Have hope. There is a possibility of glorification if we wish. This is not, naturally, due to our own talents, skills, or aptitudes. If keeping score, most of us are not “winning” at the game of life. Whoever made the rules, we are not beautiful, smart, or good enough to win. What can we do? What is left to us? So many jobs, roles, or even ways of existing are just not open to us. I cannot will myself to write as... Read more
If I had known Hope better, I would have been less, hopeful, about our first date. Dinner was fine as she had nothing better to do. Life had taken a good bit of the high school craziness she remembered out of me and she was interested in catching up. All I knew is that she said “yes” to dinner. The body language, the tone, all the communication that she was sharing missed me. I was too enamored or dense to... Read more
The Baptist came from the wilderness. He did not party. He came crying for righteousness and justice. He discomfited all kinds of religious establishments. If you were too cozy, to the point of sin, with the politically and intellectually powerful Greco-Romans, the Baptist called on you to repent. If you were the local ruler, allowed a pocket of home rule, the Baptist did not give a pass for injustice and sin. The ostensibly faithful, those that kept the law in... Read more
When God became a human being, a real man named Jesus, we gained a way to see God. Jesus, who had both the divine nature and the human nature, showed his students glorious grace and truth. His followers found Jesus difficult: a King who would not seize an immediate throne. He did not come to bring short-term peace, but was the Prince of Peace. Jesus came to bring justice, in individual lives and in cultures, but He refused any shortcuts. God in... Read more
Dad posted a picture of both my grandfathers relaxing with friends and I am made happier every time I see that snapshot. (Kodachrome!) They are the age I always remember them, strong and omnicompetent, sitting with some men, probably from the church, talking most likely doctrine. Right down to the webbed lounger on an aluminum frame, the details are accurate. This was a normal good time in that time. This was the way it was. Papaw Shelby is pretending to pour... Read more
Hope is a classically trained musician, trumpet, a reader, a mother. She insists on having her own voice, making her own live music. When we married thirty-five years ago, she discovered my taste in music was dodgy and she began my lessons. This has been good, if sometimes hard, and now band, orchestral, and other forms of music I did not love before marriage are loved now. She is a good and patient teacher. One of her most difficult lessons was to... Read more
We need fathers, patriarchs, in an age with too few true fathers. Bishop Thomas often is a guest voice here as a spiritual father. He is available to any who do not have a good earthly father or for those whose fathers have gone to glory. For those of us with outstanding earthly fathers, Bishop Thomas serves as a mentor, a teaching father. Here is Bishop Thomas on Pentecost: Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go... Read more
1Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us. 2The Lord hath wrought great glory by them through his great power from the beginning. 3Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms, men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, and declaring prophecies: 4Leaders of the people by their counsels, and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people, wise and eloquent are their instructions . . . My Dad once preached a sermon... Read more
We are not just animals. There is a greater purpose for each of us: a good end for each human generally and one particular to us if we choose wisely. The moth hit the water right in front of me. Someplace, somebody told me that once an insect makes contact with pool water, there is no sense trying to save the poor creature. I have, however, watched the Lord of the Rings movies too many times just to watch the moth suffer. In the... Read more
Will we trust “the science” (meaning the scientists) to the point of madness? Dr. Eric Holloway is an observer of the humanists and the scientists: a great texts degree, a MSc in Computer Science at the Air Force Institute of Technology and a PhD in Computer Engineering from Baylor University. He is not impressed with either group apart from the other. He began to worry about those opinion makers, influencers, he calls “the leaders of the moths.” These moth leaders... Read more
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