Religion
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A precious child rebels against God
There can be no question about the Lord’s love for Israel. In the book of Deuteronomy we read this: ’the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:6). The Lord chose Israel…
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Sometimes you have to throw the rotten fruit out
A few years ago, I planted some strawberries. I loved watching the berries grow and I noticed that some of them were different shapes, sizes, and even colors. I still loved each strawberry in the patch like they were the same. I enjoyed going outside, picking each piece individually, and…
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Life comes down to a few necessary ingredients
“Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” So says the author of the book of Ecclesiastes, and not just once. Of the five dozen times this phrase of futility is used within the corpus of the Jewish Scriptures, the writer of Ecclesiastes employs it half of those times. Pleasure, success, money, dreams…
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May we all say, ‘I will remember!’
Monday was “Memorial Day” … a day set aside to remember all veterans, past and present, who have lost their lives in the line of duty. “Memorial Day” was a solemn day of remembrance for everyone who has died serving in the armed forces — those who lost their lives…
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Forgive your mistakes, because He has
I recall going to church a few times as a child and, frankly, it scared me. I remember that most of the people there looked somber and uncomfortable, and the pastor’s sermon would typically be about sin, hell, and living right. As a child, I knew that I made a…
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Hope: It’s about all that remains
Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity. As some Greek traditions go, he also gifted mortals with the tools of civilization: Mathematics, art, science, and medicine. Zeus, creation’s overlord, declared Prometheus’ empowerment of humankind an unforgivable sin. Two terrible things happened as a result. First, Zeus…
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When being tested, proclaim ‘I need this’
My friends, today we live in a world of hurt, where pain and discomfort are a way of life. Somebody today is looking through the lens of something that you are going through that just don’t feel good at all; mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually it is taking a toll…
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The prophet takes the Word to the king
Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet” because of his broken heart over people who rejected God’s Word. The book is sometimes broken, too, and is not always in chronological order. God called Jeremiah to serve Him in the thirteenth year of the reign of King Josiah. Josiah was a good…
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Judge rules against Cooper in lawsuit limiting indoor worship services
RALEIGH — The COVID-19 outbreak can’t be an excuse to outlaw most indoor worship services in North Carolina, a federal judge ruled Saturday, May 16. U.S. District Judge James Dever issued a temporary restraining order preventing law enforcement from enforcing parts of executive orders Gov. Roy Cooper began issuing in…
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Local pastors, sheriff question governor’s church restrictions
LAURINBURG — As North Carolina moves closer to the potential start of Gov. Roy Cooper’s Phase II of his reopening plan, elected officials and religious leaders across the state are at odds with the governor’s restriction on church services. At least two local pastors, as well as the local sheriff,…
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Will you choose life or death?
The background for our Scripture reading is Judah had been attacked twice by Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers had attacked Judah and Jerusalem 17 years earlier. It was in that assault that Daniel and many others among the healthiest and brightest were taken to Babylon. Ten years before the time we read…
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Sheriff won’t enforce limit on church attendance
SMITHFIELD — A sheriff in North Carolina said his department won’t enforce state guidelines limiting church attendance during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter released Wednesday, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Blizell called the state’s 10-person limit on in-person church services “unfair” and “morally wrong,” before encouraging people to “HAVE CHURCH!”…
