Month: September 2017

2 Peter 3:3-17
Luke 13:1-9

A priest and pastor from the local parishes were standing by the side of the road holding up a sign that read, “The End is Near! Turn around now before it’s too late!”

“Leave us alone, you religious nuts!” yelled the first driver as he sped by.

From around the curve, they heard screeching tires and a big splash. The Priest sheepishly looked at the Pastor and asked, “Do you think our sign should have simply said, ‘Bridge Out’ instead?”

How many of you wondered with me last week whether or not the world was coming to an end? I mean, can you recall another time when so many natural disasters were occurring so close together? There were hundreds of people in Texas clinging to rooftops waiting to be rescued as the waters from Hurricane Harvey threaten to engulf them; wild-fires burning out of control in several western states prompting warnings to stay indoors to avoid breathing toxic air; an 8.1 earthquake in Mexico toppling buildings and spawning tsunamis and five unusually strong solar flares spewing a torrent of electromagnetic radiation toward our fragile planet. And then came Irma.

It is times like these that make us who believe in God to wonder, where is God in all of this? Does He not see what’s happening? Does He not care? Is He the one who we should hold responsible?

Not according to actress Jennifer Lawrence, who said last week that the two devastating hurricanes in Texas and Florida are expressions of Mother Nature’s wrath and anger over the election of Donald Trump. I didn’t know the Donald had that much power!

In today’s passage from Luke, Jesus perceives that His listeners are grappling with similar causality questions concerning a natural disaster.

Perhaps an earthquake, perhaps faulty engineering, perhaps a combination of both caused some sort of tower to collapse in the Village of Siloam killing 18 people and doubtless injuring others. The prevailing thinking of the day is that things of that nature were God’s justice meted out toward evil sinners. Jesus quickly nixes that theology: (more…)

Psalm 119 (selected)
II Kings 22:1-11; 23:1-3

How about a little Bible Trivia?

At what time of day was Adam created?
A little before Eve.

How long did Cain hate his brother?
As long as he was Abel.

What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?
Your mother ate us out of house and home.

Which servant of God was the biggest lawbreaker (sinner) in the Bible?
Moses; he broke all 10 commandments at once.

Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
Samson. He brought the house down.

Did you know why some believe that Jesus was an American Indian?
Acts 4: refers to Him as Chief Cornerstone.

What does the word ‘Bible’ mean?
Book

How many books in the Bible?
66 – 39 in OT, 27 in NT

Which five books of the Bible are not divided into chapters?
Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

Does anyone know the longest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 119 with 176 verses.

I took the time to count some of the nouns in the Psalm: ‘commandments’ 21 times, ‘commands’ – 22, ‘decrees’ – 22, ‘instructions’ – 25, ‘laws’ – 21, ‘regulations’ – 20 and ‘word’ appears 27 times.

All 158 of those nouns are references to God’s Word, and they are either preceded or followed by the verbs: ‘follow, guide, keep, listen, meditate, obey, reflect, rejoice, teach, and trust.’

I have chosen to read 19 of the 176 verses; trusting that these 19 provide a good representation of the entire Psalm.

1 ‘Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD.’
11 ‘I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’
18 ‘Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.’
33 ‘Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end.’
34 ‘Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.’
35 ‘Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.’
35 ‘Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money!’
36 ‘Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.’
66 ‘I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge.’
67 ‘I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word.’
97 ‘Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long.’ 
98 ‘Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.’
99 ‘Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws.’
100 ‘I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments.’
101 ‘I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word.’
102 ‘I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well.’ 
103 ‘How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.’
104 ‘Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.’
105 ‘Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.’

Would you believe research indicates that 92% of all households in America have an average of three Bibles?

That works out to be about 306 million bibles in this country. Wow, that’s a whole lot of Bibles! However; would you also believe that 41% of those same households admit they rarely if ever open those Bibles; which means there are about 125 million Bibles gathering dust. Why? (more…)

Psalm 90

A couple of weeks ago the PGA Facebook page invited golfers to submit their favorite golf jokes. Howard P. Curtis submitted the following:

Four old guys went into the pro shop after playing 18 holes of golf. The pro asks, “Did you guys have a good round today?”
The first old guy said, “Yes, but I only had three riders today.”
The second old guy said, “I had five.”
The third old guy said, “I had seven riders, the same as last time.”
The last old man said, “I set my all-time record; I had 12 riders today!”
After they went into the locker room, another golfer who had heard the old guys
talking about their game went to the pro and said, “I’ve been playing golf for a long time and thought I knew all the terminology of the game, but what’s a rider?”
The pro said, “A rider is when you hit the ball far enough to actually get in the golf cart and ride to it.” ¹

According to the Psalmist, those four dudes are playing The Back Nine of their lives; where The Back Nine represents the latter years of our lives. “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty!! (Psalm 90:10)

It may be true that some of us are playing The Back Nine. According to the average lifespan of a white American male, I’ve just hit my second shot on the 15th hole; undoubtedly in the weeds or water.

Maybe that’s what the author of Psalm 90 was referencing when he said, “Even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.” You better believe it! They fly away indeed!

It seems just yesterday that I was young; out of high school, first real job, married, kids, hopes, dreams . . . an entire slow-moving lifetime ahead. I still recall listening to a Simon and Garfunkel song when I was a teenager:

I was 21 years when I wrote this song, I’m 22 now, but I won’t be for long. Time hurries on and the leaves that are green turn to brown.”

and thinking ‘time hurries on’? 21 or 22 seems a lifetime away!

But, here it is … the “back nine” of my life and it catches me by surprise . . . it takes my breath away. How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go?

Those of you still playing the front nine (anyone under 39), let me tell you from experience, the back nine will be here faster than you think. And the truth is none of us can really be sure if we’ll even reach the back nine at all! We have no promise that we will see all the seasons of life. Some of us may have to forfeit the chance to play a full 18 holes.

That’s why the overall message of Psalm 90 is so very important: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life so that we may grow in wisdom” (12). (more…)