Blog Posts
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Believe it or Not
Read more: Believe it or Not“They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind’” –Acts 12:15a As part of a family vacation a few years back, we spent a week at a North Carolina beach. The coast south of Wilmington has long been a favorite and as part of this journey we made a…
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Learning From Him
Read more: Learning From Him“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”–Matthew 11:29 In officiating at funerals, I often open with these words of Jesus: “Come unto me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy…
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Weep or Laugh?
Read more: Weep or Laugh?“A time to weep, and a time to laugh”–Ecclesiastes 3:4a Once as part of a summer trip, Lori and I pulled into a hotel lot in Milwaukee. We had been on the road since early that morning, having had a good visit with family in Michigan’s upper peninsula, but the…
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Brave Words
Read more: Brave Words“Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’”––2 Samuel 12:7a One summer during my seminary years I worked for a cooperative ministry group in Huttonsville, West Virginia. The purpose of that organization was to provide assistance to the poorest individuals of that county who couldn’t afford needed repairs on their…
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A VBS Threat
Read more: A VBS Threat“But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sins by the sacrifice of himself.” –Hebrews 9:26b One day, I was waiting in line at the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles office. This was in the era before the improvements…
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Tending To Some Business
Read more: Tending To Some Business“…make them known to your children, and your children’s children.” –Deuteronomy 4:9 When I was a boy, my siblings and I would spend a month each summer visiting our grandparents in Greensboro, NC. It was always a special time as they lived eight hours away. During those extended stays they…
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The Essential With
Read more: The Essential With“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.” –Ephesians 2:19 Four decades ago, I traveled to Great Britain. It was my first trip overseas and I enjoyed it immensely. Along with touring several…
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Angry and Faithful
Read more: Angry and Faithful“”Be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” –Ephesians 4:26 Shortly after seminary graduation, Lori and I moved to a small Kentucky town to prepare for the start of my first pastorate. Along with all of the other details involved with getting…
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An Encouraging Word
Read more: An Encouraging Word“And a voice came from heaven, ’You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.’”–Luke 3:22b The Scripture verse above comes from the day of Jesus’ baptism. Luke’s account of that moment omits some key details. He doesn’t tell us, for instance, that John the Baptist was…
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The Place to Turn
Read more: The Place to Turn“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”–John 6:68 The summer following my sophomore year in college, I worked for a trucking company in Charlotte. A classmate’s father oversaw the tire department and he needed some help for a few months.…