I’ve heard it said that faith that hasn’t been tested isn’t true faith. It’s easy to have faith when life is going well, but true faith endures in spite of trying times. For sure right now our faith is being tested as we face these troubling times where there have been so many changes to our normal lives; with social isolation, boredom, depression, and the stress of uncertainty; and those physically and mentally struggling to recover, along with those grieving the loss of their loved ones. With the phrase, “all we can do is pray,” comes the “Why, God?” exclamations when prayers are not answered as we had prayed. ... MORE...

How many people praying are necessary in order for God to answer affirmatively? If there are a hundred people half-heartedly praying for someone whom which they don’t even know, who is perhaps on their church prayer list, will God answer affirmatively because there are a hundred people praying? Is not surely that an ample number of prayers? But what if, what if….only ONE person prayed about something very, very dear to their heart and they prayed with great conviction and in faith that God had the power to answer….would God’s heart be moved by that ONE person praying enough to answer affirmatively? ... MORE...

Sometimes we fail to realize that each and every individual person is special and known by God. Sometimes we feel like we need to be in church, with other believers, or joined in prayer with many in order for God to hear us or to answer us. Yet, there are many and various scriptures that serve as reminders that there is power in just ONE - that God knows each individual, cares, and answers. Each person matters and is a special creation of God. ... MORE...

I believe that God has called us to “bloom where we are planted” in regards to praying, evangelizing, our financial contributions, etc.

It seems logical to me that the priority of our prayers should be to first uplift to God our own petitions, next our concerns for our own immediate family, then our extended family, after that concerns for our community, our state, our country, and lastly the world. And let’s face it, the reality especially in today’s society is that there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish all that we would ideally like to. So, shouldn’t we at least make sure we take time to pray for those nearest and dearest to us as a higher priority than praying for people we don’t know in remote places? To bloom where we are planted? ... MORE...

As I’ve been pondering two separate messages that two of my Facebook friends posted today, messages that continue to feed into the divisiveness currently so rampant in our country, I was reminded of the words to a song that was on the Christian group Truth’s 25th anniversary album. The song is titled “Living Life Upside Down,” and the lyrics in the song that are especially meaningful to me today are:

“What if we've fallen into the bottom of the well
Thinking we've risen into the top of a mountain?
What if we're knocking at the gates of hell
Thinking that we're heaven bound? ... MORE...

Although people often pick and choose scriptures they believe support their position/beliefs and when taken out of context, may mean different things to some than to others; and although my ideas at times may seem unconventional; I’m going to step out on a limb and purport that by Jesus’ response regarding forgiveness where he stated to forgive “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22, Living Bible), that Jesus was indicating a finite number of times to forgive. Jesus could have said to always forgive, but instead he cited a number. Although “seventy times seven” is intended as a figurative number, indicative of forgiving a lot, it is also a finite number, indicating there is a limit. I’ve often contemplated that regarding my relationships with others. How many times should we allow someone to wrong us? How tolerant should we be of others mistreating us? ... MORE...

What are the possible consequences to society from children's needs not being adequately met? I have identified three needs of children that I theorize when not sufficiently met, may ultimately lead to their choosing to engage in defiant/delinquent acts. Those needs are the need to perceive adequate love, the need to receive adequate discipline, and the need to be taught moral values. In this article I utilize biblical references to discuss each of these needs and how not meeting these needs may lead to defiance/delinquency. ... MORE...

There is a saying, that wisdom comes with age, and I believe that that is true. Or at least it’s true for those who take the time to analyze life and to learn from it.

Although I do not view myself as “old,” at only 41, I still believe that already I have observed and learned much from life. I think the most important thing that I have observed in humanity is the lack of humaneness in the way people treat others. Of equal importance is people having the wrong priorities in life, seeking to achieve only temporal milestones that have no lasting value. There is an overemphasis on “things” and an underemphasis on people. ... MORE...

To be married . . . to gain the approval and acceptance of family, friends and society. To be married . . . in an attempt to fulfill the needs portrayed in song lyrics, television shows, movies and romance novels. To be married. . . to avoid the search for one's own identity, to elevate one's low self esteem, to escape one's loneliness, to satisfy one's sexual desire. To be married . . . the goal of so many . . . the contentment of so few . . . and the damnation of those who choose to divorce. ... MORE...

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