Peace – Page 2 – Pathway Journey

March 13, 2024March 13, 2024

Stable Stool in a Wobbly World

I know you have eaten in a diner where the table was wobbly because one leg was a little short (and you probably put a wad of a napkin under it.) Do you know that a three-legged stool will never wobble? A carpenter puts a diagonal brace in a structure because he transforms a rectangular object into two triangles thus stabilizing the structure.

When rock climbing or climbing a ladder, the safest way is to always have three points of contact—move only one foot or hand at a time.

You see where I am going with this, right? Something of “threes” brings stability. A three-legged stool never wobbles.

“Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NKJV).

In the wobbly world we live in, let’s look at the three legs of stability. In a stable society, we need three points of contact to stay secure. We need faith, family, and community.

March 7, 2024March 6, 2024

What Has Changed? Times or People

Recently when I was preaching, I said something that really resonated with my audience. The statement I made was this: “Often people will say that times have changed. But that is not true. Times have not changed; it is people that have changed.”

The rural community I lived in as a boy was not perfect. We had a few rough folks living among us. The little farmhouse we lived in had a screen door and wood door with the top third being three panes of glass. It had a lock, but I never saw the key to it. We never locked the front door. We would sleep inside with an unlocked door. In the summertime every window would be raised and only a flimsy screen separated us from the boogey man outside.

February 6, 2024February 5, 2024

My Dentist Said I Was Stoic!

Crazy title, right?

After a lengthy dental procedure where my dentist did a root canal, then ground it down for the crown prep, plus filled the neighbor tooth, and ground it down for a crown; he patted me on the shoulder and said, “You’re stoic.” I forgot how long I was in the dental chair, but it was a while. When finished my dentist said it was hard on him and he was amazed that I didn’t move a muscle or make a sound. Perhaps I was afraid to move! Anyway, I was surprised by his comment, thinking maybe it was intended as a compliment.

January 26, 2024March 1, 2024

Looking Into Their Eyes

I have seen some pitiful folks in my time. It is not the ragged clothes I see or their crippled limbs, but their eyes that give me a glimpse of their misery and hopelessness. I believe every person was granted to exist by God; this in itself makes me know that there is dignity in every life.

Many choose to take a path that is not God’s best, but some seem to have it thrust upon them by poverty, abuse, sickness, or where they were born. I have come to know with more awareness and certainty of the dignity of every human being. I know Christ loves them just as He loved the women He saved from a stoning, the demoniac He delivered from legions of demons, and even my wretched soul.

January 4, 2024January 4, 2024

Problems and Such on Social Media

Back in my younger days when I taught high school vocational agriculture (now it is agriscience), we had district ag-teacher meetings about four times a year. I usually left more deflated than encouraged. Talking with my high school ag-teacher and mentor, Mr. Jim Turner, I told him how I felt about the meetings. He laughed and said, “Harry, some of those guys who are bragging about all the things they are doing, are probably not doing half of what you are doing. Just keep your head to the grindstone and don’t let it bother you.” It was great advice, comparison between good or bad is not healthy in either direction.

Today we have social media. Most postings on social media usually fall under one of two categories: how great someone’s life is or the severity of their problems. I am not saying either should not be posted, that is a personal preference and perhaps another discussion for another day.

November 29, 2023November 28, 2023

ILLUSION OF PERFECTION

Perfection is like a dog chasing his tail. He may never catch it and if he did it would hurt. Perfection is that thing we sometimes pursue but never reach.

After almost seven decades on this ball of dirt, many things in my life can be described as in the words of an old Scottish man, “Well, that’a do!” I have come to realize some skills I have tried to perfect ended up with the grade of “B” or a “C”. I’ll just need to live with “that’a do.”

Some things look perfect at a distance. We could name celebrities who looked as if they had it all, but then we were shocked when their lives dissolved into ruin.

November 1, 2023November 1, 2023

Struggling with Surrender

All of us who try to live for Jesus, struggle with surrender at moments in our lives. Surrender to God is not a ‘one time and done’ but a life-long journey. There are times we easily surrender and then we grapple with surrender. I would think that those who do not struggle with surrender to God have already made a dwelling on the other side, in the land of rebellion. If you are struggling, congratulations! At least you are trying.

I think I am a simple man. I like to simplify rather than complicate an issue. In the process, I may at times oversimplify something. I really do not like to quibble over words, but rather concentrate on concepts to live by. So here is my take on struggling with surrender.

I think when people fail to surrender to God, there is one of two main problems at fault. One is outright rebellion where one has the attitude of, “God is not going to tell me what to do.” The other is a lack of faith or trust in God. I would prefer to err with the last one than rebellion which puts a person on the same lane as the devil.

October 11, 2023October 10, 2023

Wars and Rumors of Wars

One source said there are currently thirty-two conflicts around the world. We are most familiar with the smoke of war rising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Hamas invading Israel this week (October 2023) from Gaza. The war in Israel seems to be ramping up as Israel readies to destroy Hamas. We see wars and hear rumors of wars.

President Woodrow Wilson spoke about the Great War (WW1) as, “This is the war to end all wars.” If he could come back today, I am sure he would want some hot sauce to use on the words he would eat. By the way, he borrowed and slightly changed the phrase originally coined by H. G. Wells, a British author, who said, “The war that will end war.” Either version is a cruel joke.

September 7, 2023September 6, 2023

Purpose

I once had a conversation with a gentleman whose career for many decades was a department superintendent of a major manufacturer. His position had a high level of responsibility. He related with regret the times when he took his family on a vacation but had to leave them on location and return because of a work problem.

He did not outright say his career was a regret, but I could discern in his tone, “Why was it so important then, but now it seems almost silly?” Or “For what purpose?” I am quite certain when he retired, he was quickly replaced. By the way, the corporation no longer exists and his physical department is rust and dust.

Someone without a purpose is a lost individual. True purpose comes from somewhere outside of us. If we are just a blob of amino acids sailing through space, how could we have a true purpose? If there is no eternal purpose, then there is no purpose (or a very short-lived purpose).

May 24, 2023May 29, 2023

Shadow of Darkness

In the history of the world, there have been seasons or eras of great darkness. One example in the last century was the Great Depression which was sandwiched between the two Great World Wars. These three events cast a dark shadow over the world for about thirty-one continuous years. The world has been under a shadow of darkness since the fall of man in the book of Genesis.

Amid this darkness, there have been periods of relative peace and prosperity. Jesus spoke about this darkness and His light, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NKJV).