Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

    I had some extra training in cardiology as part of my overall medical training. During that time, I watched defibrillators being implanted and tested. A defibrillator is a device attached to the heart that shocks it back to life if the heart goes into a deadly rhythm. I remember being a little anxious when they tested a device by purposely putting a person’s heart into a deadly rhythm and then seeing whether the defibrillator would bring them back. They worked every time! In my medical practice over the years, most of the patients who needed a defibrillator agreed to have one because they knew it could be the difference between life and death. Some declined to have it done, either due to fears about the procedure, concerns about the cost, or their belief that they didn’t need it.   We are all sinners, under the penalty of death if not for the sacrifice of Jesus. The world is seemingly oblivious to the potential danger of being lost for eternity. We need to bring...

  Election Day is coming soon and the airwaves are filled with political ads. At this time of year, I’m grateful beyond words for whoever invented the mute button on the TV remote! I know that people of a certain age tend to think that things were better “back then”; still, I sure don’t remember the degree of falsehoods and outright malicious lies that exist today. On the other hand, the Gospel tells us that things may not be as different as we think. Jesus said to Pilate, “For this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Pilate replied, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).   Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). We know that He is the way to eternal life. He showed by His resurrection that He is the life. We accept these as part of our faith but we may not give much thought to the fact that He is the truth. The Greek word translated as truth in the Bible can also be translat...

  I love to read! I admit it – on a few occasions when I was really invested in the characters of a book, I sneaked a peek at the ending just to make sure that the characters survived. Knowing that things were going to turn out alright made it much easier to relax and enjoy the book.   The apostles were with Jesus for 3 years. Despite everything He told them, they were unprepared for His death on the cross. They were shaken and fearful for their own safety.   But then came Easter and Jesus was with them again, now in His resurrected body. In the forty days that followed, Jesus continued to teach them and gave them instructions for carrying on His work. Before Jesus left them, ”he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). When He ascended into heaven, the apostles “…worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:52-53). The apostles knew how the story ended, even ...

  I work out at the gym three times per week and do some exercises at home on a daily basis. I started out with light weights and gradually worked my way up to heavier weights. It’s important for us old folks to do regular strength training exercises because we lose muscle mass as we age.   It’s unreasonable to think that you can maintain your strength without exercising your muscles.   Paul wrote, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). At first glance, that statement sounds like a contradiction. Paul, though, recognized that God was his strength. When Paul realized that he couldn’t do it by his own abilities and turned to God for help, God provided the strength that he needed to do the work that he was called to do. God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).   Trying to make it on our own is a recipe for discouragement, burnout, and failure. When we admit that we are ...