I love the hymn, “O Think of the Home Over There” for a lot of reasons. It is bright and cheerful, while also having a very serious and moving message. One of my favorite things about that great song is the emphasis on the fact that some have already crossed over to the other side. Honestly, as much as I love that song, I am usually choking back tears as I sing it, because it brings thoughts of so many people to my mind. But there are three aspects of that song that I want to consider, each of which has something to do with our friends who are “over…

I was reminded recently about the recipe for rabbit stew. Step 1 – “Catch the rabbit.” Seems a simple thing but we often have things out of order when it comes to what we are fixing. We want God in our lives. We want Him to bless us. We want to be happy and joyful and we want peace of mind. We want fulfillment today and the expectation of better things for tomorrow. But we have forgotten the biggest part of the equation. We have forgotten the number one ingredient. We have forgotten to exalt above all other things none other than the One who bled and died for us.…

Over sixty years ago Thomas Wedel wrote about a life-saving station: “On dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little life-saving station. The building was primitive, and there was just one boat, but the members of the life-saving station were committed and kept a constant watch over the sea. When a ship went down, they unselfishly went out day or night to save the lost. Because so many lives were saved by that station, it became famous. Consequently, many people wanted to be associated with the station to give their time, talent, and money to support its important work. New boats were bought, new crews were recruited,…

Many who read these words will have also read about a man by the name of Naaman. Many of us have read about a dramatic event which is recorded in 2 Kings 5. I’m wondering if we may have missed the most significant thing recorded in that chapter.  We may remember that he was a great and powerful man. We may also remember that he was afflicted with the terrible disease of leprosy. We also learn in this chapter of his pride which almost kept him from being healed. The simple suggestion that caused him to do what the messenger of God told him to do is also recorded. The fact that his leprosy disappeared when…

Recently I saw/listened to a speech made at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The occasion for the speech was a celebration of what would have been the 107th birthday of President Reagan.  The speech was made by James Baker. As some may remember, Mr. Baker served President Reagan as the White House Chief of Staff and, later, as the Secretary of the Treasury.  He has also held other positions in Mr. Reagan’s administration and in other administrations. As one might expect, Mr. Baker said some very complimentary things about his former boss and our former president. I found one statement to be of particular interest. In fact, I immediately wrote it down so that…

One of those most dangerous sins is that of gossip. The reason that is true is that it slowly but surely eats away at relationships. But, what exactly is gossip? We often only think of it as one thing: talking about someone behind their back. However, the word actually means something far broader. Interestingly, the English word “gossip” originally came from a positive idea. The Old English word was “godsibb,” and it came from the idea of one who was a godfather or godmother (see it in the word: god-sibbling?). As time went on, then, it came to mean, one in whom you could confide even secret things. Now, you…