May 30, 2025

The more identities a man has, the more they express the person they conceal. ~John Le Carre~

With my 72nd birthday looming next week, I realize I am clearly in the final phase of my last life cycle. Ecclesiastes reminds us that it is so appointed and must be received with grace and dignity. However, I have noticed a sense of nostalgia nestling in my mind, bringing remembrance of things past. During a person’s life, the persona they project changes and takes on contours and configurations as part of the search for significance, but as Epictetus reminds us, "If you look for self-acceptance in others, you will never find it."  I am so thankful that I found God, or that God found me (depending on your theological bent) and gifted me true life and gave me true acceptance. As the Old Testament declared, I am made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) The New Testament describes, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) As age causes reflection and places one in search of lost time, I rejoice that my future is forever, and my eternity is with Him. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

May 23, 2025

Comparison is the Thief of All Joy ~Teddy Roosevelt~

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in the 2025 graduation of Grace School of Theology. In my dedicatory prayer for the students at the end of the service, I reminded them that they should not compare themselves with each other or their ministry opportunities with others. The day before graduation, we had our faculty training day. I do not normally think of myself as “dumb” but listening to some of our faculty revealed to me just how little I know. It is easy to compare ourselves with others and find ourselves on the short end of the stick. But as the apostle Paul reminds us, we are not to compare ourselves with others, but we are to understand who we are, whose we are, and what and how the Lord has uniquely gifted us for service…to Him!  (2 Corinthians 10:12; Romans 12:3-8; I Peter 4:10-11) Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

May 16, 2025

A Day of Endings and a Day of Beginnings

Graduation weekend is always a significant event because it is the commissioning of a new group of men and women who I have invested part of my life into both academically and personally. My hope for them is that they will not teach or preach what the world wants to hear but what one day it will have wished it would have heard. I have tried to educate them to be competent in ministry and exhorted them to be courageous as they do it. Time will tell. As Alan Keyes reminds us, “It is not for us to calculate our victory or fear our defeat, but to do our duty and leave the rest in God’s hands.” Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

May 9, 2025

Some people are going to leave a mark on this world, while others will leave a stain. History will make that determination. ~Eleanor Roosevelt~

While that may be true in the temporal world, it is certainly not true from an eternal perspective. The ultimate determination and the one that really matters is what Jesus declares. The Bible is unequivocal in its declaration that Jesus is the one who will judge and determine what is true success.    Today, success is tied to fame, and fame is tied to celebrity. However, the celebrities of our day are not worthy to be compared with what the Bible describes as true success. The Psalmist describes it (Psalms 1 and 15) Micah defines it (Micah 5) Jesus declares it (Matthew 5) Paul depicts it (Galatians 5) and Peter designates it (2 Peter 1). The final and ultimate determination of the value of a life lived is to be made at the Bema Seat of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Romans 14:10) It is then and there that we will know - you will know- the worth of your investment in this life as it is manifested for the life of the future. In this life we are all given 2 dates and 1 dash. Make the most of the dash. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J. R. R. Tolkien - The Bible proclaims the immutable truth that God’s irrevocable gift of eternal life to all is by His grace, through faith alone. The Bible predicts the immutable truth that God bestows His praise and rewards, or chastisement upon believers based on merit alone.  You will reap what you sow. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

May 2, 2025

“God of our fathers known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle line beneath whose awful hand we hold, dominion over palm and pine. Lord God of hosts be with us yet; lest we forget, lest we forget.” ~Rudyard Kipling~

Rudyard Kipling's famous poem “Recessional,” was written in 1897 to remind a powerful and arrogant England that it is dangerous to forget the One who has true dominion and sovereignty. Hubris is easy to identify as we remember the terrible “Gs” of recent history. The Guillotine, the Gas Chambers, and the Gulags. All a tribute of man’s inhumanity to man. These are the catastrophic consequences when we forget… forget who God is and what He says. The Bible describes both utopian dreams and apocalyptic nightmares. We are not yet experiencing either. But during our stay upon the earth, we are called to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Perhaps Micah 6:8 is a start.   He has told you, O man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Lest we forget…Lest we forget. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred