Author: Dr. Mark

COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR OR CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR?

ByDr. Mark April 13, 2025 0 Comments
 “On the next day, when the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, the King of Israel!’” (John 12:12-13 New American Standard Bible) Teaching high school Psychology back in the...

YOU ARE ON THE VIP LIST!

ByDr. Mark April 12, 2025 0 Comments
It’s Saturday and I feel it is timely to remind you that you are on the Very Important Person invite list! Oh, I didn’t extend the invitation! Jesus did! Accept the invitation by coming to the house of worship, tomorrow, Sunday! To be more    specific, remember you have been invited to church service on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Come to a place where your worship is real and not...

WHAT DO PEOPLE NOTICE ABOUT YOU?

ByDr. Mark April 11, 2025 0 Comments
What do people notice about you when they see you? This thought came to my mind after observing a happening at a local car dealership. An elderly, well-dressed Christian man, taller than me and older than me too, was sitting in the customer waiting room. He sat patiently, quietly, as he read his bible. Because the bible cover was well worn, you could conclude that he was not reading to put on a...

WHAT HAPPENED WAS…

ByDr. Mark April 10, 2025 0 Comments
See if what I am about to tell you is not true, at least most of the time, when you ask someone, “What happened?”  Instead of an explanation you get some excuse making, and words of justification for what took place. It starts with these words, “What happened was…”  When you hear it, get ready for the excuse that follows, that is, most of the time. This effort to exonerate...

THE MESSED-UP MAGAZINE

ByDr. Mark April 9, 2025 0 Comments
Monday morning was messed up, for real! I didn’t sleep well thinking about the fact that the bottom level of our tri-level had been flooded by the amount of rainfall we received Wednesday through Saturday last week, raining a total that equaled about one and one-half the total our city typically receives for the whole month of April. Ironically, I had just taught a lesson from the biblical...

YOU ONLY KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW!

ByDr. Mark April 8, 2025 0 Comments
“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not...

THE DAY AFTER

ByDr. Mark April 7, 2025 3 Comments
“As Ezra read from the scroll, Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites went among the peopleand explained the meaning of the passage that was being read. All the people began sobbing when they heard the commands of the law. Then Ezra the priest, and I as governor, and the Levites who were assisting me said...

PERSISTENT INVITATION OR PERSONAL INTENTION?

ByDr. Mark April 6, 2025 0 Comments
“I want to be a follower of Christ. I want to be one of his disciples. I want to live in the newness of life. Just let me be a follower of Christ.” (Published in 2012 by J.W. Harris) The lyrics above are sung Sunday after Sunday in churches around the country, usually at the time adjacent to when the preacher is presenting an invitation to discipleship. When you sing it, do you take it as a...

DEALING WITH FAILINGS

ByDr. Mark April 5, 2025 0 Comments
“Failure is delay but not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street.” (Quote from William Arthur Ward) Some of you have certainly heard me repeat this axiom, an actual truth on more than one occasion: “We have failings, but we are not failures.” I base this truism on the following scriptures. (1) “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard...

THE POST-IT NOTE

ByDr. Mark April 4, 2025 2 Comments
 “Love is patient, love is kind.” (I Corinthians 13:4a NIV) As I sat waiting for the hospital representative to schedule my next annual visit, I observed about 8-9 small, multi-colored, Post-It Notes on her in-and-out basket. I read all of them while I patiently waited. Just as a side note, I do not have to go back and ask the representative to forgive me for holding out the patience she...