An older gentleman in Canada was working on his property recently when he noticed something stuck in the mud by a lake. He decided to pick it up, since it was obviously just trash, but noticed something about the object. It was a simple green bottle, but there was a sheet of paper inside. After opening the bottle, he read the note, which was written by a then-13-year-old girl who had vacationed on the other side of the lake and was simply putting a “message in a bottle” out there for the fun of it. It was written 32 years ago, but the man read the note and actually found…

There is an automobile dealer in our area that informs people on radio commercials that, if you buy a car or truck from him, you’ll get a warranty “forever.” He then adds, “and that’s a very long time.” Indeed it is! Most of us have heard the word “forever” used when people try to describe a very long time. You know what I’m talking about – “I stood in line forever at Walmart” – or – “It took forever to get to grandma’s house”- or some similar expression.   Lately, I’ve been hearing that word used in another sense. As some of you know, I (to put it kindly) tolerate HGTV. I don’t care much…

There is a book that I’m fairly confident is owned by everybody reading these words. In fact, I’m fairly certain that most of us have more than one copy. The book is actually a collection of sixty-six books. Collectively, these books are known by most at The Holy Bible. Sometimes we just shorten that to The Bible. It seems to me that there are some serious questions that need to be considered about this volume. Each of us needs to ask ourselves such questions as: How much (if any) of this book is actually inspired by God?How much (if any) is accurate?How much (if any) is helpful in my own personal life, my family, my…

A staggering number of people all across the country have already voted, but there is still something special about “the day.” That day–the day of the general election in the United States of America–now stands less than a week away. For weeks and months, we have been wearied by news coverage and social media posts about it. Christians have commented on posts, shared their views, read articles, watched coverage, and tried to think through how to vote. But, let’s be honest, not everything that Christians have said and done leading up to the election has been reflective of people of faith. Sometimes their tone has been dismissive or even mean.…

I am often amazed by what I find when I am actually looking for something else. Recently, while I was going through some of my old material, I found the poem below. It is only very loosely connected to what I was working on.   After thinking about it for a while I realized that, while the poem may not have been really connected to what I was working on, it actually does connect to all of us. I believe that is true regardless of where we are in life or the situation(s) in which we find ourselves.   I hope that you will do as I’ve done. I’ve read it and read it…

If you attended Freed-Hardeman University at a certain time and had a certain professor, you probably will never forget his lesson on infinity. It was a college kid’s dream! The professor simply started at one end of his chalk- or whiteboard and began to draw a line. He then proceeded to continue that line off the edge, around the corner, up the stairs, and out of the lecture hall. That was the end of that day’s class: infinity. As fun and as memorable as that lesson was, it was flawed. You see, when the next class period rolled around, you were still expected to be back in that lecture hall…