The Year Looking Back

 During this final week of 2022 we pause to remember the year that is rapidly slipping away. Looking back is important. Remembering helps us put in perspective the things that are to come.

In many ways 2022 has been difficult. We are slowly recovering from the latest economic collapse. The pandemic bailouts in 2020 resulted in an unprecedented market that bulled its way into 2021.  But, in 2022, we “paid the piper." The massive infusions of cash during Covid unleashed inflationary forces that spun out of control. We face 2023 not knowing whether the economy will slide into recession or experience a rebound.  Millions are still struggling. Low-income families pinch pennies to buy gas and groceries.  Retirees have watched their annuity investments plunge. And yet there have been celebrations: graduations, weddings, and the birth of babies!

Looking back long term helps us handle the present and the future. It helps us avoid arrogance and pride, despondency and despair. Some of us have a lot to remember. We lived through the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the cold war and the space race. We lived through runaway inflation and the 1970s energy crisis when gas was rationed, and cars stretched around the block waiting for a pump. We survived Watergate and Richard Nixon’s resignation, Desert Storm, the dot com bust, 9-11, the Iraq war, Afghanistan and the Great Recession of 2008. We have learned that things will get better. We have learned that God is faithful in every crisis and every difficulty. We know from experience that his promise is sure: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

When times get tough, it is easy to forget. We need to be reminded about God’s faithfulness. The Passover was established to help Israel remember how God delivered them from slavery. We celebrate Christmas to remember God’s gift of his only begotten Son, a light shining in the darkness. Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper to help us remember his death, burial and resurrection.

Just as important, the Bible tells us that God remembers us. When we feel forgotten and alone, thinking that no one cares, God remembers. Every rainbow reminds us that God remembered us when the greatest calamity in history struck the earth, a flood so great that it almost wiped all life from the earth. (Genesis 8,9). God never forgets. “He remembers His covenant forever, the promise He made, for a thousand generations.” (1 Chron. 16:15). Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Finding Christmas

 The anticipation has been building for a month.  Christmas is at the door.  Twinkling lights illuminate windows, roof tops and lawns.  I like the concerts, the majestic music celebrating Christ’s birth. I like the brightly wrapped gifts full of suspense and promise collecting under the tree. 

 Christmas is the time to communicate and gather with friends.  The gathering part can be a challenge. Office parties, church groups, close friends and family quickly fill the calendar.  We travel great distances and juggle schedules to spend this special time with family members we have not seen in a year.  It isn’t easy.  All of this communicating and gathering challenges us for control of our time and our lives.  When our continuing duties for work, school and family are overlaid with Christmas commitments we sometimes find ourselves weary and exhausted, feeling that our lives are spinning out of control.

 We search for Christmas in the spectacular: the spectacular event, spectacular lights, the spectacular gift. We want to re-create the perfect Christmas card moment that we wish exemplified our lives. 

 The first Christmas had little resemblance to our contemporary traditions. The birth of Christ occurred in the chaos of the common and the ordinary: a common stable surrounded by common animals in a common village.  Few took notice. There was no extravaganza staged in the cities. The angels’ announcement occurred in a remote region with only a few simple shepherds present.  The Magi, who observed the star in the east, came and went almost unnoticed.  

 It was for the common and the ordinary that Christ came.  He grew up in a carpenter’s shop in the remote village of Nazareth.  He owned no house and had no possessions.  He had no place to lay his head.  And, after a brief public ministry in which he healed and taught thousands, he died upon a common cross outside Jerusalem and was buried in a borrowed tomb.  In birth, life and death, Jesus redeemed the common and the ordinary and elevated each of us to an extraordinary relationship with God. 

 The first Christmas was an “out of control” event for Mary and Joseph.  The tax summons that took them to Bethlehem could not have come at a worse time.  The baby was due.  She was in no condition for such a long and arduous journey. When they arrived, the town was a bedlam of people.  No one wanted to be there.  They had come because they were obligated under Roman law. Of course, it was not out of God’s control. What appeared to be an onerous obligation and an inconvenient time was actually a fulfillment of prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. 

 Perhaps God planned it this way to teach us that His intervention must be experienced in the common and the ordinary chaos of life. When we look for Christmas in the spectacular, we can only experience it once a year. But when we discover Christmas in the common and the chaotic, it can change our life every day.

Christ Came for Everyone

 Several years ago, my wife and I spent the summer in Nuremberg, Germany serving an English-speaking church  We were surrounded with history, culture and beauty. The church was composed of young adults from Germany, Ireland, England, Romania, Ukraine, China, Cameroon, India, Sweden, Austria and others. Many were starting their careers in Nuremberg.  

The church reminded me that Jesus Christ was sent for all people of every nation in every age. When God called Abraham, He promised to make him a blessing to all the nations. Isaiah said, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.” (Isa. 42:1) And again, “The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” (Isa. 52:10).  Those promises are fulfilled in Jesus.

The visit of the Magi after the birth of Jesus reflected God’s intention to send the Messiah for all the world.  Magi in the first century served as advisers to kings and rulers.  They often were students of the stars, searching for signs that would indicate significant historical events.  In this case, they discerned the birth of a new king in Judea.  They set out from the region of modern Iran or Iraq, searching for the new king.  From Herod’s advisers they were directed toward Bethlehem. A low-lying light led them to the place where Mary and Joseph resided with their infant son.  God used extraordinary means to include these men who represented all nations.

When John saw the vision that he recorded in Revelation, he declared, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Clearly, God wants people from every nation to experience His salvation in Jesus Christ. To accomplish this purpose, God is moving people all around the world and exposing them to opportunities to hear the gospel. According to a recent studies, the fastest growth of Christianity is in Asia and Eastern Europe. We are living in one of the most exciting eras of human history, when more people are discovering faith in Christ from all over the world than ever before.

A few years ago our daughter went on a mission trip to Andhra Pradesh in India. At the same time I visited Lubbock, Texas. When I checked into the hotel, the clerk who greeted me was from Andhra Pradesh.

Whether we are in Dallas, Houston, Lubbock or Nuremberg, Germany, every believer needs to reach out to international visitors around them, to welcome them, to love them, and to share with them the life-changing difference Jesus Christ makes in our lives.

Special Time of Year

 Strings of light have been stretched across rooftops, lawns and windows, illuminating otherwise dark neighborhoods. Boxes packed away a year ago reappear from the attic where they have waited patiently.  Candles, candy canes and crocheted snowmen take their places, surrendering center stage to the nativity. Limbs on the tree that stands proudly in the window bend with the weight of memories: cardboard stars created by chubby little hands, the artists’ names printed with an occasional backward letter; souvenir ornaments reminding us of vacations where we laughed and played; ceramic candy canes, wreathes, rocking horses and angels.  Stockings hang on the fireplace mantle, annual symbols of expectation.

 Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit and Scrooge take the stage to remind us once again that life is more than money. Christmas carols play in the shopping malls. Choirs and orchestras, surrounded by poinsettias and greenery, assemble to perform the Nutcracker, the Little Drummer Boy and Handel’s Messiah. The world is alive with the music of hope and celebration.

A large part of Christmas is preparation, expectation and anticipation. It feels right to me. The decorations and songs remind us that this is a special time of year, a time when something extraordinary happened.  Something that changed everything about the way we see ourselves and our world.

 God sent his Son after centuries of preparation and promise. It was a special time, the most extraordinary moment in human history.

The prophets foretold His coming centuries before. From Genesis to Malachi, the Scripture points to Him. Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel,” (Isaiah 7:14). “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace,” (Isaiah 9:6).

When Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary took the child to Jerusalem where they met some remarkable people who had been waiting for this moment. They met an old man named Simeon who had been looking for God’s promised Messiah. The Spirit of God had revealed to him that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s Christ. When he saw the child, Jesus, he took the baby in his arms and blessed God saying, “My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:25-35).

Mary and Joseph had hardly recovered from Simeon’s amazing declaration before they met Anna. She had been a widow for 84 years and spent her time fasting and praying in the Temple, waiting for the Messiah. “At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36-38)

That is why I like this time of year with all the decorations, music and drama. It reminds me of God’s preparation and God’s promise. It reminds me of the One who is worth waiting for!

Turning Our Thoughts Toward Christmas

 Thanksgiving and Black Friday have come and gone.  We have gathered with family, feasted on turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, fruit salad and pecan pie, watched a few football games, played with the kids and enjoyed the sweet slumber that only tryptophan can provide.  We survived Black Friday and celebrated a few bargains and did our part to fuel the American economy. 

 This week we will unpack Christmas decorations.  When the children were growing up, we always celebrated with a live tree.  In Minnesota we climbed aboard a horse-drawn sleigh, bundled against the cold, our daughter holding a bunny in her lap as a hand-warmer, and personally picked out a tree from the hillside.  We hauled it home, stood it in the living room, showered it with lights and ornaments.  But, a few years ago, we opted for an artificial tree.  It loses something in the fragrance and the romance of it all but it is easier.

 My wife loves Christmas.  She starts watching Hallmark Christmas shows before Thanksgiving.  And, once the turkey has surrendered its life to our gratitude, she decorates for the season. 

 I have to admit I enjoy seeing the old decorations taking their place throughout the house.  They are more than plaster, plastic, wood and glue.  They are charged with memories of Christmases past: the snowman knitted by my wife’s mother, the handmade ornaments when our children were small, the Nativity scene we bought in Bethlehem, others far too numerous to list.

 Metropolitan cities and small towns light up the land with Christmas lights.  Neighborhoods are transformed.  Shopping centers echo the sounds of silver bells and Christmas carols.  All of our decorations, along with The Nutcracker, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Miracle on 34th Street make it a magical time of year.   I think God takes pleasure when we enjoy the Christmas celebrations.

 Beneath and behind all our treasured holiday traditions lies the simple message that changes everything. “God became flesh and dwelt among us.”  We are not disconnected from the Creator.  In Jesus He chose to enter into our suffering, to show us a better way, to demonstrate His love, forgive our sins and give us eternal life.  When Jesus was born, everything changed! There is good reason to celebrate!

 All of the Christmas busy-ness can muffle the deeper message of the season. The birth of Jesus was not an escape from the burdens and realities that we all face.  God became flesh to engage our humanity with all of our foibles, sufferings and sin.  He sent His Son to overcome prejudice, pride, resentment and hate.  He conquered the grave and  lifted us to new heights of hope, joy, love and life.

 “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone,” (Hebrews 2:9).

Thanksgiving Thoughts 2022

 This is Thanksgiving week, 2022.  The first snow is melting outside my window as I write. Yesterday we spent the afternoon sledding on the hill behind our house with our younger grandchildren, ages 11, 9 and 6.  It was a glorious day for grandparents in their 70s who are still healthy enough to mount a sled and tumble down the hill without ending up in Urgent Care or the nursing home.

 On Thursday, we are expecting all our grandchildren to be at our house and two of our three children with their spouses.  My wife has been shopping for a week. She has the menu planned: traditional turkey and ham, mashed potatoes (that I will peel and chop), corn bread dressing (her mother’s southern recipe), gravy, green beans, salad (both vegetable and fruit), cranberries, and, last but not least, our traditional pecan pie baked by our daughter who cooks it just the way my mother did.

 Every family, I suppose, has their traditions for this particular day, traditions filled with memories. But, as we age, the empty spaces continue to grow.  Our parents, who bestowed upon us our earliest memories for this holiday have long since left this earth.  My wife’s mother died unexpectedly in her sleep the day after we celebrated Thanksgiving at their house in 1986.  It was the year  our daughter was born who is now the mother of the children who keep us young sledding in the snow.

 This is a uniquely American holiday, a time set aside to give thanks with family and friends. From the first it has been a multi-cultural day.  Most trace its earliest roots to the Plymouth Colony that landed in in Plymouth, Mass. In 1620.  Half of the colonists died during the first year. Perhaps many more would have had it not been for the assistance of the Wapanoag Indians who welcomed them.  In spite of their losses, they gave thanks in a feast in 1622 that included the Indians who outnumbered them 2:1.

 We are no longer simply Anglo-European Americans. In fact, we never have been.  There are at least 350 different languages spoken in homes in the United States making us one of the most linguistically diverse populations on earth.  We are Americans of every stripe and color and language.  This week American families and friends of different ethnicities and languages will gather to to give thanks for God’s goodness and His grace. The foods will vary from house to house as will the words spoken.  The absence of loved ones will remind us that we are mortal men and women.  The laughter of our children will inspire us for a better future.

 Thanksgiving can give us a preview of Heaven.  John declared in the book of Revelation, “I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” 

 May we all give thanks to the Creator of all that is beautiful and good, and to our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ who has prepared a greater feast awaiting us in Heaven. (Revelation 19:9).

Choices

 In 2010 two men made very different choices.  In Austin, Texas Joseph Stack, bitter and irate about the IRS, set fire to his home, drove to the Georgetown airport and took off in a single engine Piper Cherokee.  Minutes later, in a suicide crash reminiscent of 9-11, he slammed the plane into the IRS building in Austin.  IRS worker, Vernon Hunter died in the flames.  Hunter, 67, was a Vietnam veteran, an usher at the St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Austin and dreamed of another career after retirement. Hunter’s children went on record to say they forgave Joe Stack for killing their father.

 In Dallas, Andisso Andabo, 22, an Ethiopian immigrant who worked as a mechanic, left the Firestone shop were he worked to make a delivery.  Driving along the LBJ freeway in northwest Dallas he saw a car on fire that rolled off the road and landed on its side.  Andabo immediately stopped his truck and rushed to the scene.  With flames spreading from the engine compartment, he saw a thirty-nine-year-old woman trapped inside frozen in terror.  He smashed the front window with his bare hands and ripped it off. With the help of others who arrived on the scene, he pulled the woman from the burning car moments before it was engulfed in flames.  Afterward, Andabo returned to the Firestone shop and went back to work.

 Both of these men made choices. Stack chose to take out his anger, bitterness and resentment in a violent act that took his life and that of an innocent man.  Andisso Andabo chose to risk his own safety to help a stranger in a moment of crisis.  The different choices made by Stack and Andabo reflect different attitudes that each cultivated in private.  Each of us may not know what we would do in a crisis, but we each make choices every day to cultivate attitudes that will determine our actions.  Anger, resentment and entitlement will ultimately produce violence and retaliation.  Humility, compassion and thoughtfulness will ultimately produce sacrificial acts of kindness.

 Jesus defined the term “neighbor” in his famous story about the Good Samaritan who put his life at risk to help a wounded victim who had been robbed and beaten.  After stopping to care for the man’s wounds, he carried him to the nearest inn for lodging.  “The next day,”  Jesus said, “he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

 The attitudes we cultivate, the choices we make and the actions they produce make all the difference in the kind of world we live in.  Choices that lead to violent acts of reprisal create a world filled with enemies that feeds on fear and hatred.  Choices that lead to acts of kindness create a world filled with neighbors who help one another by demonstrating love, acceptance and understanding.

Changing the Conversation

 I try to stay in touch with the news, to be aware of what is happening in the world and our nation.  I prefer written news articles, some in print, most online.  Television newscasts move too slowly, too many commercials and they tend to skim the surface.  Written news is usually more in depth, can be scanned much more quickly and is updated constantly online.

 But lately I have questioned whether I should continue.   Perhaps I should quit reading the news altogether, or at least take a break.  It is almost always depressing.  Everyone seems angry at somebody.  Everyone wants to blame somebody else for their difficulties.  Politicians, athletes, actors and actresses, celebrities of every stripe.  They call each other names and throw insults at one another.  The world has become vitriolic. Maybe the acerbic content is due to the mid-term elections.  Perhaps it will take on a better tone once the elections are behind us.

 Of course, there are exceptions. But the exceptions are often drowned out by the sheer noise of name calling and accusations.

 Jesus had some rather severe warnings for conduct such as this.  He said, “Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good for nothing,’ shall be guilty before the Supreme Court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”  (Matthew 5:22).

 There is a better way.  Jesus demonstrated it by his life and in his death choosing to bless rather than to curse those who attacked him.    The Apostle Paul explained it like this:

 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.  Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.  Have this attitude in yourselves that was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:3-5).

 “Therefore laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor. … Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. … Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:25-32).

 We can do little to change what public figures may say or what is reported in the news.  But we can change the conversation. At work, at home and school. When conversations become acerbic we can change the tone.  We can refuse to respond in kind.  We can reduce the rhetoric. “A soothing tongue is a tree of life.”  (Proverbs 15:4).

What Are You Waiting For?

 When I married my wife we repeated the customary wedding vows promising to cherish one another “in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth.” Perhaps we should have added an additional line. Something like. “I promise to wait for you.” Since we married we have waited for each other. We have waited at airports, train stations and bus stops. I have waited on her to put on last-minute makeup and she has waited on me to put down my book or close my computer. When she gave birth to our children, I waited. When I had a motorcycle accident, she waited. In too many ways to enumerate or remember, we have waited on each other. If we added it all up it would be a huge chunk of our lives. And now, it makes me happy. She is worth waiting for.

When we had children, we waited. We waited for their birth. We waited for them when they got out of school. We waited late at night in dark parking lots for their buses to return. We waited for them in the car, the motor running, the clock ticking, knowing we were late to church. We stayed up waiting for them to come home from their first dates. And we waited for them to come home from college.

Waiting is a part of life. We choose to wait for those we love.

That is why God waits for us, because He loves us. Isaiah says, “Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you for the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” (Isa 34:18). In Jeremiah, God says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” (Jer. 1:5). God has waited an eternity for you.

We often miss God because we haven’t learned to wait on Him. We blast through busy schedules making quick decisions without taking time to connect with God’s better plan for us. The Psalmist said, “My soul waits in silence for God only. From Him is my salvation.” (Ps. 62:1) “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.” (Ps. 40:1) The prophet Micah said, “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation.” (Micah 7:7)

Waiting on God involves prayer and finding time to be quiet before Him. Sometimes it includes fasting. But waiting isn’t always about sitting still with our arms folded.

Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened.” The secret is to remain open to God’s direction and to listen to His voice while we constantly seek and knock. David wrote, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” (Ps. 27:13-14).

The Taboo Word

There is a particular word in the Bible that is seldom heard in church although it is widely used in private and public conversations.  We hear it almost every day.  Some use it for emphasis or exclamation such as “What the h---?” or “h--- no!” or “h--- yes!” Sometimes it appears to be a measurement, such as a “h--- of a lot.”  In sports it is used as a compliment: “He is a h--- of a player.”  The word has become so common that we all recognize it, and so taboo that we don’t talk about it.

 When we come to church, the word is missing.  We rarely, if ever, refer to it.  We avoid it in our pulpits and Bible studies. But, when we read the New Testament, there it is.  Jesus used it and warned about it. The Apostles Paul and Peter spoke of it and John described it in Revelation.

Jesus said, “"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Matthew 5:21-22).

In another passage, Jesus described a rich man who lived his life in luxury ignoring the plight of a poor beggar at his door named Lazarus.  Jesus said, “The rich man died and was buried.  In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire,'” (Luke 16:19-31).

In another place Jesus said, “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! “ (Luke 12:4-6).

Like most people, I would like to think that everyone goes to heaven, except when I hear stories about atrocities, like the accounts of innocent children who are brutalized, raped and murdered.  Then, hell seems to make sense.  I remember watching the movie, “Ghost” when the murderer was dragged off by the demons into hell.  It was chilling.

 According to what Jesus said, we all have reason to pause.  Perhaps what we believe and how we behave has eternal implications that we have not fully considered.

 If the afterlife consists not only of heaven, but also hell, the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross becomes even more meaningful.  We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s requirements. We all need the Savior who paid the penalty for our sins and was raised from the dead to give us a new life. (Romans 3:23; 5:8; 10:9-10; 6:4-5).

Download Bill's devotional book on Mark free as an eBook on Amazon October 25-29. Click the image to the right or visit www.tinsleycenter.com. 

God Has No Grandchildren

 According to a recent Pew Research Center report, the religious landscape in America has experienced a sizeable shift in recent decades.  As recently as 1990, 90% of Americans identified themselves as Christian. The United States, as a whole, viewed itself as a “Christian nation.”  Today, only about two thirds of Americans identify themselves as Christian.  The shift has not been between religions, or even denominations. The huge shift reflects a rapidly growing number of Americans who see themselves as “unaffiliated.”  They may not consider themselves atheists, but they do not identify themselves with any particular religion. Since 1990, an entire generation has grown up. Those born in 1990 are now in their 30s and many of those are giving birth to the next generation.

 How should we view this startling, and apparently continuing shift in American faith?  We should be reminded that the Christian faith is always only one generation away from extinction.  As someone once said, “God has no grandchildren.”  We do not inherit faith like we inherit eye color or ethnicity.  Faith comes through a personal decision, one-person-at-a time. 

 This is abundantly clear in the Bible, especially the Old Testament.  For hundreds of years the Jewish people vacillated between obedient faith in God and disobedient rejection.  We are no different.  Every generation, and every person, must decide for themselves whether they will place their trust in God.

 To Moses’ generation God said, “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days,” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

 When crowds of Jews sought out John the baptizer, he said to them, “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Indeed the axe is already laid to the root of the trees, so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:8-9). We cannot depend upon the faith of our fathers.  We must choose for ourselves. 

 Years ago I went to the Metrodome in Minneapolis to hear Billy Graham preach.  Few, if any, of the younger generation would know or remember Dr. Graham. In the last half of the twentieth century, he preached to packed stadiums around the world with crowds often exceeding 100,000.  That night, the Metrodome was packed.  At the end of his message, he said to the crowd, “Many of you were baptized as infants by your mothers and fathers.  They did that for you because they loved you.  But you must come to faith in Jesus Christ yourself.” Hundreds of people filled the aisles and made their way to the stadium floor to make a faith commitment to Christ.   The faith of our mothers and fathers will not save us.  Each one of us must find our own faith in God through Jesus Christ.

Are There Other Worlds?

 Exoplanets are planets that orbit a star other than our sun. As of this month, scientists have identified 5,197 exoplanets in the universe. There are doubtless many, many more. Every star is expected to have at least one planet.  With 200 billion stars in the Milky Way the number is, well, astronomical!  But what scientists are really excited about are earth-like planets, those that orbit in the “habitable” zone of sun-like stars, the so- called “Goldilocks zone.”  There could be 11 billion habitable Earth-like planets in our galaxy alone! 

 Just imagine, there could be other planets filled with beauty: oceans with waves breaking upon the shore, trees and forests, rivers and snow-capped mountains, clouds drifting across the sky, birds and beasts and living things.

 C. S. Lewis posed this possibility in his novel, Out of the Silent Planet.  But Lewis went a step further. He proposed that these “habitable” planets in the universe were different in one respect. They were planets without sin.  Only on Earth, he suggested, did sin exist and, as a result, Earth had become the “silent planet” cut off from all the rest of creation.  It is an interesting proposition.

 Imagine again, a planet like the Earth filled with life, including human life, where sin does not exist.  A planet like our own where there is no corruption, where no one lies, or steals, no deceit, no suspicion, no fear. A place where there is no violence. Everyone looks out for the welfare of others.  Love rules.

 We may never know if there are other planets like our earth. The closest star with a possible habitable planet is about 14 light years away. Most are more than 40 light years.  Even if we could achieve the speed of light, this is not exactly commuting distance.

 But the Bible assures us there is such a place as we have imagined, not in our galaxy or in our sphere of time and space.  It exists in another dimension, eis aionos, or “into the age,” as Jesus said. “I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there you may be also.”  (John 14:2-3).

Revelation describes this place “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” ... I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.” (Revelation 21:4-8).

We will likely never be able to visit an exoplanet. But we can go to heaven. The only thing preventing us from entering heaven is our sin. We have all sinned. But “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:8). For this reason, God sent his Son, that “whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). Peter stated, “According to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells,” (2 Peter 3:13).

You Are Known

 Carl Sandburg, in his biography of Abraham Lincoln, described the young Lincoln in 1831. “Abraham Lincoln, 22 years old, floated down the Sangamon River, going to a new home, laughter and youth in his bones, in his heart a few pennies of dreams, in his head a rag bag of thoughts he could never expect to sell.”  Lincoln himself says he arrived in New Salem like a “piece of floating driftwood.” Six years later, he was a licensed lawyer and a member of the state legislature. He packed his bags and moved to Springfield, Illinois.  The rest, as they say, is history.

 When J.R.R. Tolkien started writing The Hobbit in 1930, primarily for his own entertainment.  It wasn’t until his Oxford friend, C. S. Lewis took an interest in it that he finished its first draft and lent it to an Oxford student who forwarded it to a publisher who gave it to his 10 year old son.  The boy liked it so much that the publisher gave Tolkien a contract and a deadline for publishing the book in 1936.   The Hobbit first appeared on September 21, 1937 with 1,500 copies. Again, the rest is history.

 Few of us will ever emerge from obscurity to be noted in history like Abraham Lincoln, or in literature and cinema like J.R.R. Tokien and his Hobbits.   Perhaps this is why we thrive on the fame and fortune of others. Hoping that by following them we too might be known. But, in the end, we are faced with our anonymity. We remain nameless faces in the crowd.

 It might also explain our attraction to social media. Our digital world seems to offer opportunity to be somebody, to be noticed, recognized and known. But we soon find that social media is a vast sea, and all our selfies and posts are but a drop in the endless ocean of information. 

 But each one of us is important. Every person can be known.  Is it not enough that our family and friends will take notice of us and value our existence?  And is it not more than enough that God sees us and knows. To Him fame and fortune mean nothing. He has declared that the “least of these” are of enormous importance to Him, that the hairs of our head are numbered (though these numbers are more for some than for others). He notes our rising up and our lying down. He knows when we sleep and when we wake. (Psalm 139).

 God could have chosen any time and any place to introduce His Son into the world. He could have been born in a palace, surrounded with royalty, the centerpiece of fame and fortune, destined for greatness in the public eye.  Instead, God chose Nazareth, a rough scrabble town off the beaten path.  I visited Nazareth a few years ago. Even today, it is not impressive.

 He chose an obscure and unknown girl betrothed to an uneducated carpenter. Jesus would spend his childhood as a refugee in Egypt and later grow up in Nazareth, unknown and unnoticed by the world.  Why did God choose this means to introduce His Son into the world?  Perhaps it was to underscore how important each of us is in His sight. No one is obscure to Him.  No one is anonymous.  He sees you and He knows you. 

Heaven

 It is the season for state fairs. Most states have them, drawing hundreds of thousands of people, and, in some cases, more than a million.  More than 2 million attended the Minnesota State Fair in 2018. The first state fair was held in Syracuse, NY in 1841.

 I grew up in Texas and started visiting the State Fair when I was a kid, wandering the sprawling grounds that circle the Cotton Bowl, birthplace of the Cowboys, site of the Texas OU shootout and the Grambling game. There was always something about the State Fair.  Maybe it was Big Tex, standing at the entrance where he has stood for generations, welcoming all comers with his Texas drawl. Maybe it was Fletcher’s corn dogs smothered in mustard and ketchup, or cotton candy, sugar sprinkled waffles, roasted turkey legs and the deep fried “whatever” that reflects the Texas motto, “If you can fry it, you can eat it!”

 Maybe it’s the midway with barkers promising prizes for a ring toss, a plastic duck plucked from the pond, a water balloon filled to bursting with water guns, or the bell rung by a powerful blow with the sledgehammer.  It could be the rides rotating with screaming and squealing kids.  Or maybe it’s the pig races, the animal barns with blue ribbons or the tastiest jams and jellies.  It could be the bird show, hawks launched from the ferris wheel swooping low over our head to the crowd’s applause. It could be the auto show where the Mustang was introduced in 1964, where today’s cars are on display with gleaming chrome and glistening paint.

 Most of all, I think, it is the people, people who come together to laugh and celebrate family, heritage and culture.  I like to see parents pushing babies in strollers, children dancing with excitement, grey haired men and women smiling at private memories, and lovers lounging on the grass beside the reflection pool.

 God loves people, and he must like laughter.   If the laughter of our children thrills us, how much more does our laughter thrill Him.  God likes to see people coming together to enjoy one another. That may be why Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding feast, providing new wine when the wine ran out.  It may be the reason His teaching is filled with references to banquet feasts and parties, like the fatted calf killed and cooked to celebrate the prodigal’s return.  Heaven is described as a great banquet feast, a mansion with many rooms, a place where all the peoples, cultures and languages of the world gather in celebration and joy.

 The State Fair, of course, isn’t heaven.  It certainly isn’t perfect.  But Heaven is.  Our moments of celebration and enjoyment are dim glimpses of what God has prepared in Heaven.  The Bible says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” (Rev. 21:3-4). This, of course, is why Jesus came, so that we might experience glimpses of heaven here, and eternal life with Him in Heaven when we die.

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The Edge of Eternity

On Monday of this week I preached the funeral for Barbara, my wife’s sister. She was 79.

 They grew up on Slaughter Road, a small blue-collar community on the west side of the Brazos River off Highway 36 at Freeport, TX.  The houses were built by survivors of the Great Depression, with their own hands.  While they were building their houses, they built a church, Calvary Baptist Church, also with their own hands.  It was there that Barbara came to faith in Christ. In that same church, a young man named Vernon Bundick came to faith in Christ along with his brother, Bobby. Barbara and Vernon fell in love in the 3^rd grade when Vernon had his front tooth knocked out and Barbara thought he was irresistible.  They were married in that same little church.

 In 1995 Vernon died from a tragic accident on their property. Their children were grown, and they had purchased undeveloped land for their dream home. In the process of clearing the property, a tree limb split and knocked Vernon from the top of a dozer where he was standing. The fall left him unconscious. He recovered, but a few days later, a blood clot went to his heart. He died in Barbara’s arms in a matter of minutes.

 She found herself alone, shattered and broken. But through sheer determination, courage, and faith, she fought her way back, developed the property, built a beautiful house, and dedicated herself to blessing others.  Over the last 27 years I watched her grow with a deep faith and a big heart, reaching out to family, friends, and strangers.

 My wife and I stayed at my brother’s house in Galveston to be near Barbara in her final weeks. I have had the opportunity each morning to go for sunrise walks on the beach.  It seemed to me that the waves washing on the shore were like the heartbeat of the earth, echoing the heartbeat of the universe.

 On Wednesday last week she was no longer able to leave her bed. She struggled for consciousness, increasingly overcome by the cancer.

 When we arrived at the house, she was awake. She was surrounded by her children and grandchildren. After she smiled and greeted her sister, I spoke with her. Her sparkling blue eyes had grown dull and gray. But her smile was still there. She whispered to me. “I am near the edge.”

 I said, “Yes, you are.”

 I said, “This morning I went for a sunrise walk on the beach. I stood there, on the edge of the eternal sea watching the sun rise in the distance, a great red ball rising among the broken purple clouds.  I thought of you,” I said.  “It is a beautiful place to be, on the edge of eternity.”

 She nodded her head, “Yes, it is.”

 I asked if we could pray. Again, she nodded her head.  ‘I would like that.”

 We held hands, Barbara, me, her sister, her children, and her grandchildren.  We prayed, letting her go, committing her to the Father who first loved her and gave her to us. Her body lingered for two more days. It is difficult for the human body to let go.

 On Friday I believe she heard another voice whispering in her ear, perhaps those tender words He whispered into the ear of a 12-year-old girl, “Talitha, kum, (Little girl, I say to you, arise.)” (Mark 5:41). 

Prayer

 Prayer is often our last resort, the final step in a hopeless situation.  We refer to it with such phrases as “he doesn’t have a prayer,” or “there is nothing left to do but pray.”  But it is perhaps the most important aspect of our human condition.

 We share many attributes with the animal kingdom including instincts for hunger, reproduction and survival. Other animals provide care and nurture for their young. Some construct elaborate shelters whether nests, caves, or tunnels. Many have complex social systems.  But no other creature has the capacity to communicate with the Creator and to pray. Only man is endowed with that gift.

 I have never met anyone who complained that they prayed too much. But I have known many who wish they had prayed more.  In our most desperate circumstances and in our finest moments, we cry out to God in prayer.  The greatest gift we can bestow upon another human being is to pray earnestly for them.

 Some understand prayer as a psychological exercise merely benefiting the one who prays. But Scripture affirms that there is more at work when we pray than we imagine.

 Jesus prayed.  In fact, He rose early in the morning before sunrise and sought solitary places where He could spend time alone in prayer. Occasionally he prayed all night.  He taught us to pray, not as a public display to impress others, but in secret where “your father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6).  He taught us to pray constantly with discipline and determination. His prayer life was so powerful that his disciples asked him to teach them to pray. 

 Prayer is not a matter of reciting particular words or repeating religious rituals. God looks on the heart.  He hears the person who is convicted of guilt and feels unworthy to lift his eyes to heaven. And God hears those who humbly seek to do His will, “The effective prayer of a righteous man,” the Bible says, “can accomplish much.”  (James 5:16)

 The mystery and the miracle of prayer resides not in us, but in the One who created us and founded the vast universe that we have only begun to explore.  We are not cogs in an accidental machine that grinds its way toward extinction. We are created in the image of God and our very nature hungers for His presence.  He has endowed us with personality, intelligence and freedom.  He desires our company. He listens and He invites us to pray.

 “Ask,” Jesus said, “and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you ^[who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  (Matthew 7:7-11).

Putting God First

 Football is back.  College stadiums were packed last weekend and the pre-season favorites tested.  Starting this week, the NFL games will count!  The starters will play. Pre-season is over.

 I grew up in the Tom Landry era of the Dallas Cowboys.  When he was hired for the expansion team in 1960 they had little prospect for success. After going winless in their first season, Landry told the team his priorities were God, family and football, in that order.  Bob Lilly, who had just joined the team as the All American recruit from TCU said to himself, “We will never win.”  Under Landry they went on to win 20 playoff games, appeared in 5 Super Bowls and won two.

 I heard Tom Landry speak at the Billy Graham Crusade when Texas Stadium was built. He described his emptiness when he achieved each of his career goals as a star running back for the University of Texas and all-pro defensive back for the NY Giants.  He quoted Augustine, “Our hearts are restless indeed, O God, until they find their rest in Thee.”  A year before he became the first coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he came to faith in Christ and gave God first place in his life.

 Scottie Scheffler stunned the PGA tour this year coming from nowhere to world number one and winning the Masters.  After his Masters win, he said, “The reason I play golf is, I am trying to glorify God and all he has done in my life, and so for me, my identity isn’t a golf score.”

 Our oldest son had difficulty “launching” when he grew up.  His first semester in college he passed racquet ball.  It was the only course he attended.  His second semester he was on probation.  It was a struggle, for him and for us.

 During this time I told him he needed to put God first in his life.  “If you put God first,” I said, “everything else will come into focus.”  His response wasn’t immediate. It took several years, including boot camp in the Marine Corps. But he followed through and put God first.  Everything else came into focus. Today he has a successful career in It, just celebrated 23 years of marriage and is a wonderful husband and father of three who are leaving home and finding their way.

 The first of the Ten Commandments is God’s invitation for us to know Him.  “You shall have no other gods before me.”  This is amazing. The creator of the universe wants to have a personal relationship with us in which He alone takes first place.  If He is not first in our life, He is not God. Everything starts here.  Life comes into focus when God becomes the priority of our life.

 Sometimes we are drawn away from God by personal pleasures and the pursuit of sin. Sometimes we are drawn away by things that simply make us too busy for God.  We think we know what is best and we pursue our goals and dreams without taking time to submit those goals and dreams to God.  

 In His sermon on the mount Jesus addressed the fragmented life that is filled with worry and anxiety.  He said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33).

Tinsley's Book receives Gold Medal Award

 For immediate release:Author's new book receives a warm literary welcome.

Readers' Favorite announces the review of the Christian - Historical Fiction book "Bold Springs" by William Tinsley, currently available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1520324804.

Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the "Best Websites for Authors" and "Honoring Excellence" awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.

"Reviewed By Kimberlee J Benart for Readers' Favorite 

Bold Springs by William Tinsley is a work of historical fiction with a Christian theme.

Set during the Civil War, it’s an epic tale that spans the secession of Texas to the battlefields of Virginia and crescendos at Gettysburg. It is centered around two men: storekeeper William James and the Reverend John Browder, neither of whom is either pro-slavery or pro-secession, one a man of uncertain faith and the other of deep belief, one a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto and Texas independence and the other a more recent northern immigrant. It follows the lives of a company of Texas Confederate Army volunteers and some of their family members as they experience the drama, trauma, and social upheaval of the war that once divided the country.

In Bold Springs, William Tinsley gives us an engaging, dramatic, and ultimately uplifting story that satisfies on many levels. Whether you’re a fan of Civil War fiction or anything about Texas, you won’t be disappointed. The characters of William James and Reverend Browder are carefully and believably drawn. These are men who have imperfections but who attempt to do what is right even in the face of threats to their lives from their own neighbors. William’s friendship with Sam Houston and John’s with Abraham Lincoln, along with references to military leaders and combatants on both sides, provide historical insight. Most of all, a golden thread runs throughout: an edifying call for brotherhood, unity, and peace. Highly recommended."

Never Give Up

 Ken Burns’ documentary about Mohammed Ali contains an interesting and pivotal moment that might have determined the destiny of the young athlete. 21-year-old Cassius Clay had finally  obtained his dream, a match with the heavy weight champion of the world, Sonny Liston. After 3 rounds, Liston and his corner were shocked at the young fighter’s toughness.  Entering the 4^th round many believe Liston’s handlers smeared his gloves and shoulders with an ointment that would burn his opponent’s eyes.  Clay stumbled to his corner unable to see. He begged his trainer, Angelo Dundee to cut off his gloves. He was done. He couldn’t continue. 

 Instead, when the bell rang, Dundee pulled him to his feet and shoved him into the ring. His eyes cleared and he unleashed a barrage of withering blows to Liston’s face, opening a gash around his left eye. After the 6^th Liston refused to rise from his stool. Cassius Clay was crowned heavy weight champion and a week later changed his name. Had Dundee removed his gloves and allowed him to quit the world might have never known Mohammed Ali.

 Few elements are as important to success as the determination to continue, to refuse to give up.  How many victories have been lost because the competitor lost the will to continue? How many marriages have failed because a husband or a wife decided to walk away? How many dreams have vanished because a student, an artist, an entrepreneur decided to quit? 

 Winston Churchill, the WW II Prime Minister of England is best known for his determination.  Standing alone against the onslaught of Nazi Germany’s onslaught,  he issued this challenge in 1941, “...never give in, never give in, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

 The Scripture has a great deal to say about the importance of endurance and perseverance. James wrote, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him,” (James 1:12).  Paul wrote, “We celebrate in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but ^[we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope,” (Romans 5:2-4).  Peter said, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love,” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

 Like Moses enduring 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.  Like the Apostle Paul imprisoned, beaten, and left for dead.  Like Elijah driven to despair, we must all face moments of discouragement, tests that will determine our destiny.  We must never quit. Never give in. We must endure to the end looking to Jesus who endured the ultimate suffering and shame that we might be “more than conquerors,” (Romans 8:37).

Centerpiece of History

 Every time I write a check, I document the date with reference to the most important event in human history.  This year is 2022 A.D., Anno Domini, Latin for “Year of our Lord.”  Approximately 2022 years ago Jesus was born.    Any date before that is B.C., “Before Christ.”

 his makes our secular world uncomfortable.  But, we have to reference history by some date, and it needs to be universal enough that we all know what date we are talking about.  In 1615 Johannes Kepler adopted the “Vulgar Era” designation, a reference that was later changed to C.E. “Common Era.”  Today, in most academic documents, the terms B.C.E. “Before the Common Era” and C.E. “Common Era” are used.  But the years remain the same, 2022 AD is 2022 CE.

 The date for both designations A.D and C.E remains the time when Caesar Augustus ordered that all the Roman world should be taxed and a little known carpenter in Nazareth started out for Bethlehem leading a donkey on which sat his pregnant wife. The life of that child defines every other event in history.  

 Why is Jesus the centerpiece of all human history?

 Part of the answer is the teaching of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount is the most radical teaching in the history of the world. If everyone practiced Jesus’ teaching the world would be totally transformed. God’s Kingdom would have come on earth.

 Part of the answer is the death of Jesus. We cannot practice the Sermon on the Mount without a transformation of heart.  The Cross of Jesus Christ makes this possible. Our sins are forgiven and God is able to create in us a new heart.

 Most important of all is the resurrection.   If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, his followers would have quickly dispersed and he would have been forgotten. The disciples had all forsaken him at his trial. Peter had publicly denied him.  But, when Jesus appeared for forty days with many undeniable proofs, everything changed. (Acts 1:3).

 This was the message that changed the world. “This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.  But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.” (Acts 2:23-24).

 /^“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-18).

 Jesus destroyed the rule of power and prejudice, retaliation and revenge.  On the Cross he overcame violence and injustice. By the resurrection He conquered death and the grave.  For this reason every document we date this year bears the number 2022.

Teachers Make A Difference

 It is mid-August and already many students are back in school, excitedly finding their desks, making new friends, opening new books. Most teachers have been back at work for a week or  more getting ready for the students who are assigned to their care.

 My wife retired as a schoolteacher more than 10 years ago.  After earning a master’s in early childhood education, her career took her to kindergarten, third grade and secondary education in the  inner city,  metro and rural areas, in Texas and Minnesota.  She concluded her teaching career by teaching a dropout prevention program for pregnant and parenting teens.  Her goal in her final assignment was to help her students have a healthy pregnancy, a healthy birth, learn to be a parent, stay in school, and create a future for themselves and their child. On her best year, her students achieved a 98% graduation rate.

 On one occasion she asked her students to tell of the most significant caregiver in their life.  One of her students said she had a happy childhood until age 10 when her parents were both arrested and sent to jail for drugs.  Her grandfather tried to take her in, but they wouldn’t let him because he had confessed to possession of marijuana.  But he continued to love her and check on her at her foster home. She said she remained close to her foster mother.

 One of her former students returned to my wife’s class to visit, a single mom who graduated and enrolled in a trade school.  My wife asked her to tell her story to the others.  She told of how her older brother committed suicide and how she was on the same trajectory but was able to change course and pursue a better life.  The school counselor who was observing that day asked the student what made the difference in her life.  She pointed to my wife as her teacher and said, “This woman right here.”

 I remain proud of my wife and what she accomplished as a teacher.  I am grateful for the many teachers who accept assignment in challenging situations, working with children and teenagers who face daunting difficulties. 

 Perhaps this is one reason our favorite movies are often based on true stories of teachers who persevered and prevailed in the lives of students who otherwise might have given up. Movies like Mr. Holland’s Opus, Akeela and the Bee, Freedom Writers.

 The title Jesus most often used to refer to himself was “teacher.”  It was the title others used most to refer to Him, including the 12 who were his disciples. He was the supreme example of the master teacher, teaching by example and illustration, pouring his life into the lives of those who followed him. His teaching and His life changed the world. Two thousand years after he walked the earth, his teaching and His life changed me.

 I hope you will join me in praying for the thousands of teachers who are seeking to make a difference in the lives of children and young adults as schools open and classrooms resume.

You Can't Take It With You

Our 48-year-old son has entered the theater, in Belle Fourche, SD, a small town near Sturgis that claims to be the geographic center of the US.  He is keeping his day job. A few years ago, his entire family, including our daughter-in-law and three grandchildren took part in performing Beauty and the Beast, a hilarious and fun performance.  Next month, he and our granddaughter will perform in You Can’t Take It With You, a comedy that exposes the vanity of pursuing wealth and power instead of building friendships and family. We will be in the audience!

 The movie version appeared in 1938 starring James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore. Stewart played the son of a wealthy mogul who will stop at nothing to build his financial empire. The son falls in love with his stenographer, a young woman from the other side of the tracks. Of course, in the end, the wealthy snobs get their comeuppance. A few years later Stewart and Barrymore teamed up again in the 1948 classic It’s a Wonderful Life as George Bailey and Mr. Potter, another film that exalts the value of friendship and family over the pursuit of money and power.

 Perhaps these two plays reflect the values learned by the generation that endured the Great Depression and WW II.   It is a lesson every generation must learn. One we must learn again in these inflationary post-Covid times. Life is more than the sum of our possessions. Relationships, family, friends and faith are the true treasures to be prized.

 Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break through and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, and thieves do not break in and steal,” (Matthew 6:19).

 And again, “He said to them, ‘Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed, for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions. And He told them a parable, saying, ‘The lans of a rich man was very productive. And he began thinking to himself saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘This I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store my grain and all my goods there.’ And I will say to myself, “You have many good stored up for many years to come. Relax, eat, drink and enjoy yourself!” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all you have prepared, who will own it now?’ Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God,” (Luke 12:15-21).

 I have lived long enough to know.  I have seen the treasures of youth rusting away in mildewed barns and rotting in dusty attics.  I have watched the wealthy store up vast fortunes only to end their days in loneliness, their estates tied up in bitter lawsuits.  And, by contrast, I have the seen the poor surrounded by family and friends in their old age. The saying is true, “You can’t take it with you.” 

Bill's book, We Beheld His Glory is free as an eBook on Amazon August 9-13.