Recently, I heard an interview with a man who had written about the period of time during which thirteen English colonies in North America fought for the right to be free from the domination of England. During that interview, the historian used a phrase and introduced (at least to me) a concept I had never really considered. He said that we read the history of that time with “a sense of inevitability.”   The historian went on to explain what he meant by that phrase. From our vantage point, we have the luxury of looking back on those events. We now know that those thirteen colonies did, indeed, win that war and that they ultimately became…

Does anyone else remember when “all this” (as people keep saying in the South) was only supposed to last about 2-3 weeks so we could “flatten the curve?” That was in late March! Frustration is building in so many places, and, in most cases, for good reason. From politics to jobs to sports to school and beyond, decisions have had to be made, changed, updated, and cancelled. It is frustrating to know what we are to do or not do, almost on a daily basis. But in the midst of all this, leaders of churches–elders in the Lord’s Church–have had to do things they never dreamed they would have to…

I’d like to pose a few questions that might help all of us (including me) to think about our thinking. Specifically, I wonder if some of us may think more of the church as an institution instead of thinking about individuals – especially the souls of individuals. Maybe your list would be longer, but here are just a few questions designed to get all of us started thinking.   Is the church primarily a building–or–is it a family?Is the church an organization set up to meet my needs–or–is it a body of which I am a vital and functioning member?Does membership in a local congregation allow me to have privileges– or–does it provide…

In 2 Kings 1, the wicked king Ahaziah has taken the throne following his father’s death. The names of his parents, Ahab and Jezebel, have become synonymous with the corruption, idolatry, and evil that dragged the northern kingdom of Israel away from God and towards destruction for centuries. Now that Ahab has been killed, the first book of Kings ends and the second book of Kings begins with statements of his son’s wickedness. Ahaziah’s reign was brief; 1 Kings 22:51 states that he was king for only 2 years, and 2 Kings 1:2 opens the narrative by describing an injury that would eventually prove fatal. Following said injury, Ahaziah makes…

…is you don’t usually know where it is. It was on this date in 1932 that the United States, in the midst of the Great Depression, hit one low point in that awful series of events. On July 8, 1932 the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest point of the entire Great Depression. It closed that day at 41.22 (By way of comparison, during the major plunge at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak of this year, the same index–the DJIA–never closed at a level lower than 18,000 and now sits at around 26,000.) But I just have to wonder, when that amazingly low number was hit in 1932,…