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The Easter Promise

THE EASTER PROMISE

I would be remiss for not mentioning Easter on a blog dealing in part with faith.  When people today think of Easter, they might think of rabbits, baby chicks, new clothing, jelly beans, colored eggs and a family meal together.  But this is not the true meaning of Easter. The true meaning of Easter deals with a promise of hope, of life after death, and of God’s intention to keep His promise. The Easter promise. When you look at the Holy days...

The look of love

THE LOOK OF LOVE

There is a seismic shift happening at the moment in the area of human relationships.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) to a greater extent and robotics to a lesser extent are starting to encroach in person-to-person relationships and warning bells are starting to go off. One recent such bell was published on The Hill, an e-journal focused on political events in Washington, D.C. and called “AI girlfriends are ruining an entire generation of men.” The company Replika has two million subscribers in various...

Escape the zombie apocalypse

ESCAPE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

The notion of the Zombie Apocalypse has been around (more or less) for over half a century. Movies came out called “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead.” There was the growing genre of supernatural films and television series such as a “Teenage Werewolf in London,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Z Nation” and “The Walking Dead” to name just a few. Then there was “Twilight.” Not all of these and others deal with raising the dead, however....

Life in the Spirit

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

Most people in the world are familiar with fish.  We learn about fish and aquatic life in school and many of us eat fish as part of our diet.  Some people raise fish as a hobby.  Others actually fish, themselves, either on lakes, ponds or in rivers or in the ocean, as several of Jesus’ disciples did over two thousand years ago and even other communities two thousand years before that.  Probably all of us know that with the exception of three or four species...

Frog in boiling water

THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

One of the more overused terms in the U.S. today is “slippery slope.” It refers to a decision a person might make that has unintended consequences. And, while many consider the term to be fallacious, it is not necessarily so. Missing a day of school because you overslept does not mean you’ll eventually wind up in prison if you extrapolate the likely consequences. But a failing grade for academic dishonesty such as cheating may mean you won’t graduate if your...

Jesus Revolution

JESUS REVOLUTION

One of the more popular movies this spring is actually a surprise to many, and that’s a movie called Jesus Revolution, which is based on the lives of three ministers who lived and preached during the late sixties-early seventies. It chronicles their response to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during those times. The ministers are Chuck Smith (played by Kelsey Grammer), Lonnie Frisbee (played by Jonathan Roumie) and Greg Laurie (played by Joel Courtney) all located in Southern California....

Superstition

SUPERSTITION

Most people today understand that the Middle Ages were sometimes called the Dark Ages, because with the exception of some monasteries and later the emergence of universities, learning in Europe ceased around the time of the fall of Rome.  In the absence of the scientific method and the rational approaches to discovery that we have today to explain causal relationships, covariation, etc. people turned to empiricism and fortune telling to bring order to their lives and while this period was...

Teach your children well

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL

My very rural neighborhood lost power early last Thursday morning. So, I offered to drive to town to Dunkin’ and see if I could get some coffee for my wife. Once in town, a truck pulls out abruptly in front of me with a bumper sticker that read “Shut the Hell Up!” The driver wasn’t paying attention. Not sure what he was listening to on his radio, but it probably wasn’t NPR. I thought about that message several times since...

Opportunity knocks but once

机不可失，时不再来

I came across this Chinese idiom today. It reads: “Opportunity knocks but once (机不可失，时不再来.”) I could have sworn I had heard this many, many years ago. I immediately thought of some Bible verses, and because I have an increasing number of Chinese visitors to my blog, I want to go through the verses one-by-one for them and for you. I also want to dedicate this post to the people of China, because I know in my heart that God loves...

Cancel culture stamp

GOD AND THE CANCEL CULTURE

The Veiled Prophet’s Ball: A few days ago, I read a story about Ellie Kemper. She was apparently raised in the Midwest and had the opportunity to compete in a debutante pageant at an event called the Veiled Prophet’s Ball when she was a teenager. I first saw a magazine article on the Veiled Prophet’s Ball, held annually in St Louis, many, many years ago (possibly before Ellie was even born.) I read the story and glanced at the photos....