BECAUSE GOD IS FAITHFUL
In Yellow Stone National Park in the U.S. there are over two hundred geysers. But one geyser is more popular than all others and not because it reaches the greatest height. It is popular because it is dependable. Once every sixty-five minutes it shoots a stream of boiling water over 170 ft. into the air. You can set your watch by it.…
PEOPLE WHO RESEMBLE JESUS
Here is God’s goal for people who believe in his Son – that we would come to resemble Jesus. God’s Spirit is making us like Jesus. A few years ago I, along with a fellow clergyman, the Rev. Dale Skinner, stood in the Jordan River, near where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Now no one knows whether that…
GRACE UPON GRACE
The new year always seems like a gift of grace. It’s like we turn the page and start again with a blank slate. That’s why we make New Years’ Resolutions. Of course, resolutions are hard to keep. One man has words of comfort for those who make resolutions: “Don’t worry about keeping those 2020 New Year’s resolutions, you only have to deal with them until…
CHRIST OUR REFUGE
This is the season for returns, especially of unwanted Christmas gifts. Costco is the second largest retailer in the world after Walmart. I read that Costco has one of the most generous return policies. You can return just about anything you buy there for a full refund. Of course, that policy is often abused. Here are some of the bizarre returns Costco has received…
CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT; BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY
Sunday, December 22, 2019 Matthew 1:20,25 In a Family Circus cartoon, the little girl Dolly sits with her baby brother on her lap and tells him the Christmas story. It goes like this: “Jesus was born just in time for Christmas up at the North Pole,…
THE ARK OF SAFETY
One of the best-known Biblical stories is that of Noah and the ark. The ark Noah built was 300 cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. In a humorous rendition of the story God gives Noah the dimensions for the ark and Noah asks, “What’s a cubit?” After a long pause God answers, “I used to know, but I…
A MOST UNUSUAL KING
Queen Elizabeth of England, and our Queen too, is doing remarkably well, even at age 93. She has conducted herself with dignity throughout her long reign. She is admired throughout the world. She really does fit the role. Now Queen Elizabeth will have to give up the throne some day, though probably not until she dies. Prince Charles will then…
A GOOD AND GENEROUS BELIEVER
I read a story recently about nearly everyone’s favorite hockey player, Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins. I am being facetious of course. He’s probably the most disliked player in the NHL, except if you’re a Bruins fan, of course. Anyway, when Brad Marchand returns to his hometown of Halifax in the summer, he stops whenever he sees a young…
RESURRECTION – PAST, FUTURE AND PRESENT
A man complained, “Every time I come to church, we sing the same old hymns.” “Well, how often do you come?” his minister asked. “Regularly,” the man said, “Every Christmas and Easter.” Now we chuckle about C & E Christians, but they are present when the two main doctrines of the Christian faith are…
LIFTED TO A HIGHER PLACE
A fitness center offered $1,000 to anyone who could show that they were stronger than the owner of the place. Here’s how it worked. This strong man would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass, and then hand the lemon to a challenger. Anyone who could squeeze out just one more drop of juice would win the money. Many people tried—weightlifters, construction…