Word&Way Voices

By the time you read this, an area in Newton County, Arkansas, once known as Dogpatch USA, will have been auctioned off to the highest bidder. After years of weather damage and decay, the former amusement park will be sold off for what it is — a property in horrific disrepair.

I’m not sure why my water bottle sticker prompts questions. Perhaps it’s the question that draws them in. They’ve heard the phrase “what would Jesus do” many times, but "what would Dolly do?" is a new question for them to ponder.

A Sunday when we didn’t have enough people in our building for a pickup basketball game turned out to be a Sunday on which our ministry may have been broader than it has ever been.

The Hebrews were instructed to observe a Sabbath year every seven years and a Jubilee year every 50. Even a simpleton such as I can see how complicated those instructions are.

Pastors and congregations, fasten your seat belts, secure your crash helmets, and get ready. The 2020 elections are coming, whether we’re ready or not.

Most of us take our hearing for granted. If you doubt that, let me ask when was the last time you thanked God for your hearing? Did you ever do so?

January marked the 50th anniversary of my brother Dennis’s death. The sheer volume of days, months, and years is staggering. But it’s more than that. I’m amazed that after five decades, the dull ache of loss persists.

One of the challenges followers of God experience is that, although God is sovereign, God sometimes allows things to occur that we do not understand, and life may not go the way we envisioned. But even amid those realities, God is still in control.

As Christians, we tend to view our sin as personal, to be eliminated as much as possible throughout our lifetime so that we may walk closer with God. Our Sunday School teacher, Nat Burns, used to remind us years ago: “Keep your sin list short and your prayer life long.”

Jeremiah 23:1-6 holds many similarities to Game of Thrones. Jeremiah’s context is filled with kingdoms that were at odds with each other, and political and military jockeying by multiple kings who either wanted power or were afraid of losing it.