Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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Praying through the Psalms has been a wonderful and surprising way to discern and dream and be challenged and comforted by what God might be up to through these ancient and holy words. Psalm 139 just happens to be my favorite. I’ll never forget the early 1990s poster by the mirror at Bible camp – “where can I flee from your presence?” Because at the very heart of life on this earth is God’s presence. God's radical, unwavering, dwell-among-us presence. So for the month of October, let us pray together: Psalm 139. 1 You have searched me, Lord,...
In the book "Blue like Jazz," the author points something out that I had never thought about. He made a comment to the extent that it is ridiculous that we consider Noah a children’s story. The fact that thousands and thousands of people drowned is central to the whole story, and yet, we teach the story to children. Even in the Hollywood flop “Noah” movie, there is at least one shot where the people notice the flood waters and rush to Noah’s boat, only to be turned away. I imagine that “as the rains came down and the floods came up” there...
Some time ago, as a I prepared an Easter sermon, I learned something new. Well, to be fair to my college professors, I actually relearned something that I had forgotten since my college days. As I worked through John 20, I realized that there were funny notations connected with many of the verbs in the chapter. I looked into it, and discovered that this was the translator’s way of conveying that while the verbs translate accurately into the English past tense, in the Greek they are actually in a rare tense called "historical present tense." T...
I love dogs. Someone doesn’t have to spend much time around me to realize that not only am I a dog person as opposed to a cat person, but I simply enjoy being around dogs. I’ve appreciated just about every dog I’ve ever met. I prefer big, furry hunting dogs, but little dogs are amusing to me also. A few years ago, I had a 50 lb coonhound/terrier cross named Ed. He looked quite a bit like a skinny Labrador retriever, but relates to people completely differently. I found this out when I was training him as a puppy. See, Ed proved to be difficult...
Some time ago, the New Rockford Evangelical Free Church was working its way through the gospel of John. Eventually, we arrived at arguably the most famous verse of the Bible: John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 NIV In my experience, this verse is the most memorized and well-known verse of 21st century American Christianity. From camp, to Sunday School, to bible studies, it seems everybody who has ever been in a church has thi...
As a freelance faith columnist and Christian author, I’m honored to have the opportunity to provide thoughts and ideas to relay to others. I’m sure all Bible teachers and pastors feel they are God’s messengers. What I do is nothing more special than how millions of other Christians serve Him, and I humbly acknowledge that most are more talented and effective. God’s people are important pieces of a large puzzle, stones in His wall, and a voice among many who represent the one who created everythi...
I really enjoy writing these sermonettes. I know that may seem odd, especially considering that this September I’ve had to prepare four different lessons each week. Despite how overwhelmed I’ve been, I still enjoy writing these sermonettes, even if no one reads them. This form of teaching allows me a great deal of freedom to spend as much or as little time as I want on ideas and thoughts I have. These short, written lessons work especially well when dealing with a new (to me at least) idea that I’ve found in my Bible studies. This week, I’ve...
Having the opportunity to be engaged in a constant dialogue with Christ is more than just a hope. It can happen just the same as when we sit at our kitchen table and have an enjoyable conversation with a friend. And how is this possible? Because He’s real the same as you and I are real. Remember that old song, “My God is real, for I can feel Him in my soul?” If you believe He has spoken to people before, why can’t He speak to you? God communicates to us in our conscience, by providence, teacher...
Peace and Grace to you from our Heavenly Father. We continue our discussion of the Beatitudes that we began a couple of weeks ago. The Beatitudes can be found in Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew. As we mentioned then, they are part of what has become known as Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. They are not a “to-do list” that we need to try to accomplish, but rather they provide a picture of what a Christian life looks like. We also discussed that first week that the order in which Jesus presented them was for a specific reason. They are in a spe...
Have you ever known someone that you admired because of who they were? There is something special and refreshing to witness the light and love of Christ shining brightly in one of His children. I know a sweet lady like this. I will not mention her name because she does not like the attention of anyone telling her how wonderful she is, even though it’s true. She just enjoys working and serving quietly in the background no matter where she is or what she’s involved with. For example, if som...
Peace and Grace to you from our Heavenly Father. We continue our discussion of the Beatitudes that we began last week. The Beatitudes can be found in Chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew. They are part of what has become known as Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. They are not a “to-do list” that we need to try to accomplish, but rather, they provide a picture of what a Christian life looks like. We covered the first two last week and we will cover the next three this week. Also, we discussed last week that the Beatitudes were not spoken haphazardly....
Peace and Grace to you from our Heavenly Father. Early in Jesus' ministry he gave one of the most profound sermons of all time. It has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. It is found in Chapters 5-7 of the gospel according to Matthew. Of course, all of Jesus' speeches and sermons deserve our close attention but the Sermon on the Mount usually gets the most attention. It is here that we find the Beatitudes and the Golden Rule. I've talked to some people who were surprised to find out that the Golden Rule is actually bible-based. They...
You are the caretaker of your mind I read a book years ago by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale called, “The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking” and I recommend it as an inspiration and encouragement to your spiritual life. He explains that our mind is constantly bombarded with all types of persuasions and each of us are held accountable to manage them. We have the ability to resist and ignore the negative influences that distract us or we can pray and seek the Lord for a stronger discernment and sensi...
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Wow, here we are, in the month of August already. The kids' summer ball seasons are over. The stores have had back-to-school advertisements for some time now. The college and high school football camps are open for fall practice leading up to the opening of their seasons. But, closer to home, it is the harvest season. Before we know it, the combines will be in the fields and the new crops of barley and wheat will make their way to market or in bins on the farm. Let's not forget the various farmers markets...
Stop for a moment and closely observe this trial you’ve been going through. When you are wounded and perplexed, it seems all you can think about is the pain, but within this raging battle ask yourself (and be honest) if you’re focusing more on the circumstance than on God who has all the answers. Ask and allow Him to heal your heart. This situation will not last forever and after a period of suffering the time will come to crawl back to your knees, stand up, dust yourself off, and try to gle...
So, this week I read a short passage that I had never before realized existed in the Bible. I was reading the parable of the "unmerciful servant" in Matthew 18. Summarized quickly, the story begins with a king summoning a servant who owes the king a ridiculous amount of money. Once in his chambers, the king threatens to jail the servant and his family if he doesn’t pay up. The servant, who could never pay off the debt, pleads for grace, which, surprisingly, the king gives him. The forgiven servant then goes out of the king’s presence, whe...
I’ve been in church all my life and I know people who believe that attending an assembly fulfills the majority of their Christian obligations. Somewhere down through the centuries, the idea of the Ekklesia being a boot camp to train soldiers and a school to teach disciples how to engage in spiritual warfare and develop their ministries became watered down into an easy country club lifestyle of comfort and pride. The word Ekklesia appears in the New Testament 114 times and is often translated a...
Sometimes life is hard. Last week we took a look at Jeremiah 15. In that passage, Jeremiah complains at God for how difficult his life was due to following God’s calling upon him. However, the book of Jeremiah isn’t entirely about Jeremiah. Jeremiah may have delivered the messages, but his messages endure today due to his scribe, Baruch. Baruch is very quiet through the 52 chapters of Jeremiah, but in Chapter 45, he vents his frustration at God. Just as Jeremiah was rejected by his people, Baruch was as well. He was hated by his friends and...
On Sept. 25, 2000, two years after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, 19-year-old Kevin Hines in a state of chaos and despair, attempted to commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. He fell more than 220 feet to the freezing dark waters of the Pacific Ocean, slamming into it at 75 miles per hour. The fall took only 4 seconds, and no one was more surprised that he had survived than Kevin himself. You see, the bridge was completed in 1937 and since that time nearly 2,000 people are...
Sometimes, life is hard. Part I of II Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes, life is really really hard. Somedays it’s hard to get out of bed, hard to have joy, hard to have any confidence that the life you’re living is the life God wants you to live. You wake up in the morning, and if you had one wish, it would be to start clean somewhere different. In these times, there are many passages that can give comfort. Famous passages like Psalms, Jesus in Gethsemane or Job. But this week and next week, I want to look instead at Jeremiah, and God’s respo...
Be encouraged! God will take care of you It’s reassuring to know that as a child of God, you are not alone in this world. Our gracious heavenly Father has promised that He is aware and interested in even the tiniest occurrences in your life and has promised to be with you always. Does this mean you will never have struggles and problems? Of course not, but knowing we are secure in the palm of His hand definitely gives us hope and faith. Matthew Chapter 6 reveals that He knows what we need b...
Recently, as part of my study at the New Rockford E-Free Church, I took a look at James 2. For those who aren’t familiar with James, this is the chapter where he talks about faith and actions. James’ basic argument is that if a Christian truly has faith in Jesus, it will be obvious in the way they act. It is impossible for a Christian to have saving faith, and not have it be obvious in the way they act. To show this, James makes three arguments to back this up. First, James points out the obvious fact that if we have faith, but don’t actua...
This week we wrap up our review of the Gospels with a brief overview of the Gospel accorded to John. John is a Gospel somewhat apart from the other three. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the “Synoptic Gospels.” Despite their individual emphasis, they tell of many of the same events and stories about Jesus' life and ministry. Much of John's Gospel is unique to John, not found in the other three. While the other three spend a lot of time on Jesus' ministry in Galilee, John spends very little time there. His concentration is on Jes...
Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ. This week we continue our survey of the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels. Having covered Matthew and Mark, we move onto Luke. Luke is the longest and most comprehensive of the Gospels. It is possible Luke was a Jew but most likely he was a Gentile. This would make him the only Gentile author in our New Testament. He was a physician. He traveled with the apostle Paul for much of his journeys and Paul referred to Luke as “the beloved physician." Luke has also been regarded as a noted h...
One of the more popular verses about blessings in the New Testament is John 10:10. We notice Christ is speaking: “The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. But, I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” This statement is a wonderful promise of confidence, as it generally describes how the devil is evil and is trying to destroy us, and that God is always good and desires for us to be victorious representatives of His glorious kingdom. You would thi...
