Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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It’s never too late to learn something new Growing older is not an excuse to stop advancing in our faith and our prayers. Confess that you have energy and stamina, a sound mind, spiritual discernment and a desire to live an active life. If you have worries, give them over to God and trust that His promises to protect and take care of you are true. If you feel you’ve lost your sense of purpose, God can help you get back in the race and find personal fulfillment that can restore confidence and feelings of self-worth. When we lose our fer...
The Apostle Paul loved the church in Corinth. It was arguably his favorite group of people he led to faith. He opened a church there, with high hopes of their leadership in passing on the faith. Corinth was a rich mixture of Greek, Hellenistic and Roman influences. Not only culturally diverse, but geographically in a location that connected mainland Greece with the Peloponnese. Many different cultures and people of different religious backgrounds lived there, as Corinth was a hub of commerce and innovation. The gospel Paul brought there was...
I dedicate much of my writing to providing positive and encouraging words of hope and inspiration, but I also must be truthful, we are growing older. I apologize for reminding us about that, but instead of all the negative attributes of aging, we should embrace it more like we are a fine wine that is becoming more delightful and appreciated. Those of us who are noticing a few gray hairs and aching joints, relax and count your blessings. It is God that has allowed you and I to be at this place...
This week as I was reading 2 Timothy, I came across a strange passage. For those who don’t know, this book and its companion 1 Timothy are letters from Paul to young Timothy and a must-read for all young pastors. As I read 2 Timothy 1, I arrived at verse 5: “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” This verse struck a chord in me because it hits a very dangerous and emotional issue in rural America today: our youth are leavi...
I wrote this sermonette years ago; but in memory of Gary Mackrill who passed away last week, I’m sharing it again. This week I was reading 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. For those who don’t have this passage memorized, this is where Paul talks about Christians having the "ministry of reconciliation." Now I won’t lie, I was a bit intimidated by this phrase. It sounds extremely burdensome and religious. "Ministry of reconciliation." Then, I look at the passage, and that didn’t help my fear. The passage is a mess. Paul’s words spin around, and back and...
The other day I was speaking with a person I’ve known most of my life, and he asked me if I could go back in time and live my life again, what would change. You would think this would be a question from someone who has maybe suffered and now contemplates how much better life would have been if different decisions had been made. However, this person has been very blessed with a nice family, decent health and more wealth than they will ever be able to spend. It’s true that many people are jus...
E-Free Church How big is your faith? This is the question I feel like Jesus has asked every last human in their heart of hearts. How big is your faith? Is it big enough to believe in Jesus? Is it big enough to move mountains? Is it big enough to believe in the Twins this year? (Just kidding.) This is “the” question of all existence that even the people of the Bible had to face. Often times, I feel like the only reason some people are even mentioned in the Bible is to show how they responded to this question. One of these sorts of cha...
Greetings dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Wow. The summer is just about over. The kids are back in school, all the way from kindergarten to college. Locally, baseball is done and football and volleyball are the sports of the season. The family summer vacations are just memories now, though I imagine there are still a few weeks left for those who have lake cabins. I'm writing this on Monday to make sure it gets to the Transcript in time to make this edition. The weatherman says the temperature may get into the 90's a few days this week. My...
Some of you might keep a close watch on the news, and others may listen occasionally or not at all, but whatever the case, you’ve heard enough to realize that it’s common for worldly information to be relayed from a biased perspective. Worldviews and convictions dictate which side of the fence individuals are on, however; for the Christian, we are realizing that social politics has become a confusing puppet show that distracts us from what God is saying. We should know and trust that He is the...
Greetings dear brothers and sisters in Christ. This won't come as very much of a surprise to those who know me but I enjoy sports. I enjoy watching them at almost every level. One of my favorite sports is college football. When I lived in Colorado, I had season tickets to University of Colorado football. Never missed a game. If there was no home game, I watched them on television. Basketball also, although it wasn't very often, they were televised. I really enjoy watching our local students play. I enjoy going to the volleyball matches and...
I hear from time to time that surely, with all the strife currently happening, the world must soon be coming to an end. There have been, from time to time, people who have predicted the actual day the world was ending. Judgment Day! Christ's second coming! Yep, they knew the actual day it was going to happen. Well, those days have come and gone and we are still here. Our earth has not ceased to exist. Early on when the coronavirus was spreading like wildfire, I had an acquaintance tell me that this pandemic was predicted in the book of Revelati...
I remarked the other day that when I was young, I would hear “old” people talk about how fast time went the older they got. I thought that was pretty silly. Time was time, it didn't change speed. Now, being that I am included in that “old fogy” group, I do indeed understand that time goes by more quickly the older I get. Now here we are nearing the end of summer. How did that happen so quickly? Seems like just last week seed was going in the ground and now it is time for harvest. Teams involved in fall sports are practicing and the summer...
Being honest with God and ourselves In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the perception of contradictory information and the mental toll of it. Relevant items of information include a person’s actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, convictions and things that are going on all around us. Cognitive dissonance is typically experienced as mental and emotional stress when an individual participates in an action that goes against what they know is right. According to this theory, w...
Acts 2 If I were to say the word "church," what would you think? I’m guessing you might think of big brick buildings. Maybe some preaching. I think many of us would probably imagine an organ or piano. When we hear the word "church," we think about popes and pastors, dressed up people and the dreaded offering plates. We think about hymns and singing, Sunday mornings, and potlucks. The word "church" is an extremely loaded term, connected to dozens of thoughts, memories and feelings. Some of these are good, but many of them are at best not h...
Darkness can never overcome God’s light There is a lot of talk today about the reality of a global system of organized evil that controls the governments and social politics of the world. There are many different attitudes, from thinking this is silly, to being consumed with anxiety and stress. Those who pay little attention to the news have learned that ignoring negativity makes them more calm. However, just because someone puts their head in the sand does not mean the problems are not real. F...
Tom Shanklin, an evangelist and author, will be the guest minister for revival meetings at Webster Chapel and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Devils Lake on Sunday through Tuesday, July 30-August 1. The meetings will focus on forgiveness, healing and spiritual refreshing. On Sunday, July 30 at 9 a.m., Tom Shanklin will speak at Webster Chapel, Corner of Robert and 3rd Ave., Webster, ND and 11 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 501 5th St., Devils Lake, N.D. Meetings will continue Sunday-Tuesday, July 30-August 1, at 6:30 p.m. nightly...
'Come and see' Once upon a time, my wife and I were resident assistants at our college. As resident assistants, our job was two-fold. First, we were responsible for the physical life in our respective dorms. Maintain the rules; make sure no one burned the place down, etc. Second, we were also responsible for the emotional needs of the students; make sure freshman weren’t crying their way through first semester, keeping the sophomores off each other, checking on juniors to make sure they were still sleeping occasionally between finals. D...
Humans have always wanted to be happy. It’s the reason and purpose that people live. Why do we work and make money? Because according to our natural instincts, spending money and buying the things we desire is supposed to make us happy. Why do I use the word supposed? Well, we might imagine and hope that certain things can make us happy, but the sobering truth is they usually do not. How many times have we heard that being prosperous does not make people happy? More than we can count. The old s...
Have you ever had someone drop a verbal bombshell in the middle of a conversation? You know, you’re talking to someone and they’ll off-handedly mention “oh, that was when I almost died.” Or “that was right around when the car exploded.” Or “oh, yeah, I had a tumor once. It was the size of a watermelon.” Those sorts of comments that bring a conversation to a screeching halt as you respond with “wait, what?!?!?” As frequently as people do this by accident, the Bible seems to do it even more often on purpose. I found one this morning in James. ...
I recently returned from a long and emotional trip. I enjoyed myself, that is for sure, but as many of you will agree, weddings are exhausting. Family is fun, but can be exhausting. Sleeping in different places is fun, but again, exhausting. I’ve never been what people might call a “homebody,” but certainly there’s a point on every vacation when I can hear the bed at home calling me. This is nothing compared to the soldier I ran into the other day who spent a month training thousands of miles away. Or the soldiers deployed overseas for months a...
Every summer we look forward to the Fourth of July because it’s filled with fun things to do, like barbecuing, picnics, games, family gatherings, boating, camping and fireworks. Also, for many, it’s usually a paid vacation day which is always nice. However, along with the excitement and activities, let us also remember and be grateful for those who have served our country so that we can enjoy our freedom. Independence Day is all about the courage of many Americans who fought against Great Bri...
“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” This is my favorite quote by one of the most forgotten characters of the Christmas story: John the Baptist. Sure, he was at most only a couple of months old when Jesus was born, but John’s entire mission was to prepare for Jesus’ ministry. John’s entire story, from his mother Elizabeth’s song, to his father Zechariah’s muteness is a precursor to Jesus. Because of this, I feel as though he warrants more mention in the Christmas story. John the Baptist, as many may know, was a 1-trick pony...
Growing up in the church, I learned very early on that God was three in one. I remember that in Sunday school, my teacher read a really awesome book to us about the Trinity. It was called "Three in One." It was a bright green book with a drawing of an apple on the front cover. The book taught that in an apple there are three parts – the skin, the core and the white part we eat. Then the book taught us that just like there are three parts of the apple that are all the apple, there are three p...
When we think about the challenges and possibilities of our future, it’s easy to ignore our responsibilities while we imagine someone else stepping into our situation and helping us achieve our goals. Hoping that another person will provide what we need or figure out the solutions to our problems is not a substitute for perseverance. It’s true, there are times when the generosity of others makes a huge difference, but God has given us a sound mind and unlimited potential to be successful if we c...
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a Love is oh so lovely Most of us recognize this passage as the most common Scripture read at weddings. And rightfully so because it is so fitting. Weddings are lovely, and so is love, as described he...
