Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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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...
“Future Grace” When we think about our future and what possible trials could come our way, we tend to focus on our inadequacies. For example, when we think about something tragic happening to our family we often say, “There is no way I could go through that!” Thinking this way is quite natural because until we actually do face impossible circumstances we really do not know how we are going to respond. As we think about future trials, we become aware of how human we are and the limitations of our flesh. However, there is something true that re...
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...
"There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites...
"A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace, in peace for it trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal Rock " (Isaiah 26:3) Last week, the sermonette concluded with the phrase "if we lose sight of the purpose of our great nation that was formed like no other in the history of mankind, we will become consigned to mediocrity like all of the rest." What is our nation's purpose? We find the answer in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence where it states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that...
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...
"A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace, for it trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3 Do you believe that the United States of America is a nation at peace? You probably would not be alone if your answer to this question was no. Our country is one that appears to be deeply divided, and yet this biblical passage from Isaiah gives us a starting point for examining why the United States is not at peace. Perhaps, the nation lacks a firm purpose. It clearly had one, at one point. However, this might have been forgotten. This issue will be dealt with more...
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...
As King David was approaching Bahurim, there was a man coming out; he was of the same clan as the house of Saul, and his name was Shimei, son of Gera. He kept cursing as he came out, 6 and throwing stones at David and at all King David’s officers, even though all the soldiers, including the royal guard, were on David’s right and on his left. 7Shimei was saying as he cursed: “Get out! Get out! You man of blood, you scoundrel! 8The LORD has paid you back for all the blood shed from the family of Saul,* whom you replaced as king, and the LORD has...
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...
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...
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...
We do not have to look very far to find someone that needs a miracle. Many are suffering some type of crisis like health problems, their children, and grieving over a loss, finances, marriage issues, and on and on. When difficult situations are presented, we become sympathetic, but how often do we consider that God may have brought these individuals to our attention so that we can not only pray but to actually intervene and help meet their needs? Instead of just discussing the situation and...
The theme for the last full day of the ELCA youth gathering was "Hope changes everything." In a world where it is so easy to become discouraged, this is a message that we all need to hear. I understand that we all have different personalities, beliefs, values and even ethics. A study of ethics can guide us to understand one another better. In fact, we all fall into different categories based on what kind of ethics we have. For example, I fall into the situational ethics. Even so, I find myself...
In 1903, a family from Arne Township needed to baptize their baby in their home, as there weren't any churches in the area at that time. Rev. J. A. Pederson from the St. Petri and Bethany parishes in Harvey conducted the service. While in the area, Rev. Pederson noticed that some Christian work was needed in this rural area, so he made arrangements to preach at the Arne Schoolhouse. Rev. Pederson conducted the first worship service on record on September 13, 1902 with a good attendance. Julius...
I'm deviating from what I thought I was going to write about this week. My plan was to follow the theme of the ELCA youth gathering I attended in Houston, Texas by writing about grace. However as I reflected on grace, I kept coming back to forgiveness. In essence, you have to lead by grace in order to forgive: to forgive you need grace. There is one thing I want to make very clear about forgiveness. Practicing forgiveness does not mean you should be a doormat. Bullying and domestic violence are not Biblical; Jesus does not condone violence and...
I’ve heard the old saying that “life is not a bed of roses” for as long as I can remember. I understand what it’s trying to convey, but I’ve also thought that it would not really be all that great to lie down on a bed of sharp thorns. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say our journey will have its ups and downs and unfortunately, most of us will experience our share of hard times. Whether it’s a financial worry, a medical situation, family problems, a concern for the world, or just being discouraged fr...
I am sure that many of you can remember when life was not so demanding and filled with anxiety or at least it seemed that way. I was raised in the city so when I had a chance to go to my grandparent’s house out in the country it was like going on vacation. They lived on a quiet overgrown road that came to a dead-end at the Kentucky River and their farm was so remote that when an occasional car would pass by we would stop and stare at it like it was entertainment. I will never forget helping i...
Children are a wonderful blessing! How exciting it is to hold a little baby and imagine the person they will become along with all the great things they will experience and accomplish. These feelings of expectation and happiness are amazing and hopefully will continue as we watch them grow throughout our lifetime, however, as children develop beyond their formative years and into their teens, our excitement often turns to confusion and discouragement. No one is perfect or has all the answers,...
God's Call Changes Everything "God doesn't do stereotypes when it's about call." These are the words Rev. Tuhina Rasche boldly proclaimed at our opening night mass gathering of 30,000 youth and adult leaders for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA) in Houston, Texas. God's calling changes everything! Let me boldly proclaim to all of you, these kids will change everything! That gives me hope-- hope for a world that will one day be less concerned about economic success and more...
As I methodically type my thoughts out to share with you, I am a thousand, if not more, feet in the air with an endless sea of white cumulus clouds below. I hold my breath whenever the plane jolts, shakes, or dips a bit from turbulence. Almost 29 years ago to the day, I was on a bus headed to Dallas, Texas with the youth group from my church to attend the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) youth gathering. It was my first, and I thought last, large youth gathering that I would...
We know that people pray for all types of things and many times I wonder if God takes every request seriously or if he considers some of them unreasonable. For example, I’m sure that at sporting events both sides are praying for victory over the opposing team but I’ve always thought these types of prayers generally fall into the category of the non-spiritual variety. The Bible actually mentions unsuitable attitudes behind our prayers and uses the word, “amiss” which means, flawed, incorre...
