The kids and I just returned on a long trip with some of our closest friends to visit their family in South Dakota and Minnesota. We had a great time. Beautiful weather, definitely cooler than Texas, and it was great to see everyone. Plus, the kids and I got to see a part of the United States that we have never seen.

We mainly stayed in South Dakota because that is where my friend’s parents live. One of the many things I admired during our stay was their garden. They have a real gift in raising one of the most productive gardens I have ever seen, rows and rows of all kinds of vegetables

I have found out in my life that nothing comes easily. I must push myself to reach any goals. If I wanted to make a great grade in school, I not only had to study, but I had to rewrite my notes from the class to reinforce what I learned. Sometimes it gets rather discouraging to always have to work hard to reach a goal. Sometimes I find myself wanting to give up because I’m tired of having to always climb uphill, never reaching the summit. It is also tempting to think that others have it easier, but I must not let the few who “appear” to have an easy life cause me to become frustrated with my own.

No one out there has an easy life. One guarantee we have, other than death, is that we will face tribulation in this life (John 16:33). We all will face various trials, especially when we are trying to reach our goals. The thing is, we cannot let trials and setbacks win. We have to be willing to work hard.

This one characteristic of love, to not take inventory of past evils, is really shown in the prodigal son story. I know that the majority of you know the story; if you don’t, it is found in Luke 15. I want you to notice the context that is going on when Jesus tells the story. Sinners and tax collectors were coming to hear His teachings, and the Pharisees and scribes were murmuring in the background, getting angry that Jesus was welcoming sinners. What were the Pharisees and scribes doing? They were taking account of the other people’s sins and holding it against them. So, Jesus rebukes their lack of love by telling them parables, and one of them is about the prodigal son.

Why are Christians so quick to judge the world? Why do some become even hateful towards the world? Don’t we realize that we are not perfect either, and that all of us “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23)? Seriously, right now the world is ruled by Satan (1 John 5:19). It is not ever going to be a righteous place until God’s Kingdom overthrows the current ruler. Therefore, the world will do only what the world knows.

I do not think that it is healthy for us to get so wrapped up in what the world does. It is not our job to throw stones at the world. 

This week I saw a news article that I am glad I didn’t miss.  I don’t watch the news on a regular basis because it usually isn’t edifying, but thankfully, I read a news article that was very much edifying.  It was about Charleston, SC and how they reacted to a horrendous attack on their community.  Their way of fighting back against violence was beautiful.

Many acts of violence have happened over the years.  I don’t know if it is on the rise or if it is because of all the media coverage. I am not a statistician, so I can’t mathematically and scientifically figure out if we have become more violent or not, but the fact remains that we do live in a violent and evil world.

As we assess the panorama of the Church of God groups, The Church of God International (CGI) is often tagged with the label “liberal” while others are known as "conservative." In a recent conversation with a fellow minister, this topic came up and we discussed both the misfortune and misuse of these labels.

While it is not right to label each other in this way, given that it does happen, it is important for us to understand why it does, what these terms really mean and how a proper understanding of them is reflected in the application of one of the cornerstones of our Vision, that of being “The Safest Place.” 

Most of us have been victims of it, and most of us have probably caused it, a stink with our tongues in the form of gossip. It is so commonplace that we probably do not even realize we are gossiping sometimes. We just think, “I’m just telling someone what happened.”

The question is, are we more prone to tell others about negative “happenings” or positive ones? Here is the hard truth, if we aren’t willing to say exactly what we are whispering in front of the person that we are “discussing,” then it is most likely gossip.

It’s dangerous to Christianity when people want to add things to the instructions that we’ve already been given in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. One example is where people want to add holidays to Christianity that aren’t found in the Bible when God has already given us His days to celebrate. Another example is where some religious leaders want to create a hybrid religion where they combine the teachings of Jesus with the teachings of first-century Judaism. And when they do this, they’re creating a hybrid religion.

Have you ever had a day like this: you wake up feeling great, energetic, ready to conquer the world, but an hour after getting up, your kids start arguing, something breaks, you find a bill you forgot to pay, and the next thing you know you realize you’re running late? Then, all of a sudden, that wonderful mood you were in switches like a light bulb from light to dark, from good mood to bad mood? 

I loved to daydream about my future when I was younger. When you are young everything is possible, so my dreams were endless. Unfortunately, though, as I have aged and “reality” happened, I have lost the ability to dream big. Now, I’m not about to preach some “get rich” doctrine. No, big dreams don’t necessarily mean wealth because what makes people content doesn’t always revolve around money. Being content with much and being content with little is a huge dream of mine. I admire Paul that he was able to live a life of contentment (Phil 4:12). Who wouldn’t want that?