The judgement of God on individuals and groups seems to come not on them but from within them. It’s organic, home grown. Like a nation, the sum of millions of individual wills, moves more or less toward the path of death or life. Bye and bye the curse or blessing is disclosed. This may take generations. But when we read histories of the fall of, say, the Babylonians, or the Romans, or whomever, it appears as if God, in one fell swoop annihilated a nation.

God is merciful. When people advance more on the path of death, He sends warnings through signs, words, or symbols. He does this for nations also. Some recent warnings that have emerged in our country are these: Read the rest of this entry »

In Bottom Line Personal, July 15th issue, I read an article “Why Your Not-To-Do List Is More Important Then Your To-Do List” by Gary Bencivenga. I immediately tore the article out in order to give it to one of my “disorganized” friends. But as I reread it before passing it along, I got one of those smacks on the forehead, “Hey, let’s take a look at its application for me before I eagerly try to “fix” another. So, following are his/my thoughts….. Read the rest of this entry »

Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit.  He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people.

A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’   “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think.   But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice–otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black and blue by her pounding.’”

Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying?

So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them?  I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”   [Luke 18:1-8] Read the rest of this entry »

“And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casts out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. And others, tempting Him, sought a sign from Heaven from him.” [Luke 11:14-15] Read the rest of this entry »

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.

 She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.  Soon the pots came to boil.  In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. Read the rest of this entry »

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

“Your son is here.” she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. Read the rest of this entry »

A habit is the ordinary course of conduct; general tendency; disposition; and established customs. Words found in the Thesaurus include addiction, bent, fixation, frame of mind, inclination, manner, second nature, routine. Read the rest of this entry »

“I coulda been a contender.”

“I coulda been somebody.”

If we demand the right to hold the outcome we’d wished for as the standard of comparison for the outcomes in which our present realities consist, we commit robbery. Read the rest of this entry »

     Two years of electioneering already, and we’re still being bombarded with campaign speeches and campaign coverage.  We’ve heard promises, lies and verbal assaults from all sides as well as from media personalities trying to persuade us which way to vote.

     We are subjected to politicians who are trying to tell us that we need to be free to continue murdering our unborn. They all promise tax reductions, Social Security rescue operations, better and cheaper health coverage, no income taxes on social security checks, national debt reduction, and on and on and on ad nauseam. By now, we should have learned that promises made by a politician aren’t worth the proverbial plugged nickel.  (It’s amazing to me that getting elected to office suddenly makes one seem an expert on everything ….. in his or her own eyes.) Read the rest of this entry »

  At dawn he (Jesus) appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. Read the rest of this entry »