I read every day, whether it is current event articles, devotionals, nonfiction, or sermon materials. During the recent holiday season I began reading a few who-done-it novels for relaxation. Fiction, biographies and memoirs are really portraits of people’s character. I like to make deep dives into selected topics, chasing down ideas that may develop into something useful one day. I have discovered that sometimes even the boring or dead-end materials can spark an idea that may lead to an insight about myself, or church life, or personal relationships.

I seek to look for the trends and patterns, the challenges and the frustrations facing us each day. People are living on the edge and finding the times unsettling.  Most folks want to depend on a decent income, live with meaning and purpose in relative peace and safety, and enjoy a good meal with a friend occasionally. While there is always a segment of people who enjoy picking a fight, most of us have enough troubles of our own. That’s why I find books and reading so helpful. Reading is story-finding.

We are a people of stories.  Tell me a story pleads every child. We are storytellers at heart. When we find a story, we step into its world. A story will place us amid any time, in any place, in any person or creature, in any circumstance in or out of this world.  C. S. Lewis once wrote of how the power of reading opens our perspectives: We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own. Stories teach us how to love our neighbors as ourselves. They may even teach us how to love ourselves with respect and compassion. Of course, I also read a very good book of stories that provides meaning, hope and redemption. It has real stories, some are cautionary tales of the pain and struggles of real people in complicated families. Step into the stories of Jesus. People who read the Bible find their own story interwoven with God’s love and grace. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Be a story-finder. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Remember back to the good old days around February 7, 2025, when the temperature rose to 84˚ here in Tulsa? It seems a little mean of nature to trick us like that. In fact, there has been too much mean weather across the land these past few months. Last Wednesday evening’s activities were cancelled because of cold and icy conditions. Last Sunday morning’s service was cancelled because of snow and ice. This week’s Wednesday activities are cancelled because of predicted heavy snow on Tuesday and a high temperature of 9˚ on Wednesday.  Nine degrees for the high for the whole day (or not).

Most years I write something about harsh weather—preparing for it, recovering from it, or what to do in the middle of it. Hot or cold, wet or dry, all of us talk about the weather almost every day, especially to strangers when we don’t know what to say. We have favorite meteorologists. We constantly check on the temperature outside, even if we are not going outdoors. I used to have a weather rock that helped me check the weather before there were cell phones. And we had to call on the kitchen telephone to find out the time and the temperature. How did we ever manage?

We had “thunder sleet” one March Sunday in 2014. That winter we had to cancel one service each month for four months in a row because of the bitter weather. As I have said before, if I were the one in control, the weather would always be beautiful on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights. God and I have had this discussion for years now. Mostly I talk. God doesn’t say much about it. All I ever get is, “It rains on the just and the unjust alike.”  You would think that God would make it as easy as possible for people to go to church on Sunday mornings!  God does not micromanage the weather at all. It’s probably more about strengthening our character, stretching our faith, and learning to depend on God through whatever comes our way. We have been here before. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Jesus will see you through. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Have you ever had anything break at just the right time? Neither have I. Sometimes you have a little warning that things are not doing well – a funny noise, a strange smell, a flashing light. Other times things just quit or fall apart while using them. Take my car, for instance—please. I had an unusual warning light come on my dashboard, so I got out the user’s manual. I learned the light meant there was a major engine problem: take the car immediately to the dealership right now, do not wait. Go! So I did. That was on August 30, 2024. It would take a long time to fix my car.

The engine had a broken head gasket. Eventually the necessary parts completed their tour of the world and arrived in early November. Then some of the parts got lost for a time. The tool used to install the vital parts broke. Two more weeks for the service department to get the new tool to fix my car. I was unhappy. It was New Year’s Eve when I confronted the owner of the dealership. He seemed eager to help. When they tested the repaired engine, it made a “funny noise, skipped and popped.” It took a couple more weeks to find someone brave enough to look and see what was wrong. Then a brand-new engine was ordered. Finally on February 6, 2025, I drove my car off the lot, then circled back for them to rotate and air-up the tires, which they had promised to do, because the car had been sitting in one place for five months and seven days! What was I writing about? Things break. The boiler broke at church.* Some breaks are harder than others and some broken things are harder to repair. Hearts, reputations, bones, and relationships, for instance, need patient understanding and healing grace.

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

* The Boiler Broke in the Education Building

Solutions are being explored for replacing the boiler in the furnace room of the education building which had an unrepairable break last week. This unit was installed in 1965. Parts are no longer available. In the meantime, there is no heat in that part of the building. 

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This is taken from an article I wrote in 2019. Still relevant today.

And furthermore, O God, smash them in the mouth and break all of their teeth.  It’s outrageous! In Psalm 58 the psalmist is raging against the faithless rulers, the judges, and religious leaders who pervert justice and promote violence everywhere. I can identify with the psalmist here. How easy it is to rage against perceived injustice with a call for cruel revenge.

God asks Jeremiah, Have you seen what my faithless people have done? They defile the land with prostitution and wickedness. It’s outrageous! God is raging against His own people for breaking the first commandment repeatedly, never repenting of their love for other gods. How easy it is to presume upon God’s mercy and overlook our own idols. (read Jeremiah 3:1-15)

The reason I left you in Crete was for you to straighten out the unfinished work and appoint blameless leaders, Paul admonishes Titus. There are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers…they must be silenced because they are ruining whole households.  It’s outrageous! Paul is upset that the households of faith in Crete were not reflecting the qualities of exemplary believers. Believers must be virtuous, faithful, self-controlled and secure in God’s love and grace. How easy it is for the cultural climate of our times to blunt our witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (read Titus 1:1-16)

The Psalmist reminds us of the ways righteous indignation can quickly become bitter, violent and cruel.  Jeremiah’s word from the Lord reminds us that God expects our repentance for the deepest of sins. Paul’s word to Titus reminds us that faithfulness is a foundational Christian virtue. Cruelty is not a Christian virtue. Violence is not, injustice is not, hatred is not a Christian virtue. Political loyalty is not, name calling is not, revenge is not a Christian virtue. Neither are greed, bigotry, or corruption Christian virtues.  They’re outrageous, and faithless.

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

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During a recent Wednesday evening Bible study I mentioned we used to have an aquarium with catfish in our church nursery. When our daughters were young, a new staff member arrived on the scene with a love for fish. Jeff set up an expensive saltwater aquarium in his office, filled with live coral and exotic ocean fish. Also, he set up a             40-gallon freshwater tank in the nursery area. He filled it with the typical beautiful little fish and underwater displays that fascinate children and adults alike.  One winter we had a harsh few days of snow and ice, making it impossible to get to church. When the weather cleared enough to travel, it was discovered that the power had gone out at church, disabling the aquarium pumps and causing all the fish to die. It was a sad time. Jeff removed his saltwater aquarium but reset up the freshwater one in the nursery. 

Months later an enterprising mother added three fish to the nursery tank. Her father had recently stocked his farm pond with catfish, so she captured three fingerling catfish and carefully transported them to the church. They were as cute as three-inch catfish could be. The fish were somewhat stunned by their whole ordeal, and just huddled together at the bottom, hiding in the plants. The next day when we looked in on them, all the other fish in the aquarium were missing. The catfish were feeling better. The keepers of the aquarium eventually figured out which other fish were safe from the three little catfish. The catfish proved to be a helpful distraction for first-time toddlers and others, welcoming them to our church family. Over the years the catfish grew fatter, but not much longer. They only grew to about 8 inches long. Their diet and the size of the fish tank stunted their growth. Despite their limited beauty and size, they became a unique symbol that everyone was welcome in this place. Do not forget to entertain (show hospitality to) strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

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

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