Last week I was doing something unusual: I was watching TV during the day. I was home sick so my TV was tuned to a channel that I enjoy: HGTV. The show of the day (and I literally mean all day) was “Flip or Flop.” I enjoy watching them take run-down houses and turn them into pretty homes for a profit. I also enjoy watching a couple – read: not me and my husband – differ on the spending-versus-return-theory involved. She always wants to buy higher end finishes to maximize the potential profit whereas he wants to do nice enough to guarantee a quick sale. It’s fun when it’s not you!…

This week the buzz was actress Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes. Her obvious disdain for the president-elect sounded out in a quiet room of actors and actresses and rumbled across the landscape of America. In response came a few tweets from Donald Trump, discounting the comments and defending himself. I know for myself personally it was no fun to watch from either side, and nothing was accomplished that made for peace and tranquility in a nation already divided. There was one thing, however, that immediately crossed my mind. As this was all being digested by Americans I wondered to myself just how much, really, do people let public…

I love the song, “Just As I Am.” The words–especially the opening lyrics–are some of the most soul-stirring that we sing. Just as I am without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come; I come. The concept is simple, but so moving. When we come to Jesus, we are not already “cleaned up” from our sin. Instead, we realize that only His blood can cleanse us, so we come just as we are. If I am one who has a problem with alcohol, I admit it and let the blood of Jesus forgive…

Brother James Burton Coffman was–among other things–a preacher for local congregations, an educator, a lecturer, and an author. Many have in their libraries his commentaries on both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Recently, while doing some work on a sermon, I came across an interesting statement in brother Coffman’s commentary on Matthew. In reality, it was not directly related to the particular lesson on which what I was working. At the same time, it is directly related to everything I need to be as a Christian.  The passage under consideration was this portion of what has come to be known as The Sermon on the Mount: You have heard that it…