was a gentle spirit, an old hippie, with a need for speed. Jerry placed seventh in the nation in motorcycle road racing at the Grand Nationals at Road Atlanta. And Jerry was a gifted musician. He sang and played guitar and played a mean blues harp. In my opinion, Jerry covered Neil Young better than Neil Young.

The actions one should or could have taken are one thing; the actions we can take now, in this moment are quite another. There is an old proverb that goes, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” As cultural battles intensify in our great nation, it behooves us to always remember who we are, where we came from and what our particular personal responsibilities are in light of the moment in which we find ourselves.

The time has come once again to exercise that incredibly important right as a citizen on the United States of America and vote! Not everyone in the world today has this privilege and it has been handed to us at great price and sacrifice so allow me to encourage everyone not to overlook this opportunity or the sacrifice that was made to make it possible. I heard a very profound quote not long ago that has stuck in my mind ever since. In referring to the government leaders we have now in office the speaker said, “The sitting Congress and Senate of the United States of America does not reflect the values of all Americans. They only reflect the values of the Americans who voted in the last election.”