SHORT, STRAIGHTFORWARD, & SERIOUS

ByDr. Mark December 28, 2022 0 Comments
“Be alert, be on watch!  Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that other believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings.” (I Peter 5:8-9 Good News Translation) At one time or another, “someone” said to you, “I ain’t feeling it,” when asked why he...

AT THE SENIORS TABLE

ByDr. Mark December 27, 2022 0 Comments
“I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.  He is ever merciful and lends; and his descendants are blessed.” (Psalm 37:25-26 NKJV) At family gathering, children often have to sit at the little table.  If it is a large gathering, young and middle-aged adults tend to sit with those who are in a similar age bracket or...

WHAT ARE PEOPLE GOING TO SAY ABOUT YOU?

ByDr. Mark December 26, 2022 0 Comments
“He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  For he who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:11-12 Modern English Version) The great James Cleveland sang a rendition of “Jesus Is The Best thing That Ever Happened To Me.”  The song starts out with these words, “If anyone could ever write my life’s story, for whatever...

A DEEPER PURPOSE

ByDr. Mark December 25, 2022 0 Comments
“…for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 NASB) As youngsters, Christmas came and Christmas went.  That is still true for people of all ages, unfortunately.  Today, children and adults will receive gifts, reveling in great joy, and they will react to them with smiles that seemingly would not stop for miles.  As...

THE POWER OF QUESTIONS

ByDr. Mark December 24, 2022 0 Comments
“Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesdaand which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.  Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he...

RESPONDING TO A RESPONSE

ByDr. Mark December 23, 2022 0 Comments
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the...

DEALING WITH THOSE STUBBORN KNOTS

ByDr. Mark December 22, 2022 0 Comments
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NIV) As you may know, I have never been the greatest in tying shoes that stay tied all day.  Repeatedly, almost daily, my effort to master the art of tying my shoelaces is evident by my undone strings.  Many days, my focused effort fails, and I end up with a knot that I believe would challenge the most skilled...

A CHILDHOOD GAME

ByDr. Mark December 21, 2022 0 Comments
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.” (I Corinthians 13:11a The Living Bible) As a child, sitting in the far pews with my peers, we made good use of the blank page, the back page, of the church bulletin during church service.  We had been to Sunday School and gave our undivided attention to the teacher, but being honest, we were not...

MY FAVORTE THINGS REMIX

ByDr. Mark December 20, 2022 0 Comments
“Sing a new song to the Lord!  Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!  Sing, all you who sail the seas, all you who live in distant coastlands.” (Isaiah 42:10 NLT) Usually at this time of the year, as we are surfing through channels with our remote, we come across a replay of The Sound of Music.  We pause when we hear Julie Andrews singing “My Favorite Things.”  And you...

RELEVANT AND REAL

ByDr. Mark December 19, 2022 0 Comments
“Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.” (Hebrew 10:25 The Good News Translation) Not including the opening and closing scriptures, aside from this introductory sentence, this Monday Short meditation, for once, really is short, consisting of two...