Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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Have you ever wondered what is the purpose of television, games, movies, and social media? Many will say it was created to entertain and inform us, but what we may not have noticed, is that when we are constantly focused on these things, we are usually not listening to what God is saying. To understand what He wants us to do, we must give Him our undivided attention. This is accomplished when we find a quiet place where we can pray, worship, and be still before Him. To those who are not...
“Hold my mule” is a figurative expression from the American South that means when a person is leading a mule and they need to go somewhere, or do something very important they will ask someone to hold their mule. Sometimes it meant they were going to enter into a confrontation be it a verbal or physical one, but in church settings where the members were not embarrassed to express their emotions, the phrase meant they were getting happy and praising the Lord or spending time at the altar cry...
We are at the end of another year and it always brings thoughts of starting fresh and having hope for the future. Most of us have watched the ball drop on New Year’s Eve which officially declares, “out with the old and in with the new.” At midnight, people from all over the world will celebrate the turning of the next page of their lives. Over the years, the “time-ball” has undergone several changes in design, and the most recent was created for the Millennial celebration in the year 2000 by W...
What does Christmas mean to you? I’ve read articles over the years about how Christmas is a combination of Christian and pagan symbolism along with some folklore traditions and for the most part, this is true. I also realize that most people do not want to hear about such things. Beyond the bah-humbug, I will admit that even though Christmas is not as much fun now as it was when I was a kid or when our children were young, I still enjoy the season. I remember laying under the tree and how I w...
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail Most people have read or at least heard of a man named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). He was a literary giant in his lifetime and is still known today in many circles as “The Children’s Poet” and several schools around our nation are named in his honor. You may remember some of His original works which include, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” “The Song Of Hiawatha,” and “Evangeline,” and was the first American to completely translate Dante Alighieri’s Come...
Since before the world was made God has known you and loved you. He has never taken His eyes away or ignored you. If you were to write down all the blessings and victories He has given to you, they would prove He has called you, has been guiding you, and has many wonderful things planned for your future. Do you believe this today? Is your life heading in a direction that you are excited about, or are you downcast? At this time of year, it’s common for many people to be filled with a mixture o...
The opportunity to know God is the greatest invitation that has ever been given in the history of mankind. For those that have a passion to learn about Him and serve Him, we will never be able to tell Him enough how much we love and appreciate His love, grace, and endless mercy. There are supposedly over two billion people on our planet that claim to be associated with the Christian faith and you would think that every person within this family would be united in their love for God and one...
Have you ever wondered if God is listening to you? One of His many divine attributes is that He is Omnipresent which means He is everywhere at the same time. His presence constantly permeates the atmosphere whether it be on earth, in heaven, or throughout the universe. This is how He knows everything that happens and every word that is said. He knows every tree that falls in the forest and every thought that has ever been imagined, as well as the motives and intentions of every heart. I enjoy...
Within the Christian faith, we are taught that every person will someday stand before God and have a discussion about how they lived. A few will argue, give excuses, try to justify, and attempt to present their case before the infinite judge and authority of all things. Many scoff and doubt about not being responsible for the way they live, but for the most part, the majority agrees there is coming a day of judgment. You would think with nearly everyone hearing about being held accountable that...
I was having a conversation with a good friend the other day, and he was telling me how life is becoming more difficult now that he is in his eighties. When he was young he loved to jog and walk a couple of miles a day, and now he can hardly make it to the kitchen. I’m about twenty years younger, but I can definitely relate to my body and mind going through some changes. I’ve always heard the lack of activity does not do us any favors as it seems the less we do, the less we can do. My mother is...
I attempt to keep my eyes and ears open to learn about the Holy Spirit and human behavior. In my spiritual journey, the situations I’ve encountered through counseling and teaching have graciously allowed me to see the importance of walking in humility through the awareness of God’s presence. I’m not implying that I’ve arrived at a spiritual plateau where God and I float through the clouds together, but I do believe we can be as close to Him as we desire to be. To be honest, the more I discover a...
There is much to be desired when it comes to spending time alone. It’s only been in the last few years that the floodgates of voices have been opened to everyone at any time. Yes, we can see there have been written scrolls from thousands of years ago, and books were printed around the year 1200, but this information was not widely circulated. Through the years printing continued to expand and when newspapers became available, the masses were given a new realm that would inspire and inf...
Christians are accountable to love and pray for their family, and friends, and against evil everywhere, but unfortunately, many have lost the enthusiasm and the burden to ask God to set them on fire for His glory. If Christian leadership is afraid to declare war against Satan and evil strongholds and principalities, how can they be inspired or have the faith to become a living sacrifice for God? When there is no difference between a spiritually blind world and those who claim to be God’s front-l...
As a Christian faith writer, I am blessed with God providing me with spiritual insights and considerations to relay to others. He creates opportunities for me to share, however, what I do is not anything more special than how millions of other Christians are serving Him, and I humbly acknowledge that most are more talented and effective than myself. I’m just a small piece of a large puzzle, one voice among many who is pointing toward the one who has all authority, who created everything, and k...
We will never rise above or go beyond what we believe and what we speak. It’s a spiritual revelation to comprehend that words have power and where there is privilege there is also responsibility. I realize that we have much to pray about, but this request is crucial if we are to live a holy life of integrity and respect. “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips,” Psalm 141:3. Since what we say is what we think, it would be wise to monitor what we listen to and w...
God has been stirring me for the last several years to realize there are many levels in our relationship with Him and that we are to be continually progressing through the stations of the tabernacle on our way to the holy of holies. He desires to give everyone a personal revelation to become more spiritually sensitive, to hear His voice, along with His wisdom to know what is right and wrong. To develop an awareness of His presence, we must invest our time meditating on His word, praying, and int...
The path to victory was never promised to be an easy one. It’s filled with faith blended with hard work, persistence, and a passion to follow God’s directions. What type of victory are you referring to? The only success and accomplishment that has eternal value is when we follow and accomplish God’s will. So, what is this? Well, there is His general will which includes His written word that is given to help us learn how to live for Him. There is also His specific will where God has desig...
Once there was a young eaglet that accidentally fell from the safety of his nest high on the mountain. Miraculously, he fell in a patch of soft grass and survived. He stumbled out into the open and a farmer saw him and brought him to the farm and placed him inside a chicken coop with all the other chickens. Since the eagle had not yet discovered his true identity, he started watching the other birds and naturally followed their habits and started doing what they did. So many people have been wro...
Psalm 23 is one of the most popular chapters in the Bible and many have said it is one of the wonders of the literary world. It is so deep that scholars are perplexed and yet so simple that children can enjoy it. However, in all of its beauty and profound wisdom, we should pray that we do not lose our reverence for its interpretation. It is easy to allow familiarity to make us cold and indifferent to chapters such as this and others like John 3, Romans 8, and First Corinthians 13. Being...
“Our mind is a garden our thoughts are seeds, we can plant flowers or we can plant weeds.” This old saying means we choose what we think about and are responsible for the thoughts we allow to grow. We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails. We decide each moment what we will say, how we act, and who we will serve. God is waiting for us to become the person Jesus died for us to be. Courage does not always roar. Sometimes faith is the quiet voice at the end of the day that says, “I...
One of the popular topics that readers contact me about are concerns associated with food shortages and higher costs. I realize that no one has a crystal ball to see into the future, but we have plenty of websites that are encouraging everyone to stockpile food and water. The prepping movement has been warning the public for years to prepare for such a crisis and of course, many have created profitable businesses by selling everything a person would need if something like this were to happen....
I admit I am an emotional person. I recall going to see the Passion movie a few years ago and I was disturbed to say the least. It’s not uncommon for me to shed a tear when I witness something that moves my soul and this was no exception. Recently, I was watching a program about the “Make-A-Wish Foundation” and how they provide a way for very sick children to experience a happy, but most likely, last request and I cried through the entire program. As the agonizing scenes of what Christ went...
I remember the day we brought Teddy our English Bulldog puppy into our home. The breeder told us he was eight weeks old but after receiving his papers, we noticed he was actually only six weeks old at the time. He was a healthy little bruiser and we would laugh at his stumbling and being uncoordinated, but now we realize it was because he was such a baby. My wife and I would sit on the porch in the evenings and watch him explore around in the front yard. He was so happy as he would jump and...
No matter where we come from or how we have been taught, we are responsible for what we think, what we say, and how we act. As optimism and pessimism are learned behaviors, we know that our conduct and worldviews can be changed and controlled if this is our desire. Our spiritual understanding about who God is and who we are in Him must become more than a hope or a chance of fate. Having a personal relationship with Him is based on knowing that we have been purchased with the blood that Jesus...
I want to share a praise report of God healing someone I know personally. We hear about sickness and disease and the endless cries of why, but rarely do we learn about miracles when God intervenes and touches a person with His creative and restoring authority. In the New Testament, there are true accounts of Jesus asking what He can do for those who were suffering, and when they told Him their request, He said, “I will.” As Christians, we pray because we believe God is listening and that He wil...
