Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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I read an interesting example this past week and the author was discussing politics. His point was that the government was the scapegoat for all the problems we have in society today. In other words, blame all our country’s ills on the government. I suppose he thought the government was the root of all society’s issues. We have all heard people use the word scapegoat. For example: “He was the scapegoat in that situation,” or “she made her friend the scapegoat.” Whether it...
What is the difference in these two terms: “Pharisee” and “publican?” In New Testament times, a Pharisee was one who was a Jew and who firmly, harshly and even unbendingly held to the traditional and written law. The Pharisee bolstered himself with psychological untouchable holiness and religiousness. The Pharisees had multiple laws having to do with what to eat, what to wear, how far to walk on the Sabbath and how to pray. These men of the law were more concerned about t...
Last week I was going through some magazines and pulled out an issue of the “Smithsonian.” It was an April 2013 edition and as I flipped through the pages, I read an article on the vastness of space. What I read was somewhat mind boggling: “To casual stargazers, space seems to have no boundaries. Yet fans of NASA’s farthest-flung spacecraft can‘t stop talking about how the probe is on the verge of piercing the border surrounding the planets and plunging into the realm bey...
We all build our lives on something. The issue revolves around this question: Is that “something” what you would risk your eternity on? Let me explain with an experience from my childhood. In some of my early growing-up years in Kansas City, Missouri, Mother often took Susie and me into the city to explore museums or to shop at Macy’s. Those excursions were recreational and educational. We would shop all morning and then when noon came, we would head to the nearest Katz Drug...
This past week has been devastating for many families and the city of Clovis. Many have asked “why” due to this week’s tragic event. If you have questioned “why,” you are not alone. Even King David asked God “why.” In essence David said “Oh God ... where are you?” David pleaded with the Lord in Psalm 10: “Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” The reality is that God does not hide and neither does He orchestrate the bad times in our...
What is the significance of the cross of Jesus Christ? Why is there so much emphasis on the cross of Christ?” Even the secular world recognizes the figure of a cross, even though to many the cross does not mean what it does to the Christian. Lee Strobel, atheist-turned-Christian, is the former award-winning legal editor of The Chicago Tribune and best-selling author of over 20 books. Strobel made this comment: “Jesus Christ did not come into this world to make bad people goo...
With the start of a new school year, I’m reminded of the women in my family — a family of teachers and so many memories. One such memory reflects on my sister Susie’s teaching career. For many years she had a postcard project in her second-grade classes. Sometimes she had students whose parents were in the military, and when the children would move away, they’d still participate in the postcard project by sending back postcards from their new location. In addition, Susie w...
David Platt is one of my favorite authors. He wrote “Taking Back Your Faith From the Great American Dream.” In that book he wrote: “I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what was radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.” Sometimes as a Christian it is difficult to step out of our comfortable space and put ourselves “out there” to be hurt or criticized or troubled. When thinking about this subject, I always think of my...
Every night before we go to bed, we take the dog outside. That’s the time that sounds of the night are different. There is a certain distinct harmony during the nighttime that I do not hear during the day. Sounds oblivious to us during the day come through clear at night. On many nights, we can hear dogs yelping in the distance. We can hear house doors opening and train noises from the train yard over four miles away. Sometimes we can hear a distant conversation that has t...
My favorite show on television is “Fixer Upper” with Chip and Joanna Gaines. I am somewhat “hooked” on watching that show. To see an old house transformed into a beautiful and inviting, up-to-date yet unique home is inspiring. Before “Fixer Upper,” my favorite show was “Get It Sold” on HGTV. This show focused on helping people who were having difficulty selling their homes. The show’s aim was to give the couple suggestions about furniture, display and clutter in order...
Often during the day I think about the sovereign power of God and the depth of his love for all of us. I stand amazed that he loves me. The Scriptures tell us that God has loved for generations. The Psalmist wrote: “But you, O Lord, are a merciful and loving God, always patient, always kind and faithful.” (Psalms 86:15) I cannot understand his love for me, but I choose to accept God’s love as a reality in my life. I realize that I am not alone; these thoughts have been the t...
I have been doing some reading in an unusual book. We have some of the “Foxfire” book series on our bookshelves in the den. The books in this group are an accumulation of the people’s ideas, ways of doing things, tips for cooking and canning and just general knowledge that was passed down through the people in the Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Georgia. What started out as a quarterly magazine in 1972 named “Foxfire” now has become a series of books. These books give much...
It was in Boston several years ago that I first saw a genuine lighthouse. While driving out toward the tip of Cape Cod, we stopped to explore a lighthouse that was open to visitors. Standing on the sandy hillside surrounded by wooden fencing, the lighthouse silently spoke volumes. Positioned on a small hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, old and withered with age, that lighthouse could really have told some stories if only it could communicate. At the base of the lighthouse...
The Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:3: “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Charles Elliot, renowned Bible scholar, commented on this verse. Elliot said that “he deceives himself” is like a person has an hallucination and that person has convinced himself of the existence of something and it is not rooted in reality. I did that once. I was under the illusion that I was the best, and I sure had persuaded myself. Let me explain. When...
I am sure I share many growing up experiences with other baby boomers my age. When it came to buying clothes, no doubt my sister Susie and I stood alongside the other millions of children in the 1950s. On those times when Mother would buy Susie or me a new outfit, we started out by wearing that outfit on Sunday or for other dress-up occasions. Only very special times qualified as dress-up occasions, and Mother was the ultimate authority on deciding what qualified as an...
Looking back can be beneficial. Let me explain. Life is really different for our family than what it was a year ago. Many twists and drastic turns have occurred in the road our family has traveled this last year. Our son John Scott’s homecoming was the most devastating. Although we know he is with Jesus, I still miss him so each minute. I am not one to give advice because I have had my highs and lows in this journey called grief. In fact, I am still on this journey and expect...
Lately the world has been filled with terrible and discouraging news. The reports of violence, terrorism and killings have dominated updates on much of the national media. Yet a realization has come to me in the light of all this heavy and sad news. I have found that if I focus on those events and the merciless acts reported, I am taken down with it. If I dwell on the bad or heartbreaking news, I then look at the world differently. Focusing on the negative makes my mind point...
Worry is a crippling phenomenon. I know I tend to worry over life in general and I think I am not alone. Those areas of worries that consume people are health, finances, family and jobs. In this life we do have many trials and there are plenty of areas for worry. I read last week an excerpt from the book The Essence of Success by Earl Nightingale. He made a good point about the subject of worry when he wrote: “According to the Bureau of Standards, ‘A dense fog covering sev...
Sadly, I read an article last week in which the author challenged his readers by asserting that patriotism in America is on the decline. And how is that decline manifested? The author claimed that Americans are less patriotic these days because they do not value the symbols of American democracy or the values that America was founded upon. He contended that past generations were patriotic as young people and remain patriotic all their lives. Yet, the author believes the...
Graduation season is upon us. Graduation speakers, famous and non-famous alike, use phrases in their graduation speeches like “be yourself,” “go for your dreams,” “think big,” “step out of the ordinary” and “the world is within your reach.” All those phrases are true and valuable to a certain extent. Yet, I would contend that there is a spiritual aspect for graduates that is just as important, maybe more important. It is vital that young people understand that the foundation...
On this Mother’s Day weekend, I have some questions for all mothers: Do you ever get discouraged? Do you ever feel that your efforts, endeavors and effectiveness as a mother are challenged? Do you ever feel like a failure? If so, you are not alone. Some Old Testament mothers in the Bible were faced with unique challenges. From their stories, we can only speculate but knowing the nature of motherhood, we can assume that their lives at times were discouraging, they felt o...
Soon it will be Mother’s Day and the third Mother’s Day without my mother. My mother lived on a day-to-day basis a life of thankfulness because of the grace God had given her. C.S. Lewis wrote in “Mere Christianity:” “Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own alrea...
I have a Facebook page. Through the past year, and through my son John Scott’s heart journey, the connection that Facebook provided us was quite valuable. Our daughter-in-law Dana posted constant updates. People responded on Facebook that they were praying for him. I welcomed this avenue of social media that allowed us to ask for prayer for John Scott. As a result, friends and even strangers were praying for him. We treasured all of their prayers. Yet, last week I heard a s...
The words of Jesus about treasure in heaven are well known. He said: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in nor steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21). I have told this story before but I write about it again due to a reader request. Her...
The word empty has a new meaning for me. Many times we throw around the word empty in our everyday talk. The gasoline level’s red light comes on in our cars when we are nearing empty. The consequence if we don’t get gas? Stuck in the middle of heavy traffic or on a desolate road with no help in sight. Sometimes we go to the refrigerator to get milk in the morning and realize the milk cartoon is empty. The consequence of no milk for breakfast? The morning is off to a bad beg...
