I Will Rejoice!

Though the fig tree does not bud

and there is no fruit on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will triumph in the Lord;

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!—Habakkuk 3:17–18

At times it seems that everything around you is collapsing. Endeavors you invested in may fail. People to whom you minister may disappoint you. The business or career you worked hard to build may cr...

A very dear friend of ours does not have long to live.  Pat and her husband Dennis have been friends since we went on staff at Hayward Church in ‘96.  Pat has a brain tumor, and nothing has been effective in treating it. 

It is times like this that I remind myself of something I learned a long time ago:  We really do not understand death.  Aside from my belief that death is not natural (not the way it was supposed to be), it is universal, but not natural.  Someone at Bev’s older brother...

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

—Luke 9:23

If anyone should wonder what I mean by godliness, saintliness, holiness, I'll explain. I mean a life and a heart marked by meekness and humility. The godly soul will not boast nor show off. I mean reverence. The godly man will never take part in any religious exercise that shows disrespect for the Deity. The cozy, cute terms now applied to God and Christ wil...

A Christian Virtue

Let brotherly love continue. Hebrews 13:1

I am being very frank about this and I hope I am being helpful: Do not ever say you are not right with God because you like some people better than others!

I believe you can be right with God and still not like the way some people behave. It is easy to love those who are friendly; others rub us the wrong way or perhaps they cut us down.

The writer to the Hebrews has appealed to us as Christian believers to "let brotherly love ...

Last Thursday (27^th) marked the 76^thanniversary of the Death of Signalman First Class Douglas Munro. Munro is the Coast Guard’s only Medal of Honor recipient.  He received it as a result of his actions at the Battle at Guadalcanal in the Pacific Theater, during World War II.  Unknown to most people, most of the landing craft (and some of the larger vessels) used in WWII were crewed by Coast Guard Personnel.

Munro lead a team of landing craft (called Higgins Boats) that were shuttling Marines...