The Bold Witness

When you go without rain for a couple of months, you pray for it. Then the day comes when you remember the wise old saying, "Be careful what you pray for; you just might get it." And so the rain prayed for comes, and comes, and comes. So that where one and a half inches of rain all of a sudden causes some mild flash flooding, six and a half inches of rain all of a sudden disrupts your life. I am really a water person. I like rivers and lakes and streams and ponds. I like going to the coast to play in the Gulf of Mexico. As a kid I used to love walking barefoot in the little fast moving streams of water flowing along the curb of the street after a rain. But I am not a fan of ankle deep mub in the path I have to walk to get to work or the grocery store. And I do not like walking through ankle deep puddles of water to cross the road. And I do not like the mud that ends up coming down the hill from my neighbor's yard and covering my back patio. And why can't we ...

One of my favorite verses from the Bible is the NIV translation of Acts 28:31. "Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." I try to make that the moto of my life. And, as Paul was bold in everything he did, I also try to be bold in all aspects of my life. Today was one of those days. Tuesday is a regular day off for me and I have two regular activities I paraticipate in each Tuesday. One is a small ministry group at church called From My Heart to Your Hear. The other is donating plasma. Both activities, though worthwhile, normal require very little effort on my part. But today was different. When I woke up today San Antonio was in the middle of Tropical Storm Hermine. The wind was blowing hard with gusts over 45 mph, and the rain was coming down in drops as big as my thumb. I do not own a car and, therefore, I have to walk and ride the bus everywhere I go. So traveling today required me to be bold. I could h...

I recently attended a Bible Study were the subject scripture passage was Mark 6:1-8. That is the passage that tells of Jesus being rejected by the folks of his home town. The teacher reminded us that even Jesus's mother and siblings were not sure what he was up to and tried to get him to go home with them at one point. That is when Jesus declared that those who followed him were his family. And latter Jesus warned that he would devide families, and that chosing to follow him would men leaving behind one's family. I have a very close friend who is studying to be a minister, and he does not enjoy the support of his family in his pursuit. They have questioned his desire, and even suggested that he get a "real" job instead of chasing a dream. Far from being encouraging his efforts to become a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they are detractors. And thought they do not directly fight against his efforts, if one is not your friend can it not be said that pers...