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“What is peace?” Some might say: “Peace is the absence of war;” “Peace is freedom from turmoil;” “Peace is the avoidance of hostility;” “Peace is the termination of anxiety,” and so on. Some people think that peace is nirvana, but this word can mean death, or at least a state of feelinglessness. Is peace just a form of anesthesia? Is peace merely the cessation of pain? If so, why do we long for it so? We should want peace to convey something positive, something that improves our lives. We should be concerned about what peace is, rather th...
In America today, we are bombarded from every direction with countless sources of competing claims of “truth.” These competing claims clash and oppose each other, yet all claim to be truth. So let’s take a few minutes to ask the questions: What is truth? Why is it important? And how is truth determined? Perhaps truth is best defined as that which conforms with fact or reality. Real truth is not subjective. Truth is not determined by personal feelings, desires, or popular opinion. When we call these things “truth,” we are wrong, and we open the...
3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 3:2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3:3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; The Book of Ecclesiastes (ESV) No doubt you can sing the rest of the verses. Well, if you are a child of the 60’s like I was. The Byrds popularized the book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 with their hit Turn, Turn, Turn. The theme of the Book is “The Meaningless of Life.” 1:2 Vanity of va...
Lately, I’ve been more and more concerned as people I know voice their worries about the world we live in. As things get worse, more friends ask the same question: “But, what can I do? I’m just one person. How can I make a difference? We certainly live in a world plagued by hate, division, and distrust. In an environment such as this…how does anyone stay positive about anything anymore? As life becomes increasingly difficult, negative, and more and more depressing…how can we possibly make a difference for good? For me part of the answer ca...
The Fourth of July is coming between now and the time the next edition of the paper comes out so thought that would be a journey worth taking. As I write this Juneteenth has just happened. I think this is a worthy celebration as we consider those that were enslaved in the past. I’m just trying to figure how it went from a local Texas holiday, to a national one, well worthy of recognition because the slaves in Texas were finally notified on that day almost two and a half years after they were actually free. Freedom matters. After living in S...
Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence is the belief that Jesus Christ is literally, not symbolically, present in the Holy Eucharist: body, blood, soul and divinity. Why do we Catholics believe this? Because Jesus said so. Simple as that. Jesus does not deceive. It takes faith to accept this teaching of Jesus. “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one e...
There are many images of God that are beautiful, healing and life-giving. God as a loving Father with open arms (Luke 15:11-32); God as a mother-hen gathering her chicks protectively under her wings (Matthew 23:37). Likewise there are many that can be harmful and destructive, especially for the life of faith. How aware are we of our images of God, how they have shaped us, how they continue to shape us? I firmly believe that awareness of how we imagine God is important. So much of our thought...
Last time I wrote Passages it was too close to Easter for really doing any kind of proper introduction. I note in the Passages dated June 1, that Jonah was mentioned in a contrast of Jonah to Isaiah, and the heart’s willingness and result. I can well relate to that story of Jonah. A quick “who I am,” I identify as a follower of Jesus Christ. I tell folk I don’t do religion well, but I am trying to do Jesus better and better. Too often we identify by what we do, so, I’ll give a wee glimpse into that as well. I was born a Nebraska boy but at an...
In my last article, I wrote about the prophet Isaiah. His response to God’s call was, “Here I am, send me.” He was willing to be used by God before he even knew what God was asking of him and was faithful to carry out every difficult task. In this article I want to focus on the prophet Jonah. God specifically told him to go to Nineveh, calling the people to repent of their wickedness. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction to Tarshish. Jonah ran because Nineveh was a very evil place, enemi...
This year is the fourth time I’m reading through the Bible in a year. In the past I read all the books but not all in one year. Seems like there are always verses I seem to not have noticed before, or forgot after. Like this year, in Genesis 6:6 “The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth and His heart was filled with pain.” As I read that over and over I began to realize “God’s heart was filled with pain.” I wonder if we can really grasp that - ‘God’s heart was filled with pain!’ Can anyone even come close to know how God felt...
Recently I had a phone conversation with a childhood friend. As we had not seen each other, nor talked, for quite some time we first exchanged health updates; and since he is wrestling with some very serious and life threatening issues, I asked about his eternal security (future destination and plans). He laughed and said he planned to go to heaven. So I asked if he’d made his reservation. He said he had. So I asked who he had made them with. And, this led us to a conversation about church, church doctrine, and hypocrisy within the church. I...
A memorable experience in my teenage years was a strenuous hike up Mount Rainier in Washington State. I ascended the mountain to an elevation of just a little over 10,000 feet at Camp Muir. This camp contains shelters that are important staging camps for mountaineers desiring to summit the peak of Mount Rainier. Those planning to reach the summit of the mountain rely on the refuge of Camp Muir to provide shelter while awaiting a mountain summit. There is no way to accurately plan or predict...
2 Peter 2:8-9 “…who stumble because they are disobedient to the Word to which they were appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set-apart nation, a people for a possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Ephesians 2:10 “Do not lose our identity! That is to esteem Him, the creator and founder of our belief, to talk as a chosen race, to walk in possession of His Spirit of set apartness to do His Word, will and works to His good pleasure. All whether...
“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” John 20:19 My father entered into eternal life on April 4, 2010. My wife and I cared for him for two years in California because my family in Montana were not able to do so. He suffered dementia and neurological deterioration. We had a wonderful pattern for those two years. He didn’t know where he was or who I was but the three of...
So, how are you going to celebrate Earth Day? Many Americans may have a suspicious attitude toward celebrating what some see as a “hippie holiday” or a political statement against anyone who doesn’t embrace a 100% “Green” lifestyle. As devoted Christians, some of us might struggle with expressions of “Environmental Spiritualism”; i.e., treating the Earth as if it were God or another type of deity. As a Catholic convert, and once-upon-a-time unbeliever and ardent environmentalist, I have progressed from an attitude of “environmental spiritualism...
We can learn from the example Jesus Christ set throughout His whole ministry. Each new day is an opportunity for us to experience the joy and peace that is possible because of Him. On Palm Sunday, (A Joyful Entrance) Jesus Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem as His followers surrounded Jesus with love and praise, shouting "Hosanna". Monday, (The Cleansing Of The Temple) Jesus visited the temple and was appalled to see a place of worship being desecrated and turned into a "den of...
Rev Jon Bergen Seeley Lake Baptist Church It has been of interest to me as the new kid on the block to read other’s Passages thoughts. The thoughts on Laments and the suffering of Christ echo where we should lead off in dealing with this Easter Season. Whilst Easter is a single day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the journey to the cross and the grave was anything but pleasing. The cry of Jesus in the garden is not to be missed or taken lightly as we hear the voice crying ‘take this cup from me’. But for us in our secular world this...
by Mark Taylor, Layman The Holy Rosary is a Gospel derived meditative prayer that can transform hearts and change lives. I have gathered several scripture passages/information on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary that focus on the Passion (suffering) of Christ offered to atone for our sins. Please join in meditating on these Sorrowful Mysteries. The Agony in the Garden: “Then Jesus went…to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go…and pray.’ And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,...
"All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away." (Psalm 38:9-11) These are heavy, emotion-laden words from one of the many Psalms of Lament found in our Hebrew scriptures. The Psalms of Lament are an invaluable element of scripture. The poetry there helps to name the deep pain people experience – all w...
scribes his calling this way: "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am! Send me.'" (Isaiah 6:8) The immediate answer by Isaiah to the question "Whom shall I send" has always been astounding to me. He didn't know the specifics of what he just volunteered for, or the degree of what he would be called to do. Nevertheless, he answered swiftly and assuredly, "Here I am, send me." Dear reader, has God ever called you to do...
"Any Kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall." Luke 11:17 Starting with the civil war and everything going on in America these days has this country ever been so divided? Even the churches seem to steer clear of each other. They seem not to realize God may have something to teach them there. Romans 1:11,12.When was the last time one denomination prayed for another that they might have a great revival? Ephe. 4:43As America slides into a continue...
The reign of Elohim’s Kingdom is the mind, heart and bodies of man and women eagerly wanting and desiring the new order to come. ! Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that your body is the temple of yah…” For this reason the Messiah/the sacrificial lamb of Yahuwah, gave His life so that covenant of coming together to build a spiritual building/house of El., all by His favor. Ephesians 2:19-22 The Messiah being the cornerstone/blueprint of the building is only using living stones of the same image, in union/agreement with Yashua the Messiah...
It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. (ACTS 11:26) We would do well to note that nowhere in Scripture does it proclaim: They were called, Protestant or Catholic, Lutheran or Methodist or Pentecostal, or, for that matter, any other denomination. It was man and his traditions that have divided the church. But, as Is recorded in Genesis, "What man intends for evil, God intends for good." Galatians 5 makes a distinction between aspects of our human spirit, which brings...
This is my last article in the Lord’s Prayer series. The traditional Lord’s prayer ends with the benediction, “Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever, amen.” This is the declaration, “Yours is the kingdom”. The kingdom of God is where God is always obeyed and God’s will is always followed. Full and perfect obedience to God, for now, only exists in heaven. But because of Jesus, as Christians, by faith we can choose obedience to God. Through the Lord’s prayer, we pray that God’s kingdom would expand into earth as it is pe...
Each year on January 6 – twelve days after Christmas - Christians around the world celebrate the feast of Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day. [ In the United States, in modern times, the Catholic Church celebrates Epiphany on the Sunday following Christmas.] For many, this day ends the Christmas season and Christmas decoration are taken down and put away for next year. Epiphany is a holy day that celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the three Wise Men (or Kings/Magi), when they arrived at His place of birth after following the unusual s...
