Lifestyles
Christ our first fruit
We can better understand the celebration of Easter from the Seven Feasts God gives Israel. The New Testament…
Lifestyles
The root of peace
I grew up as the son of missionaries in Pakistan, and when we were on furlough in the…
Lifestyles
Lent should give us time to think
As a generation, we live as people who seem to move faster and faster. The illusion is that…
Lifestyles
Affirm and love each other this Lenten season
It’s the first Friday in Lent, a 40-day season (excluding Sundays) in the Christian calendar. It’s a season…
Lifestyles
God is love
The English word love is used in many ways. It ranges from infatuation for ourselves to a sacrificial…
Lifestyles
It’s wonderful we have a God who searches for us
In Luke 15:1-7 there is the parable of the lost sheep. A shepherd has 100 sheep, and as…
Lifestyles
‘A Deep Breath’
Take a deep breath. Now exhale. It is something you have done thousands of times today before you…
Lifestyles
There is always something new
It’s hard to believe this is the last day of the first month of the year. That went…
Lifestyles
Our self-worth
One psychologist estimates 95 percent of our society has feelings of inferiority. Low self-worth causes us to feel…
Lifestyles
Overwhelming, abundant grace
A few years ago I visited St. Petersburg, Russia, the city the Czar Peter the Great had built…
Lifestyles
Can we talk?
Conversation. It can be chit-chat or heart-to-heart. It can be lengthy or short. It can be heated. It…
Lifestyles
Listen to hear the lesson
Back in what seems like another life, I worked as a sports writer for the morning newspaper in…
Lifestyles
Gifts of the wise men
The wise men play a significant role in the Christmas Story. They are gentiles who recognize the King…
Lifestyles
‘Santa’s Prayer’
I confess I have a lump in my throat. Call me a sap. I don’t care. Saint Nicholas,…
Lifestyles
Getting our spiritual houses ready
For a lot of folks, Christmas season has already started. It began with the last piece of turkey…
Lifestyles
The history of Thanksgiving
America’s Thanksgiving holiday does not seem to be appropriate because it is the result of the peoples’ hardships.…
Lifestyles
A humble walk with God
Gratitude, thankfulness, has become a thing these days. On Facebook I see so many of my friends and…
Lifestyles
Giving is from the heart
The passing of the offering plate is the most dreaded time of the church service. A prevalent sin…
Lifestyles
Praise the Lord
Psalm 146 tells us we should praise the Lord in everything we do, as long as we live,…
Lifestyles
More than one day a week
Full disclosure. I am a pastor and it is pastor appreciation month. I am not soliciting comments and…
Lifestyles
The power of words
One of the things I like best about living in Farmville is the Virginia Children’s Book Festival that…
Lifestyles
Lord teach us to pray
The disciples ask the Lord to teach them one thing in life, how to pray. The most powerful…
Lifestyles
Worry no longer
In Philippians 4:6-9 Paul gives us a four-step process to handling life, not only when things are easy,…
Lifestyles
Opportunities to let your light shine
The checkout line at the local grocery store was long and I was in a hurry. Seeing another line…
Lifestyles
Key ingredient
Banana bread. Since childhood it has been one of my weaknesses. It was a longed-for treat, made by…
Lifestyles
Comfort
The news has been traumatic lately. Devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian is still being felt in the Bahamas…
Lifestyles
Jump
“I want to jump off the high dive,” sounded daring spoken from the safety of the ground. But,…