Mental Musings

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So the saying goes. Most everyone believes this saying, even if they do not live by it. Just think of how often you yourself have rolled your eyes at a drug addict or a thief or a tax cheat and thought Will they never learn . Considering how many people seem to always live in the past, you would think more people would love history. We like to post Throw Back Thursday photos. We love to bring up the wrongs that others have done even as far back as their childhood. We love to talk about the good ol' days. Yet we never seem to learn from the past. I loved history: all those wars and diseases and kingdoms and more wars. I have always found different cultures to be interesting and loved learning what made them tick. This love of history led me to get my graduate degree in Music History. This love of history has led me to purchase study bibles and commentaries so I can better understand the historical context of ...

As a child I remember running to the local 7-11 with a quarter in my hand. That was my monthly allowance. I worked hard to get that quarter: push mowed our lawn, used a hand trimmer around the house and driveway, raked leaves, took our the trash, dried the dishes and put them away, and more.  All of that work has just paid off and I was about to reward myself with as much candy as I could stuff in my little pockets. But as I stood there in front of the penny candy with that quarter in my hand, I became the quintessential kid in a candy store: frozen with indecision. So much candy. I wanted it all, but I only had enough for some. I had to choose. Recently we visited Lolli and Pops in the Westfield Mall in Annapolis and it brought back memories of my childhood. They took us on a personal tour giving us samples of dozens of different, unique, and exquisite candies. Thousands of varieties of sweets all in one spot. How do you choose one from among them all? But if it ...

There are many places in our world where Christians face monetary and physical persecution for their beliefs. The more I read the news, the more I am convinced that the United States is moving toward that direction. It may be many years before Christians in the U.S. face physical persecution, but some have already faced fines, subpoenas, and even possible prison sentences for failure to pay for abortions or support homosexual marriage ceremonies. Christians all over the world need to be ready for persecution. Even if you never experience persecution, you will experience difficulties. When it happens, it will be easy to feel that you have been abandoned by God. You will wonder why God allowed this to happen to you when you were only doing what He called you to do. Even Job, the servant of renown, felt abandoned by God. For most of my life I heard pastors teach that even Jesus felt abandoned by God. They point to his cry from the cross when he shouted: Eloi, Elo...

Have you ever felt as if life were completely out of control? My family is in the process of unpacking all of our stuff after a move across state and I can tell you that we feel boxed in. As soon as one box is empty we toss it to the side to start on another. Before long we have a pile of empty boxes in the way. Several times I have been trapped by boxes and could not even get out of the room. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 1 Corinthians 9:26 (ESV) There is an old saying that men are fixers. If it is broken, we must find a way to fix it. Some say that we are conquerers. We have this innate desire to conquer, subdue, control, and fix things. If we cannot fix it, we feel weak. There is an old saying that women like to fix others. They can look at anyone and tell you what is wrong with them and what they should do to become a better person. When that person will not change according to the prescribed plan, women feel frustrated. Th...

I don't like to feel out of control. I believe that everything should have its place and I like for those things to be in their proper place. I prefer to be the one driving unless I am sick or it is a really long road trip. I have a seat in our house that is MY seat and I don't like to turn it over to the boys or the cats. Well, being in control and packing to move to a new town are two things that so not go hand in hand. Yes, I try to keep a little bit of control by organizing where we store the filled boxes, helping the boys fill their boxes up rather than leave a lot of empty space, marking the boxes with descriptions of what is inside, etc. But in reality I know that I have lost control. It is a hot mess: complete disarray but with a semblance of order. After a day of packing I sat in my seat and my wife sat in her seat in a room that we have labeled as the adult's room and we watched the most recent episode of Downton Abbey. It was a nice, quiet time  whe...

I suddenly realized that I only did one of my bible reading plans today. So, in the midst of boxes everywhere, while I was feeling overwhelmed and uncertain what to do next, and starting to feel a little panicky about this whole new adventure in our lives, I stopped to complete the final part of my reading plans and this is the verse that the study focused on: Jesus immediately said to them: Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid. Matthew 14:27 And the prayer that was printed for today: Jesus, you know the circumstances and relationships in my life where I'm feeling caught in a storm, uncertain of how to make it through safely. I find such confidence in the thought that You came to me in the midst of these storms, urging me to take courage in Your presence. I am now convinced that God shielded my mind from this part of my quiet time this morning because He knew I would need it this afternoon. While I am excited about this new chapter in our lives, we are defi...

There is a war being waged for the very soul of America, yet many of our churches have failed to even notice that the enemy is en masse right outside their walls. These churches are too busy trying to prevent their own demise. They constantly find themselves engulfed with problems that threaten to swamp them: aging buildings in need of repair, lack of volunteers, pleasing the membership, etc. These churches continue to use a single bucket to bail themselves out while the deluge is about to capsize them. Sadly many of these churches have closed their doors for good. Why? There are many reasons, but I believe that most of it boils down to an aging congregation that would not change to meet the needs of an ever-changing community around them. A recent article by the Barna Group, " 10 Facts About America's Churchless " displays some stark realities that should shake the church to its core: The number of unchurched people in America would make the 8th most p...