When I am discouraged and there is no sign of progress; when people are seemingly insensitive and unimpressed with the great things of Thy word; when people have obviously made the world a fit place for their hearts and not for just their hands; when it seems that preaching is listened to habitually and out of a sense of duty instead of hungrily and out of privilege; when expressions of appreciation are followed with little or no action; and I am discouraged—GOD, HELP ME!

“If you are visiting with us today, we want you to feel welcomed and to know that you are our honored guests.” That’s not just something we repeat at the start of our services because we can’t think of anything else to say. It comes from a genuine interest in our visitors, those who have come to worship God with us. It comes from an understanding that we have indeed have an obligation that extends beyond the borders of our brethren. It comes from the Bible.

The chief priests and the scribes couldn’t believe their ears. After Jesus cleansed the temple and began healing the lame and the blind, the children cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Children! Even back then, they were supposed to be seen and not heard. The rulers asked Jesus if He could hear what they were saying about Him. Instead of rebuking the little ones, He rebuked their leaders by quoting from Psalm 8:2. “Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of i

Confusion is one of the cleverest tools of the Devil. If he can get us confused on a matter he quickly gains an advantage. First of all, confusion breeds discouragement. We get quickly discouraged when we don’t understand things. Second, confusion brings controversy, mainly because misunderstandings grow out of it. And thirdly, confusion breeds disunity. It’s hard to be united on something when everybody’s all mixed up.

I am so tired of television. Except for the sports, of course. TV today has two ludicrous extremes. On the one hand, there is filth of every variety, sex unbridled, violence unchecked, veiled subjectivism, and postmodern philosophy with pride. On the other hand, there is religious broadcasting. It has become ridiculous. It’s nothing but religious fluff; its religion without substance. I am so tired of hearing Joel Osteen offer repeatedly what the Bible does not. And Benny Hinn. What kind of dangling participle is he?

The Bible is about people. As God unfolds His great plan of redemption for man, He weaves in the stories of different men and women used to accomplish that very purpose. And while we may not be told everything we would like to know about them, we have enough information that we can not only learn from their lives, we can relate to them. Just think about how many chapters are devoted to the telling about Joseph, David, Hannah, and Peter. We know them. We see ourselves in them. We name our children after them. They are our heroes.

Thinking, the process of digesting information, is common to man. While it is true that animals—and even plants, for that matter—engage a kind of crude thinking, real thinking is peculiar to man. It’s part of his nature, part of who and what he is.

We live in an age of religious and moral confusion. Morality is in a state of serious degeneration. And instead of being concerned about that degeneracy, society is puffed up with pride about its broad-mindedness, even while it pompously declares its toleration as moral progress. Religion, rather than fighting back against this moral retrogression, has decided to join the broad-mindedness and give in to society’s tolerations. Even today’s worship is, in most churches, merely an religious adaptation of the immoral actions of the masses.

No matter what the calendar says, it’s starting to feel like fall around here. The air has been a bit crisper when I’ve gone out to get the paper in the morning. The smell of coffee has been even more stimulating as it competes with the brisk, gentle breeze blowing outside. And though I’m not ready to start getting my sweaters out or anything, it’s nice to know that we’re closing in on one of my favorite times of the year.

The morning sun shines in a special way in West Texas. There is a glow about a Spring morning on the South Plains I have not seen anywhere else. I think it’s because of the dust. You can endure a dust storm one day and some of the dust particles seem to get caught suspended in the Spring atmosphere, making the morning glow almost iridescent.