Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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As I reflected on Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, one of our assigned readings for Sunday, Sept. 1, I noticed that the writer of this letter (or sermon?) was nearing the end of the message. It’s no secret that last words have real power, so it was often the case in this type of communication for a writer (or speaker) to begin exhorting the readers (hearers) to live in the proper ways in response to what was written (spoken) earlier in the message. The writer of Hebrews is no different. The author exhorted, urged, charged the listeners to a style of l...
You have probably heard this a thousand times already, but where has the summer gone? Wasn’t it in just the last couple of weeks I wrote an article on the kids getting out of school and people going on vacation? It sure seems like it. Now the kids are back in school, some happily and some sad. The same goes for the teachers I suspect. On the positive side, if your summer was a little on the boring side, we have the football and volleyball seasons starting for our entertainment. It will be fun to cheer them on again this year and I look f...
Rain. We love it. It is needed to grow our crops. Oh, there may be some irrigation on a small scale here and there but for the most part, our farmers here need the rain. I must admit, agricultural purposes aside, I do like the rain. Even as I write this sitting at my desk, there is a very light drizzle happening right outside my window. The other day when I got home from the office I was in my recliner reading and listening to a gentle rain. It wasn’t storming or blowing, just enough so that I could hear it. Yes, I know it is going to make t...
We all love to sit down to a good meal. Whatever our favorite food, we really look forward to enjoying the things we love. After our appetite is satisfied, it doesn’t take but a few hours and we are hungry again, but we seldom consider that our spiritual life functions in much the same way. For those who follow God, they have been given a new spirit which loves to spend time reading and praying, meditating, being grateful or just enjoying his presence and this is how we absorb our spiritual n...
It was to my great happiness that I spent the last week of July in Colorado. It seems that whenever people get together at funerals, there are a number of people that say, “we need to get together sometime just for fun, not for a funeral.” Well, that’s exactly what we four brothers did. There were five of us originally but the oldest died a few years back. We said the same thing while we were in the hospital saying goodbye to our older brother. Well, we finally did it. We got together just for fun. We missed our sister of course who couldn’t ma...
Freedom. Yep, that word sure sounds good, doesn't it? Of course, freedom can mean different things to different people. Here we are, in the last of the summer months, the children are still out of school and free from classes and homework, but not for long. For the most part, family vacations are over and parents will have also lost their freedom from the daily grind of work. However, we're not free from our responsibilities to our children or spouses, and others in our care. We are free to go wherever we wish, in our free time but if we are...
Deloris Esther Omoth, 93, of Williston, formerly of New Rockford, passed away peacefully on July 21, at Bethel Lutheran Nursing Home in Williston. The funeral service was held July 27 at First Lutheran Church, New Rockford with the burial at the Prairie Home Cemetery, New Rockford. Pastor Mindy Meier officiated with special music provided by Debbie Omoth and Mary Ellen Rue. Casket bearers were Dale Hogan, Mike Hogan, Kevin Omoth, Jim Omoth, Ken Erman and Eric Longnecker. Ushers were Roger L...
Ross Joseph Watson, 90, Fargo, N.D., died Thursday, July 11, 2019 at Bethany Retirement Living on 42nd street in Fargo. Ross (Jack) was born on July 22, 1928 to Charles and Hettie Watson. Ross grew up on the family farm in Maxbass, N.D. with his four siblings: Dorothy, Charles Jr., Ronnie and Connie. He graduated from Maxbass High School in 1946 where he excelled in athletics. Ross continued his studies at the Gayle Institute in Minneapolis focusing on telegraphy. He began his career working...
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...
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit with a nice elderly lady and she was sharing with me about her health issues and other concerns. Suddenly she stopped and wanted to know if she could ask me a serious question. I said of course, and she proceeded to relay that she felt silly asking me about salvation, especially with her being a church member since she was a child. Her question was, “How can I really know I’m going to heaven?” I do not believe this is anything to be embarrassed about...
"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...
Those of us who are married have learned the closer we are to our spouse the more sacred and meaningful our love becomes. When we listen, laugh, cry, reveal our most secret thoughts, hopes and concerns, this is an important part of learning to trust and know them. Likewise, this is also how we grow in our personal bond and adoration with our Lord. We come to Christ with as much sincerity as a human can have as we lay our head on his chest and are surrounded in his perfect peace that passes all...
According to current census calculations, the population of our planet is rapidly approaching 8billion people. Along with this massive number, we know there has never been a time in history when this many individuals occupied the earth at the same time, but we can also agree that we have more philosophies, opinions, and worldviews than ever before. This, in turn, brings us to a point in time where our arguments and conflicts have created a more difficult atmosphere to acknowledge what we...
“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...
I’m sure you will agree that most of us humans have very peculiar and quirky personalities. It’s strange how we are easily influenced and persuaded in certain things, and stubborn as a mule about others. When it comes to admitting we are wrong in our views or that we are heading in the wrong direction, it doesn’t take long for us to reveal our contrary and rebellious attitudes. Most people seldom say it out loud, but are content with the way they believe and hope that everyone will leave them...
I realize that this is giving away my age somewhat, but way back in my youth a rock and roll group by the name of The Rolling Stones came from England to tour the U.S. The “English Invasion,” a phrase eventually coined by the media was just beginning. The Beatles could be honored, or blamed depending on your point of view, for the phenomenon. The “Stones” weren't far behind them. What is hard to believe is the Stones are still touring world-wide after all these years. With the lifestyle they led, one would think they would never have lasted....
Summer is here. For the most part, the crops are in the ground, and a lot is already poking up through the dirt. We have fields of green instead of the various shades of brown, black and gray that we were getting so tired of seeing. Some of the row crops still need to be seeded, but each day we get closer and closer to being done. And we're hoping we will see a little rain soon. The kids are home from school. Backyards, baseball fields, and swimming pools have taken over for the classrooms and gym. A song recorded quite a few years ago by Nat...
Dare I say it? Is spring finally here? It sure looks like it and I am glad as I'm sure most of you are also. Late May and early June seems to pretty much belong to the children. They are going through final tests for the school year. There are concerts and award nights, state contests in various academic endeavours as well as athletic events. There are graduations and often times, accompanying open houses. Not only are there school events, there are also church related events. Sunday schools have their last classes for the season as well as Con...
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...
Do you remember that old song in vacation Bible School that said, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart?” Well, I do agree that humanity is searching as hard as they can to find contentment and desperately longs to discover peace, but rebellion and the lack of knowledge is preventing them from finding it. What type of knowledge are you talking about? Spiritual understanding and holy wisdom about God and His instructions. In the first part of Hosea 4:6, the Lord declares, “My p...
I have a few antique clocks and for those who are somewhat familiar with these fascinating machines, you also know what a frustration they are to keep running. Recently, I was having problems with a grandfather clock and after a few weeks, I was being exposed for my lack of knowledge and ability when it comes to working on them. I can do some tweaking and occasionally I’m rewarded with a bit of luck but more often than not I turn to an older gentleman who lives in my community and depend on h...
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...
