Category: Ponder
-
Just a Coincidence?
If you would like to hear the story click on the green Listen bar above. Story by: Randy Grathen. God knows the end from the beginning. He (Zacchaeus) ran ahead to a place where Jesus would come, and he climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him. When Jesus came to that place, he… Read more
-
Be Thankful You Were Not One of Jesus’s Chosen Twelve.
Story by Randy Grathen. Thank you, Tina Campbell & Jeremy Spring for your invaluable contribution to this story. No modern secular historian would challenge the fact that Jesus existed. He was a man, a preacher and teacher, claiming to be God incarnate, was crucified for those claims, was buried AND three days later his body… Read more
-
I Think I Made a Mistake.
Story by Scotty Gray. Many years ago, my friend Robin, was engaged to a man 6 years her senior, whom she dated for 2 years. She came to realize this would not be a marriage based on love. She spoke with her father about her concerns. “Dad, I think I made a mistake. I don’t… Read more
-
Why Did Jesus Say It?
Story by Randy Grathen. When Laurie and I moved to Camdenton Missouri, we started church shopping. We attended several. Organ music with a full choir, and gospel hymns. Non-denominational Contemporary-Christian music complete with guitars and drums. Fire and Brimstone preaching, including ‘you’re going to hell if you have guitars and drums in church.’ Huge churches… Read more
-
Redneck Wisdom – an Oxymoron.
Story by Randy Grathen. Things I’ve learned… Wisdom – There are only two ways to get it. Live long enough, or hang out with someone who’s already got it. Wisdom does not always go to the elder. I’ve met young people who are wise beyond their years. It comes from experience. The German philosopher Friedrich… Read more
-
Why We Believe? – The Tomb is Empty.
Story by Randy Grathen. Murderer, blasphemer, liar, thief. Adulterer, pedophile, envious, glutton, greedy, lustful, prideful, lazy, and angry. All of these are sins according to God. But will any one of them condemn you to hell? No. We are condemned to hell from birth. The list is just some of the reasons why. But more… Read more
-
The Nail.
Story by Laurie Grathen. In a land far away, at a time that seems like long ago, Randy retired from the Air Force, and we moved to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. In retrospect, that was a good decision for us because it enabled us to help care for his dad in the last few years of… Read more
-
The Habit of Solitude.
By Kristine Barnes. NOTE: In 2019 I wrote a note to my daughters, Myndi the one God allowed me to give birth to, and Karen the daughter-in-love God gave me when our son, West, chose her for his wife. During a study at church called “Lead Like Jesus”, there was a part on Solitude which… Read more
-
Thinking About Marriage.
Story by Scotty Gray. Part 1: The Misconception. I had a DJ service for over 40 years, over which time I played more than 1,500 wedding dances. Looking back, I think of the statistic that says over half of all marriages in the United States have failed. That means that I have known over 1,500… Read more
-
Open Your Eyes – What Would Jesus Do?
Story by: Linda Schnepel. (Editor’s note: Don’t panic. Linda’s post is not really 8 minutes long. All biblical verse referenced in Linda’s story are posted at the end of her article.) WWJD. It used to be a big thing years ago, but I still see it around today. To know what Jesus would do in… Read more