Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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I received a letter the other day from a reader who wanted to know more about praying for miracles and how long a person should keep asking. My first response is to ask, “Just how serious are you about receiving your request?” I realize the subject of faith is actually more complex than it seems and one that I have attempted to address in my new book, “Convictions and Considerations” which will be released this summer. There are many people including myself who are seeking and waiting on mira...
There are certain spiritual laws similar to the natural law of gravity that may be difficult to understand yet they are true and important keys to victorious living. The power of words fall under this category and are an excellent addition of knowledge and wisdom to our spiritual life. We can learn that words are much more than simple communication and when spoken in accordance with God’s desires they actually carry the power to motivate, inspire and change circumstances. Even though the name i...
The cross is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world and rightly so; it represents mankind’s hope for eternal life. Does this sound religiously dogmatic? Maybe so, but how could any sincere Christian give reverence to Holy Week without referring to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Billy Graham is quoted as saying, “God proved his love on the cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the entire world, I love you.” To go a step further, the follo...
Many people believe it’s their mission in life to tell everyone what to do and how to believe and I’m sure there have been times when we have been guilty of something similar. There are situations when we feel that individuals need sound advice and this might be true, but it’s also common to forget that everyone has a right to think and live however they want. Christians do not intend to be insulting, but sometimes their message can be offensive and in rare cases, some end up living in isola...
I cannot imagine a more optimistic and exciting thought than going to heaven and spending an eternity with God. For those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, this divine promise is a wellspring of joy which confirms that our trials cannot be compared to the glory that awaits us. We should be inspired to fasten this covenant vow to our bathroom mirror so that every morning we can be reminded of God’s love and rejoice for the opportunity to not only know him in this life, but to w...
When we hold a tiny baby in our arms, do we consider how devoted they will be to God, or do we just see the natural and physical possibilities? As Christians, we have the opportunity to become as close to God and spiritually sensitive as we desire with the potential to discern wisdom that is hidden from our earthly understanding. An important question is how many people, including all those tiny babies, will make the most important decision to follow this type of lifestyle? I realize it’s a s...
There is a beautiful passage found in John chapter 20 that is a wonderful example of how much God loves us and wants to encourage us. The friends and family of Christ were gathered together after his horrific crucifixion and were still grieving over his death when all of a sudden, he appears in their midst! Even though they remembered how he had promised to return I’m sure they were still awestruck. Jesus stretches out his hands and reveals his wounds, and of course, they are overjoyed to see h...
Our destiny is the core of our purpose and constantly urges and drives our responsibility to make sure we are doing everything we can to accomplish our mission. This divine calling fuels our thoughts and imaginations as we ask God to help keep us going forward and to never give up. Once we discover our vision our goal will not be easy. Dreams and faith go hand in hand. May we also consider that working a temporary job might be necessary in order to support our family while we are developing our...
Is God always happy? Well, let me see, this is an unusual question but I would say probably not. Since he is not made of flesh we assume that he does not have emotions like us. But, on the other hand, we read about his demonstrations of compassion and anger, so I guess this is still up for debate. It is my opinion that some things please him and others cause him disappointment and most of it is associated with the way people live. So, what do you think makes him happy? Well, again we have the sc...
We have learned since childhood about the blessings of being protected. Remember when wewere in the arms of our mom and dad, it seemed the dangers of the world could not reach us. Now that we are grown, we appreciate our home that gives us shelter from the elements and provides us security against whatever that might want to harm us? But of all the things in this world that can provide a sense of safety and defense, there is nothing that can compare to the power and authority of God. Psalm 23:4...
Difficult times are not something we enjoy going through, in fact, we usually try to avoid even talking about them. When trouble comes, the first thing we ask is why is this happening and if we are not cautious, we can easily be drawn into a full-blown mental, emotional and spiritual breakdown. You would think as many of these storms that we have experienced, we would be learning how to handle them, but for the most part, we are just as shocked and confused as all the times before....
Life is filled with thoughts and ideas. Many spend their time trying to keep busy because they do not want to think about what God expects from them. The strategy is to live in a state of distraction so their conscience will never have the occasion to pause and ponder about the true meaning of life. Everyone is unique and that's what makes life interesting, but I was thinking the other day about how many are always on the go and never sit still for a moment unless they are forced to stop. Somewh...
A brand-new year is here and I’m excited to see what the Lord has for us! Keeping Christ at the center of our thoughts takes a great deal of discipline and determination, but so does everything else we really care about. It comes down to how serious we are about knowing God and how willing we are to give him total control of our life. Whatever we become involved with, he simply wants us to listen and obey his instructions which is the reason we are here. If we abide under the shadow of his w...
Christ is called Emanuel, which means, “God is with us” and we are so grateful that he came to save us. Yes, we enjoy the nativity and he was once a baby, but he’s not a baby today. He was born, lived, and was willing to be crucified because he loved us more than anything in the world. Whatever you are going through today, be encouraged to know that God wants to be with you and is more than able to take care of you. He is El Shaddai, God Almighty, The All Sufficient One! Here are seven attri...
I’m sure that most of us have dreamed about accomplishing something but discovered that our goal was not going to be easy. Some individuals, maybe yourself, became so determined to succeed that nothing could prevent them from achieving their vision. So, what causes a person to be so passionate and excited about what they love and where do we find this ability to focus and the internal drive to persevere even in the face of incredible resistance and seemingly impossible challenges? Can anyone d...
Growing older is like a train rolling down the track, and no matter how many botox injections, vitamins, or hair plugs, we cannot stop the reality of our mortality. There is nothing wrong with trying to look young and we agree that dieting and exercise would surely be a healthy and positive lifestyle but the hourglass only contains so much sand. As the days keep ticking away, we are reminded to not put off until tomorrow what we can do today because we are not sure how many tomorrows we will...
Imagine if you were the creator of the earth with all of its breathtaking beauty and gave each living creature the gift of life. For every human, you provided a book of your promises which gives a detailed description of how they are to live. And then, you sent your only son to sacrifice his life and raised him from the dead to redeem the souls of all who would believe. Your invitation to deliver those who would believe from the bondage of sin and welcome them to live with you in heaven forever...
It seems like yesterday that my son and daughter-in-law announced they were going to have a baby, and today I am declaring to the world what a wonderful miracle has happened. The joy of this news was beyond words and the anticipation grew every week until our grandson finally entered the world. I remember seeing him for the first time and must admit, this little man has absolutely captured my heart. He’s not even six weeks old yet, and I am thinking about him all the time. We love to buy him t...
As we are noticing in our ever-changing world, when one person is offended over something, the new social acceptance solution is to stop what we are planning and allow that individual to change or prevent the desires of many. It now appears that new rules of order are being established with the supposed intention of not offending anyone. I understand the idea to try and accommodate everyone with whatever they believe but since we are trending toward a puzzling destination, I’m troubled that our...
Sometimes life is so difficult that we can barely keep it together. All of us have faced serious trials and for those who are Christians, we have appreciated the comfort and peace of God’s presence. As wonderful as this is, we are still often left with unanswered questions and painful wounds that live in the secret depths of our soul. Yes, we have friends and family members who try to encourage us, and we listen to suggestions that try to explain why things happen, but in the back of our mind w...
Have you noticed lately that conflict and disagreement are more abundant than unity? Though the average person would give peace as the answer to what they would like to have more of, we are bombarded with an environment that is filled with arguing, strife and criticism. It seems that some people actually enjoy fighting and bickering as a challenge to see how many disputes and quarrels they can instigate and win. Wouldn’t the world be such a happier place if we could all just get along and try t...
As much as we would like to avoid worry and anxiety, these feelings are just a normal part of our natural emotions. When I say “normal” I’m referring to the everyday aggravations and frustrations that are a part of this journey. Some people seem to be more controlled by these feelings than others, but we will all have our share of difficult times. I’ve thought about whether the world we live in today is more hectic and stressful than the times of our parents and grandparents, but is it the ext...
I had a serious conversation the other day with a middle-aged man and we talked for a couple of hours about God. I've known him for years and we've had these discussions before but I noticed he has become stronger in his opinions which by the way are based on atheism. He is a likeable person, hard worker, great husband and popular. He is also a very talented artist and sculptor and concentrates much of his artwork on the dark world of the supernatural. He has studied Greek mythology and loves...
Memories can be a wonderful place to visit when they are pleasant and filled with peace and joy. On the other hand, not all of our experiences have been good and can be more like a haunted house on a dark and stormy night. We all have our collections of thoughts and our own task of trying to figure out a way to deal with them. As most of us know, there are positive ways and negative ways to handle our past experiences. We can look around and see that many people are not doing such a good job...
It’s no secret there are many different ideas about religion and spirituality. I’ve studied different religions, and even within my own faith of Christianity I have discovered there are many conflicting opinions concerning what God wants us to be and how we are to live. At this time I will limit my views to the Christian faith because that is where I have spent more time in research and also declare my allegiance. I must add that I have not “arrived” at some type of wisdom plateau or to be cons...
