This article is a reprint of the best of the best from 2023

As we begin this brand-new year of 2023, I believe it is important to look back at things we have learned during the past 12 months. I call them “take-aways.” They are the things we have learned through another year of living, experiencing, and growing – or not. They are the things we have learned through our daily experiences (good and bad), in our spiritual journey and times in God’s Word, and things we have learned from others and from our own personal observation. This can result in wisdom, but there are no guarantees since some people do not learn from the past. Wisdom is the application of knowledge and includes insight and understanding. Much can be ...

In his book, Choose Love not Power: How to Right the World’s Wrongs from a Place of Weakness, author Dr. Tony Campolo describes how the world measures success. Tony says the world measures success by any of three benchmarks: fame, power, or money. In other words, if you have achieved any of the three the world regards you as a success. So, if you have fame, you are considered successful because, to quote the old television show, “Cheers,” everybody knows your name. If you have power, you have people at your beck and call. If you have money, you can buy whatever your heart desires. As you can probably tell, these three benchmarks are synergistic, meaning they tend to attract each other. So, wealthy people with a lot of ......

If you’re a golfer you probably know the term, “mulligan.” A mulligan is a “do-over.” The first shot didn’t go so well so a mulligan is a chance to do it over again, hopefully, better. For some of us we need a mulligan in 2024. 2023 didn’t go so well and we need a fresh start for a new year. If the Lord wills, perhaps 2024 will be a better year.

How was 2023 for you? For some of us it was a year of constant battles with illnesses, rehabilitation, surgeries, and doctor visits. For others it was a year of joy at the birth of a baby or the wedding of a son or daughter. For others it was a time of financial hardship. Whatever the situation, we have turned the page on 2023 and there, lying before us, is...

You see hypocrisy displayed almost daily on the nightly news and you read about it in news feeds on your cell phone. The politician who voted for climate change and the banning of fossil fuels flying to a conference or rally in his private jet, which consumes hundreds of gallons of fossil-based fuel. Is he a hypocrite? The case could be made that he is. But what about you and me? Are we ever hypocrites? Lest you think I’m singling out a specific group of people, I’m not. All of us at times have behaved hypocritically. That, however, does not make us hypocrites.

A hypocrite is one who consistently lives, with what theologians call “moral dualism” meaning two sets of moral values. They have a different set of moral ...