Joy

Nehemiah 8:10 …the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemias 8:10 …el gozo de Jehová es vuestra fuerza Gozo is the Spanish word for joy.  I don’t know why, but gozo seems to be such a much richer word than joy.  I have a friend whose sister’s name was Joy.  We called her Gozo because we were both learning Spanish at the same time, […]

Encourage

Encourage – to give courage.  We as Christians are here to encourage one another.  We live in scary times, we can use all the courage we can get. My pastor is down here from Burton Ohio.  What an encouragement.  When someone is tired, they become Discouraged.  Cowardice soon follows.  Their effectiveness and personal walk is affected.  When they are Encouraged they are […]

Callate

Ecclesiastes 3:7 a time to be silent and a time to speak Cállate is Spanish for ‘shut up’.  It’s ok to say it in Spanish, but not in English.  Different countries and languages place emphasis on different words.  For example, in English, we can say the word ‘stupid’ all day long without problems.  In Spanish, however, you are likely to get […]

Midlife

Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness. I am bald, not gray, but the same thing.  Aging is all about self image and perception.  Gray hair is nothing to be ashamed of.  Baldness is painless.  A wig or dyed hair is expensive, inconvenient, and doesn’t deceive anyone. Embrace your age!  I personally […]

Paperboy

Proverbs 25:25 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land. This is the week of the annual fair back in my home town.  Hearing favorable reports about it on social media brings back a lot of good memories. The Geauga County Fair has always been good for the whole town.  Everyone anxiously waits for the fair every year.  It’s a great […]

Light

Genesis 1:4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.    I flew with a former pastor the other day.  I had heard of him before.  He was a great teacher.  He had a large 600 member church, and travelled around the world teaching the Bible.  After a handshake and back slap he proudly declared to me that he no […]

Faith

James 2:20, NKJV …faith without works is dead. People love the word faith. First off, exactly what is faith?  Faith definition is: confidence or trust in a person or thing. NOW  the question is, faith in what?  Faith in faith?  Faith in you?  Faith in positive mental attitudes?  Faith in your pastor or ‘spiritual superiors’?   Faith in your interpretation of God’s Word? The only faith […]

Focus

Philippians 3:13 …I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. Have you ever noticed that it is easier to walk toward home than it is to walk away from home? I remember walking home from kindergarten once.  It was only a couple of blocks but it was a freezing winter day, and my corduroys […]