My wife and I just celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary. Yes, that is a long time. No, I can’t quite believe it. Yes, my age tells me it is true whether I want to believe it or not. For ou…

Source: Number Forty-Three

My wife and I just celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary. Yes, that is a long time. No, I can’t quite believe it. Yes, my age tells me it is true whether I want to believe it or not.

For our celebration this year, we took a short trip to the mountains of North Carolina. We revisited some of our favorite places, and then journeyed to a couple of new places which quickly became new favorite places. We have always enjoyed riding along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and once again were amazed at the beauty of this small part of God’s creation.

The overlook at Craggy Gardens has always been a must see for us, and this trip was no exception.

We made several more stops at overlooks along the way, but our destination was one which we had passed by so many times in the past, but had never taken the time to stop. This trip was different: we stopped and enjoyed the magnificence and majesty of Grandfather Mountain. This will now be one of our favorites to revisit in the future.

Another favorite for us is the beauty of the waterfalls in Dupont Forest. Teresa and I have always loved waterfalls, and have been blessed to see quite a number in different parts of our beautiful country. We have seen Niagara, as well as the thunderous falls scattered through Yellowstone National Park, and so many along the stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Each one has its own unique character, and each is breathtaking in its own way. The falls we hiked to in Dupont are gorgeous in their own right.

And then, there was one final stop. We had heard about the beauty of Pretty Place from friends, and we had actually been there once before, but the weather was horrible, and the entire area was saturated with fog, so we were unable to see the unbelievable panorama of this majestic sight.

A picture does not do justice to the view from this pinnacle. We are sitting at the end of the chapel which overlooks the valley below, and the rolling mountainside in the background. As we arrived at the chapel, a group of youth were singing praise choruses, and we were able to enjoy their voices rolling over the side of the mountain. We were blessed beyond measure to be able to see this moving sight, this slice of God’s creation, that created in us the desire to praise Him for His creative genius, and for allowing us to catch just a small glimpse of His creative power.

We were once again reminded of the word of the Psalmist that inform us that God’s creation is a continual testimony to His power, not only of creating, but also of maintaining. He set things in motion, and He oversees the day-to-day operation of His created order. Teresa and I celebrate the life He has allowed us to share for these 43 years, and are so blessed to be able to have traveled many roads together.

I love to read those great stories in the Bible of adventure, intrigue, and excitement. Stories that trace the steps, and journal the adventures, of those individuals who set their sights on living life to the full, even if it meant facing insurmountable odds and overwhelming obstacles. Their stories have been saved for each future generation to read, enjoy and learn. Learn what? What am I supposed to learn from the story of Abraham, or Moses, or Joseph, or Peter, Paul, Jesus, and countless others?

Well, there is a vast amount of lessons to be learned, but there is one that I would like for us to think about: just as certain as we see their stories unfold before us from the pages of Scripture, our stories are unfolding day by day and moment by moment. So, the question is, what is your story? If you were to sit quietly for a while and consider seriously your life up to this point, what story would you see unfolding as you mentally walked through the memories of your past?

Some would probably think that they really don’t have a story worth considering, much less one worth sharing. But I would dare to suggest that you would be wrong. Every life has a story, and every story is worth sharing.

As I sit here at the age of 64, and think back over my life, I might think that it is nothing compared with the life stories of others. But, you see, that is the problem. I should not compare my life with others. I should consider my journey, mentally journaling my life experiences, and strive to see the handprint of God in that journey.

Those great Bible stories relate vastly different life journeys for each of the characters, and yet there was one  common thread: the providence of God. They may not have known what God was doing at the time (I am convinced that they did not!) but they were making their life journey under God’s clear direction. They did not always know what lay ahead for them as they made their way through life, but God was always ahead, making the way.

So, what is your story? Are you a businessman/woman, a teacher, a brick mason, a car mechanic, a ditch digger, a gardener, a farmer, a housewife? It really does not matter what you DO, but what really matters is WHO you are. Your life story unfolds day by day. It may seem to be monotonous, boring, and uneventful. But it is YOUR story. I challenge you to take a few minutes and look back. If you look closely you will see His handprint. You will be able to detect that unseen hand of providence which has led you, and brought you to where you are now.

And now, I further challenge each of us to make our story known. Share it with your family, your friends, your work associates. Share it when you have the opportunity to strike up a conversation with that person you just met. Be sure to include in your story how you were totally unaware of God’s presence during each chapter of your journey, but that now, as you look back, you see His handprint everywhere. Let your story become His story.

When we begin to purposely look for His handprint, we will begin to see that life has not been monotonous, boring and uneventful. Rather, it has been a journey of walking His path, experiencing His appointments, and growing in our awareness of His presence.

Did you notice the shift? Did you notice the subtle (or, not so subtle by the standards of some) change from being a republic to being a monarchy? Did you notice the change from a government of the…

Source: King Obama

Did you notice the shift? Did you notice the subtle (or, not so subtle by the standards of some) change from being a republic to being a monarchy? Did you notice the change from a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, to that of a monarch who bypasses all balance of power in order to impose his personal agenda on the American people?

Of course, we can’t place all the blame on our president. It is true that he shows no regard, and gives no respect, to the other branches of government which, when working properly, keeps any one branch from running rough-shod over the others. However, it is also true that the congress and senate have not done their jobs in keeping things in check. One would think that, since we have a republican majority in both houses of congress, there would be more accountability from one branch of power to the other. But it seems that those who identify themselves as constitutional republicans run scared when the president makes one of his decisions which affects all Americans without going through the proper chain of authority. Thus, the blame is to be shared by those who oppose the president’s tactics, but who do nothing to hold him in check.

Let’s think about the president’s most recent display of abuse of power. In his effort to push the LGBT agenda on the nation, he has ordered (not in the form of a new law, but in the form of a recommendation) that all public schools across the nation embrace the practice of allowing students to choose the restroom of their choice. Even though he says this is not a new law, he does warn that states which choose to go against this “recommendation” open themselves up for federal education budget cuts. This is nothing more than an enforcement of what he calls a recommendation.

Is it any wonder that this presidential political season has proven to be so chaotic? Is it any wonder that Donald Trump has successfully run his campaign on the promise that he will do something about this present state of affairs? Is it any wonder that American Republicans are saying, in effect, let’s get rid of those in office who are unwilling to stand up for the constitution in the face of a monarch who gives no regard to that most important of all American documents? Is it any wonder that American Republicans are fed up with the do-nothing bunch which is now occupying the seats of congress?

Let me hasten to the point of this rambling. The people of the United States of America look to our elected officials to see to it that the constitution is upheld and enforced. However, it has become painfully obvious that most either don’t know what the constitution says, or, even worse, do know what it says and still purposely ignore it. They need to be held accountable. Of course, the accountability would be working effectively if the balance of powers was enforced. But, since it is obvious that this balance of power is now completely out of balance, it is time for the American people to get involved. So, just how are we to do that? Let me suggest three things that we can all do.

First, be sure to use our right to cast a vote for the candidate(s) of our choice. As a Christian, my vote should be determined by Biblical principles which would guide me in choosing a candidate who best follows the ethical and moral demands of Holy Scripture. I must guard myself against being duped by empty promises and radical rantings of those who pursue political office.

Second, get personally involved in the political process. Are you a Christian who is fed up with the way things are locally, in your state, and in our nation? Perhaps God would have you get involved by running for office so that you can make a difference. If you don’t feel that you are qualified to run for an office, then strive to influence those who are in office. Use your phone to call your representatives to voice your opinion when key issues are being debated in the halls of congress. Call your state representatives to voice your concerns. Use a public forum such as a personal blog on the internet or by writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. There needs to be a groundswell of grass root Americans who are willing to let their voices be heard.

Third, pray!  As a Christian, I am admonished to pray for those who are in office. It is my spiritual obligation to seek God’s will in all affairs of life. Praying for those who will occupy those seats of authority should be uppermost in our minds. It is imperative that we commit the minds, hearts, and wills of those in office to the Lord, and pray that He would give wisdom and guidance as they lead our nation.

My journey began in October, 2015. It started with a cough; a simple, nagging cough. Over the counter cough remedies were the rule of the day. However, they did not produce the desired results, and when the cough began to keep me (and my wife) awake through the night, I felt it was time to seek medical attention. So, mid-October I made my first visit to my family physician. After the examination, I was told that I had bronchitis, and was written a prescription for an antibiotic, and a cough suppressant.

The two-week antibiotic finished, the cough medication depleted, and yet the cough persisted. So, trip number two to the family physician. Another exam, another diagnosis of bronchitis, and another round of antibiotics – this round a little more powerful. I was assured by my physician that many times these persistent coughs could last for a few weeks before they would eventually subside.

Again, the two-week round of high powered antibiotics finished, and again, the cough medication gone, and again, the cough persisted. As a matter of fact, this time the cough had actually worsened. However, due to my hard-headedness, and my confidence in my family physician, I made yet another trip to his office. This was now into the year 2016, and the cough was continuing to grow worse and worse. Many nights were spent with little to no sleep due to the cough which had now grown so intense that my entire body ached from the excessive coughing spells. Once again, I was assured by my doctor that all was well, that there was not need for undue concern, and that he was confident that the cough had just about run its course.

Once again – antibiotics. Once again – cough suppressant. Once again, the diagnosis of bronchitis. And, once again, the cough continued to worsen. Finally, my wife decided enough was enough. She made an appointment for me to see a pulmonologist, who did something my family physician had never even suggested: a chest x-ray. Immediately upon viewing the x-ray, he made an appointment for me to have a bronchoscopy two days later. It revealed that I had a rare form of pneumonia called klebsiella. He prescribed an antibiotic that would zero in on the infection, and within a month the infection was gone.

Now, you may be wondering why I would take your time to read of this journey. It is with the desire that I might share with you a few lessons I learned while traveling this road. First, my faith and commitment to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was put to the test. A persistent cough for six months will cause one to question the reason for such an ordeal. This, then, leads to some serious soul-searching. “Father, is there some unknown sin in my life that You are striving to draw my attention to? If not, is there a lesson you would like me to learn from this experience so that I might be better equipped to minister to others? Please, Father, show me Your desired will and outcome in this matter.”

You see, my belief is that God has a purpose and plan for everything He brings into our personal human experience. I don’t want this experience to be wasted by not being open to God’s instruction.

Second, it forced me to review my beliefs concerning what happens after this life. Again, I am a firm believer in the teachings of God’s Word, and the Bible clearly teaches that this life is not all there is. As a matter of fact, this life is, according to the Apostle Paul, not even worthy to be compared with that which is before us in eternity. My wife and I had several conversations during this bout with pneumonia (especially before we knew the diagnosis, wondering if it might be something far more serious, perhaps even leading to death), about being prepared for the eventuality of my passing from this life. We reassured each other that God is indeed  in control, and that if I should pass through that final valley of the shadow of death, she would be safe in the arms of the Lord here, and I would be safe in His arms there.

Third, and finally, when the diagnosis was confirmed, and the pneumonia was cured, our intent is to give God all the glory for what He has done through the hands of my new doctor, and the medications he prescribed. But we want to make sure everyone who knows us realizes that we would have been the recipients of God’s grace even if He had allowed this to be the end of my earthly life.

Let me close with this story I read sometime ago. A mother with a young child went to her pastor and asked that he pray for the child who was seriously ill. As a matter of fact, the doctors had told the mother that there was a very high likelihood that her daughter would not survive. The pastor assured her of his prayers. A few days later, the mother called the pastor and informed him that God had graciously spared her child, and she exclaimed, “Isn’t God good!” The thought quickly came to the mind of the pastor, and he shared it with the elated mother, “Well, yes, God is good. But, would He have not been just as good had He allowed you daughter to die?” I thought about that several times during these past six months, and now, I can state with full assurance, “God is good!” But, it’s not because He cured my pneumonia, but just simply because He is good, all the time. I hope to share that with anyone and everyone who will take a moment to listen.

It just keeps getting more and more interesting and perplexing. I am just not quite sure what to make of it all. The list continues to grow of businesses that have been forced to close or threatened with enormous lawsuits because they refused to provide services for individuals/couples who are openly gay. The cry against these businesses is discrimination. The proponents of the LGBT community assert that they are being discriminated against due to their sexual orientation. To this assertion I would like to make a few observations.

First, and of utmost importance, is the extreme double standard we see in these assertions. Let’s take the state of North Carolina as a case in point. Due to the controversy of HB2, there has been a massive outcry against what is perceived to be bigotry and prejudice. Concerts by Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, and Boston have been cancelled, as well as performances by Cirque de Soleil. As of this writing, thirteen conventions have also been cancelled. The double standard is obvious, is it not? Businesses have been forced to close due to their commitment to the owner’s Christian convictions, and yet no form of reprimand is issued against these businesses, bands and performers for their obvious bigotry and prejudice. Why is no one talking about this elephant in the room?

Second, as to the list of businesses which have been forced to close, my question is simply this: why do proponents of the LGBT agenda try to force their preferences on those who hold to a Biblical perspective on sexuality? There are other bakeries, bistros, pizza parlors, flower shops, and auto repair shops that would love your business. Why try to punish businesses that disagree with your lifestyle based on their beliefs and convictions? You have your convictions, and I have mine. Why not just respect each other enough to accept that we are different, and nothing we say or do is going to change that.

Third, and finally, I would like to make a personal statement of belief. I firmly believe the Bible is clear on the subject of human sexuality. God created man and woman, and designed them in such a way as to fulfill His command to procreate and fill the earth with their offspring. Six times in Scripture there is a clear prohibition against any same-sex sexual activity that is outside the bounds of God’s creative order. However, sexual deviancy takes many forms: adultery, pre-marital sex, incest, bestiality, sodomy, and sex between same-sex partners. Am I only opposed to same-sex partners? Absolutely not! As a Christian who believes the Bible to be God’s inspired word which gives us instructions in how to live a God-centered life, I must strive to live according to the whole counsel of God. Does that mean I am a perfect person? Far from it. I am a sinner like everyone else. But by His grace, I am a forgiven sinner, and now strive to live my life for His glory. That simply  means that I will not commit any of the sexual sins clearly forbidden in God’s word. Does that mean I will never feel the urge to engage in any of these sexual activities? No, we are all human, and in our fallen human nature we will have urges to engage in forbidden pleasure. But by God’s grace we are able to abstain. The person who has the urge to engage in an extra-marital affair is no different than the person who has the urge to engage in same-sex relations. But God’s grace is greater than those urges if we will yield our lives to Him.

God is a gracious, loving, compassionate Father to all who will come to Him in sincere faith and repentance. His grace covers all sin, but the sinner must meet Him on His terms. Confess that we are sinners, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, died for our sins so that we might be forgiven and enter into a relationship with Him that not only gives us grace to overcome all our sinful tendencies in this present, temporal life, but will also usher us into His eternal presence when we pass from this life into eternity.

What have I missed? I am completely baffled, perplexed, beyond confused. I sometimes feel like a modern-day Rumpelstiltskin – like I have somehow drifted off into a 20 year sleep, and have no…

Source: Dazed and Confused

What have I missed? I am completely baffled, perplexed, beyond confused. I sometimes feel like a modern-day Rumpelstiltskin – like I have somehow drifted off into a 20 year sleep, and have now awakened in a different time and place. My country has somehow morphed into a place with which I no longer can identify. And it has happened so quickly, so dramatically, that I am perplexed as to how this transformation has taken place.

This morning (April 7, 2016) I heard that a South Carolina state senator is planning to introduce a bill which would protect the citizens of the state from those who wish to use the public restroom of their choice. Even before the bill is introduced on the floor of the senate for discussion and debate, the backlash has already begun. “We must protect the rights of the LGBT community,” they say. “We must think about the economic impact a decision of this nature would have on our state,” they say. “We must learn the lesson our sister state to the north has now learned since their debacle over this same issue,” they say.

But I say, where did all this lunacy come from in the first place?  What happened to common sense and common decency? What happened to the idea of boys and men going to male facilities, and girls and women going to female facilities? Is that such a foreign idea? Even those in the LGBT community would have to agree that, even though they might “feel” like they are trapped in the body of the opposite sex, they still have the biological parts of the particular sex they were born with. I don’t understand why they can’t simply, for the sake of all things decent, make use of restroom facilities specifically for those of their birth sex.

For the sake of discussion, and with the hope of clarification, let’s think about the three hypothetical quotes I mentioned above. First, “we must protect the rights of the LGBT community.” How about this: I will protect your right to believe whatever you choose to believe about yourself. How about you being willing to protect the rights of our daughters, grand-daughters, sons and grand-sons, and not traumatize them by forcing yourself into a restroom of the opposite sex. You are asking us to respect you, when you show no respect for those who do not see things from your perspective.

The second quote above – “we must think about the economic impact a decision of this nature would have on our state” – is a knee-jerk reaction based on the actions of other states asserting economic sanctions on any state that would stand against the implementation of new restroom use guidelines. Why in the world should a state be penalized for upholding long-held guidelines which protect innocent eyes from being forced to look upon the exposed body of a person of the opposite sex?

And then, finally – “we must learn the lesson that our sister state to the north has now learned since their debacle over this same issue.” Well, what exactly have they learned? They have learned that a very small minority of the population can make demands to replace long-held policies and practices with policies that force their agenda on the entire state. They have learned that there are repercussions to taking a stand for decency and common sense. And they have learned that sometimes a stand for what is right proves to be very costly.

In my estimation, the cost, no matter how high, is always worth it if the fight is over the protection of the innocent. There are ways this matter could be handled without all the extreme volatility we are witnessing. Both sides of the issue must learn to respect the other, even though we disagree vehemently over the issue. And, bottom line, the protection of our children and grand-children should be absolutely the top priority in whatever decision is reached.