No Mulligan

Now the rule in golf is that you play the ball where you find it, be it in a great spot on the fairway, in the rough, or in the woods (assuming you can find it). If it is impossible to hit the shot, then you must add a one stroke penalty to your score, then you can move the ball to a place from which you can hit it, again within the rules.  Sometimes,

A Sparrow with a Message

The day was an ordinary day in mid-May, 2003, a partly sunny day as my wife, Olive, came to a stop light at Cook’s Corner. As she waited for the light to change, her heart was heavy with concern for the situation her family was facing. Her husband was battling a severe depression, for about 2 years at that point, with little indication that he was getting better. He had just lost a good paying job at a local Christian radio station a little over a month ago, the severance pay had ended with no job prospects in sight and her heart was crying out to the Lord. Feeling discouraged and all alone she flooded her Father’s throne with her tears and her questions. “Where are you, Lord?”

If You Only Knew…

Have you ever had any of these thoughts: “I don’t dare be who I really am because then nobody will like me” or “If people really knew me they wouldn’t like me” or “I wish I knew who I really was, I have worn different masks so long I don’t even know anymore.” I have been there, and it is a lonely, exhausting way to live.

Led Zepplin Had It Right and Wrong

On November 8, 1971 the group Led Zepplin introduced the song “Stairway to Heaven” to the world. It quickly became a tremendous hit and has remained a favorite of “rock and rollers” for almost 50 years. The song has occultic themes and a very dangerous message that most who hear it probably don’t even realize. I am not going to quote the whole song here but there is one line in the song that deserves our undivided attention because it strikes at the core of this life and the next. Before I share that line I want to tell you a little story.

How Deep is God’s Grace Part 1

What is the first thing you think of when you sin against God? I tend to think… “boy! He must be really mad at me!” Or sometimes, in my worst moments…”is God going to reject me now?” Maybe you’ve had these or other thoughts, maybe even worse ones. Most of the time I believe these kinds of thoughts are from the evil one; although, it must be noted that if we deliberately, “in your face, God”, sin against Him, He may be warning us to repent or face His divine discipline. Discipline, mind you, not rejection.