Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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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...
The John Tesh radio show told me about an experiment done on competitive bicyclists. All the participants started by competing in a hot-weather bike ride. Then they were split in half, one group continued to train physically in the hot-weather conditions, and the other group focused their training on mental health, including positive affirmations, learning how to deal with uncomfortable situations while racing. In the follow-up competition, the group who focused on mental training improved their speed and duration by 25%. We’ve all heard s...
Moses declares the Ten Commandments two different times in his lifetime: once on Mount Sinai, just after God freed the Israelites from slavery, and again 40 years later, at the end of Moses’ life, just before the Israelites enter the Promised Land. In this second declaration, Moses says, “It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today” (Deuteronomy 5:3). Moses is saying that these commandments are for those who are gathered there. Is this even true? What about those who h...
I was talking with a Christian brother the other day about how it seems that many people are living in sadness and discouragement when suddenly he made a comment that really caused me to think. He said that according to his studies about the Christian life, it seems to be impossible to be depressed and to walk in the joy of God’s presence at the same time. After our conversation, I continued to ponder this statement and by the way, I do agree with it. I’m not saying that developing an opt...
Genesis 2:15,18,19: The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. Our work, how we spend our days (whether we get paid for it or not) is our calling in life, and each and eve...
by Rev. Doug Nemitz First Lutheran Church New Rockford When I think about our New Testament reading for Sunday, Sept. 29 (1 Timothy 6:6-19), and the ever widening gap between the wealthiest Americans and the poorest, it seems to me that the Christian faith always lives in uneasy tension with wealth. On the one hand, we who follow Jesus recognize that wealth could be seen as a genuine gift from God to be used to bless others. On the other hand, as Jesus recognized in preaching so much about the dangers of wealth, it can be a devious tem...
When it comes to finding our place in this world, let’s consider two categories. The first one I call, “floating down the river.” Picture a scenario of someone napping in a small boat without a compass or a paddle. Having a spectator mentality, they have no map or intentional direction but rather are just hoping for the best. It’s also common for these individuals to throw pity parties from time to time, as a happy-go-lucky lifestyle usually runs into serious disappointments. Often haunted...
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” — Luke 15:1-2 It seems to me that in our rush to get into the stories that attract our interest in Luke 15:1-10, the Gospel reading for Sunday, Sept. 15, we often skip past these introductory statements that set the scene and miss at least two interesting questions. First, why were the tax collectors and sinners attracted to Jesus? Second, why did their attra...
Our assigned Old Testament reading for Sept. 8 is Deuteronomy 30:15-20. I find these words fascinating as we get to listen in on a few of Moses’ concluding words to the Israelites as they were about to enter into the Promised Land. After 40 years in the wilderness, the people of God are finally ready to cross the Jordan River, and Moses’ final words urge the people to do nothing less than “choose life.” This is huge. A constant theme in the book of Deuteronomy is that there is a loving God, and this God invites our love. It seems to me, as...
