Family
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Thinking Time
I recently watched and listened to a portion of a panel discussion involving individuals who had been involved in a number of political campaigns. All of them had worked for the same person. All had been with him during both losing and winning campaigns. I know that some of them (I think all of them) had also been with this man during his time as our president. As they talked and reminisced, one thing became abundantly clear. People in positions like the ones they had and who have the responsibilities they had absolutely do not work either an eight-hour day or a forty-hour workweek. Neither does the person for whom they work. The fact that…
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A Flood of Memories
Very recently our congregation hosted a seminar entitled “Facing Dreaded Diseases with Faith.” Ron and Don Williams came and held a series of classes designed to help anyone who attended be better equipped should you find yourself or a loved one in this position. I benefitted greatly from the sessions I attended, and learned much about not only the diseases, but also about how to handle these diseases. However, I had another reaction. Listening to all of the advice for the caregivers of those loved ones opened up my memory banks and brought back some feelings I had kept inside for quite some time. I hope that sharing with you those memories and…
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My Favorite Lord’s Supper Ever
The Lord’s Supper is sacred time. While the moments pass quickly, those few minutes are the centerpiece of the Christian’s week. It can be a struggle to do what we often pray about, and “remove all worldly thoughts from our minds,” but if and when we do, those few minutes are utterly soul-changing. To spend even a handful of minutes with our minds focused on nothing other than what Jesus has done and our hope in Him because of it should be what we look forward to the most each week. It is true that the Lord’s Supper is an individual act. I can’t eat this meal for anyone else,…
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Hidden Influence
It happened again in this week’s ladies’ Bible class. We were reading from Genesis 17 when God reaffirms His covenant with Abram, changing his name to Abraham. This is also where God institutes the sign of the covenant – circumcision. The focus of our lesson was on the underlying meaning of circumcision as it is used throughout scripture. It represents a choice to obey and make ourselves more sensitive to God’s will over our own. But what I noticed (as I often do) was a side note. It’s found in verses 24-27: “Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old…
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How Can Ecclesiastes 7:2 Be True?
The one who calls himself “the preacher” in Ecclesiastes 1:1 stated, “It is better to go the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting” (7:2). Often, when we hear that verse quoted, we wonder how it can possibly be true. Yet, in the rest of that same verse, a reason is given for this statement: “For this [the house of mourning, ADF] is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” We live in a world where feasting (or, as we might say it, living it up) is seen as the end-all-be-all. We just want to be happy and think about…
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What About Worship on Vacation?
For the past two weeks, my wife and children have been on fall break. During this time we typically take some type of vacation out of town. If you are like us, a part of your plan includes trying to figure out where you are going to worship on Sunday and what you will do for some type of mid-week Bible study. This set of circumstances begs the question, “What are the correct attitudes and practices concerning worship for Christians when they are temporarily away from home?” First of all, we need to educate ourselves on what God’s word reveals about our duties for worship. It should not take much…
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“How to Lead Like George Washington”
A recent edition of The Wall Street Journal contained an article that I found fascinating. The title of the article was the same as the title of this post: “How to Lead like George Washington.” The article contained a great amount of information about leadership. The focus seemed to be on how present-day leaders in various fields could learn some lessons from “the father of our country.” The author, Sam Walker, mentioned some leadership models and philosophies advocated by some and apparently practiced by many today that are not working. After discussing some of these models, the author turned his attention to the leadership qualities possessed and exhibited by Mr. Washington as…
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Legacy Recipe: Shoo-Fly Pumpkin Crunch [Free Printable]
Fall is in the air and I, like everyone else, am enjoying the cooler temperatures, falling leaves, autumn decorations, and pumpkins galore. Not too long ago I had a friend who reads A Legacy of Faith on a regular basis tell me that she loves it when I put a recipe on here. I love her for telling me that because I have been a little short on time lately and just couldn’t get a post done. (You would be surprised how quickly your turn to write comes around!!) I decided this would be a good week for me to share an easy but delicious pumpkin recipe, so I hope you enjoy…
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One More Reason I Can’t Watch “That” Movie
How would you feel if you knew your preacher had cheated on his wife over 100 times in the previous week and then presented a sermon on sexual purity on Sunday morning? What would you think of a Bible class teacher who posted on Facebook that she had had over 100 drinks on Saturday night, then taught a young ladies’ class about the dangers and sin of consuming alcohol? Would you be okay with a dad who smoked over 100 marijuana joints during a week sitting his kids down and having a family devotional on the evils of drugs? I think we know the answer to those questions. They are…
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Why People Starve to Death
Starvation is no laughing matter. Close to a billion people go hungry annually. Statistics say a child dies of hunger in our world every five seconds. Hunger is understood to be the most extreme form of poverty, as individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food. Our son Daniel has always been a picky eater. One night years ago when he was just a toddler he refused to eat even two bites of grilled chicken at suppertime. I remember this epic battle of parents versus child. My wife and I decided to go the distance. For more than 24 hours he refused to eat the…
