Many who read this will probably be very familiar with the account of a miracle found in Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26. If so, you will remember that some friends of a man who was paralyzed carried him to a house where Jesus was. The obvious supposition is that this was done in the hopes that something could be done about the man’s condition. As you may remember, the hopes were realized much beyond their expectations. Not only did Jesus make it possible for this man to walk, He did something far greater. He told the man that his sins were forgiven. In fact he did this before…

Some who have read A Legacy of Faith for some length of time may (or may not) remember something I wrote in June of 2022. The title was A Universal Language. That “universal language” was/is a smile and a wave. We were in Cookeville, Tennessee during June of 2022 because our second grandson was graduating from Cookeville High School. Because of the policy of the school, seniors did not have to attend classes quite as long as the rest of the students. For some reason, our soon-to-be-graduate did not readily volunteer to provide the morning transportation for his younger sister as had been the case the rest of the year,…

The picture that accompanies this post may mean very little or nothing to most of the people reading this. I would ask you to take the time to allow me to explain why it is important to me on a personal level. The fact that the picture means something to me personally is not the only reason I am taking the time to type these words. I am hoping that the words you read will be both instructive and encouraging. Before I go any further with this, it might be helpful to provide a little background to the picture. It is more than a picture of a rose between two…

For a number of years now, I have made a practice of starting my day by listening to the Bible. Sometime toward the end of each year, I choose a plan to which I can listen that will cover the entire Bible during the upcoming year. I have listened to the books of the Bible in the order in which they appear (Genesis through Revelation). I have listened to the books according to a chronological plan. When I do this, I may find myself listening to one of the books documenting historical events interspersed with books of prophecy, poetry, correspondence, etc. I’m sure that there are other plans which I’ve…

There are a lot of excuses that people–including me–give for not being involved. Depending on one’s personality type, some of the excuses do have a little merit, but they do not give us a total “out.” There is something that each one of us can do to try to teach the lost. As we think about those we hope to reach, they really fall into two very broad categories. First and most obviously, there are those who have never become Christians. They have never put Christ on in baptism for the remission of their sins, so their sins are still on their souls. We all know we need to be…

A number of years ago–in another location–I preached a sermon that I believe was titled, “The Hardest Work You’ll Ever Try to Do.” It was a very personal sermon, but one that I knew needed to be preached at that time. The point of the sermon was to encourage Christians to put forward the effort to try to not just win the lost, but to also try to encourage those who had slipped away in their faith. And, in many ways, that second one can be harder. For me, it is something I have a heart for, but my struggle is one that is really simply stated: I never know…

Pauline Kael was a film critic for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. The magazine for which she worked may give you a clue about her political leanings. That fact may also give you a clue to the kind of people who were in her circle of associates and friends. She is probably best known today for a quote about politics than she is for any opinion about a movie. In 1972, Richard Nixon won reelection for the office of President of the United States by winning 60.7% of the popular vote and receiving the electoral votes of forty-nine of the fifty states. Apparently Ms. Kael was incredulous. The…

I was sitting in a Bible class recently when the teacher was having difficulty remembering something he had heard me say before. Because of the material he was dealing with, I thought I knew what it was. The phrase he had on his mind was not original with me. I’ve “borrowed” it from a former teacher of mine.  My former teacher has been gone from us for many years. The fact that I still remember his phrase and that others have heard it because I’ve used it may serve to demonstrate that our impact on others may not die with us. The two classes were separated by many years and…