Recently, I have been reading through the Psalms in the Bible. Often, I have noticed multiple phrases from several Psalms that all carry the same instruction: "Let us sing praises to the Lord" "Make a joyful noise to the Lord" "Sing praises to the Lord" "Sing to the Lord a new song" At times in the Psalms, David includes the instruction to sing with the lyre, with trumpets, with horns, with the lute, and with the harp. In 1 Chronicles 25, David is helping prepare for the te

In 1915, a WWI battle raged in Belgium for 17 Days. John McCrae, a medical doctor tended to many of the wounded in that battle. One of McCrae's best friends was killed in that battle. McCrae penned the poem "In Flanders Fields" to memorialize the battle and to remember his friend who died in the battle. The poem reminds us even today of those who have given their lives in the fight for freedom worldwide. IN FLANDERS FIELDS by John McCrae "In Flanders fields the poppies grow

Artemis II just completed a 10-day trip around the moon. Upon the return of the four astronauts who composed the crew of the Artemis II, individually and as a group, they spoke of their memories and insights they gained on the trip. Among other comments they talked about the beauty of the Earth, the vastness of space, the cohesiveness of the crew, and the realization of the exactness of creation. For each one it was an experience of a lifetime. Today, as I reflected upon t

When your children are young and you have loaded the car with suitcases, your children may ask - "where are we going?" You might give a destination, a person's name, or a subject like vacation. Children can then ask many more questions such as "how will we get there, who is going to drive, or how long will it take'? Of course everyone's favorite question is "are we there yet?" Now consider these parameters for the trip: You have no map. You have no specific destination. You

There are numerous nouns you could use to fill in the blank found in the title of this article. One of the most common would be the word FAN. One definition of a fair-weather fan is a sports supporter who only cheers for a team when they are successful, winning, or popular, but loses interest or stops following them during losing streaks or hard times. It would be very easy to list examples of teams that had a strong fan base after a great season only to see it dwindle afte

The church where my wife and I are members is taking steps to create a new staff position. The person who will fill that position is already on staff but this will change his direction of ministry. While we know who is going to be in the new position, the first step of official church procedure involves the approval of a job description. The Personnel Committee has worked on the job description for some time and presented it to the church this past weekend. We gladly appro

By the time I turned six years old and began the first grade, it was obvious that I had inherited from my mother the constant habit of writing or drawing with my left hand. I was one of only two students in my first grade class who wrote with the left hand rather than the huge majority who were more comfortable writing with the right hand. I am thankful that no one ever nicknamed me Lefty. However, I have been in classes when the teacher would ask "how many lefties do we h

Don't get the wrong idea from the title of this article. Neither speed skating, downhill skiing, luge, nor figure skating is the challenge that I picked up from the first three days of this year's Winter Olympics from Italy. Rather, the challenge that stands out to me began when Kirsty Coventry, the president of the IOC, spoke to the athletes at the Opening Ceremony. She acknowledged that each one was an individual, but more importantly they were all part of a team - a tea

Only a few days remain in our calendar year 2025. Of course, with the ending of one calendar year, a New Year (2026) will begin the next day. These days of transition are when we tend to evaluate the condition of our lives and lay plans for how we are going to improve in the next year. The term "New Year's Resolutions" becomes a catch phrase during these days. There are two aspects to "New Year's Resolutions." The first aspect is to try and remember the resolutions we made

This week many families will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. From the harvest feast in 1621 shared by the English colonists and the Wampanoag people to Abraham Lincoln declaring Thanksgiving Day to be a national holiday to 2025, the celebration of Thanksgiving has gone through many variations. In many gatherings, the practice of giving thanks will be overshadowed by football and food. In other gatherings, some families will take the cue of the day to share their thankfuln

Have you ever considered what your life would be like if God answered every prayer you prayed with a positive response? You and I often pray with little thought to the full consequences of a positive answer. We do not know what tomorrow holds much less a few weeks, months, or years in the future. As a teenager, I heard a sermon on prayer. Our preacher said that God answers prayer as "Yes," "No," or "Not Yet." He went on to say that a "Yes" answer may come with some revisi

THERE WAS A TIME when words kept violence at bay, when words were spoken in truth, when words were the value of a man, when words brought...

Last week I wrote about pastors that have made a difference in my life. With a new school year already started in some places and about...

Yesterday, our church in Colorado Springs, Vista Grande Baptist Church, called a new senior pastor. Joshua York is now the latest in a...

Four weeks have passed since my knee replacement surgery. I am doing well but recovery is slower than I would like. However, it is not...

On June 16th, I had knee replacement surgery. It has gone well with less pain than I had anticipated. The PT is hard but it will make a...

Dallas Baptist University is located in southeast Dallas very near the Dallas National Cemetery. When the Dallas Baptist baseball team...

Several friends and acquaintances have recently retired or are in the final stages of entering retirement. As I have heard their plans,...

I am writing this on Palm Sunday which is the official start of Holy Week or Passion Week. Palm Sunday recalls Jesus' triumphal entry...

Do you ever reach a point in a project, a vocation, or a process when you simply have to start over? Over the fifteen months that I have...