Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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I hope you had a great time with your family and friends this Thanksgiving. Traditions comprise a large portion of our daily lives, many without much thought or effort. Certainly, Thanksgiving dinners involve much effort, but I’m referring more to our attitude or disposition. Are we motivated by genuine gratitude, or do we pass out thanks carelessly? Most of us say “thank you” without much thought or emotion. It’s customary to thank the waitress when she brings the meal to the table. Are we thankful when the wait is long for that meal? Likewis...
I would liken grace to a nicely knitted lifeline, that which saves us from our sin and self. Grace encompasses many virtuous strands such as love, mercy, forgiveness, humility, self-sacrifice, and more. Another virtue that the Bible ties to grace are generosity. God is the one who extends His grace to us so that we can practice sharing grace with others. Our radical generosity reflects God’s radical generosity. The early church practiced generosity remarkably Acts 4:32-35, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any...
We often use idioms to make a point clear. A “pickle” refers to a difficult situation or a quandary. Most likely you have escaped by the skin of your teeth a time or two from a pickle you’ve created yourself. I have. Leaders learn what to do through experience. Preparing for a recent sermon I turned to the Martyr Stephen, and studied God’s Word. The Bible provides us with examples in which people displayed quality character when encountering difficult circumstances, one being Stephen. Acts records how the church was growing in spite of intense...
Montanan men and women going back to the pioneer days have put a premium on self-reliance. As such, even modern Montanans shun outward appearances of weakness. So, we consider weakness as a handicap, something that keeps us from reaching our goals. Weakness, as a characteristic, goes against an early American standard. Work hard and you are supposed to be rewarded. How often do you see weakness celebrated? Never. The Biblical perspective on weakness is unconventional. God often chose the humble over the proud or the frail over the strong;...
Certain people leave lasting impressions on us, don’t they? I have been taking some time to research the character quality of grace from the Bible’s perspective, and I have been recalling personal examples. The exercise has been off and on for over a month. We are inspired by those who are positive, often aiming our life in the same direction. Likewise, we also watch those who display negative attributes, affirming that such a quality is something we do not want to emulate. Who is it that inspires you? The late preacher Billy Graham said, “When...
Life is often likened to a long-distance race. The high school and college activity of “track and field” dates to the ancient Greeks. In Montana, the high school athletic association added cross country, a totally different type of athletic event, that caught on quickly and is extremely popular. Saint Paul told a great deal about human nature, comparing life to a race. Maybe his main point was “pace yourself accordingly.” It would be a mistake to view our faith as a short race or sprint. Life challenges face us all, and I’d say right now anxie...
Picture yourself settled in your favorite living room chair watching one of the longest races at the Olympics. You have caught some of the athletes warming up. Now, they are in the blocks. They seem to stop breathing as the starter calls out, “Runner’s on your mark…Get set...” BANG, he starts them. Do you realize our conversations with others can start off with a bang or a thud? If we start with a demand, a negative assertion, or assertions, what can we expect? Probably failure. We can do better. The Bible teaches us to be filled with grace....
In this life we encounter various relational road blocks, one specifically I would like to address is offense. Such a hazard can be detrimental to our relationships that we cherish or even possible new relationships on the horizon, so we must guard our heart and our words from the negative responses associated with offense. I might be able to offer some wisdom from a Biblical perspective. I’m absolutely convinced that we often fail to operate in grace towards others, “Grace requires patience.” In fact, there is little peace without patie...
Gimmicks abound all around us, allowing a few people to claim to know everything. One can search the Internet regarding almost any HOW TO, and it will produce a list of apps desiring your next click. The Internet has changed the world of advertising in the USA. You have to be careful, however. Some results are schemes. That is part of our broken world, a world full of broken people. Tragedy is found around many corners; a person sadly takes their own life, someone dies or is seriously injured in a vehicle accident, and another receives the...
Most people aspire toward greatness. Even the most passionless person aspires in some area or hobby to do it well. Boys and girls, men and women dream of achieving accolades in sports, acting, a career, etc. “The sky is the limit” goes the saying, yesterday but today, too. My goal is to grow in Christ-like qualities. What about you? Virtues of Christ are admired universally by others. We surely relish when another person extends us mercy, maybe, especially if we don’t deserve it. Of course, patience is welcome when we are on the recei...
When the subject of heaven and hell come up, some people listen intently, almost as if they are searching for an answer. But, others seem to run and hide. Over the last two months of columns, I have walked this journey with you, the reader. I want to say now, here at the end of struggling with you, the matter boils down to God’s grace and justice. Either we will confront our sinfulness and acknowledge the need for Christ to be our personal Savior, or we will face God’s justice by rejecting his grace and thus spend eternity in isolation and lon...
If you have felt discouraged and overwhelmed at times consider the often quoted Billy Graham: “The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ “Help me.’” Help me, indeed. In my sermons and thoughts lately, I have attempted to be of encouragement. I continue today’s introspection by reminding you to keep your eyes on heaven. First, you are valuable to God. Jesus spoke in parables to help his audience and us understand God the Father. F...
You’ve observed no doubt that nature provides us with many parallels: a butterfly has two wings. In thinking of eternity, many fear death—that parallel with life. Joy and contentment contrast with loneliness and despair. Throughout history, we have faced harmful teachings, and this reality is no different today. Popular writers and “preachers” have been attempting to erase away the doctrine of hell. Those who reduce everything to nonbelief, we call them annihilationists, espouse the unredeemed will either cease to exist upon death or (after the...
Often, controversial topics scare us. But just because a matter is uncomfortable, sometimes it’s an unintended consequence for clergy when they are motivated by caring, caring that includes caring for people. So, Jesus spoke about Hell even more than Heaven. Christ is quoted 70 times in context with Hell. Take heed. In the case of my profession, my heart gets closer to the sleeve than in almost all other professions. I have been at the pulpit for thirty years now. I throw misunderstandings and misconceptions to both the profession and my h...
Some echo the words “There is nothing free in life” The pessimist opines, “In one way or another there’s some sort of catch.” Sadly some relationships are founded on play for play or a hard fast IOU. Power and greed infect our lives way too easily. Here’s some refreshing news: the Bible teaches us there is a far better way. In a world enamored with self-centeredness, God’s kingdom is quite opposite. God offers each of us a free gift. Jesus through an act of selfless love paid the price for our sin. This grace is offered to any person, no ma...
Who doesn’t like new things? I recall the day we brought home our first family puppy, Oreo. The kids grew more ecstatic with each new day in the beginning. They made promises of how they would care for her, including pooper scooper patrol, feeding times, walks, etc. In a short amount of time, the grandeur of the new puppy faded. Any guesses of who primarily cared for Oreo? Now that three of the four kids are out of the home, Oreo is still a big part of our daily routine. My wife, Oreo, and I stroll around the neighborhood almost every m...
Who hasn’t wondered what heaven will be like? If you are like me you have had an image at one time in your life of an angelic afterlife. The Bible provides a strong Christ-like understanding of heaven. Author Lee Stroble provides us with two kinds of heaven based on evidence in scripture. One, the intermediate state, described by Jesus in Luke 23:43, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This is a place after our bodies die, but our spirit remains alive and is in the presence of the Lord. Luke gave us this example and Christ was dying on th...
Both my grandfather and grandmother were fond of saying, “Oh for heaven’s sake.” Lately, in SW Montana, I have not heard the expression. A poll of Americans finalized in November of 2021 by the Pew Research Center revealed that approximately 75% said they believed in heaven, while of those who categorized themselves as “religiously unaffiliated” only 37% claimed to believe in heaven. The subject of heaven brings up many important questions. Funerals continue to be one of the largest gatherings of people, following the death of a loved one...
“When will I die?” is almost a universal question. After all, at some point, we do die. I try to approach the topic with sensitivity. I do understand that as this column reaches readers some are dealing with the death of a family member or a friend. Certainly, our families and communities have grappled with death in the past and it is part of life. Still, it tops the difficult subject list. The Bible reminds us, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27). There’s no escaping this reality. Can we h...
Most readers are familiar with the name Timothy McVeigh, and to remind you, in 1995 he was convicted for the Oklahoma City bombing. What many of us forget is that the prosecution’s case against McVeigh had no eyewitness testimony. However, the circumstantial evidence was clear: Fingerprints on a sales receipt for ammonia nitrate, clothing and ear plugs that implicated him, a knife containing chemical evidence matched to the truck used; Ryder rental agent’s testimony of McVeigh renting the truck. Strong circumstantial evidence convicted McVeigh....
Over the centuries those who are skeptical of Jesus Christ, and specifically his resurrection from the dead, suggest that his followers perpetrated a major hoax. For the Christian we understand that Christ’s resurrection is a hinging factor for all we believe; because if Jesus did not rise from the dead, our hope is unfounded. What’s a person to do? I would suggest like other biblical apologists that we look at the evidence and examine the case like a crime scene. First, looking at Christ’s direct teachings, we discover that in Mark 8:31 Jesus...
Peter Stoner, philosopher and mathematician at Pasadena College a few years ago, described the probability of Jesus Christ fulfilling just 8 of those 300 Messianic prophecies are described in the Old Testament record. “Try to visualize this probability, if you mark one of ten tickets, place all of the tickets in a hat, thoroughly stir them, and then ask a blindfolded person to draw one, his chance of getting the right ticket respectively is 1 out of 10.” Now: follow him and my notes: “Now suppose we take 10 17 (that is ten times ten, times ten,...
The winning side in a court case usually has the preponderance of evidence on its side: eyewitness testimony, clear detail of either innocence or guilt, and corroborating evidence and exhibits all assist the jury to determine its decision. We hope that truth comes to the surface. But, speculation is only guesswork. “Truth,” said Stephen Vincent Bennet, “is a hard dear to hunt.” The New Testament Gospels have outside support from history itself. In fact, accurate accounts had been building within the Greek culture for more than 300 years....
Our society is all too familiar with court cases. Just panning recent history, people were more interested in a possible sex scandal instead of judicial review when Clarence Thomas was nominated to the Supreme Court. More than a summer consumed all the networks when OJ Simpson stood trial for murder. Recently Johnny Depp won against his ex-wife, and I don’t care. Now, seriously, as a third-generation follower of Jesus Christ, I encourage people to carefully examine the Bible. One can view it much like a court proceeding; collect the claims, e...
“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs,” Ecclesiastes 5:15. Throughout history our common heritage shares these two most common experiences: birth and death. Modern medical advances have allowed for some changes in regard to fertilization and conception, but a woman’s womb is still the standard home for a baby up to the point of childbirth. Now some would argue that we seldom experience death “naked,” but their argument is empty. Solomon’s point is fundamentally true; we are born with nothing and take noth...
