Let’s start with a true story.

The story is about an old steamship that pulled into Southampton Harbor in England years ago, and the passengers got off. Helium-filled balloons rose filled the air, and the crowd went wild as a young Hollywood starlet walked down the gangplank to be greeted by her family and friends. The last person off the ship was an older man who had spent more than fifty years as a missionary in India. All his earthly possessions were in a tattered suitcase he carried by his side.

A few weeks ago, I was the officiant at my youngest son's wedding in South Bend, Indiana. Since my 33-year-old son has often heard me perform marriages, I wrote a new message for his ceremony. Here is a summary of what I said that might help someone in the reading audience.

My parents owned a cattle ranch around Forest Lakes, Arizona, for 40 years. One of the most memorable horses during those 40 years was a true cattle horse named Apache. In his earlier years, Apache was raised on Red Lake Ranch, 60 miles southwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The ranch was situated on a high-altitude plateau with very few trees. While there, Apache had the horrible experience of being bitten on his nose numerous times by rattlesnakes.

Lately, I've been getting a lot of 'thank you' and 'that article you wrote was just for me' emails from you, my readers. That's what it's all about for me. I don't write these articles for me; I write them for you. I call this article series, Equipping People for Life.

Years ago, I wrote an article in this newspaper entitled, It Is What It Is, or Is It? Sometimes things are not as they appear. We tend to think, "It is what it is, that's it, nothing's going to change, turn out the lights, the parties over, end of story" Then God quietly, “Is it?” Let's explore some 'It Is What It Is, What It Is or Is It?' perspectives below.

Last week, we started a two-article series about love. This article is the second installment of the series. Incidentally, love is the answer to the 'fill in the blank' above. But what kind of love are we talking about? Unfortunately, in today's agenda-driven world, the message and meaning of love have been lost in translation. So, let's explore what love is, what love isn't, and where love comes from.

Do you see it? It’s all around you. It’s here, there, and everywhere. It’s shouting in the news. It’s screaming in the movies. Politics is polarized because of it. Corruption is rampant because of it. Technology can’t replace it. John Lennon wrote a song about it. Jesus noted that in the latter days, it would grow cold. What is it? It’s the lack of real love. And, in my opinion, it’s killing us and our culture.

Last week, I started a two-part series about grace. This article is the second installment of the series. We focused on two sentences in a statement by author Max Lucado. Here are the two sentences. “Those who scramble at quitting time get the same wage as those who beat the morning whistle. I guess that's what makes grace, grace." So this week, let's explore the question, "What Makes Grace, Grace?

Last week, before Easter, I decided to revisit an old friend. My friend is a book entitled God Came Near by Max Lucado. I call the book my old friend because I grew so much from reading God Came Near years ago. So rereading the book before Easter was like renewing an old friendship. What the book contains was good then and even better now.

That’s quite a title, isn’t it? But addressing three vampires that cause people to underachieve is an excellent subject to consider with all the challenges people encounter today. Maybe this article will shift someone thinking, “Why me?” to thinking positively, “What’s next?” And perhaps this article will elevate someone from being a ‘Wanna-be’ to a ‘Gonna-be’ to an ‘Is-a-be.’

This week is Easter week: Christians call Easter, Resurrection Day. Easter is about how Jesus was crucified, dead, buried, and rose again after three days on the Jewish calendar. It was like, "Will the real Son of God please rise from the dead?" Jesus did, and it reset the world. What was going down now came up.

You may remember the story of Palm Sunday. At the height of His ministry, Jesus came into Jerusalem days before He will go to the cross. He rides into the city on the colt of a donkey as a Servant King, contrary to the day's culture. Multitudes of people spread out their clothes and tree branches on the road for Jesus as He enters the city.

We love the idea of freedom, don’t we? Yet, freedom is delicate and subtle. Freedom used in the wrong way is easily perverted. As a result, freedom is squandered, and then the opportunity is lost. World history is littered with examples of nations that gained freedom for a short season and then lost freedom for a long season.

I hear many people talking today about karma. Karma is when justice catches up to us and does to us that which we have done to others, either positively or negatively. Most times, people use this concept in a negative sense. “They reaped what they sowed.” “Karma got them.” To karma people, life is cause and effect; there are no if’s, and’s, or but’s. Abraham Maslow once said, “It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”

Christianity began approximately two thousand years ago. A new supernatural leader, God’s own Son, introduced a new way and means of living. A new ethnos of people, indwelt by God’s […]