Consider this

                 In 2018, I attended the Indianapolis 500.   Every year, more than 300 000 people show up at the track making it the biggest single-day sporting event in the world.   However, not everyone is there for the same reason.   Some, like my brother and me, go there to watch the race.   More than 50 000 other people ignore the race completely and watch concerts in the infield.   Some are there to sell you drinks, hot dogs, or a new cellphone.   When the race ends, everyone piles out of the speedway and heads in their own direction resulting in traffic jams all over the place.   It took us more than seven hours to travel the sixty miles back to our hotel room.                As I thought about it afterwards, I realized that being in the same place does not mean that you are there together.                Sometimes, in church, we act as though being in the same place is enough.   If we

 Everyone wants personal peace and joy. Interestingly, this has more to do with our thinking than with our circumstances. Start here......  

 Conflicts are inevitable, but we can learn to handle them well.  

               Billy Mitchell had a problem.   His experience as a pilot in the first world war convinced him that airplanes were the way of the future, but no one believed him.   Most people thought that airplanes were simply military tools or toys for the rich, so Billy decided to show people what airplanes could do.   In 1919 he organized a transcontinental air race.   However, it was not as simple as it sounds.                  The first problem was that the military surplus airplanes did not carry a lot of fuel, so Billy had to organize makeshift airports every two hundred miles.   None of the aircraft had reliable navigational or flight aids such as compasses or altimeters.   Therefore, Billy decided that the pilots would find their way across the country by following the railroad tracks.   Also, the open cockpit airplanes were cold, and their engines tended to catch on fire in mid-flight.                Despite the challenges, sixty-three teams signed up.   Forty-eight

 There is a reason why we are always chasing fulfillment and a send of peace. We are looking in the wrong place.  

You cannot earn your salvation, but you can approach your spirituality in a way to receive it well.  Here are three important commitments we need to make.....  

                   “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Philippians 2:14).                It seems to be our nature to see the bad side of things.   We gripe when we have nothing to do, but we do not want to be too busy.   We grumble about how little we earn, but then complain about the income tax bill when we make more.   We get bored sitting at home, but then grouch about how our hotel bed in another city is not as comfortable as our own.   COVID restrictions, whether you were for or against them, gave us another entire level of discord.                We need Philippians 2:14 now more than ever.                The silly thing about grumbling, complaining, and arguing is that you are the one that suffers the most.   Focusing on the negative aspects of your life only makes you miserable.   As one person said to me, “Grumbling is li

 Three essentials that you need right now  

                   Fear is a great motivator when you find yourself in a life-threatening situation.   Fear can cause you to run faster, fight harder, and act more quickly than you normally would.   For a short period, fear-based reactions can be very useful.   Over the long run, though, a fearful approach to life tends to lead to avoidance of problems and poor decision-making.   1 Samuel 17 is a perfect example of this truth.                Twice a day for forty days, a giant named Goliath challenged God’s people.   When the army looked at him, all they saw was his nine-foot-tall frame and the immense strength that he possessed.   Scripture says that “[King] Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified” (verse 11).   Every day, the army drew up its battle line and shouted the war cry as

 One change we must make. No options.  

 What does "work out your own salvation" mean? How can God save you and you be part of that too? What is your part? Here is one answer

                 When Bobby Brooks was born, his mother put him into foster care so quickly that she did not even name him.   The state gave him his name and placed him in a home with nine other foster children. Bobby’s health was so poor that he could not do much outside the house, so he lived a very lonely and isolated life.   When he was eighteen, to get out of the poverty cycle and stand on his own, Bobby joined the navy.   After ten years of service, he found himself posted in the Hawaiian Islands and that is when his life began to change.                  One evening, his friends challenged him to sing at a karaoke night.   Bobby did so well and enjoyed it so much, that he kept going back.   After one of his performances, a man asked him to join his band as a backup singer.   Bobby accepted the offer.   Within a few months

 A cool story about a Motown star, a family resemblance, and the example of Christ  

 What does a life worthy of the gospel look like? What would you put on that list? Here are two qualities that Paul underlines.  

                    Thanksgiving weekend means that many of us will spend time together with family and friends, eat a lot of food and think about what we are thankful for in our lives.   Unfortunately, after that, most will go back to their normal routines and leave thankfulness behind.                   What would happen if thanksgiving were part of our everyday life, rather than something we focused on a few times per year?   Where would we even start?                 According to Philippians 1:18-26, the apostle Paul remained joyful and thankful, even while imprisoned for his faith, by holding on to three important practices.                 First, he remembered the power of prayer.   We sometimes discount prayer and treat it as a mere formality.   We may pray, but we really do not believe that it will do much.   Paul, on the

 Everyone wants a happy, peaceful, and content life. How do we find that when life is less than perfect? Here are three resources that will help.  

 The language of sacrifice sounds foreign to most of us, but some blessings only come when we let go  

                    Have you ever felt like you should do something, but you did not know where to start?   Maybe you need to have a difficult conversation with a friend, but you cannot find the right words.   Or you know someone who is struggling, but you cannot figure out how to help.   You would like to patch up a disagreement, but do not know how to take the first step.                 If so, I have a secret to tell you.   The starting point is always the same.                   Paul demonstrates this starting point when he writes to the Philippians and says, “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart… I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:7-8).   The first step is to get your heart involved.   When you begin by gathering your love for the pe

 Have you ever felt like you ought to do something but did not know where to begin? Here is a secret.... the starting point is always the same.  

 Everyone wants a life that is characterized by joy, hope and thanksgiving. Unfortunately, most of us are going about it the wrong way.  

                  Recently, I read about a man who decided to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.   To prepare for this 2610-mile journey from Georgia to Maine, he gathered everything that he thought he would need.   His backpack bulged with an audio player for bird calls, a camera, an alarm clock, a radio, and much more.   He was prepared for anything.                 At his first stop, an experienced hiker pulled him aside and suggested that he might be overloaded.   To help him out, the experienced hiker took everything out of the backpack, held each item up, and asked, “Is this worth it? Do you want to carry this for the next 2,000 miles?"   No item, in and of itself, was that heavy.   However, the combined weight and the distance that it had to be hauled, would have made the entire trek a struggle and maybe impossible to complete.

 If you are feeling a little down or frustrated, this prayer can help you reset and refocus  

                Three weeks ago, I loaded my motorcycle for a weeklong vacation.   That was not unusual.   I have taken a motorcycle trip every summer for the last 10 years or so.   However, several details made this trip feel different.                 First, I was going alone.   Typically, my brother goes with me, but this summer he had other plans.   Second, I was planning to tent every night.   This made me a little apprehensive because the weather has been so unsettled recently.   Lastly, the most unusual part of the trip was the fact that I did not have a plan.                 Typically, I have a destination in mind and, every day, I have something I want to see or explore.   If someone asks, “Where are you going?” or “What are you going to do?” I have an answer.   This time, though, I had no answers.   All I knew was that I was going to Manitoba

  It is tempting to believe and teach the messages that sound right to us. However, that is not always good enough  

   If we valued these two words and put them into action in these two ways, we would be thrilled with the two results. A simple lesson that could have a big impact.  

                    Patterns in scripture are important. Here is one that I came across in Matthew 9.                 The chapter begins with Jesus healing a paralyzed man.   During this event, the phrase “get up” is used twice (verses 5 and 6) and the story ends by stating, “The man got up and went home” (verse 7).                 Next, Jesus sees Matthew the tax collector and says, “Follow me”.   We are told that “Matthew got up and followed him” (verse 9).                   Later, a man comes to Jesus because his little girl is sick.   Immediately, “Jesus got up and went with him” (verse 19).   By the time Jesus arrived at the man’s house, the little girl was dead, but Jesus went in, took the girl by the hand and “she got up” (verse 25).                 I do not think that it is a coincidence that the phrase “get up” or “got up” is six

 Two truths to remember when you are confused and discouraged  

 Containers are good..... contents are eternal.  

                   Many times in my life, I have looked around and thought, “I’ve got nothing!”   No answers.   No direction.   No sense of what to do next.   I am just lost.                 When I have found myself in those places, my reaction has varied.   Sometimes I am mad and ready to fight.   Other times, I want to give up.   That is not uncommon.   In fact, Jesus’ best friends experienced the same range of emotions and feelings of helplessness.                   One time, they were caught in a vicious storm on the Sea of Galilee and thought they were going to die.   In their fear, they woke Jesus up and started screaming that they were going to drown.   Jesus looked at them and said, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:26) and then he calmed the storm.                 I wonder how many times Jesus has looked

 Sometimes, more is not better; it is just more.  

 We know a lot about our "heavenly Father". However, there is one truth about him that many do not like and would outright deny. However, we must not only know and believe this truth, we need to be thankful for it because it is one of our best blessings  

                   In Jesus’ story, “The prodigal son” (Luke 15:11-32), we typically focus on the wastefulness of the younger son and use him as a warning, or we celebrate the waiting and welcoming father. However, there is one more character in this story.                 The older brother hears the celebration taking place and refuses to participate. Even after his father pleads with him to see things differently, he angrily states, “All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” (Verses 29-30).                 The older brother is mad because he thinks that this situation is unfair and unjust. It is wrong that he does

                In 2019, the California Academy of Sciences released a list of seventy-one new species that had been discovered that year. This list included seventeen types of fish, fifteen geckos, six sea slugs, four eels, and two lizards.                 I find it fascinating that we are still finding new creatures. Since 2010, the academy has discovered 1375 previously unknown species, and the article I read stated that “Biodiversity scientists estimate that more than 90 percent of Earth’s species are still unknown”.                 If that is true of the physical world which we know so well, what might that say about the Spiritual world about which we know so little? When I read scripture, I realize that there is more going on than what I see, know, or expect.                 After Joseph’s brothers turn on him and sell him as a slave, G

 The secret contained in Jesus' name and why you need to remember it  

 Being tough is admirable. Being merciful is Godly.  

                   Sometimes, when one starts with the wrong idea, it can be difficult to see things correctly. For example, when my Sunday School teachers talked about Jesus being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, I pictured a quiet, orderly scene. People came from town, found Jesus, and told him that the High Priest would like to see him. In response, Jesus got up and quietly followed them back to town. That picture could not be further from the truth.                 Mark 14 says, “As he (Jesus) was speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs” (verse 43). That does not sound very peaceful. Rarely does an armed crowd show up in a quiet and orderly fashion.                 Then things deteriorated even more. “The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his swo