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When traveling to other countries, I have noticed that virtually everywhere we go, there are people who are proud citizens of their nations. These citizens could be called subjects of their country, though that is a term that is not used as commonly as it used to be, and could give a bit of negative connotation to those who may bristle at the thought of being “subject” to authority. This use of the word subject also is related to the word submission, which likewise often has a negative connotation. However, we are all subject to someone or som...
Yup the climate has changed all right. Think of what it was like back when Eastern Montana was a swamp. The proof is in the dinosaur bones found there. All that goes back to the great flood of Noah’s day. Course we can deny that too. Twerent no cars or planes back then….hmmm. We now have a 29-year-old expert telling us we have 12 years to save the planet. We’re doomed. Personally, I think it’s laughable. If we did away with trucks, store shelves would look like a third world country in no time. Or like Venezuela eating our pets. All these s...
I received an email from one of my favorite online bookstores where I especially like to order Bibles from. The opening of the message certainly caught my attention: “Shop our selection of slightly imperfect” That really doesn’t give me a lot of confidence buying Bibles from a “slightly imperfect” discount sale. Now…I know what they mean…this is sort of a Bible bookstore version of a “scratch & dent” sale. I’m sure these Bibles don’t have the book of Romans missing, or the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Probably the cover might be blemished or...
In this busy world in which we find ourselves, it is sometimes good to take a step back and ask the question, what is this life all about? We can often get caught up in so many trivial events that we don’t take time to ponder the eternal things. Perhaps, as the Savior noted, one of the greatest of these is to love thy neighbor. The question is how can we show that love? We may love a person, and recognize a need they have, but feel inadequate to respond. But it doesn’t have to be a big thing. For some, the giving of a smile, a friendly “he...
By and large, humans are innately self-centered. We are consumed with the pursuit of pleasing ourselves, doing what we want and getting what we want. So often our priority in life is SELF-LOVE. We are self-focused, self-indulgent, self-centered, self-absorbed, self-important, self-promoting, etc. Our perspective is inward, and we exude a single-mindedness toward self-satisfaction. Let’s face it, even if we don’t say it out loud, we all generally think “life revolves around me!” With the explosion of technology and social media, particularly wit...
Matthew 7: 13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Where will your journey without end take you? A journey by the Spirit of Truth will lead a few to one day hear “Well done. Come inherit the Kingdom that was prepared for you.” Very unfortunately “the many” are led by the spirit of deception, (A blend of truth and false-hood) “Depart from me.” John 5:28-29 “Do not...
When you read this, it will be after this year’s Memorial Day. However, as I write, the day has not yet come, but I was reflecting a bit on what Memorial Day is all about. As you may or may not know (I had to look it up), Memorial Day started after our nation’s civil war in 1868 by Major General John A Logan, the commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. He started it, calling it “Decoration Day” as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. In 1971, the US Congress established it as a federal holiday...
Back in the day when I was a lad and ol’ Shep was a pup, if anyone got angry and said something off color, most grown ups would say “watch your language!!!” or threaten to wash our mouths with soap. However, just up the road from the old homestead where we lived was another homestead where two older brothers lived. I can still see them with the team and bobsled heading for the timber to get wood. The older one named John would demean the younger one and cuss at him til the air was blue. Taking the name of the Lord time and time again. It did s...
Often we receive advice: advice from friends; advice from family; advice from fellow workers. Advice generally comes in two types: good and bad. Though usually well intended, it is not always sound advice. We should always take care to seek advice from Godly people. People we know will give Godly counsel. I recently did just that. As I struggled with a problem, I received some of the best advice I’d ever received. This longtime friend of mine advised, “Pray about this!” But, he continued, “...as you pray about it, pray in the Spirit, not in...
The gift of salvation begins as a gift, it is not earned or it would be a wage. The beginning of the journey begins II Timothy 1:9, “Who has resurrected us and called with SET-APART calling; not according to our works but according to His good pleasure and favor that was given us in Yeshua the Mashiyach from time before the ages.” Word of ELOHIM, not works, has everything to do with the beginning of the journey. Since a spoken word has its beginning in thought life, this verse says that Yahuah was thinking of you ages ago. Creature come up out...
My wife recently spoke in church. Her sermon was based on becoming the salt of the earth. What follows is my digested and regurgitated attempt to summarize her remarks. Jesus used this phrase in the Sermon on the Mount and we still use it today. We associate salt-of-the-earth people with those that are fundamentally good, those that are honest and those that are caring and compassionate. As followers of Christ, we go about salting the earth by following the admonition He gave just a few verses later. We can ‘let [our] light shine before men, t...
Of all the subjects being discussed today, the one most polarizing is abortion. As a Christian I believe all abortions are an affront to God. This is clearly spelled out in the Scriptures. Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Psalm 139:13 states, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” Jesus stated in Luke 20:25 for us to “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God...
"Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?" Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judaea, was faced with a dilemma. Finding Jesus not guilty of any crimes, he nonetheless faced a crowd agitating for that very thing. Due to an already extant state of potential rebellion, Caesar had already warned him that any further unrest in the area would have severe consequences for him personally. As the shouts for Jesus' death grow louder, he...
I love the desert. From the dry heat to cool nights to flash floods, there is a mystery about the desert to me that causes me to be filled with wonder at it. Having never lived in the desert, there is an unfamiliarity to it that seems to keep me slightly on edge when I am out in it. Parts of the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States at first glance sometimes seems to be nothing but endless stretches of uniformity in its plant life and topography. It can have a feeling of harshness, making it hard to imagine how the Native Americans...
Every spring followers of The Way celebrate the risen Christ. “Up from the grave He arose!” so the old hymn tells us. And I believe it. Should one of the two greatest events in human history be shared with Peter Rabbit? I’ve been around the woods a long time and I’ve never seen a rabbit lay eggs. Just say’n. Ya know, leading up to the Lord Jesus overcoming death, let’s think about His awful suffering. The agony in the garden, the betrayal, mock trial, the crown of thorns, the scourging, nails driven through His hands and feet, trying to b...
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) I get tired of people, mainly Christians, who say – “The Bible clearly teaches that…” and then expound on their received interpretation of the biblical text. I get equally annoyed when other people, usually those who’ve rejected Christianity, point out certain inconsistencies in the Bible and then conclude that it’s...
It’s fascinating to look back over the decades at what couples dressed like. Every era over the past century had common fashions and trends that help us know what period history a couple lived in. What makes it possible to identify past eras is that couples looked just like everyone else around them. In relationships, and in marriage, the Bible actually gives us fashion advice to NOT treat others exactly as the world around does. This truth is seen in Colossians chapter 3. First, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hea...
Some things in life should go without saying, but there is always the occasional person who just needs a not-so-subtle reminder. Here are a few examples of what I am talking about. These are actual warning labels: On a propane blowtorch: ‘Never use while sleeping.’ On a batman costume: ‘Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly.’ On a portable stroller: ‘Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage.’ And finally, on a laser pointer: ‘Do not look into laser with REMAINING eye.’ The really sad part about each of these is that while it s...
It was a day of fresh, untracked powder that I’ll never forget. Crested Butte had been hammered for several days with storms. My son John and I had driven over to the ski area to spend the night, not imagining we’d see 30 more inches of fresh powder fall as we slept. Rising early, we were the first up the lifts. We skied over to one of my favorite runs, only to find a rope blocking access. Just then a ski patrol appeared and said, “This is your lucky day.” He pulled the rope down and said, “Have fun!” We nearly disappeared into the waist deep...
A good friend once used the illustration of what he referred to as, “The Faith Train.” He pointed out that our faith is the engine, fed by the coal car of facts and followed by the caboose of feelings. When we let our feelings, or emotions, be the engine (as I recently did) we are misled and do not allow God to work. Sometimes it is because we are over anxious and unwilling to wait for God’s timing, sometimes we are misled by our feelings. But regardless of the reason, we must allow God and the Holy Spirit to do Their work, and not attem...
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” As any good builder can tell you, when constructing a building of any size, one of the first and most crucial elements is to establish a solid foundation. Without this, any further construction, no matter how precise or well-built, will be compromised. This is even more tr...
Sometimes because of my log’n days, I wake at 3-4 in the morning. I just lay there think’n about the body of Christ. Here in America we have thus far such freedoms – a good life style, for the most part, and go to church of Saturday or Sunday, depending on your persuasion or denomination or non-denomination. When people ask me what religion I am, I tell them I’m a follower of the Way – I get funny looks from many. Christians in a lot of foreign countries who suffer terribly for Christ may think Americans are playing church. Pastors in those...
In addition to a long history of magazines, Reader’s Digest is well known for publishing condensed versions of popular books. Instead of having to read a book in its entirety, a busy person could read a Reader’s Digest shortened version of a book. You could still enjoy the best parts of a book, while skipping a bulk of the book that was determined to be boring or not important. In 1982, Reader’s Digest published a condensed version of what is still a bestselling book, the Bible. The proje...
We just got done celebrating Christmas. Did we have the true meaning of Christmas this year? Here is something that we might consider throughout the year and prepare ourselves for next year. In homes throughout the modern world, stockings are still “hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there” (“A Visit from St. Nicholas,” Clement Clarke Moore). But, oddly enough, one stocking seems to be missing. Perhaps it has never even been considered. I speak of a stockin...
I went out on an icy walk last week. And as I slid around the corner of a meadow, I had a flashback: THIS, HERE was the rock I sat upon, about six months ago, to watch the sun rise on the longest day, the solstice. I felt a bit nostalgic. Those were the days! Looking back, it was easy to see God ‘within’ it all; rippling grasses in the meadow, wildflowers painting the landscape, birds orchestrating their summer sounds. What’s not to love? But now, here, in the gloom and the cold and the ice? Are THESE the days, too? Surely the psalmist wasn...
