December of 2020 is not only a time to eagerly await turning the calendar, this is the opportunity to take our final exam. How have we conducted our lives, and how will we prepare for the coming days ahead?
It is worth noting Rodgers and Hammerstein didn’t include final exams in the lyrics of “My Favorite Things.” I endured examinations as a student, often murmuring along with fellow […]
If you are an elder or staff leader in a local church, this blog post is intended for you. If you serve on the board of a mission work, I hope this reaches your desk. Likewise, if your service includes the responsibility for directing a Christian camp, campus ministry, or nonprofit organization, I hope you will carefully think about the important issue of the future of those […]
Today, I want this post to be different. First, we predominantly focus on financial issues, but today let’s look at something more important than money. Second, I want to talk specifically with the men who read. This isn’t sexist, but we need more men to accept a challenge left for us in Scripture. The challenge presented applies to women as well, but I will leave it for […]
Forty-eight years ago, my new bride and I moved onto a college campus outside Knoxville, Tennessee. Set among the hills along the banks of the French Broad River, the beauty of the area and the clarity of the blue sky easily awakened the mind and excited the senses. It was a seemingly ideal location to study and prepare for a life of Christian ministry. Nearly thirty years […]
We can hear the voices of concern, “Confidently charge into the future? With all this uncertainty? How can anyone be confident about the future when France, Germany, and London have all entered month long lockdowns, and COVID infection numbers are on the rise in the USA? How can anyone charge into the future confidently when the supporters of Presidential candidates attack one another with ferocity unremembered from […]
One of the famous segments of the 1987 play and 1989 movie Driving Miss Daisy is the trip to Mobile to celebrate Miss Daisy’s brother’s birthday. Holding firmly to the map in the back seat, Miss Daisy became confused, told Hoke to make a wrong turn, and they found themselves far off the planned route. Even now, with GPS units built into a phone or automobile, we […]
Xenocrates said, “I have often repented speaking, but never of holding my tongue.” With due respect to the leader of the Platonic Academy, I can identify a few times in my life when I have held my tongue. There are a few, precious few, times when I believe I should have spoken further during a discussion. In defense of Xenocrates, I carry far more memories of speaking […]
Planning for the future for those in their 50’s may seem easy, but it isn’t! People in this general age group know they NEED to get really serious about their future, but they live in the “land of a 1000 obstacles” to borrow from the title of the 1960’s R&B/Hip-Hop song. There are family demands as children graduate, move into their first career, marry, and buy their […]
We are asked that question frequently. Sometimes, it comes from those who have saved little to nothing for the future. Occasionally, it comes from those who are seeking investment advice about how to manage their savings and investments. Today, we are offering thoughts on what those in their 60’s should be thinking about and doing to plan for the future.
The most important question for someone 60+ does […]
Does MY life matter? This question is obviously on the minds of many across the USA and around the world. We can, without equivocation say, “Yes, YOUR life matters to God…and subsequently to many others.” Still, that is getting ahead of ourselves just a bit.
As the Passover celebration in Jerusalem drew closer during the Biblical era, Hebrew people from across the Levante would gather for the celebration. […]