Where To Run...

      Sometimes life seems overwhelming. We are flooded with various crises that threaten to crush us. In our distress we cry out for help and deliverance! Where can we turn for refuge?

      Some put their hope in their own strength. Some trust in their money. Others are counting on government programs. Some drown their sorrows in drugs or alcohol. But all of these are inadequate. God is our only sure refuge!

Pride, Humility & Honor

The Bible says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)  It is interesting to note that the proud also resist God. It is only the humble who will submit to God and receive his grace. The proud are interested in God's offer of heaven only on their own terms. The humble accept God's terms of unconditional surrender.

Those who are proud are riding for a fall.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God... 

Teetotalers or Not?

      Alcohol has been around since the time of Noah. It caused trouble for Noah and more trouble throughout the generations. There is a long trail of wreckage - broken lives, broken families, violence, crashes and death.

      Is it surprising that Proverbs, a book about wise living, has much to say about drinking alcohol?

Making Our Plans

A common proverb says, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Another says, “Man proposes, God disposes.” These uncover a basic biblical teaching. We cannot control the future, but God controls all things.


Planning is wise, as long as our basic goal is to accomplish God’s will. If God’s will is our goal we will always be successful!

Sermon In A Sack: Fool's Gold

      We know that money cannot buy happiness, but people still dream of having riches.  Some attempt this through business deals and investments. Others play the lottery, gamble or try to strike it big through suing someone.

      Jesus pointed out that the only lasting riches are those we store up in heaven through following him.

The Righteous & The Wicked

      Over the past 2000 years there have been many false teachers who claimed that grace was a license for believers to live in sin. They said we should sin so grace will abound.

      Jesus died to save us from our sins. It was not to save us from hell so much as it was to make us into his own special people. Yes we are saved from the penalty of our sins - but more than that, we are saved from the power of sin in our lives.

Our Treacherous Tongue

      Words have power. YOUR words have power. It is very important to realize how powerful your words are.

      Some words wound people.  Other words provide healing. Some words deceive while other words lead people in the truth.

      Be careful how you use your words!

A Father's Joy

      Everybody knows that it is hard to pick out a Father’s Day Gift.  How many key chains, ties, and bottles of Old Spiceäcan one man use?

      But while fathers appreciate these signs of affection, what they really want is that their children would grow up to be good and wise.

      That is what God - our Heavenly Father - wants for us as well. He doesn’t need our gifts - he wants us to live for him in wisdom and righteousness.

Two Invitations

      In our current culture many people claim absolute autonomy. You can do anything you desire. You can be anything you can imagine. Everything and anything goes.

      But it is a culture of death. “A woman’s right to choose,” is really a woman’s right to kill. Suicides are at an all time high. Physician assisted suicide is more and more common - and euthanasia is on the rise.

      The world has rejected God’s wisdom and has bought up folly instead… but it is the way of death.

The Not So Secret Secret

      Don’t you hate the Robo-callers that pester you with all day and night with all sorts of offers?  They say that they have the secret answers to getting rich quick, have a free vacation, consolidate your loans, find love and so on.

      But in Proverbs 8 we have a call on which we should not hang up.  Wisdom calls out to us to offer us God’s own answers to how we can enjoy a successful and blessed life!

The Sensual Seduction of Sin

      The sensual seduction of sexual sin has led many people into personal disaster.  Families are destroyed, reputations are ruined, people are blackmailed and some are even killed by a jealous husband or wife.

      What is beautiful in marriage is squalid in adultery. 

Even More Blessings

In my previous post I talked about how happy I was that the severe nerve pain in my neck was relieved by a prescription from my neurosurgeon.

Now I need to write about how I am doubly blessed. Back in August 2017 I stepped on something small that went up into the ball of my foot. It was painful. It bled. I couldn't see anything in the wound. The doctor couldn't see anything in the wound either and doubled that it would show up on an Xray unless it was metal - in which case we would be able to see it ourselves.

So... nothing to do but to wait for it to come out on its own.

It hurt everyday. It was especially bad if I tried to use my treadmill. It acted up if I mowed the lawn. It throbbed by the end of the day each Sunday after I was wearing dress shoes and was on my feet all day.

I limped. I walked on the outside edge of my foot and scrunched up my toes to take pressure off the ball of my foot. Any misstep and I would have a sharp pain in my foot. I was reminded everyday for eight long months.

FINALLY, it began to come out. First it formed a pustule on the bottom of my foot that burst. After that I kept a bandaid with drawing salve on it. Lo and Behold! After about two weeks I felt something rough at the edge of the hole that had formed from he broken pustule. When I looked at it, I saw it glint and I was able to pick it out.

INSTANT RELIEF!  Praise the Lord!  That was the end of that sad saga. Now I have my foot back. No more limping. No more excuses to stay off the treatmill. Hallelujah!!

7 Things God Hates

      Many people know the verse that says, “God is Love.” (1 Jn. 4:8)  So it might surprise them to read a Bible verse that says there are seven things God hates (Prov. 6:16).

      How can a God of love also hate?  As a holy God, he hates sin.  As a loving God, he especially hates sin that hurts other people.  What do you suppose God thinks about the things we hear about on the 6:00 o’clock news?

Mother's Day 2019

      The biblical idea of “to honor” is to ascribe value to someone. How can we ascribe a value to our mother?

      Our mother carried us in her womb. Then she carried us in her arms. She cleaned our dirty bottoms. She taught us our first words. She encouraged us to crawl, then to walk - and then kept us from killing ourselves. She was our first companion - and far more than that. She’s our Mom!

Sermon In A Sack: Compass

      Just because modern people don’t like the Bible’s reproof of their sinful choices, it doesn’t mean the Bible is wrong.

      “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

Marriage Delights

      In the 1960’s there was a “sexual revolution.” Traditional marriage was definitely optional and people were free to have sex with anyone in any way they chose.

Effective contraception and abortion on demand were necessary for the revolution to work.

      While the revolutionaries experienced more sex - they became less satisfied. In rejecting God’s design for sex in marriage, they lost the delight, joy and satisfaction they could have had.

My Pain & God's Blessings!

For the past two years I have been having a very painful problem with my neck.

I had X-rays that led to Physical Therapy. The therapists were great young people, but the exercises they had me do were counter productive and my neck pain got worse. They realized it was just aggravating my problem and sent me back to my doctor.

The next step was an MRI and a referral to a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon told me that I have arthritis in the joints of my neck that causes narrowing. That in conjunction with a slight bulge in some disks were causing pain in nerve branches that came move through those narrowed spaces.

It is difficult for me to express how much pain this was causing me.  If I moved my neck, it would snap and I would receive a painful electric shock that would literally make my eyes cross. If I made the wrong move I would be paralyzed with pain that would bring me to my knees. For a year people have been asking me if I have a stiff neck. The truth is, it is not really stiff. It is just that I can move it without significant pain.

So, we tried pain management. In pain management they do an epidural injection into the spinal column in my neck. They do one a month. They said that needing more than three of these in six months is considered a fail. I definitely failed. The first two were minimally effective. The first week or two after the injection I had less pain. After the second injection I felt pretty good right up to the third injection. But after the third injection I got a terrible headache that lasted over a week. And my neck pain was back to its terror inducing normal. (Rats.)

So, back to the neurosurgeon. He tells me about a spinal fusion. I would need a relatively long fusion. The fusion itself will definitely limit your range of motion. There is a 70%-80% chance that it will reduce my pain problem. There is also a 10%-20% chance that it will cause the discs at the top and bottom of the fusion to rupture and cause worse pain. (Yikes!)

I asked about the "Artificial Disc Replacements" (ADR) that I had read about. He said I'm not a candidate for that because I am a "non-young" person with "facet disease" (arthritis in the joints of my neck). The ADR is for younger people who have otherwise healthy bones in their neck. Because the ADR would restore full range of motion in my neck, it would cause more damage to my neck bones. (Who knew?)

"So," I asked, "are there any other options?" "Gabapentin," he replied. "It is a nerve drug." I seized on that idea. I had heard it mentioned in forums. It is pretty common, but gets mixed reviews. It helps some people but other people say it is not effective. I think, "It is worth a try!"

I picked up my prescription that afternoon... 100 mg 3X a day.  I took took two pills that day and got on a schedule to take three each day after that. For the first two days it made me dizzy. But it also started making my electric shocks of pain disappear. By the third day the dizziness was gone and so was the terrible pain. I still had a low grade of pain in my neck - right in my spine when I move turn my head. But the terrible shocks that reached out around my neck and down my shoulder are gone!

As I was setting the table for dinner on the third day I had a sudden realization that I had briefly forgotten all about my neck for a few moments. That was the first time in a long time that I had no thought of my neck while I went about daily tasks.

Well, am I thankful?  You better believe I am thankful!!  I am thankful for the people who invented this drug (originally an anti-seizure drug). I am thankful to my neurosurgeon for suggesting it and prescribing it.

ABOVE ALL, I am thankful to God who is OVER ALL!  I am thankful that God has ordered these events in my life to accomplish is purposes for me. I am thankful that in his mercy he has given me relief from the severe pain that has been troubling me for so long. Every time I move and do not have pain, I praise God. What a deliverance.

I am fully aware that the effects of this drug will not be fully realized for at least a week. I also know that mediations like this don't necessarily continue to be effective as our bodies adjust to them. My pain could come back. But even so, I am grateful for the relief I have today.  Thank you, Lord!

Our Living Hope

      There are many religious groups in the world. Look up anyone who founded a particular religion and you can find the place where their dead body can be found today. But if you look up Jesus Christ you will find the place where his grave is - but it is an empty grave because he was resurrected and continues to live today! 

      He is our living hope for eternal life!

Beautiful Spring Morning

Spring is upon us.
The robins are chortling.
The grass is green and getting long.
The sun is bright in the eastern sky.
The dew is glistening, the porch is beckoning.
But it is still too cold.
Fifty-one degrees.

The Fall & Bad Drivers

Fifty years ago when I was taking driver's education they drilled us on following the rules of the road. 

• Know the speed limits for different roads (e.g., residential, school zones, in town, highways) and OBEY them.
• Know the signs (e.g., Stop, Yield, No Parking, One Way, Speed Limit, etc.) and obey them.
• Make right angle turns at intersections into your own lane without cutting across the other guy's stop line.
• When you merge onto the highway, match speed and move into a space between, in front of or behind the highway traffic. (Don't expect them to move for you.)
• Use your signal lights.
• Turn on your lights to be seen even more than to see. (i.e., Turn them on at dusk or in storms even if you think you can see ok.)
• Drive defensively - expecting the other drivers to do something erratic and with a plan for what you would do if it happened.
• Drive cautiously - slow down if the roads are slippery or vision is limited or traffic is heavy.
• Maintain a safe following distance - and increase the following distance when speeds increase or in bad weather or poor visibility.

Either they are not teaching these things anymore, or the students are not paying attention.  The roads these days are crowded with very bad drivers!  

I like watching YouTube Clips of police officers arresting people for drunk and impaired driving, and/or for having illegal drugs and paraphernalia or weapons, or for having outstanding warrants. What is fascinating to me is that most of these police stops begin with someone speeding or rolling through a stop sign or turning without signaling, or having a light out.

Evidently, people who drive according to the rules of the road would never have an encounter with the police and would get away with carrying all sorts of contraband in their cars. I'm glad that they get caught and arrested, but I wish they would drive better.

Besides that, it appears that every third driver is distracted. Usually by his or her phone. I long ago lost count of the times the person in front of me at the intersection failed go when the light turned green because her head was down while they looked at her phone.

What are the chances that drivers will get better? About the same as the chance that the human race will get better to be more peaceful, kind, loving, thoughtful, generous, diligent and responsible.

The fall affects us all and it affects us in every area of life - even driving.

The Day of Your Visitation

      On Palm Sunday Jesus presented himself in Jerusalem as the Messiah in perfect fulfillment of the scriptures and with many signs and wonders!

      Everything pointed to Jesus! How could people miss the truth and fail to receive him as Savior and King?

The Greatest Christians

      By all means we should strive to be great disciples, but we are not to compare ourselves with others as if it were a competition. Our pride problem is evident in the letters “-est” in the word “greatest.”

      As C.S. Lewis said, “Pride is essentiallycompetitive.” Competition is the nature of this vice called “pride.”

Godly Parenting

      There are helicopter parents. There are free range parents. There are permissive parents, authoritarian parents, manipulative parents, abusive & neglectful parents.

      But we need to be godly parents who believe God’s word more than human gurus and honor God rather than parenting according to our whims or the culture around us.

Lovely & Lethal

      It is dangerous to act on impulse. Every year people are lured to their death by things they thought would bring them sensual pleasures. They cannot say God did not warn them.

Keep Your Heart

      If you don’t care where you end up, then it doesn’t matter which way you go. But if you have a destination in mind, you need to have a map and a compass and know how to use them. 

      God offers us his lessons in wisdom as the map and compass to keep us on the path of righteousness.

The Bread of Life - Sermon in a Sack

      Kevin Carter was a photojournalist in Sudan in 1993, there to document the terrible famine. As he walked, he heard a whimper and turned to see an emaciated toddler crouched face down and unable to continue. A few yards away, a vulture was waiting patiently.

      People who need Jesus are like that starving child – but they don’t know it. They need Jesus, the bread of life!

God's Money Management

There are people who can tell you about the tax benefits of different investment accounts. They are money management advisors and they have their place. But God himself has a lot to say about the practices and character of people in relation to handling money. God can tell you how money should fit into your life and how you should manage it rather than having it manage you.

Gospel Wisdom

Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of the more familiar passages in the Bible. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart..." But sometimes we don't think through the full implications of the passage. What is God really asking us to do and how will that work out in our lives?

This biblical wisdom is Gospel Wisdom. It is telling us about having a relationship with God through faith. It is assuring us that not only should we trust God, but that God is fully trustworthy.

Marks Of A Bad Idea

Most people are familiar with the You Tube videos of people doing stupid things. What they might not be aware of is that people have been doing the same kinds of foolish things for thousands of years. As Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs over 3000 years ago, he clearly anticipated the tendency of people to make poor decisions - even evil decisions.

The Fear of the Lord

The "Fear of the Lord" is very prominent in the book of Proverbs. It is clear that the "Fear of the Lord" is critical to wisdom, knowledge, insight and understanding. If you don't have the "Fear of the Lord" then you are a fool and in danger of death.

So what exactly does the Bible mean by the term "Fear of the Lord?" How can we know if we have it or not?

God's Life Hacks

Do you remember bookstores? Do you remember the self-help section?
God provided guidance on life hacks long ago and it would do us well to be very familiar with them.

Sermon In A Sack - The Chair

Sometimes we use language that is familiar to us, but not necessarily clear to the people to whom we are talking. For example, what does it really mean to "Believe on the Lord Jesus?" How do we do that?

Hopefully this message will help explain that. But hopefully it will also give you other ideas about how this important truth could be explained to children or people who don't know the "Bible Language" that is so familiar to us.