Worthy Words

I’ve noticed how my three young grandsons have become professional questioners? At some point in their development when everything is normal, life is humming along quite nicely, a shift took place. “Grandad, why is the sky blue? How did it get to be blue anyway? Is there something behind it?” “Grandawn, why is yellow called ‘yellow’?” This how they roll now. I remember Art Linkletter, long ago, back in the 1960’s had a very popular daily variety show with a segment titled, “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” took this childlike questioning routine and reversed it to get laughs. Many times the endless questions children ask parents is no laughing matter and can sometimes be a source of irritation and nuisance because kids ask the darndest things. The reason, kids ask their parents questions, is because they believe their parents truly know the answers. In a strange sort of way, it is the asking of the question that shows their greatest sense of faith. This has all kinds of impli...

In Luke 7:44-47 we find these words: Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn't greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. 47 I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love." This text is a story of two people and their interaction with Jesus. One is the dinner host, and the other was uninvited. One was called a teacher; the other called a sinner. These two people both had access to forgiveness. One was a religious leader, the other a person with a sordid reputation. This event ...

Here in north central Texas, there’s little doubt that winter is rarely distinguishable from the fall. We typically expect the weather to be dry having moderate temperatures blanketed by brown grass with few leaves on the trees. This part of the country has a saying; “If you don’t like the weather stick around it will change.” That phrase certainly rings true this season. Winter has been…well, winter-fall-like! There have been cold days followed by rain followed by sleet/snow followed by temperatures in the seventies. In fact, Sunday (today) through Tuesday it’s to be raining again. I’m sure the birds and fish are enjoying this. Me not so much! My mood is beginning to match the damp weather. I find myself longing for a few back-to-back bright sunny days than cloudy dark days. I just feel like it’s time to repeat the well know refrain; “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down!” There are people at any given time, somewhere, experiencing rainy seasons, not climatically prod...