Back in the year 1980, Joel Hemphill wrote a song and recorded it with his Gospel group The Hemphills. The lyrics went like this: He’s still working on me; To make me what I need to be It took him just a week to make the moon and stars The sun and the earth and…

In the original Greek language, the book of Philippians begins this way:  Παῦλος καὶ Τιμόθεος δοῦλοι Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ. Translated literally into English, that means, “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.” Isn’t it interesting that Apostle Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would use that word “slave’ (δοῦλος in the Greek) to describe…

“May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” With these final words, Apostle Paul closes his second letter to the Thessalonians with a prayer, which stands as a profound reminder of what we need more than anything else in life: God’s grace. He could have prayed for anything but chose to…

What does love look like? It looks like a lot of things, but it most certainly sometimes looks like correction. Correction is a manifestation of love. Those whom you love, you discipline. No, it’s not enjoyable, but it’s necessary. Here in 2 Thessalonans 3:14 and 15, Apostle Paul gives instruction for Christians on how to…

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “He who will not work will not eat.” That’s not just a maxim made up by some social conservative on some podcast. No, that’s straight from the Bible. It’s from the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:10. And these words speak to a very…

If you’ve ever pulled into a big event, you probably had people out there directing you where to park. That’s what we experienced around last Christmas when my family went to Landrum’s Homestead & Village in Laurel. There were tons of poeple there, and as we pulled onto the property, there were some guys out…

As you drive around our community, you see a lot of signs out in yards indicating that this home is protected by a security system. Usually, it’s Watchdog or CUI. Why do people have these systems? Well, because there are things they want to guard against, particularly fire and burglary. Both are enemies that homeowners…

Back in 2014 when I moved from Tennessee back to Kentucky, I took a couple of my blackberry bushes with me and transplanted them at our new home. I planted them there by my chainlink fence in my backyard, and just a year or two later to surprise, I had an entire patch of blackberries.…

When you think about the American South, what iconic things come to mind that represent it for you? Several jump out to me, but one of my favorites is the live oak tree. Rooted like an ancient sentinel, the live oak stands with a wide, unshakable presence–its gnarled limbs stretching outward like arms embracing the…

Every Halloween, we are inundated with all of these scary movies coming out to the theaters. I never have cared for them. I’m too big of a chicken. But lots of folks enjoy a controlled situation like that where they can get scared. It’s thrilling. It’s an adrenaline rush. But so much of that is…