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In the Light
“When Jesus spoke to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ” John 8:12 (NIV) Light, vital for all life. Anyone who has ever been through a severe weather event knows what it’s like to be in the dark for days. Once when I lived in Jamaica in the early two thousands, a devastating hurricane left us in the capital without electricity for almost two weeks. When the lights finally came back on, a collective shout of gladness was heard in our neighborhood. Light had come. We no longer had to…
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Help Is Available
“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not. I will help you.’ ” Isaiah 41:13 (NKJV) What were you afraid of when you were a child? I was afraid of many things, but, for a time, my greatest fear was turkeys. At about age six, I walked to school with my older cousin and had to pass a fenced yard with huge gobblers. The noisy animals would spread their wings and sweep toward the fence as we passed by. I was terrified, but with my cousin’s confident hand and words, I walked past the dreaded spot. In Isaiah 41:13, the picture…
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Recognizing Him
“When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize Him.” John 21:4 (NIV) It has happened to many of us at one time or another. We failed to recognize a friend or someone we knew well at a social gathering, at the grocery store, or even in the street. That usually leaves us feeling sheepish. We sputter through an apology, but both we and the other party know that it was an embarrassing oversight. The disciples had had ample opportunities to recognize their risen Lord. It would seem that after the times He had shown up unannounced in their midst, they would have been…
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It Can Last
“The Lord bless you and keep you.” Numbers 6:24 The colorful wrapping paper and the gift bags quickly landed in the recycling bin, and the much-anticipated toys that received a lot of play-time for a few days now sit neglected in a corner of the den. As with children, so it is with us adults. The new wears off pretty fast. Many of us experienced the heady enjoyment of time spent with family and friends during the holidays. The delightful musical programs and the specially planned church services all left us with a warm, satisfying feeling that even prompted us to make bold resolutions. Can we carry that bouyancy beyond…
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A Prayer for Your New Year
Dear Friends: I am sharing with you an excerpt from my favorite devotional book, the classic My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. The final words of the entry for December 31 provide a powerful thrust to launch us into the new year. May you be awakened to the joy of meeting 2024 with a secure and courageous spirit. “SECURITY FOR TODAY: ‘For ye shall not go out with haste.’ As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, unremembering delight, nor with the flight of impulsive thoughtlessness, but with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will…
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Christmas Is Peace
On the day that the 2023 Thanksgiving turkeys were pardoned, the White House Christmas tree was delivered, both occurrences serving as harbingers of the approaching frantic Christmas season. But the signs of Christmas had begun to show up back in October when some stores brought out their tinsel and toys. Like the eager children we were—for some of us a long time ago—Christmas can’t wait. It has become a season, with the family holiday of Thanksgiving only a bump in the road on the way to December 25. Some people may be turned off by all the commercialism surrounding Christmas, with the “getting and spending” as William Wordsworth would say,…
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A Lesson from November
Like the other months of the year, November has a large number of celebration days, but except for Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day, those other days have a lighthearted touch, seem somewhat bland, or are even trivial. Nothing says November like the gorgeous colors that shout to us from neighborhood yards, roadside hedges, and hillsides. Turn a corner on a street and you’re met with an explosion of vibrant, variegated color. All this riotous beauty exists in the fall of the year to stimulate our senses. Individuals as well as groups travel long distances, especially to New England, to enjoy the natural glory of the season. People who live…
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A Closer Look at Philanthropy
PHILANTHROPY: phi-lan-thro-py (noun) Synonyms: benevolence /generosity/altruism Definition: “An act or gift done or made for humanitartian purposes; goodwill to fellow members of the human race.” Sometimes a word suggests that there’s much more to it than meets the eye, showing itself in a different light from the usual definition. This is true of philanthropy. When you think of the word philanthropy, what comes to your mind? Very likely some of the biggest, most powerful names in our world, going back to Alfred Nobel and Andrew Carnegie up to today’s Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, all of them individuals whose contributions have made a lasting impact on society. These top tier…
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Our Changing Language and Our Changing Times
I was almost through reading a book I was enjoying when I came across a sentence that made me stop and read it again. “A child should know that they are loved.” Yes, that was what it said. “Child,” a singular noun, was paired with a plural pronoun. The author was a well-respected magazine editor and writer of several books and scads of articles. How did he blunder like that? I did a little checking and found that it was no blunder. A lot of people are treating the language like that these days. English teachers have always taught—yea, preached—that a pronoun is a substitute noun, and that a singular…
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Is It Really Intelligent?
I’m sure you’ve noticed the two-letter word that has made its way into nearly everyone’s vocabulary and is increasing in popularity daily. That word is AI (Artificial Intelligence). The importance of Artificial Intelligence dominates conversations today, but we don’t have to know much about technology in order to be familiar with AI. We deal with it when we call customer service at our bank or at our cable provider or even at our doctor’s office. Insstead of getting a live customer “servant,” we get a voice that offers us the Main Menu and tells us how to respond to its prompts. If you tell it the last four digits of…