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We lost a neighbor during the night. He died of complications from dengue fever. He was a beloved man and a very kind person. He knew my name and always called out, "Good Morning Michael!" often through a toothless smile. But he was good with names.  When such a man dies he leaves a hole in the heart of those who knew and loved him. He and his wife were very religious people. They had pictures of Mary and rosary beads hung in a special place in their humble dining room. They were involved in their church and in charity work as well.  I shared a short text from John 11 with his daughter this morning as she wept her loss. The verse I read was this, John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die..." Isn't this what we need to know when we stand near death or near one who has died?  Jesus said, "I am..." God's Great and powerful name. Moses was to use it to tell the people w...

I just finished Acts of the Apostles. The intriguing account of the beginning of the church. It seems like that every time that I get near the end of this story I want to jump into the scene where Paul appeals to Caesar. In my thinking, if he hadn't done that he would have lived another ten years or so and could have written 3 and 4th Corinthians and maybe a letter to Jerusalem or something like that. Can you imagine that?  Of course my thinking is nothing but silliness. But I often wonder what would have happened if he had survived a little longer.  Paul is one of those bigger than life characters that is hard to relate to. He seems to be in a class all his own. He wrote the Bible for Pete sake. Oops. He wrote the Bible because he was one of those authors who was moved by the Holy Spirit.  Paul was one of those whom Jesus had said would testify before kings. Could it be that he even shared Christ before Nero?  Guessing aside, we do know that Paul was God's chosen ve...

And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land. And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died.... Exodus 9. 5,6 God’s timetable is often a mystery. Then sometimes it isn't. For instance, you know that tomorrow, early, the sun is going to rise. You also know that in regular succession the moon will show its full face, that spring is going to happen and winter will also reappear. These events demonstrate God’s precision. They are so precise that we use them to tell time. Yet in other ways God's timing seems a mystery. When will I die? How long before I find my mate? When should I retire? These questions all have a timely answer but they are not as easily determined as tomorrow’s sunrise. I may want to desperately know each answer; in fact they might consume me. But they are withheld from me. In the above passage from Exodus chapter nine, Moses goes with God's answer to Pharaoh. It was set. It would h...

The battle for the planet took place over 3000 years ago in Egypt. What is going on there these days is nothing in comparison. Just a skirmish. That battle was between god's. It was epic. Rarely to be repeated. The battle of the gods was over a bunch of slaves. This slaves were in a very bad situation. They had been in slavery for four hundred years. They had been slaves 171 years longer than the United States has existed! What was the big deal? Why were these slaves so important? These weren’t just any old slaves. These were the descendants of Abraham. So what! Again I ask why did the gods have to war over a bunch of seemingly worthless slaves? They warred because one of the gods had made a promise. Abraham’s God had promised him a land, seed and an eternal blessing that would affect humanity. That promise had not been fulfilled. Thus, the war. These slaves were destined to form a nation. Actually it wasn't much of a war on one side of the proverbial coin. It was Pharaoh again...

Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. (Jeremiah 21.8) I don't know if you are a Lord of the Rings fan or not. I must admit that I have never read the books; I've only seen the three films directed by Peter Jackson. At first glance I was in no way interested in slimy creatures being birthed from the ground and the slippery Gollumn character. However, the more I watched the more intrigued I became. I still don't pretend to understand the complete story line but the special effects were otherworldly. Do you remember the second movie, "Two Towers"? In the epic and seemingly eternal scene a battle is set to begin at Helm's Deep or Hornburg if you are a Tolkien purist. There is a mere 1000 good guys against 10,000 plus Orcs and Uruk-hai which are beastly creatures that resemble a cross between apes and demons on steroids. It is a hopeless scenario. There is nothing to do but defend the ominous fortress which at the beginning of the scen...

I was watching my one year old grandson, Brandon, today. He had on some baggy little shorts, weird flip-flops over his socks, and he was tottering. It made me think about how I often feel these days. Funny how that when we are little and "innocent" and tottering in our baggy pants, with our little potbelly sticking out from under our t-shirt we look precious. When we are older and tottering in our low slung trousers and the same potbelly, we looks pathetic! I guess that the two drastically opposite points of view are based on the viewer's chronological perspective. Brandon is growing and I'm dying. He is cute because the little guy has a lot to learn and we love to see him progress. The old guy has already had his chance at learning and what he is progressing toward is not quite so much fun to ponder. When I have these weird thoughts I praise my God because He never lets go of my hand whether a tottering little guy or an old one. And I found this verse to prove my poi...