Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:15 One of the things I’ve learned lately is how sin starts small. Perhaps it’s different for others, but for me, I was surprised to discover that my sin issue could be traced back to a point when I made a small decision. Not a huge, life-hangs-in-the-balance sort of decision, but a small one. The kind of decision that we make dozens of every day. When I look back at that very first moment, that very first choice where I first vee...
“The Centurion’s Faith” Over the course of his three years of ministry, Jesus interacts with many different people. Obviously, religious leaders, fishermen and his disciples; but also prostitutes, tax collectors and many other people. Some of them had faith in Jesus, some did not. But across the board, only once does he seem surprised by a person’s faith. That person was not a religious leader, or a faithful blue-color fisherman, or even a Jew, but a Roman soldier. A man whose name is not recorded, but rank of centurion is. The story goes th...
Christians like to talk a good game. We love to brag about how this is a Christian nation. We champion conservative causes. We claim victories when abortion laws get passed. We’re proud of how in North Dakota, Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings are still kept mostly clear for church activities. Let’s be honest, we consider New Rockford to be a by-and-large Christian community, don’t we? I suppose I can’t speak for the world, but I can say from my life experiences, Midwestern Christians have a lot of pride. And the root of that confide...
These last couple of weeks have been tough for a lot of us. While few (if any) of us have actually been touched by COVID-19, we’ve seen our schedules go up in flames. High school events, church services, community events, family gatherings, all sorts of things have been sacrificed on the altar of social distancing. The upheaval has been wide spread and dramatic. In this time of clear schedules and ‘shelter in place,’ I want to point to Jesus’ words as recorded by Matthew. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust des...
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 For years, it has been easy to do as the author says and continue to gather together and encourage one another. Our culture almost shuts down on Sundays, and there are many churches to choose from. Most of the churches utilize the efforts of paid professionals, comfortable church buildings, and plenty of chairs to sit in....
I saw a bear once. It was the summer I worked at Boy Scout camp and I was ambling half-awake down the trail to breakfast and there, running down and then across my trail was a black bear. I was so startled, I didn’t react; I just stood there stupidly processing what I had just seen. After being surprised by a bear, that was one morning that I was FULLY awake before breakfast. I think I was shaking as I continued down the path. I remembered my boy scout training that told me that black bears aren’t very dangerous unless it is a mama bear wit...
God weighs the spirit “I’m a good person.” “I do good things.” These are phrases I hear tossed around quite a bit. Especially at funerals, I frequently hear people justify why they should be able to get into heaven by stating that they ‘are good people’ or that the deceased was ‘a good person.’ It seems that it is natural that when we are faced with whether or not we are ‘good’ people, we can’t help but judge by what we think. The measuring stick, by which we determine whether or not we’re going to make it into heaven, is apparently in...
"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20 The book of Proverbs is a book of advice from Solomon, to his son. The son is not named, but presumably Solomon desires for his all of his sons, including Rehoboam who will be king once he is gone, to have the wisdom to lead well. Amongst the many nuggets of wisdom, is this little jewel. Solomon encourages his son to pay attention to who he surrounds himself with. He points to the truth that our personal wisdom is revealed by who we cho...
“He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.” Proverbs 17:27-28 This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible; and I’m being completely serious. Quite often in my life, I have assumed the opposite of this proverb. Being a wise person has always been a goal of mine and as I’ve gotten older, I have sought to speak and to be heard as wise. I have noticed that people who are wise say wis...
So, I was watching baseball the other day and I noticed something. Some guys get good pitches to hit, and some never seem to. An exceptional pitcher will never leave a pitch up where a good hitter can hit it hard. However, even the best pitchers make mistakes and average pitchers often ‘leave pitches up,’ where the observant and patient batter can crush into the stands. What this means, is that no batter can predict when or if he’ll get a single good pitch to hit; and yet, his team is depending upon him to do the best he can. If he gets a goo...
My wife has been reading through the Old Testament lately and she recently got to the various stories concerning David. She’s read the stories many times, but this time something new struck her. What struck her this time were the other people. The Bible, by necessity, stays very focused upon David and the main characters; but on this read through Erin started to wonder about the rest of the characters. Take David and Bathsheba for example. David summons Bathsheba to sleep with her after seeing her bathe on her rooftop. Bathsheba complies, l...
What is the value of your faith? If you could put a price tag on what you believe, what would it say? If you asked your friends and close family how much you valued your faith, what would they say? If you asked your kids, what would they say? Jesus tells this one striking parable about a man traveling off road. This man discovers a treasure in field. So, what does he do? He sells everything he owns: his house, clothing, animals, everything. Then uses his liquidated assets to purchase the field with the treasure, and claim the treasure as his...
It is a well-known fact that leadership is a difficult skill to master. While most of us feel confident that we are in fact ‘good leaders,’ we’d also jump to rattle off a mile-long list of qualities one has to have in order to be considered a good leader; and each of our lists would look different. While it’s difficult to agree on what makes a good leader, it’s clear that few ever master it. Sometimes, however, I wonder if being a good follower is even harder. Recently I was reading in Judges and 1st and 2nd Samuel and I was struck by the po...
Josiah didn’t have to die. For those who don’t know, Josiah was one of the best kings of Judah. Between his cleansing of the temple, his personal faith, and his destruction of idol altars, Josiah did great things for Judah. So great, in fact, that it inspired God to hold off on his plans to, as God put it: “wipe Judah clean as a dishwasher wipes a plate clean.” Even when he discovered that all of Judah was in violation of their covenant with God, Josiah humbled himself and pushed Judah to do the same. Josiah was the kind of God-fol...
The Evolution of Right and Wrong Adam and Eve made a mistake. Obviously, they made the mistake of eating from the tree; but there was a greater mistake in the bigger choice they made. They chose to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Based upon the tree’s title and the snake’s comments, we’re left to assume that prior to their sin, Adam and Eve could not discern between good and evil. For them, life was made up of one choice: obey/follow God, or not. It seems that they were unable to discern between good and evil separ...
God and guardrails A couple of months ago, my 15-year old-daughter and I were discussing the functionality of guardrails. Around here, we don’t see them all that often, and when we do see them, they’re well off the roads, like on interstate dividers. Rarely in North Dakota do drivers get a close look at guardrails, like others states do in the mountains. Rather, as she asked how they were supposed to work, my mind actually drew on what I remembered from watching NASCAR with my family growing up. NASCAR races are filled with guardrails and cemen...
I have blueberries in my garden. No, I’m not confusing it with haskaps or juneberries (neither of which do not taste like blueberries.) No, I have literal blueberries growing in my garden. If you don’t believe me, give me a call and I’ll show you. Just give me a couple days warning, so I can weed a bit. You’ll be as surprised as when my NDSU extension friend came and took pictures because she didn’t believe me, either. I’m proud of my berries because the truth is, while they are technically growing in North Dakota dirt, I’ve made it as unnatura...
