Published in Mustard Seed Sentinel·PinnedMember-onlyMust I Embrace all that I Love?Is loving something possible without embracing it? — Love and inclusion are not synonymous. Jesus told us to love our enemies in Matthew 5:43–44. This, however, did not go so far as to tell us to include them in our dinner plans. …Acceptance5 min readAcceptance5 min read
PinnedMember-onlyThanks for the Gift of Life, Mom and DadI pray that I have used it well — Today I turned sixty. To put things in perspective, the current life expectancy in the United States as of this writing is just shy of seventy-nine years old. Curiously, for some reason, in Kansas, where I live, it is a few months shorter than average but I don’t plan on…Life Lessons3 min readLife Lessons3 min read
Published in Koinonia·PinnedMember-onlyHeavenly OfferingHow God’s grace surpasses any gift we could ever envision — I recently wrote a piece on the mercy of God entitled Not Getting Everything You Deserve. In it, we found that mercy, or not receiving justified punishment, keeps us from being condemned to Hell. Today I want us to look at a different component of this equation that was touched…Grace Of God4 min readGrace Of God4 min read
Published in Koinonia·PinnedMember-onlyIs Feeling Guilty Ever Good?Nobody ever wants to feel guilty; but does it serve a purpose? — What is guilt? To simply define it, guilt is both a cognitive and an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes that he or she has violated a moral standard and is responsible for that violation. In essence, it is the knowledge, or at least the belief, that a person has done…Guilt6 min readGuilt6 min read
Published in Koinonia·PinnedMember-onlyDo You Really Want What You Deserve?I doubt it — There is a story about a king who, knowing that he was close to death and realizing that his son succeed him soon, considered how he would leave behind a legacy that would not only be remembered but could be replicated and help the people of the land prosper. He…Justice6 min readJustice6 min read
Published in Koinonia·Feb 22Member-onlyAre You Rushing God?He has His own timetable — Who is planning your life? Some time back I wrote an article that addressed waiting patiently on God to answer our prayers. It focused mainly on our tendency to pray for things with the idea that we should be able to ask today and see answers/results tomorrow. …Christianity5 min readChristianity5 min read
Feb 3Member-onlyThank you for the BoostI’ll gladly do the same for you — It came unexpectedly! My mouth was dry. I was parched. Playing in the hot Texas sun had taken everything out of my five-year-old body and there was no question; it was time for a drink. Just a small stretch to reach the top of what would be the sweet nectar of the water…Helping Hands3 min readHelping Hands3 min read
Jan 17Member-onlyHow Balanced Is Your Life?Are you missing one of its essential parts? — Don’t we all want balance in life? Just out of curiosity, I Googled, “How do I balance my life?” Not wanting to spend the rest of my life reading even a fraction of the search results, I was satisfied just to know that the return got me 2,240,000,000 results! …Life Balance6 min readLife Balance6 min read
Published in Know Thyself, Heal Thyself·Dec 17, 2022Member-onlyWhy December 16 Is Important To MeIt is a day that will live in my memory forever — December has more holidays than you may think! Living in the United States, we are inundated with “holiday spirit” that actually starts sometime around October but is ramped up to almost ridiculous measures by the time we are finishing our last turkey sandwich and cranberry sauce on November 30. In fact, if you frequent craft stores like Hobby…Mentor4 min readMentor4 min read
Published in Koinonia·Nov 18, 2022Member-onlyWhat is True Idolatry?Is it really only something of pagan religions? — What exactly is an idol? In its simplest of definitions, an idol, from a religious or spiritual point of view, is a physical item that is worshiped or venerated as a god. It is not a representation of a god but is the god itself. This can be confusing as there are times when religions…Idolatry6 min readIdolatry6 min read
