When a loved one lays unconscious and dependent on a machine to breathe or a simple drive to the grocery store is interrupted by a drunk driver or a physician informs you that the pain you thought was a pulled muscle is actually stage 4 cancer, we ask Why? Why do bad things happen? In this post I want to pull … Continue reading →
The immediate shock and despair of a loved one’s passing can leave us feeling hopeless about the future. No matter how much we may think we are prepared, death is devastating. It is the perfect earthly definition of finality, and it’s why we sometimes doubt that we’ll ever feel hopeful again. However, this is an issue dealt with in the … Continue reading →
The doctrine of the “second coming” or what some call “the rapture” are not presented in the Bible for an intellectual exercise but it is there to spur us on to hope. I realize that some students of prophecy think the second coming and the rapture are two different events, while many recognize them as the same. Here, I wish … Continue reading →
As a chaplain at a trauma hospital just miles from the beaches of the upper Gulf Coast, I frequently deal with patients and families who have had diving accidents. In my experience, diving accidents best sum up what it means to have your world shattered. Diving accidents means a family has come to our coast waters and beaches for relaxation … Continue reading →
I’ve been contemplating 2 Timothy 4:8 and Paul’s mention of those who “love his appearing.” Paul is reflecting on the end of his life and ministry and writes, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them … Continue reading →
Yesterday I turned 59 years old and I wasn’t feeling good about it. I took my 50th birthday hard, because I realized that 50 years of my life just filtered through my hands like grains of sand at the beach. Turning 59 was not as bad for me as when I turned 50, but I am wondering about my next … Continue reading →
What should be our attitude toward the return of Jesus? Well here are five Bible verses and my thoughts about that… 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – We are to eagerly be waiting and looking for our Lord’s return. As a child I remember days of anticipation in our house as my mom and my siblings waited for my dad to arrive home … Continue reading →