Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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We all have problems occasionally and there are times when we feel like we’ve been punched in the gut. I felt like this a couple of months ago when one morning I went into my office to start the day and my computer would not wake up. I realize hard drive failures are not the worst things that could happen. For someone who writes several hours a day, it’s discouraging to say the least. In the big picture of crisis issues, this is actually pretty far down the list. As I grow older, I want to be...
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” — Genesis 12:1-3 As I reflect on God’s call of Abram, I am struck by the fact that the call came before God made a covenant with Abram, before God renamed him Abraham,...
“Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” — Genesis 3:1-3 This scene between the couple and the serpent might be one of the most famous scenes in all of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is well known even by many who don’t see the Bible as sacred writings. Often when I reflect on this story, I remember o...
Division. No, I’m not speaking of a function of mathematics. And I am not speaking of a grouping of sports teams that get scheduled to play against each other. Neither am I talking about a large military unit like an Infantry or Armored division. While elementary school children might not agree with me, none of these definitions of division are a bad thing. We need to learn how to divide one number by another. It can be a source of pride to win one’s division in sports. NDSU has become very successful in winning it’s division champ...
Here it is February already. Can winter really be half over? Didn't we just celebrate Christmas? That seems like so long ago doesn't it. Time does move on and the older we get, it seems as if it goes by faster, but spring is on the way. We've had some very nice weather this past week but those of us who have lived here for any length of time at all, we know there is a lot of winter yet to come. We have just observed Groundhogs Day. Legend would have it that because Phil didn't see his shadow, we will have an early spring. Don't count on it....
I don't know how it all started, but someplace along the line the people on Madison Avenue in New York City decided that it would make an easier sell to have somebody important touting their products. Madison Avenue in New York is to advertising like Wall Street is to stocks and bonds and finance. Personally I don't care who endorses a product. It might be a world-famous athlete, the world's richest person, or the world's most beautiful woman I don't care. If I like something I buy it, if I don't, I won't. Simple as that. I've met some very...
This is from the devotional, “God is in the Manger” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who was imprisoned and executed for participating in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. In an incomparable reversal of all righteous and pious thinking, God declares Godself guilty to the world and thereby extinguishes the guilt of the world. God himself takes the humiliating path of reconciliation and thereby sets the world free. God wants to be guilty of our guilt and takes upon himself the punishment and suffering that this guilt bro...
This is from the devotional, “God is in the Manger” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who was imprisoned and executed for participating in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. God becomes human, really human. While we endeavor to grow out of our humanity, to leave our human nature behind us, God becomes human, and we must recognize that God wants us also to become human— really human. Whereas we distinguish between the godly and the godless, the good and the evil, the noble and the common, God loves real human beings witho...
When browsing in a bookstore, I’m sure certain titles grab your attention and you read the back cover because you want to know more about the content of the book. The same is true for most people who research their direction before they begin traveling on a journey because they want to know about important places of interest. Well, since this is a brand new year, I want to ask some questions that are intended for you to contemplate and decide if this is a direction you dare to go in. My first q...
People believe many different things about God and spirituality. Some are convinced that it is arrogant to assume that we can know God’s will or walk with the Lord personally, however, what most people never stop to consider is how could the creator ask his creation to accomplish something without knowing who he is or what he expects from them? The divine reality of absolute truth includes the concept that God sincerely desires to share his mysteries and to work alongside his children to help t...
This is from the devotional, “God is in the Manger” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who was imprisoned and executed for participating in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ Or ‘What will we drink?’ Or Whatever will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the...
This is from the devotional, “God is in the Manger” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who was imprisoned and executed for participating in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Authority over the world is supposed to lie on the weak shoulders of this newborn baby! (Isa 9:6) One thing we know: these shoulders will come to carry the entire burden of the world. With the cross, all the sin and distress of this world will be loaded on these shoulders. But authority consists in the fact that the bearer does not collapse under the bur...
Do you believe that God intervenes in the affairs of mankind or do you consider the philosophy where he stands back and calmly watches everything happen? I admit that sometimes it seems like he chooses to not be involved but I’m convinced the Bible reveals his passionate desire to personally help and guide everyone’s life. The Deist concludes that the creator allows each person to control their own destiny and the deciding factor in every event is associated with man’s deliberate decis...
Joseph, Mary and Jesus are making the long walk back from Egypt, intending to make their home in Bethlehem, but their plans change. In the fifth dream recorded in the first two chapters of Matthew an angel warns Joseph that Archelaus, the son of Herod, now reigns in his father’s place, and he’s just as dangerous. Take the child to Galilee, the angel tells Joseph. So faithful Joseph avoids Bethlehem and continues north to Nazareth. And that’s where Jesus grows up, fulfilling the prophecy Matthew quotes, “He will be called a Nazorean” (Matthew...
There was a time when like many others, I did not have a clue about the extensive training and dedication of our first responders. As a certified fire chaplain, I now know that battling structure fires is only one of many complex and dangerous situations they encounter. The development of these courageous men and women comes not only with many hours of on the job experience, but also years of classroom instruction and continuing education. Just as in college, instructors teach with PowerPoint...
The very first Christmas began with dreams and visions. In Luke’s gospel we read of the visions of Zechariah, Mary, shepherds, Simeon, and Anna. I have been considering the dreams of Joseph and the magi recorded in Matthew. The fourth dream recorded there is another dream of Joseph’s. We read: “When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead’” (Matthew 2:19-20). We are not su...
I have been considering five dreams in Matthew this Advent season. The third dream is another one of Joseph’s dreams: “Now after [the magi] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13). And so an arduous 200-mile journey, fleeing in the middle of the night, filled with danger at every turn, begins with a dream. It seems that there is a contest happening...
This Advent season I have been exploring the many dreams and visions that surround and are part of the story of Jesus’ birth. While there are a number of visions in the nativity found in Luke, I have been focusing on the five dreams we find in Matthew. In the second dream we encounter in Matthew the magi learn that Herod is a danger to the Christ child and they are not to return to him with news of where the child lives. We read: “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road” (Matt...
This Advent season I am struck by how many dreams and visions are part of the story leading up to Jesus’ birth. Take one of Joseph’s dreams for example: “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. It appeared that Mary had been unfaithful, that she had disgraced Joseph. What else could it be but unfaithfulness? She was pregnant and Joseph wasn’t the father. I...
Change is something I have never been very good at. When it comes to large changes, I tend to have a mini-crisis. Eventually, I will be okay, but each brand-new season almost always comes with a rocky start. An example of this is when I first started college at NDSU. I came into college as a music education major, and I quickly realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I love music but I didn’t want to study classical music for four years. I didn’t know what I wanted to change my major to so when it came to my second semester, I decided to drop...
“Trusting the Father” by Rhianne Bowman One of the big things God taught me in college was how to trust him. I came to college and didn't know what my major was going to be or what I wanted to do with my life and people kept telling me "just trust God, he will lead you in the right direction." I got frustrated because I wanted to trust God but I didn't know how to do that. As I went through my four years of college, God slowly started to teach me how to trust him. It started with small things, my class schedule. He worked everything out, ope...
This past weekend, my staff and I went to Iowa for a conference. This was the second of three conference road trips we will be taking within the next few weeks. It is only the beginning of November, and already I am tired. It is clear this month will be a crazy one. In the midst of these crazy few weeks, God has been teaching me a lot about what it means to rest in him. Our intern class went to Minneapolis to visit the University of Minnesota Chi Alpha. One of the pastors there was talking about the importance of taking a Sabbath and working...
Obedience includes the humble and sincere acceptance of the authority and will of God. It’s not only conforming, but also demonstrating our devotion through our thoughts, words and deeds. The general concept of compliance both in the Old and the New Testament is based upon us yielding our will in order to do God’s will and if we choose to advance in our spiritual relationship with Christ, we can understand a lot more about personal accountability. One of the Greek terms for obedience con...
One of the biggest lessons I have learned in college and continue to learn, now that I am graduated, is learning to wait on and trust the Lord. I think in each season of life, God teaches us something new about waiting for him and how to trust him in each area. My biggest challenge and season of waiting in college was trusting God with choosing a major and what he was calling me to. Once I was called to ministry, it was learning how to trust him with that calling and waiting to graduate so I could enter the ministry field. Now, I am graduated a...
I need to exercise more. No doubt. I know this. Our town (and the internet!) has resources to help me carve out time for exercise. Exercise lengthens lives, and increases quality of life. It helps our brains and our mental health. So why don’t I do it? Maybe, for you, it’s not exercise. Maybe you’re good at exercise. But you have something. You have something you wish was better in your life. You have something you know would be good for you, but you still don’t do enough. Prayer and/or meditation? Morning devotions? Don’t floss enough? D...
