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How does one address God? Should we be casual, like close friends? “Hey God!” Should we be formal, as if approaching royalty? “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe”. This is from a standard Jewish prayer. One answer lies in the teaching of Jesus on prayer. “When you pray,” says Jesus, address God with “Our Father in heaven…” There are times we approach God in reverence and awe. Moses went close to God’s presence while Israel stood…

Statistics tell us that ministers have one of the higher-stress jobs in our nation. There are regular duties which must be performed no matter, what and they are generally both public and highly scrutinized. Then there’s the always-on-call part of the job, never knowing what will come up and when. The COVID pandemic didn’t help, as face-to-face ministry became impossible for a time, non-profit organizations faced funding stresses, and the need to catch up with technological tools overnight was demanded…

Dad passed away in April. He spent his last few weeks of life in the ICU. He did not “go gentle into that good night”. No, he continued to give marching orders between labored breaths, bits of advice for the situations he knew about in our lives, and he dictated a few more editorials. As one’s life ebbs away, I suppose you think in more ultimate terms. Foolishness and triviality quickly fade and vanish. This is what we discussed about…

In a Christian high school class with three handfuls of students, all regular church attenders, only one had been in a church service with a creed. Don’t ask why we were on this subject, but I asked, “From where does the Holy Spirit come?” Most ninth graders know other trivia, however, one did blurt out “from the Father and the Son”. When my state of speechlessness ended, I said, “Oh yes, you’re Greek Orthodox.” Regularly reciting the Nicene Creed in…

Jesus told his disciples that following him would not be easy. In addition to life this side of Eden, there would be physical and spiritual difficulties to endure. The early church in Jerusalem went through dire circumstances in the first century. A famine fell upon them in A.D. 46. Earlier, about the time of the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7), there was a great persecution which saw physical abuse, imprisonment, and death wear upon believers in Jesus. Peter will write…

Job was minding his own business. He had a number of children, significant land holdings, more livestock than most, and was considered “greatest of all people in the east” (Job 1). His business was obviously significant. Job was living for God—blameless, upright, fearing God, shunning evil, and keeping his integrity under great hardship. God allowed Satan two runs at Job. “All that he has is in your hand, only against him do not stretch out your hand.” Job got through…

You’ve seen the King’s Guard around Buckingham Palace in London. They stand at their post, and nothing distracts them from their task. Nothing! You’ve taken your brand-new puppy for a walk, and he goes here, there, and everywhere. Soldiers are disciplined. Puppies have a lot to learn. Christians do too. “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” This, from the pen…

On a recent forty-five-minute drive, I listened to a talk radio conversation on the pursuit of happiness. The personalities bounced around questions such as, “What is happiness? How does one find it? Once found, how is it kept or maintained? Can happiness be found in this life?” A couple of “Happiness Experts” jumped in with their two cents. Some years back, sociologist Christian Smith coined “moralistic therapeutic deism” to describe the beliefs of Christian young people. Their beliefs were the…

When people ask me, “What do you do?” I have to work up my courage to say, “I’m a preacher.” Responses vary, depending on the context and any previous interactions. Usually it is, “Oh!” and they back away with all manner of throat clearing. What I should say is this: “I am a minister of the Word of God, a steward of the Gospel, an ambassador of God, one who makes known the message of reconciliation, and I tell people…

In our local congregation, we are praying for several people to find jobs. In this calendar year, we’ve seen record employment and record unemployment. Our prayers for these usually sound like this: “Lord, please provide work for so-and-so. Give them work that utilizes their skills, allows them to serve their neighbors, provides for their own needs, and let them earn a little extra so that they may support the church and help the poor.” Our prayer is rooted in the…

1 – Because God designed us to work, Satan will use work to destroy us. We are prone to live to work instead of work to live. We will work but ignore marriage, neglect parenting, fail to serve the church, fall short of neighborliness, become addicted to our gadgets, and spend time doing what God has not called us to do. If we aren’t careful and thankful, we can find ourselves dissatisfied with our lot in life. 2 – Spend…

I’ve had a couple of run-ins with barnacles. A faint scar on my leg serves as a reminder of an unhappy slice while climbing rocks on the Georgia seacoast. Then there’s the barefooted island adventure which did not end well. An eye surgeon friend sat me upside down in his chair and performed surgery on my inferior end. A skiff we had for a time on the coast required routine scraping and painting on its hull to remove these unwelcome…