NOT FOR SUNDAY ONLY

Signs

Everyone is curious about the future. Tomorrow starts a new year and already most of us wish we knew what was going to happen the day after tomorrow.
(December 31, 1994)

The Night An Angel Preached

It came to pass when the angels were gone. That is the hour of crisis. The angel gave a message. Now what will the shepherds do?
(December 24, 1994)

The Substitute

In sports, it's a common concept, easily accepted, easily understood. The Substitute. Medicine -- the substitute. The battlefield -- the substitute. Life?
(December 17, 1994)

Evidence of Prodigal Love

The story of the turning of water into wine does not tell us about something Jesus did once and never does again, but of something which He is always doing.
(December 10, 1994)

Minor Offense?

Threatening a teacher, a minor offense? One high school principal thinks so.
(December 3, 1994)

Confident Thanksgiving

Confidence is a strange thing. One minute we have enormous amounts of it, and the next minute we are totalling lacking in confidence.
(November 26, 1994)

The Gospel According To Star Trek

I admit it. I am a Star Trek fan and have been since the first television episode, "Man Trap," aired on NBC on September 8, 1966. I've watched the original episodes so many times they are burned into my memory, and remain my favorites. Some things about Star Trek disturb me, however.
(November 19, 1994)

Expressions Of Loneliness

Loneliness expresses itself in many different ways. Loneliness may be a gnawing terror that jolts you awake in the night. It may be the loneliness of an 18-year-old girl whose boyfriend has just departed for college. Frequently it is a feeling that even in a crowd there is no one else around. And God said...
(November 12, 1994)

Follow Where?

How often do the great adventures of life turn on seemingly simple decisions? Bruce Jenner may have won the 1976 Olympic Decathlon because a car blocked his turn from an interstate highway.
(November 5, 1994)

God Within

When the waitress walked over, the woman said, "I'll have the breakfast special. I want my pancakes well done--cooked all the way through and brown on both sides. I don't want butter, give me margarine instead. Regular syrup is too sweet, I want the dietetic syrup. I want my bacon lean, crisp and dry, and it must be served on a separate plate." "Yes, ma'am," replied the waitress. "And how would you like your eggs cooked?" The woman smiled and answered, "I don't care. I'm not fussy."
(October 29, 1994)

Grow Up

Aristotle once said, "There is a foolish corner in the brain of the wisest man." If Aristotle is right, and personal experience indicates that he is, maturity is a hard-fought quality of life, and it has nothing to do with an individual's chronological age.
(October 22, 1994)

The Former Things

If someone is convinced, absolutely convinced, he will stare at solid evidence to the contrary and stubbornly refuse to change his mind. Sometimes that is good. Sometimes that is bad.
(August 20, 1994)

Like A Child

When it comes to loving and serving God, we try to become sophisticated. We forget that so much of what we call sophistication is simply cleverness and conformity and deception. Being a child is what touches God. He is never impressed by our sophistication.
(August 13, 1994)

Who Would Have Believed It?

The owner's manual for a 1913 automobile read: "The automobile has now developed to the point where it is not anticipated there will be further developments or changes, and this manual should be a reliable guide for the motorist of the future." Who would have believed it?
(August 6, 1994)

What A Way To Live!

It is only a legend, but what a way to live! The man was sentenced to death, but he obtained a reprieve when he promised the king that within one year, he could teach the king's horse to fly. If the horse could not fly after 365 days, the stay of execution would be lifted and the man would die.
(July 30, 1994)

A Pledge Of Commitment

Jesus is not looking for commitments that change. He is not looking for decisions that change when difficulties arise or when the going gets rough.
(July 9, 1994)

Patience

Think for a moment what it would be like not to be able to breathe. I am not talking about suffocation or strangulation. I am thinking about being born without the ability to breathe naturally.
(June 18, 1994)

Success Or Failure?

In a confusing world, there is one thing most of us would say we understand. That is the difference between success and failure. A failure is someone who is poor, uneducated, ill-housed, and friendless. A success is someone who is rich, educated, well-housed, and has many friends. There is only one trouble: that is not God's definition of success or of failure.
(June 11, 1994)

God's Peace

Peace. Whose? And at what price?
(April 16, 1994)

The Opportunities Of Closed Doors

The plans for the 60 story home office building of the John Hancock Insurance Company were imposing. Almost as soon as construction began, problems began.
(April 9, 1994)

Together

The Vietnam war was one of the most costly experiences in the history of America. I'm not thinking primarily of the cost in dollars, but the cost in lives. And not primarily of the cost in death and suffering, but the cost in confidence.
(April 2, 1994)

Thy Will Be Done

"Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." All of us want God's will to be done in heaven, otherwise it would not be heaven. But when it comes to having God's will done on earth, done in our lives, we sometimes balk at praying that prayer, because so often we find that God's will is very different from our will.
(March 26, 1994)

Miracles

Have you ever experienced a miracle in your life? "I am not sure," you say, "but I don't think so." Are you quite sure?
(March 19, 1994)

That Place

Talk to ten different people, you will get ten different definitions. We use "it" to scare children into obedience. We use "it" to frighten adults into loving God. We even deny that "it" exists, a denial based, allegedly, on the love of God. We cannot agree on a single word to describe "it."
(March 12, 1994)

As He Is, So Are We, In This World

What is the first response of most people when they see someone who is hurting? Isn't it usually, "I don't want to get involved."
(March 5, 1994)

The Beauty Of Old Men

I have some good news for you. And some bad news. And some great news.
(February 26, 1994)

What About Repentance?

What does it mean to repent? Does repentance deal with the past or with the future?
(February 12, 1994)

Developing Forgetfulness

Could you understand a man who said, "My yesterdays are always paralyzing my todays?"
(February 5, 1994)

And Then What?

We were high school sophomores talking about pretty much the same things young people talk about today. The things we discussed may not have been quite as loud or quite as fast, but the same basic things as today's teens. All at once, out of the proverbial clear blue sky, one of the guys said, "I am going to live fast, die young, and have a good looking corpse." Without missing a beat, one of the girls in the group looked at him and said, "And then what?"
(January 29, 1994)

Beyond Outrage

There is a time to be outraged. There is also a time for compassion.
(January 22, 1994)

Sacrifice

When we talk about sports we understand what a sacrifice is. When we talk about life, do we also understand sacrifice?
(January 15, 1994)

Thoughts From Russia

Although CNN didn't let you know, I was in Moscow with President Bill Clinton. Well, not actually with him, as a member of his entourage, but my plane did land there the same day as Air Force One.
(January 8, 1994)

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