lifestyle-religion

Genesis 33:1-4: Now Jacon looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him. So, he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on ahead of them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

There is an ongoing theological debate about predestination. One school of thought asserts every human is destined in advance to either know Jesus or not to know Him. The other camp advocates the supremacy of our free will, saying everyone has the choice to decide for themselves.

You hear the cliché “God’s timing is perfect” frequently in our circle of church-going people. The Bible doesn’t say this specifically, but a number of scriptures attest to it. The concept points to the timeliness of God, how he’s never too early and never too late, but like Goldilocks, is always juuuust right.

DISCLAIMER: some readers may find these thoughts irreverent and challenging. Sorry.

My fellow church member friends and associates, please put down your stones. I know, I know, my even suggesting prayer is problematic becomes grounds for blasphemy. Please bear with me. I’m going to speak to the question foreigners to faith ask about why we pray. You know, what’s the point of praying?

I’ve gotten old. Funny how it crept up slowly, yet arrived suddenly.

There’s an old saying, “the proof is in the pudding.” The expression means the quality or benefit of something is determined by trying it, and then evaluating the results.

What a day to be remembered! When I first heard about the eclipse, I pictured something like the one we had seven years ago. As the days came close I thought of the nearby towns flooded with thousands and even millions of people. Though I knew better, I imagined what it would be like, should there have been a mistake and no eclipse would come to capture the attention of spectators across the line of fire.

Have you ever lost your wallet? I have.

Did you see the solar eclipse this week? Really remarkable. The effect this phenomenon had on people varied greatly. Some were elated and cheered like it was a game-winning home run. Others were subdued, reflective, and even emotionally tearful. Many stood with mouths agape, dumbfounded, without words to describe the marvel of the moment. Some found it to be a spiritual epiphany. And there were throngs entrenched in busyness, unable to observe the enormity of our massive sun being masked by the earth’s little lunar sphere.