Doctoring in the Old Days by James R. Coggins

Posted on May 7, 2025 by jrcoggins

There were three doctors in the town where I grew up, and the practice of medicine would be almost unrecognizable today.

The doctor our family went to had a big house on the main street, and he had office hours there every afternoon, starting about one o’clock. Patients would walk in through the front door and go into a large room to the left with bench seats on all four sides of the room. The room would be fairly full by one o’clock. There was no receptionist, and there were no appointments. People who needed a doctor would just show up.

At one o’clock, the doctor would enter through a door at the back of the room. It was a double door, with one door opening out and the other opening in, to muffle the sound and maintain patient privacy.

The doctor would look around the room to see who was there and nod to one of the patients to come in. I am not sure how he decided who should go first, but everyone just quietly waited their turn. After the patient was ushered back out through the same door, the doctor would survey the room again, taking special note of any newcomers so that patients would be seen roughly in the order of arrival.

Patients selected to enter would go into another big room, where the doctor would ask what the problem was. If a more extensive examination was required, the patient could be ushered farther back into a third room, where there was a raised bed.

Once the doctor had diagnosed the problem, he would offer advice or prescribe a medication. Most of the time, the patient was not sent to a pharmacy to get the prescription. One wall of the middle room had shelves floor to ceiling filled with bottles of the most common remedies. The doctor would count out the required number of pills and hand them to the patient.

Then the doctor would tell the patient how much was owed. It was cash only. The doctor would pull a massive wad of money out of his pants pocket and add the payment to the wad, making change as necessary. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that poorer patients would be charged less than wealthier patients. There was no medicare, and no government was not involved. There was no bureaucracy such as exists today.

I assume the doctor kept limited records of some kind, but he knew all of his patients personally and stored a lot of the information in his memory.

The doctor offered a wide range of services, including setting and casting broken bones. Some of his treatments were innovative. He treated one woman’s depression by removing a mole from her face.

The afternoon office hours would extend until all patients were seen. In the mornings and evenings, the doctor would make house calls to very sick patients or visit them in the hospital in the next town.

Medical care in those days was quite limited. There were far fewer medical imaging machines and diagnostic tools. There were no cures for many ailments. But the treatment was immediate and personal. There was good patient care because the doctor cared about his patients, who were his friends and neighbors. Medical care has greatly advanced in some ways since that time but certainly declined in others.

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When Speaking the Truth Hurts: Disinformation, Family, and the Christian Call to Courage

Posted on May 6, 2025 by Ann Malley

I’m diving in because this matter–keeping the peace?–is too serious.

In John 7:30, we read that the Pharisees sought to seize Jesus, but “no man laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come.” Christ was never caught off guard; He moved according to the perfect timing of the Father. He knew when to stay silent, when to step forward, and when to accept the consequences of truth spoken in love.

Contrast this with Peter’s misguided attempt to dissuade Christ from journeying to Jerusalem. Upon hearing of the suffering that awaited, Peter rebuked Him — and Christ answered sharply: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me; for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23).

Peter, though filled with affection, was out of step with divine timing. He tried to preserve peace through avoidance, failing to grasp that love sometimes demands confrontation. That it demands the cross. How often have we masked a sin of omission behind the facade of compassion? Wounds fester that way. Disease takes over the body and kills. We know this and yet we often, for love of Christ, feign that silence is always the way. But that’s not true. Not at all.

In these days of rampant disinformation, even among our loved ones, we are often tempted to be like Peter. Have you snoozed family and friends on Facebook because their posts are riddled with half-truths and inflammatory rhetoric? I have. It’s easier to avoid “Jerusalem” than to risk an argument. It’s easier to say, “Not now, Lord,” when the Holy Ghost stirs our hearts to speak up.

But are we truly Christlike when we hide? Or are we more like the Apostles trembling in the Upper Room, waiting for Pentecost? They were faithful, yes — but they were not yet *bold*. It took the descent of the Holy Spirit, the tongues of fire, to turn them into fearless witnesses.

The Spirit calls us, too, but are we answering? Or are we whispering, “Not now… not yet…” because we fear causing waves at the next family gathering?

Salt kept in the cellar is useless. Light hidden under a bushel serves no one. Christ did not call us to comfort but to witness — “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). He did not die so we could sit quietly while lies run rampant, tearing apart not just our politics, but the souls of those we love. That is what is happening, what has happened. Lies and falsehoods borne of the Devil, the father of lies, are devouring our own flesh and blood while mocking us in delighted silence as we tremble for fear of what? Being seen for who we are? Followers of the Good Shepherd?

We *are* our brother’s keepers. If we stay silent, if we refuse to correct in love, we are complicit in the decay around us. To stand by quietly while loved ones are seduced by slogans and sentiment without substance is not mercy — it is abandonment. We are, all of us, given the leadership we deserve. Those with itching ears and, equally, those with open ears who bite their tongues while Christ’s flock is transformed into a herd of swine and led off a cliff.

To put it another way, how did we get to this time of “itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3), where even our own families resist sound doctrine? We got here because, for too long, Christians have been willing to trade hard truth for fragile peace.

Now, we face a pivotal moment. Prayer is essential — but prayer must be accompanied by action. Faith without works is dead. As in there is no true faith without the actions that speak far louder than words. Speaking truth may cost us comfort. It may cost us relationships. Christ knew the cost. He went anyway.

We must, too!

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Is the Death of a Dream Really the Death of a Dream? by Vicki Hinze

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Vicki Hinze

Death of a Dream Really? by Vicki Hinze for Christians Read

 

We begin with a dream.  It might be a pipe dream to some, a lofty one to others, but to us it is a vision, and we create it from desire.

 

That desire is often seated in purpose.  Our vision might be to entertain, to enlighten, to aid or to release.  It might be to shed light on a social issue or challenge.  It might be to work through an issue or challenge.  Whatever fuels our dream is unique to us, and typically is very personal and private, meaning that our specific dream wouldn’t fuel the passion and discipline necessary to make that dream a reality in others.  But it does inspire those things in us.  The desire to see that dream fulfilled makes us determined.  It takes us to places we didn’t even realize we could or would go.  We forfeit other things, make sacrifices and dare to dream when those without that purpose fueling their actions would have given up and moved on.

 

So what happens to us when our dreams die?  We who are dedicated and devoted and have made those sacrifices and forfeited for them?

 

Some of us get stuck right there.  We get frustrated and angry.  We give up and stew in the fact that we gave all and still our dreams were denied.  We stew over the unfairness of it all, and sometimes, sadly, we despair.

 

Our total focus has been on making the dream a reality, and when we accept that it isn’t going to happen, then despair sets in.  Some slide into that pit of despair and move no further.  They elect to replay the events leading up to the death of the dream over and over and over.  And that becomes their new reality.  They’re stuck, unable to progress further and blame anything and everything remotely possible that can be blamed for their loss.  But not once do they move ahead, and it doesn’t occur to them to continue to dream, to find a new vision.  To invest elsewhere.

 

So some of us get stuck on this hamster wheel and some of us despair, and both of those reactions, while human for a time, become our undoing.  Both cause us to still in the water and prevent us from reaching our potential and fulfilling our purpose.

The death of a dream is never easy.  It can be vicious and merciless, taking a toll on us physically, emotionally and spiritually, and the greater the impact on us, the more challenging it becomes.  Simply put, the death of a dream can for some be a horrendous obstacle to overcome.  Yet we know the alternative to doing the work required to overcome it.  We can do that work, or we can settle in for a long stay on the hamster wheel—spinning and spinning and getting nowhere—or be stuck in despair, which no one else needs to bother to describe to us.  We’ve all endured it on something and know how difficult it is to reside there.

 

Spinning and despair—who of sound mind could desire more of either?  Comparatively speaking, the work looks like a picnic.  It isn’t, of course.  The work makes demands on us—some welcome, some not—but we work with the cards we’re dealt.  And so we accept that this dream is dead and we decide spinning and despair isn’t for us.  We opt to mourn its passing and move on.   But move on to what?

 

And here is where many of us encounter and unfortunately where many of us endure the second place of getting stuck.  We flounder and seek and get mired in the muck. We just can’t see what’s next in our lives.

 

Often, the process in the death of a dream thus far is a variation of:

 

Confusion → Denial → Disappointment → Frustration → Anger → Grief → Acceptance

 

And all that leads us right back to . . .

 

Confusion.

 

This is a different confusion.  It isn’t about where you’ve been.  It’s about where to go next.  What to do next.  What is our new dream?  Typically, we’ve been so invested in the old one that we resist letting go, and until we do let go, moving on is impossible.  We’re so busy looking back that any forward movement we make has us stumbling into potholes, tromping through mud puddles, veering into ditches and bouncing off brick walls.

 

We’re running into more obstacles because we’re so busy looking back that we’re not looking forward, ahead to what could be right in front of us.

 

Once we grasp that—for clarity of vision we must look ahead not behind—we have the first major opportunity for growth and new dreams.

 

  So when a dream dies, we work through it until we reach a point where we accept that what we dreamed is in the past and now we must look ahead and create new dreams.

This requires faith.  In our judgment, our abilities and our purpose.  And faith can be scarce because we believed we were doing what we were meant to do last time, and that didn’t work out.  This is where character comes in.

 

Character and an unshakable faith that our perspective and view is limited and if we were able to back off and get a broader view, we would see that a greater purpose lies ahead.  Maybe our dream was too limited.  Maybe our growth expanded our opportunities, and our abilities exceeded our original dream.  Maybe the original dream was a stepping-stone preparation for more.  We had to gain experience and insights that now can aid us in achieving our true purpose.  Wait a second, you say.  If our original dream, the one that died, was a steppingstone, then it wasn’t a failure but a path.

 

That is correct.  And it means that the purpose in our first dream was fulfilled.  Perhaps fulfilled in a way far different than our vision of it, but fulfilled in the broader sense of God’s vision of our life’s purpose.  Were we not told that Jesus would prepare a table? That he would straighten the crooked places?  That he would make a way where none existed?

 

Perhaps we would better serve both God and ourselves to view this “death of a dream” as a pitstop to His dream for us.  Or as a visit to “a door” versus “the door” of our purpose.  Perhaps this door was the path to our door.  An interim door.

 

Our challenge is that we don’t have perfect perception or understanding—not of God’s plans or even of our own.  So faith that we’re taking steps toward our divine destiny and doing our part to envision dreams and manifest them in reality has to be factored into the process.  We dream what we believe are huge dreams.  Perhaps about little things but ones that make huge differences, if not to the masses, then to specific individuals.  And the importance of those dreams should never be underestimated.

 

Yet too often we are mired and stay mired in confusion about what to do next.  We flutter and fret and we don’t do the one thing we should do:

 

We don’t stop and look at what’s left. 

 

The key to the next step is in knowing what’s left after the death of the dream and in being grateful for the good in those things.  We don’t look for what we’ve gained in the attempt.  Being mired in mourning a loss, we focus on the losses and not the gains.  That doesn’t make way for gratitude of what is still there.  What we now have that we lacked before the attempt at the original dream.  Gratitude and appreciation are essential to balance and harmony. We all know of this direct connection, this immutable link, and yet we often fail to exercise discipline to seek our gains, and we still wallow in the mire.

 

When we look at what’s left, we see that which has endured—the gains.  And when we’re grateful for the gains, we’re grateful for the good that has endured.  When we acknowledge its value to us and others, then that is our new direction.  To create more that will endure and be good—blessings to us and others—and that is the foundation upon which we create our new dreams.  It’s solid and firm.  It’s endured.  It’s good and worthy of our investment.  Worthy of our next leap of faith.

 

With all of the changes in the world around us, I receive a lot of questions that ask what offers the safest harbors right now.  These are natural questions.  Human questions.  But ones that separate you from the reason that you are you.  The truth is there are few safe harbors for people of faith.  But that shouldn’t bring distress.  There never have been any save one:  faith itself.

 

We all are who we are for a purpose.  As a writer, I know this in the way only one with a lifetime of experience can know and prove it.  A writer’s purpose is to share insights on the human condition.  Some are tasked to experience and write stories of their trials and challenges and how they overcame them constructively. To light a path for others lost on their journeys to follow.  Some are tasked to shine light on our collective monsters in the closet so that we better understand and overcome those challenges. 

 

Some writers find their purpose is to write to entertain, offering others a reprieve and respite from the challenges in their lives.  Some are to comfort, inform, enlighten; to prove there’s light at the end of specific dark and seemingly endless tunnels, or to offer perspectives that shift thinking and open minds that were closed.

 

The reasons and purposes are as unique as the writers themselves and defined more specifically by them.

 

So does the death of a dream mean the writer stops writing?

 

Maybe.  Maybe not.

 

What’s left?

 

Did the desire and purpose for writing endure?  Is it good?

 

If so, then perhaps the death of this dream isn’t a death at all but merely the completion of it.  Perhaps death is a redefining of the dream. Honing it.  Going from the interim door to “the” door.  Making way for the old dream to expand into a new dream.

 

The answer to whether or not you continue to write, or to continue writing what you have been writing (or doing whatever you’ve been doing in your life)—your original dream or your next dream—lies in those enduring gains.  What is good and worthy of your purpose—your time and life.

 

The seeds for “what’s next” spring from there.  With focus and attention, looking ahead with an open mind and a dedicated, disciplined heart, those seeds sprout, and you get a clearer, sharper view of the path ahead. 

 

You’ll dare to dream again and to embrace this new direction.  Walk down this new road with a spring in your step, believing on faith that what is ahead is better for all that you’ve learned on the journey through the first dream.  You’re wiser, more adept, looking at the bigger picture and broader view.  Your abilities are expanded, you have experience and expertise now you lacked then, and you’re more flexible. Your perspective has changed.  All these things and more are the natural outgrowths—your rewards, if you will—for pulling yourself out of the mired muck and daring to invest again. 

 

For daring to observe the view and, in faith, seek your next dream.

 

Blessings,

 

Vicki Hinze

http://www.vickihinze.com

 

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Does God Have Fun? by James R. Coggins

Posted on April 30, 2025 by jrcoggins

When I was in high school, a Christian parachurch ministry began renting school gyms in the evening and inviting church youth groups to come and play basketball and volleyball against each other. This encouraged inter-church interaction, these were events that the groups could easily invite other youth to, and frankly the evenings were a lot of fun.

At school one day, I mentioned that I had been at one of these events. Some of my non-Christian friends were astounded that church groups could actually gather for fun. I am not sure what they thought we did when we got together—beat each other with whips?

The reality is that my Christian friends seemed to have more fun than our non-Christian counterparts—who seemed to require alcohol or some other stimulant to make them happy. At university, I remember inviting a couple of non-Christians to a Christian Christmas party. They were astounded that Christians could just get together and be happy, content, without anything else to make them happy.

Consider these Bible verses:

• “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation…while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4,7 NIV).

• “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11)

• “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him…Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy” (Psalm 33:1,3).

• “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11).

• “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy…” (Galatians 5:22).

According to the Bible, God created the universe with joy and singing. In fact, God created singing, creativity, fun, and joy. And He wants to fill our hearts and our lives with joy.

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When God Feels Silent: Trusting His Timing in the Waiting

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Author Mary Alford

There was a season in my life when the dream of becoming a published author felt like a distant hope. I had the passion, the stories, and the calling—but no open doors. Manuscripts were completed, prayers were lifted, and yet, the silence was deafening. I often found myself asking, “God, did I hear You right?”

The Waiting Season

Waiting is hard. Especially when you believe you’re walking in obedience. I watched others achieve milestones I longed for, and doubt began to creep in. Was I not good enough? Had I missed my opportunity? But in those quiet moments, I was reminded of Isaiah 55:8-9:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.”
God’s timeline is not ours, and His plans often unfold in ways we don’t anticipate.

Growth in the Silence

During this period, I learned that God’s silence doesn’t equate to His absence. He was working behind the scenes, refining my character, deepening my faith, and teaching me to rely solely on Him. The waiting became a time of preparation, molding me into the person He needed me to be for the journey ahead.

The Breakthrough

Eventually, the doors began to open. Opportunities arose, connections were made, and the dream started to materialize. Looking back, I see that had I rushed the process, I wouldn’t have been ready. God’s timing was perfect, as it always is.

Encouragement for the Waiting

If you’re in a season of waiting, take heart. God sees you. He hears your prayers. And He is faithful. Trust that He is working all things for your good, even when you can’t see it. As Romans 8:28 reminds us:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Hold on to hope. Embrace the growth that comes in the waiting. And know that God’s timing is always perfect.

All the best. . .

Mary

http://www.maryalford.net

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When You Have a Bad Day by Vicki Hinze

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Vicki Hinze

Everyone has bad days.  It’s a rare individual who can live a life and escape at least one bad day.

 

Yet we face them in different ways.  Some have a pity party.  Some phone a friend or their spouse and vent.  Some do far worse things, like using a bad day to proclaim theirs a bad life and sink into depression.  Some use a bad day as an excuse to behave badly, taking out their frustrations on others who had absolutely nothing to do with the cause for their bad day.  And some take in the effects of a bad day so deeply that it robs them totally of their present and that robs them of their future.

 

The good thing is we get to choose how we react to a bad day.  We might elect to learn from any mistakes we (or someone else) made and move on.  We might seek a way to avoid those mistakes happening again.  Or we might treat ourselves to a bubble bath and destress with a quart of ice-cream.

 

Different things work for different people.  For me, I’m reminded of a case that happened in Florida.  A man, James Richardson, was accused of killing his seven kids.  He was convicted in under two hours and spent the next twenty-one years in prison, having a continuous succession of bad days. Every day was a bad day all that time.

 

How James Richardson didn’t lose hope or give up or how he withstood the painful things that were said and done to him, I don’t know.  But I do know that while that was a long, and I’m sure a seemingly endless season of darkness, after twenty-one years James wasn’t electrocuted, which is what his sentence called for initially.  At some point, when the government halted the death penalties, James’s sentence was reduced to life in prison.

 

I wonder if he considered that a blessing or a curse.  I have no idea.  But after twenty-one years, the Attorney General of the United States agreed to release James.  Why?

 

Because he was innocent. 

 

His prosecutor was guilty of misconduct.  He had three convicts claim James had admitted killing his kids–testimony in exchange for reduced sentences. 

His neighbor, who had fed James’s seven children poisoned red beans and rice and had planted more poison in James’s shed, confessed to a nursing home worker that she had committed the crime.  At the time, that neighbor was on parole for killing her second husband and she was a suspect in the poisoning death of her first husband.  The jurors weren’t told any of that, and in short order James was convicted and sentenced to death by electrocution.

 His kids died in 1967.  James carried those burdens of guilt knowing he was innocent and all the abuse that came with being blamed for killing his own kids for twenty-one years before he was exonerated and released.

 

Twenty-one years of one bad day after another and another …

 

James’s story offers all of us perspective.  If, for you, it falls short, think of Jesus.  He was perfect, and yet he was wrongly accused, betrayed, arrested, beaten and crucified by a group of people He trusted, and a second group of people who feared Him because He did not fear them—and He knew all they would do before they did it.

 

That’s a long string of bad days.  Really bad days.

 

If the perfect had to endure them, then why in the world wouldn’t we? 

 

So we need to accept it.  We’re going to have bad days, but it is incumbent upon us to keep them in perspective.  Not to overreact or make more of a bad day than is warranted.

 

Granted, some are truly and completely horrific.  But most of the days we consider bad, in five years, we’ve forgotten.

 

There’s a lesson in that.

 

Blessings,

 

Vicki

 

 

 

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The Golden Age of Poetry by James R. Coggins

Posted on April 23, 2025 by jrcoggins

A long time ago in a land full of mystery,

I earned a BA in English and History.

Actually, it was the 1970s at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. I received a wonderful education there, for which I am very grateful.

The English courses I took included a heavy focus on the many great English poets from the 17th to 19th centuries: William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, John Milton, John Donne, Alexander Pope, Robbie Burns, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Rudyard Kipling, and more. This was truly the golden age of poetry.

I also studied some English poetry from earlier centuries (“Sithen the sege and the assaut was sesed…”) And there were some later poets of note, including T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost in the first half of the 20th century. Since then, it is hard to think of a poet of equal stature to the greats of the 17th to 19th centuries. Maybe Paul Simon and Bob Dylan, if they could be considered poets.

The great English poets of previous centuries were the rock stars of their age, widely read, widely admired, very influential, and well paid. Of course, many modern people would consider the golden age poets out of date and not worth studying. But there is no doubt that they were the supreme masters of their craft.

A question I never asked when I was in university but a question I have asked more recently is: Why did English poetry peak in the 17th-19th centuries? Why couldn’t earlier and later poets equal the masters of this golden age?

Why?

The answer of course, is technology.

There were “poets” in the years before the seventeenth century, dating back to Homer in the 8th century BC and beyond. But these were mostly “bards” or “troubadours.” Generally, they did not “write” poetry. They wandered from place to place and sang or recited their songs and poems in person, from memory. Some of their compositions were eventually written down and preserved, but these compositions were not initially widely read. Paper was expensive, and writing down anything by hand and making copies by hand required great labor by the few trained scribes who were available. The written works were preserved and occasionally read in monasteries and libraries. But there was no way to make these written compositions widely available. The primary means of bringing poetry to people was to do it in person via troubadours.

What changed everything was the invention of the printing press in the late 15th century and its gradual proliferation throughout the 16th century, as well as the accompanying spread of literacy. The printing press allowed poets to reach the masses quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Their words could spread in all directions at once to many more people than a single troubadour could reach. Poetry was still memorized and recited, but by anyone who could get hold of a written copy, not necessarily the author.

What brought an end to the great age of poetry was not originally a decline in literacy or poetic skill but further advances in technology, notably the development of radio, television, and the computer.

Words are still used in public discourse, but they are accompanied by pictures (even computer enhanced moving pictures) and sound.

I greatly admire the golden age poets. They had to convey meaning and emotion and understanding with words alone. That is very difficult to do and required great skill (as any modern person can attest after experiencing the many misunderstandings conveyed through texting).   

Today, with the multi-layered means available to them, modern “poets” and communicators must be skilled in many disciplines at once. “Writers” have been replaced by “content creators” and “influencers.” Because they need to focus on so many other things, word skill is neglected, which is why so many modern song lyrics are so idiotic and meaningless. Modern singers are admired for how they sound, the way they look, and the multimedia spectacles that accompany their performances. The lyrics are secondary. Words are the ideal medium for convey precise knowledge, facts, and objective truth. Other media are better suited to conveying feeling.

I am a man born after his time. Growing up in the 1950s, I read and wrote before I watched television and before there was much radio available in our small town. I am a word person, I admire the great poets, and I am skilled at using the written word. A rarity n the modern world, I am a published poet, although it would be an exaggeration to say that I am widely read, widely admired, very influential, or well paid.

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Finding Hope – By Nancy J. Farrier

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Nancy J. Farrier
Photo by Ron Smith on Unsplash

I published the first part of this post in April 2019. The last part is an update.

Blind! I’m going to go blind.

The thought swirled through my mind in a nauseating repeat. Yesterday the ophthalmologist confirmed the diagnosis that I had glaucoma. No cure. No going back. Possible blindness.

I sailed through the first day after receiving the news. I can do this. I’ll trust God and all will be well. Today was a different story. It was a Friday. My husband left for the weekend and the emptiness of the house echoed my fear, pinging the negative possibilities back at me until I curled into a ball on the couch.

The thought of never seeing my grandson’s smile. Not seeing my beautiful kids. No more sunsets. The flowers in so many colors. The stars at night or the moon in its full glory. I couldn’t face the thought of losing all this beauty I treasured. 

My pity party was in full swing with all the bells and whistles. Cute hats. Noisemakers. Punch and cake. I had it all. All by myself.

Yet, in the midst of my whining, I kept hearing a voice. A voice I tried to ignore because this was a party for one. A superb party. But God proved more loving and persistent than my negativity. I finally settled down enough to listen to His simple question.

“What about Me?”

The party faded. Truth swept the mess away. How had I allowed my negative thoughts to take me to this self-centered place where I hadn’t even thought of God and all He could do. I may have a diagnosis of glaucoma. There may be no cure known to science. But God! God is in charge of my life. He orders my footsteps and cares for me more than I can ever realize. 

I don’t know why it’s so much easier in times of stress or trauma to think negatively instead of seeing the positive side. No matter how I try to consider God first, there are still times when I end up in one of those pity parties when I should be having a praise party. I also know I’m not alone.

In I Kings 18 and 19, Elijah comes up against the 400 prophets of Baal and sees the Lord do a great work. Amazing things happen. But in Chapter 19 when Elijah’s life is threatened, he immediately slips into negative thinking and asks the Lord to just let him die.

In Esther 4, we see that Esther learns of the edict signed by her husband, the king, that all the Jews will be put to death. Instead of acting in faith, her first reaction is fear that she will die if she approaches the king. 

In John 11, Jesus friend Lazarus dies. When Jesus comes to the house with his disciples, Martha, the sister of Lazarus, rushes out and instead of asking in faith what Jesus can do, she accuses him of not being there for Lazarus and of being the reason Lazarus is dead.

These are only a few examples from scripture. Every one of them are there to show how God ends up working in the lives of these negative thinking people. We’ve all been there, having a moment when circumstances are overwhelming and we forget what our God can do.

I find it very discouraging when I have a time of negativity, yet each time when I am reminded of Who God is and His provision for me, I am strengthened in my faith. With His help I can overcome that negative thinking and become positive about God’s sovereignty. 

Jesus, talking to his disciples says, “…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

I know that no matter where I am at, or what I am going through, God is there with me. There is nowhere I go that He can’t find me and whisper in my ear, “What about Me?”

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;

Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. Psalm 139:7-12 (NKJV)

Fast forward to 2023. I moved to Arizona with a new ophthalmologist. He’s run tests on my eyes every few months. He’s studied my eyes for a few years now. Then he gives me the news that shocks me—I don’t have glaucoma any more.

The disease that is not curable, that there is no way to reverse the damage, is gone. Just gone.

I asked him, “So what happened to my glaucoma?” He just shrugged and said, “I don’t know.” 

There is no medical explanation for what happened to me, but there is God. He knew the plan He had for my life, which is why He told me not to worry. I have no idea why He chose to heal me, but I’m eternally grateful. 

God doesn’t always heal us, but He gives us what we need to persevere and manage with the trials at hand. I am forever grateful that He gave me peace about what would happen—that he pulled me out of my pity party and gave me hope and a purpose.

Thank you, Jesus.

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LENT IS BEYOND SPECIAL by Vicki Hinze

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Vicki Hinze

 

Lent 2025 started March 5th and continued for the next six weeks, ending April 17th  (Holy Thursday for Catholics) and April 19th (the day before Easter) for other Christians.

Lent is a special time for all Christians.  It’s a time of repentance, of denying oneself something significant to honor Jesus’s spending forty days in the desert, facing temptation and preparing for what was to come. Before it was over, among other things, He would be ridiculed, falsely accused, betrayed, beaten, abused, arrested and convicted and crucified.

The entire season is significant, but Holy Week is the most reverent, the most widely known and celebrated. Each day marks its remembrance of Jesus Christ as He related to a specific event that occurred.

  • Palm Sunday: The day Jesus Christ knowingly entered Jerusalem on a donkey to fulfill His destiny and seal His fate.

  • Monday: The day Jesus Christ, armed with a whip, cleared the temple of those disrespecting God.

  • Tuesday: The day Jesus Christ, anointed with oil, preached a sermon on the Mount of Olives.  It was here that He was recognized and glorified as the long-awaited Messiah. (Luke 19:29-38)

  • Wednesday: The difficult day for Jesus Christ as He suffered betrayal at the hands of Judas.  Jesus offered eternal life and was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver—an event so horrific that Judas, facing what he had done to Jesus, hanged himself.

  • Thursday: The day Jesus Christ celebrated the Last Supper with the Apostles, spoke to them of the coming betrayals, and of His coming departure.  Afterward, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed.  It was there that He was arrested.

  • Good Friday: The day Jesus Christ was sentenced to die, was crucified (hung on the cross) and died. He was the light of the world, and before He died, he asked God, the Father, to forgive the people who had wronged Him.  “They know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34).  On His passing, the earth went dark “from the sixth hour unto the ninth hour.” (Matthew 27:45)  That has been validated by the historian Thallus.  Indeed, the light had departed the world.

  • Holy Saturday: The day Jesus Christ was buried in a tomb and descended into hell.

  • Easter Sunday: the glorious day that Jesus Christ arose from the dead.  He first appeared to women, who were instructed to inform the Apostles, and they did.  This is the most holy day for Christians.  The gracious and magnificent light of the world returned!

Jesus suffered and endured for us.  He was the perfect lamb, the healer, the wonderful counselor, the prince of peace.  He took on the sins of the world that we might be saved.  For us, He conquered hell and arose—that we might be spared and know the truth.  Our battle is won.  He fought it for us.  And gifted it to us.

Every day is a gift from God, and we are grateful for it.  But Lent… Oh, Lent is beyond special.  The magnanimity of His sacrifice is so powerful, so awe-inspiring and humbling, that we think of it, and often are so moved and overwhelmed, we end up speechless and in tears.

In sorrow, for what He endured.  At what we human beings did to Him.  In joy, hearts overflowing at the treasure He imparted to us all, and in gratitude that He so blessed us with His enduring love.

I’m a simple, average woman.  When it comes to faith, I think in simple terms.  Real ones, I can relate to and not only reason through, but emotionally respond to heart-to-heart.

Imagine with me for just a moment.  God sending His son to us, knowing all that would occur. Every wrong.  Every wound.  Every scar.  Every choice people made.  Every-single-thing.  God knowing it, and yet loving all of us so much that He refused to abandon us.  God, holy and pure, cannot abide with sin.  But He was so devoted to us that He built us a bridge back to Him.  That bridge is His son, Jesus Christ.

And imagine Jesus Christ, coming to us, knowing what would occur, and how it would end, the personal price He would pay to be our bridge, to wash us clean as snow so we could return to God through Him.  Just imagine…

Fortunately (for us), Jesus also knew that the end was the beginning.  He, and by grace, we could walk the bridge to move from life to eternal life.

Ours is an awesome God.  King of Kings, Lord of Lords.  Hallelujah!

Blessings to you and yours this Lent and always,

Vicki

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Doves – Symbol of the Holy Spirit

Posted on April 17, 2025 by dtopliff

The Dove, symbol for the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the Bible, the dove is a messenger of peace, restoration, and safety.

The dove returns to Noah bringing an olive branch to show the flood had ended.

After Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended onto Him like a dove.

Doves hide and nest in rocks and caves. We hear their moaning, sad, mournful calls. They are symbols of innocence and their attributes are described in Psalms 55, 68, 74.

Each of the nine times I’ve been blessed to spend time in Israel, I’ve been moved by the ever-present background cooing of doves—so much so that on my first lengthy trip in 1984 after quality time spent near the Garden Tomb, this poem spilled from my heart.

Jerusalem’s Dove

Temple grounds, David’s tower, the Western Wall,

Ancient scenes where people flock once in a lifetime,

Yet the dominant sound of the landscape is Jerusalem’s mourning doves,

Pearl-gray, gently cooing, with full-throated cries communing,

Interceding, like the God who gave ALL to bring peace,

And His Son, dove-natured, brooding, crying for peace in this city,

“Coo-roo, coo-roo,” still echoing, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

How often would I have gathered thee together

As a hen doth gather her brood . . . and ye would not,”

Then gave His life in sacrifice until every price was paid.

Our Father still sends doves as constant reminders,

Softly cooing from hidden corners, leafy gardens, distant rooftops,

Early or late, from darkness to dawn, so any traveler’s lasting impression

Is not the city, not the grandeur, not the history nor political contention,

But the harmless, helpless doves broodingly calling,

Echoing God’s voice heard from His Son’s breast,

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, loveless city, hear My cries,

Yield to greatness, yield to gentleness,

Open your lives to be My home,

Bend your heads to give Me place to rest Mine,

Let hearts melt and tears wash down hardened cheeks

Until entrance is made and all men become free!

Then the pearl-gray doves gently folds wings around their nests,

Lifts love-filled eyes,

And mourning cries

Become songs of joyful praise! – Delores Topliff

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!

Have a most blessed and meaningful Easter!

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God and King by James R. Coggins

Posted on April 16, 2025 by jrcoggins

In His trials before His crucifixion, Jesus was asked two key questions.

The high priest asked Jesus, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” (Mark 14:61 NIV). The Greek word for “Blessed One” is eulogetos (from which we get our English word “eulogy”). It is a word compounded of eu (good) and logos (word, something said) and thus means “to speak well of” or “to praise.” Thus, the high priest asked Jesus if He was the Son of the One who should be praised. In asking this, he was asking Jesus if He was the Son of God. This was a crucial question because if Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, then Jesus would replace the high priest as the highest religious authority in Jerusalem and Judea. Jesus was a threat to the high priest’s power and position.

Pilate did not care about the Jews’ religious squabbles. He asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (Mark 15:2). Pilate cared about this question because if Jesus was indeed the King of the Jews, then Jesus would replace Pilate as the ruler of Jerusalem and Judea. Jesus was a threat to Pilate’s political power and position.

Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, the ultimate prophet, priest, and king. (“Messiah” in Hebrew and “Christ” in Greek mean “anointed,” and prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil to establish them in their role.) And so the high priest and Pilate (the leaders of church and state) conspired together to crucify Jesus. They thus chose evil and death over good and life. The apostle Peter later summed up what they had done: “You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead” (Acts 3:14-15).

We are not that different from the high priest and Pilate. As fallen human beings, we all want to be our own god, to have the authority to decide what is true, good, and important. And we all want to be our own kings, to have the sole authority over what we do and don’t do. And we, too, often choose death and evil over life and good. The better alternative is to submit to the true God and King and find life and good.

Put another way, we all want to be the hero of our own story when in reality, like the high priest and Pilate, we are (and should be) minor characters in Jesus’ story.

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From Palms to Praise: Finding Hope in the Easter Journey

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Author Mary Alford

There’s something sacred about the rhythm of Holy Week—the way it carries us from the joyful shouts of “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday to the somber stillness of Good Friday, and finally to the life-giving joy of Easter Sunday. Each moment tells a piece of the greatest love story ever written.

Palm Sunday: The Promise of a King

Palm Sunday is a day of celebration. Jesus enters Jerusalem, not on a stallion, but on a humble donkey. The people wave palm branches and lay down their cloaks, shouting, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” It’s easy to picture ourselves in that crowd, full of hope and expectation. How often do we cry out for God to move in our lives, just as they did, wanting Him to show up in power and change everything?

And yet, Jesus came not to conquer governments, but to conquer hearts. Not to overthrow, but to overcome.

Good Friday: The Silence of Saturday

By Friday, the crowds had turned. The same voices that cried “Hosanna” now shouted “Crucify Him.” The shift is jarring—and painfully human. We’ve all had moments where disappointment changed our faith, where we wondered if God had abandoned us in our suffering.

But Good Friday is not the end of the story. Even in the darkness, God was at work. Jesus bore the weight of our sin—not because we earned it, but because love demanded it. And in the silence of Saturday, when it seemed like all hope was lost, heaven was preparing for a miracle.

Easter Sunday: The Hope of Resurrection

And then—Sunday.

The stone was rolled away. Death lost its sting. Jesus walked out of the grave, victorious, and with Him came the promise that no darkness is too deep, no burden too heavy, and no story too broken for redemption.

Easter reminds us that even when life feels like a long Saturday of waiting and silence, resurrection is coming. Hope is not just a wish—it’s a Person. And He is alive.

Hope for Today

Wherever you are in your journey—waving palms, standing at the foot of a cross, or waiting in the tomb of a long Saturday—know this: God is not finished.

Maybe you’re carrying grief, doubt, or worry. Maybe you’re praying for a breakthrough or just trying to hang on. Easter is the beautiful reminder that we serve a God who brings dead things to life. His love meets us in our pain, walks with us through our waiting, and brings us out into the light.

This Holy Week, let your heart be lifted by the truth that Jesus didn’t just come to change the world—He came to change you. To give you life, hope, and a future that no tomb could hold back.

He is risen. He is with you. And He is always enough.

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Human-Trafficking Awareness by Vicki Hinze

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Vicki Hinze

human trafficking awareness, christians read,

 

In 2018, I wrote an article on Human-Trafficking Awareness.  Back then, it wasn’t on many people’s radars.  Today, word of it is more prevalent but because the topic is so distasteful, many turn their heads and ignore it.  We all wish there was no need for the topic to be newsworthy or to even exist, but there is, and it does.

We need to be aware (or to become aware) to protect ourselves and our loved ones as best we’re able.  We can’t do that if we’re not aware trafficking is an issue, or if we are led to believe that it only happens elsewhere.  We know now, it does not.  Trafficking happens everywhere.  To all kinds of people, women, men, teens and children, boys and girls, and even infants.

While January is the official awareness month, it seems anytime is an appropriate time to publish the article again.  Here’s the original article:

 

Human-Trafficking Awareness Month (from 2018)

In January, by Presidential Proclamation, the U.S. monthly observance was on Human-Trafficking and Human-Rights Abuse.  I want to share a bit about human-trafficking because there’s so much on it in the news right now—and likely will be in the near future.

How bad is it?

  • At $32 Billion a year, the human-trafficking industry has passed up the illegal sale of arms, and it’s growing.
  • Trafficking occurs in all 50 states. 
  • An estimated 4.5 million trafficked persons endure sexual exploitation.

There’s more to know.  It’s uncomfortable, but keep reading…

In 2010, my husband and I went to south Texas.  When we were returning home, we left very early to miss heavy traffic in Houston.  If you’re familiar with that route, you know traffic governs what time many get on the road.  Anyway, it was predawn.  We stopped at a convenience store for gas, and I noticed a sign on the store’s front window.  It was directing people who were victims of human trafficking to call this number.  Or if anyone was spotted who appeared to be a victim of trafficking, you could report it to this same number.

That sign sent chills up and down my spine.  That was the first mention of human trafficking in the United States I’d seen.  Until that moment in time, in my mind, trafficking was something that happened far away in distant lands.  Later that morning, we stopped again, and again I saw a sign about trafficking on the store’s front window.  That chill stayed with me the rest of the trip.

I decided to look into the situation and see what in the world was going on.  To be honest, I had hoped to put my mind at ease.  But that isn’t what happened.

I learned that trafficking happened here.  A lot.  That some saw it as a more profitable trade than selling drugs.  Drugs, they could sell once.  But people could be sold over and over and over.  I read about cases where ordinary women doing ordinary things were abducted and vanished.  Lost to trafficking.  Things like pumping gas, walking to their cars in shopping mall parking garages or lots, and broken down with a flat tire on the side of the highway.  Everyday situations we all easily see ourselves in and could be in on any given day.

So rather than setting my mind at ease, I became more disturbed.  So much so that I set aside the book I was working on and started a new one that delicately addressed human trafficking.  If I, a news hound, had been unaware of all this, I felt certain others were unaware of it, too.  We needed to change that.  Deadly Ties was born.

A year later, the book was released as the second book in my Crossroads Crisis Center series, and I began hearing from readers the same shock I had experienced on discovering trafficking was happening in the United States.  That there were routes where these imprisoned victims were forced to walk through the Canadian wilderness, being driven along the I-10 corridor in trucks and vehicles, being moved from place to place.  Some were sold for the expected purpose, but others were sold to “entertain” by fighting to the death against other imprisoned victims.  Under constant death threats and intense observations, some were being forced to work at outside jobs and to turn over all their earnings to their captors.

In the news lately, we’re hearing more and more about children being taken (or sold) and abused, even murdered and offered as sacrifices by cults.  We’re hearing stories of organs being trafficked, and all manner of evil things.

I hope that this news doesn’t shock you. That you too have seen the news articles and are aware of the atrocities being committed.  Bluntly put, we are failing to protect our children, and we honestly need to do a better job for them.  For all victims.

If you are shocked, I hope your reaction will be to look into trafficking.  The numbers are staggering.  I read an article a few days ago about 10,000 children being missing, so be emotionally prepared for what you discover.

Here’s a little more information to help prepare you for what you’ll find.  (Many thanks to Ark of Hope for Children Organization for sharing!)

 

  • In 2012 the (UNODC) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports the percentage of child victims had risen in a 3-year span from 20 per cent to 27 percent.
  • Of every three child victims, two are girls and one is a boy.
  •  Gender and age profile of victims detected globally: 59% Women – 14% Men – 17% Girls and 10% were Boys.
  • 600,000 to 800,000 women, children and men are bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for forced labor or commercial sex (U.S. Government) 
  • When internal trafficking victims are added to the estimates, the number of victims annually is in the range of 2 to 4 million.
  • 50% of those victims are estimated to be children.
  • It is estimated that 76 percent of transactions for sex with underage girls start on the Internet.
  • 2 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF),
  • There are 20.9 Million victims of Trafficking World wide as of 2012.
  • 5 Million victims in the United States.

 

The impact:

Human trafficking has surpassed the illegal sale of arms and in the next few years, will surpass the sale of illegal drugs.  Drugs are used once and they are gone. Victims of child trafficking can be used and abused over and over.  Again, as a $32 billion-a-year industry, human trafficking is on the rise and it happens in all 50 states (U.S. Government).  While

4.5 Million of trafficked persons are sexually exploited, be aware that up to 300,000 Americans under 18 are lured into the commercial sex trade every year. From 14,500 – 17,500 of those victims are trafficked annually into the United States.

  

There is hope.  President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have invested in stopping trafficking.  In the past year, there have been over 6,000 arrests.  There is so much more to be done, and to aid in the effort, the President started a new program called HERO Child-Rescue Corps Program.

 

 

In this new HERO Child-Rescue Corps Program veterans with specialized skills will be working on child rescue.

(From the HERO website)

The Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) Child-Rescue Corps is a program developed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) in conjunction with the National Association to Protect Children.

The HERO Child-Rescue Corps Program is designed for wounded, injured and ill Special Operations Forces to receive training in high-tech computer forensics and law enforcement skills, to assist federal agents in the fight against online child sexual exploitation. Upon successful completion of the program HERO interns will have the knowledge, skills and experience to apply for careers with federal, state and local police agencies, and other organizations, in the field of computer forensics.

Learn more on ICE HEROS (from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement @ https://www.ice.gov/hero):

Too often, we think we’re one person. What can we do?  The answer is more than we think.  When we set our collective minds to it, we can move mountains.  We all know that.  Just as individuals we know that once you become aware of a problem such as this, thoughts of it never leave you.

The process of awareness has been a long and difficult one.  The idea of trafficking is so repugnant to us, so morally reprehensible, that we shun it.  We have difficulty wrapping our minds, much less our hearts, around it.  I know this. I too experienced it. But shunning does nothing to help the victims or to stop the abuse much less to solve the problem.

Which is why I am so grateful to our president for bringing trafficking to the foreground and declaring January an Awareness month.  There are organizations dedicated to rescuing these children and they have enjoyed some success.  We need to support them.  There are people tirelessly working the issue.  We’re grateful for them. Yet the problem is huge, and more people are needed to join in the fight.

While no one can do everything, everyone can do something.  Things like these:

We can insist that the legal penalties for engaging in trafficking are so severe that those who would engage don’t.

We can, as a civilized society, refuse to accept that this problem is just something that occurs in modern society.  If we object strongly enough, it won’t.

We can pray.  For the victims, for those rescued who must heal and recover, for the rescuers, and, yes, for those engaging in the illicit activity, that their hearts and minds might be turned, and they’ll stop.

And we can be aware enough that if we see something that doesn’t sit right, we report it.  We heed our instincts.

As I said, when we make up our minds and choose to act, we can move mountains.  And I hope we will.  The victims—women, men and children (boys, girls and infants)—are counting on us…

Please, read and share to increase awareness.

Recent Presidential Actions battling Human Trafficking

President Trump Working to End Human Trafficking

Loopholes in Child Trafficking Laws Put Victims–American Citizens–at Risk

President Trump Proclaims January-2018 National Slavery Human Trafficking Prevention Month

President’s Listening Session on Domestic and International Human Trafficking

President Signs “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act”

Presidential Executive Order Enforcing Federal Law Preventing International Trafficking

First 1/3 of 2018 National Monthly Observances by Presidential Proclamation:

January:  Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

                  Stalking Awareness Month

February:  Teen Dating Violence Awareness

April:  National Child Abuse Prevention Month

             National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

That’s the end of the original article.

It is now 2025, seven years later, and I wish I could say that this issue is no longer an issue, but despite efforts, the statistics have gotten worse, and we must recall that those statistics are not just numbers, they’re people, and many are children.  Now, in 2025, we have hundreds of thousands of kids missing.  So, the challenge has become more prevalent, and we now know, worldwide.

While we must be diligent in supporting those who fight these crimes, we must also be diligent in protecting our kids, our teens, and raising our own awareness so that if we see something, we recognize and report it.  So that if a new abduction tactic is being used, we know it.  We tell others who need to know it.  We do what we can.

Yes, this is a hard topic to think about and to discuss.  But if we ignore it, it will not go away.  It has and will continue to get worse.  Collectively, we all deserve better.  And we must demand better from ourselves for our kids, for all kids and women and men who fall victim to this horrendous and merciless crime.

If you look into this matter and discover information you think would be helpful to others, please feel free to add it in the comments.  Be sure to cite your source and where the original material can be found.

As I said, much has occurred on this topic since 2018, yet despite valiant efforts by some, the challenge persists.  That’s harmful to the victims and to our society.  This is not what we are about.  We want our people safe and living healthy, hopeful lives.

Blessings,

Vicki

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The Name of God by James R. Coggins

Posted on April 9, 2025 by jrcoggins

Most English translations of the Old Testament use two versions of the word “Lord.” “LORD,” in all capitals, translates the word YHWH, which is the name God revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:13-15). It means “I am,” referring to the God who truly exists and is ever-present. “Lord” usually translates Adonai, a more generic name for a lord/ruler/god. Sometimes, the translations use “Lord GOD” to translate the phrase Adonai YHWH. The translators did not want to translate this as “Lord LORD” so translated YHWH as “GOD.”

Since Hebrew does not use vowels, no one knows for sure how to pronounce YHWH. The best current guess is “Yahweh.” The ancient Israelites and Jews so revered this name that they would not pronounce it. Instead, they inserted the vowels for Adonai into the text, which produced the previous, mistaken English pronunciation of “Jehovah.” When they were reading the Scriptures out loud, the Jews would come to YHWH and say “Adonai.” 

Because of this, English-speaking Christians call God “Lord” since their Scriptures call Him LORD/Lord. This is a distortion of Scripture. As stated before, “Lord” (Adonai) was a generic name for God (similar to the English word “God”) used by many religions. So, when Israelites talked to other peoples, they might both use the word Adonai but have in mind two very different understandings of who God is. This led to much confusion. Therefore, there is much repetition in the Old Testament of the phrase “Name of God”—that is, YHWH—to distinguish the God revealed to the Israelites from the gods of all the other nations. This began with Abraham, who called on “the name of the LORD” (Genesis 12:8). In the law given to Moses, God said, “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God” (Exodus 20:7) and “Do not invoke the names of other gods” (Exodus 23:13). Sometimes the Old Testament just uses “the Name” (Leviticus 24:11, etc.).

In the third century BC, the Old Testament was translated into Greek for use by Greek-speaking Jews, Greek-speaking converts to Judaism, and Greek scholars who wanted to expand their libraries and were interested in what the Jews had to say. It was called the “Septuagint” translation because it was supposedly translated by seventy (or seventy-two) scholars. These Jewish scholars, following the Jewish hesitancy to pronounce the name YHWH, translated both YHWH and Adonai as kurios, which essentially means “Lord.” Therefore, when the writers of the New Testament (writing in Greek) quoted Old Testament passages, they quoted from the Septuagint, which did not distinguish between YHWH and Adonai. Following the Greek, English translations of the New Testament uniformly translate kurios as “Lord” even when kurios is a Greek translation of the Old Testament Hebrew YHWH, which English translations would normally translate as “LORD.”

Because of all this, Christians customarily call God “Lord” or “God,” which are not clearly distinguishable from other religions’ concepts of God—unless Christians are very clear in their own minds exactly who they are praying to.

Jesus also spoke of the name of God: “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matthew 6:9) and “I have come in my Father’s name” (John 5:43). Jesus also spoke of His own name: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:5) and “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). If we remember that the name “Jesus” means “YHWH saves” (Matthew 1:21), then we realize that when Jesus used the term “name,” he was referring to Himself and to God the Father, that is, Yahweh. This identification is carried through by Jesus’ followers, who wrote, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) and “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). This stress on Jesus as the only Name to offer salvation is very close to the Old Testament assertions that YHWH is the only God. Note also these verses: “[God seated Jesus] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:21) and “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:9-10). Repeatedly, the New Testament writers refer to Jesus as “the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 21:13, 1 Corinthians 1:2,10, 5:3, 6:11, 2 Thessalonians 1:12, 3:6)—Lord here is kurios, the Greek word for Lord, which is also used to translate YHWH and Adonai, God.

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Play Day by Tara Randel

Posted on April 7, 2025 by tararandel

If you’ve read any of my blogs, you will recall that my daughter and I love to take a day off and go to Disney World. We’re annual passholders and take advantage of the close proximity to the park in order to have a play day.

Right now, the Flower and Garden Festival is featured at Epcot. If there is one thing they do well at the park, it is creating beautiful, landscaped gardens and character topiaries. We walk around the park and admire the variety of flowers and plants, as well as the food kiosks along the way.

But more importantly, it’s a day to get away from the regular routine and escape. A time to recharge our internal batteries. For a few hours we get caught up in the magical world and leave the stress of life behind.

As a creative person, I find inspiration when I view all the lovely arrangements of flowers. It may be a make-believe world, but I can still see the beauty of God’s creation at every turn.

I think we miss out if we don’t take a day off once in a while. No matter what you like to do, getting away from the day-to-day busyness elevates our spirits and can make us excited about the days to come. We like going to Epcot and the other parks, but I also love to hike. No matter where you live, there are wonderful places to spend time outdoors. Or if you prefer, in a museum or at a movie theater. The point is to remember all the beauty in the world and to enjoy it.

So, if you get a chance to plan a play day, go for it. You’ll be glad you did!

Tara Randel is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. Family values, a bit of mystery and of course, love and romance, are her favorite themes, because she believes love is the greatest gift of all. Look for her Harlequin Heartwarming romance THE SURPRISE NEXT DOOR, available May 2025. For more information about her books, visit Tara at www.tararandel.com. Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TaraRandelBooks. 

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