W. E. Sangster (1900-1960) was a Methodist minister centered in London for the last twenty years of his life. In preparation for the Nazi Blitz of the second world war, Rev. Sangster, had the church basement fortified outside and in. His family moved into a room in that basement and invited anyone to find refuge in the basement who needed a place of safety. His wife began cooking evening meals for everyone for the five years of the war. He preached sermons as he could on Sundays in the much-damaged church, but what the people asked was that he lead evening prayers and give a word of hope from the Bible each night. In the encyclopedia, 20 Centuries of Great Preaching, by Pinson and Fant, W. E. Sangster’s life story is told, and five full sermon manuscripts are included, revealing the pastoral heart of this man who had himself served in World War 1, and several small churches as pastor.

You may have noticed that he died when he was not quite 60 years old. Following the war, he coordinated efforts of evangelism and home missions for the Methodist Church across Great Britain. He was diagnosed in his mid-fifties with an aggressive muscular atrophy. His daughter wrote a tribute to her father shortly after his death. In her tribute she included this written note from his last Easter day, when he could no longer walk or talk. He wrote: It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning to have no voice with which to shout, ‘He Is Risen!’— but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout. 

Easter is this Sunday. How will you be spending this Resurrection Day? They say it may rain or even storm, or possibly not. Come celebrate Jesus and shout, ‘He Is Risen!’

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. He Is Risen Indeed! And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

I’ve been thinking about childishness today, and not in the good way. I was watching the news. My definition of negative childishness includes adults acting in immature, selfish and petulant manners in order to get their way. It is a form of bullying. These are the grownups who pout or take offense at any perceived slight. They run to the spotlight when it focuses on someone else. They expect excessive praise and need constant reassurance that they are the most special person in the room, or maybe even the whole world. I can be childish if I’m not careful. It’s an easy habit to form. 

You’ve probably read of The Toddler Rules. My favorite version goes like this:

1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If it’s in your hand, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it looks like mine, it’s mine.
6. If I saw it first, it’s mine.
7. If it’s broken, it’s yours.

Toddler Rules seem almost built into our DNA, just like sin. In the famous chapter on loving relationships, the Apostle Paul talks about putting away childish things (1 Corinthians 13).   He writes how maturing relationships focus on the unselfishness of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and faith, hope and love. Jesus calls us to a life of complete devotion to God and others when He encourages us to have faith like a child.  Child-like or childish, it’s our choice.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. It all belongs to Him. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

Today’s news (3/25/2025) reported the state Department of Health measles update: There are 9 cases in Oklahoma, with seven confirmed and two more deemed probable among unvaccinated people in northeastern Oklahoma.  I grew up in the age of the miracle of vaccines. I remember lining up to get the smallpox vaccination. I still have the scar on my arm from that. Then came the series of polio shots, and the oral vaccine. There were long lines of us children shuffling along to take the shots that would keep us from being crippled, in an iron lung, or even dying.

As a boy, I managed to win the trifecta of childhood diseases—measles, mumps and chicken pox. I became very ill with the mumps when I was in first grade. It was a double case of the mumps, on both sides. I remember being miserable and spending my time in bed unable to do anything. I missed at least two weeks of school and had home visits from the school nurse and a teacher. The following summer I came down with measles. The measles (rubeola) was more manageable for me than the mumps. At least that’s how I remember it. Then came the chicken pox. I got it, my sisters got it, and then my mother got it. My father was not certain he wanted to come home from work that night. He couldn’t remember if he had ever had chicken pox. Fortunately, he did not come down with it. The following summer I came down with the other form of measles, rubella.

Rubeola measles is the one in the news. It is the one with the most life-threatening complications. These illnesses are preventable and stoppable.  Smallpox and iron lungs are no more. Neither is diphtheria, whooping cough, or typhoid fever in the vaccinated. God is the author of all healing, but He encourages our participation in the process.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Bless the children. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

I never understood why they officially removed the Do Not Drive into Smoke signs on the highways of Oklahoma unless maybe they scared the tourists. Controlled burns for the farmlands are a routine chore of crop management. Appropriate drought and wind warnings and precautions from meteorologists are widely broadcast. There were days of national warnings of the dangers anticipated for past Friday’s multi-state cyclone. Yet the magnitude of damage from fallen trees and power lines, fed by gale force winds and flying ashes, continued past Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, across the nation turning into thunderstorms and tornadic destruction. The Oklahoma statistics of 170,000 acres burned, countless structures destroyed, and 4 fatalities, with more than 200 people injured, leaves all of us shaken, saddened, and grieving. Rebuilding and recovery will take months, if not years. One cry was reported often, we had no insurance. 

The state of Oklahoma has averaged about four multi-million-dollar disasters each year for the last five years. Insurance companies are reluctant to provide affordable coverage. Our church insurance package proclaims wind, hail, fire, and water damage to be in a special category, requiring a 2% deductible based on their unrealistic value of our property, which at $8 million dollars, gives us a deductible of $160,000.  The property insurance crisis in Oklahoma is not being addressed by our elected officials. A lot of petty personal pet peeves seem to take priority over the true needs of our citizens. When the government expects the generosity of neighbors to make up the deductibles and losses without legislative action, pain and poverty deepens in the hearts of Oklahomans. Our church will continue to do its part in ministry and service to those in need, regardless of corporate and political neglect.  

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Uplift a neighbor. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.