Consider All Potential Consequences
As the days begin to lengthen and some temperatures top seventy, Spring Fever begins to spread more quickly than COVD-19. It infects everyone from preschool students to senior citizens and from accountants to pastors. I say, “Bring it on!” As the crocuses and daffodils herald springtime’s approach, most of us…
Mom’s Story: Preparation Provided Peace (This account was originally published in early 2015 soon after these events occurred. It is reprinted in honor of Mom’s birthday which was February 19.) About 8:30am on Christmas Eve, 2014, our mother, Violet Bowers, had a serious accident with her gas stove resulting in…
Have You Reached Your People Group?
After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to many people over a period of forty days. At the end of this time, He ascended back to heaven where He will remain until He returns to gather His followers. Until then, He gave specific instructions to us just prior to…
Praying Dreams Into Reality
Sixty years ago this August, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and declared, “I have a dream that one day… the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of…
Avoiding Spiritual Anorexia and Bulimia
Over the last forty years, Americans have become increasingly aware of the importance of diet and nutrition. Extensive efforts have been put forth to discover and utilize the most beneficial foods to optimize health. In addition to weight loss strategies, many vitamin and supplement routines have been developed and marketed…
America’s Prayers For Damar A few weeks ago, NFL fans watched with horror as Damar Hamlin collapsed on the football field after tackling Cincinnati Bengals’ receiver Tee Higgins. Thankfully, due to the quick action of medical professionals, CPR was administered and a defibrillator used to resuscitate him before he was…
God’s Great Craftsmanship in Poetry
I’ve always appreciated good workmanship. Whether it’s with maple, metal, music, or whatever, there’s something glorious about intentional effort combined with honed skill. This appreciation also carries over into language. Well-written books, thought-provoking sermons as well as clever proverbs and puns not only hold my attention but receive my admiration.…
Learning From a Donkey
We humans have a wealth of explanations to excuse our poor choices and disobedience. From little up, we learn to justify our misbehavior with phrases like, “Everyone else was doing it,” “I just couldn’t resist,” or “In this particular instance it wasn’t really wrong.” All of these ring hollow yet…
Trusting God in the New Year
It’s hard to believe but as of tomorrow, another year will officially be in the history books. If you are planning to accomplish something in 2022, you’d better be doing it quickly. As we peek into the New Year, we each face different opportunities as well as different challenges. Not…
The Genealogy of the Messiah
Several years ago I borrowed my parents’ book History of the Descendants of Jacob Gochenour and got sucked into a passion I’ve never been able to escape: genealogy. I was never very interested in my ancestors but when I started reading that book, I was up until after 2:00am. As…