Strike Three!

A baseball player batting

2 Peter 3:17 states, “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.” Why does baseball have the “three strikes and you’re out” rule? Why not allow only one pitch? “One strike and you are out” would […]

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A Thin Slice

Matthew 15:32 says, “Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, ‘I have compassion on the multitudes, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.’” As a young boy, I enjoyed the week-long camping and

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Swing It!

Boy playing on swing

The swing was the best playground equipment invented. It was the way Tarzan got around in the jungle. The principle of “centrifical” force, swinging from a certain point, doesn’t exist. What? How about the tether ball, the merry go round, or even the teeter totter? What about the sling David used to kill Goliath?  As

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Asleep at the Switch

Girl sleeping on a desk

This term came from the railroad days of the 19th century. At the critical moment, the switchman was needed to switch the track and change the course of the train. Waiting for that critical moment was the boring part of the job. Staying awake was also part of the job. I can identify with this.

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Come Home

Man walking with suitcase into paradise

Did you ever run away from home? Many young people have. When things get overwhelming at home, the thought might cross our mind. Adults can also run away from home.  One New Year’s Eve, just before midnight, I received a desperate phone call. As a young pastor of a small church, I had organized a

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Spit in my Face!

Has anyone ever spit in your face? In these “Covid days” it might actually be a crime. I’m not talking about someone that sprays when they talk, but intentionally spitting. Years ago this issue arose (pun intended). It happened on my school bus. I sat in the driver’s seat watching the students board the bus

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The Traffic Test

Traffic

This is where the rubber meets the road. The first automobile accident in America allegedly took place in Ohio City, Ohio in 1891 (from “Ohio History Central”, an Ohio history website run by the Historical Society, Ohio History Connection). Accurate or not, car crashes are certainly bound to happen. In Bible times, this was not 

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Fill’er Up

Historic gas station

This is a phrase seldom, if ever, heard anymore. The days of the true “service station” are gone. There may still be some places where an attendant will put gas in your tank while you sit in the car. Gas stations once had an air hose and water hose right by the gas pump. The

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The Ninth Hour

Baseball game

In 1857, the rule that required nine innings in a baseball game was established. Though every run was important in adding up to the total score, the ninth-inning runs got the attention. This is where the drama heated up. In God’s “game,” the ninth hour is the big showdown. The ninth hour begins at 3:00

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The Fire Test

Hands over fire

When I was a teenager, the Junior-Senior Banquet was our church’s replacement for the Senior Prom. Seated at the fancy table waiting for our food, I noticed the candles in little tin glass holders. Being a junior, and wanting to call attention to myself (little man syndrome), I said, “I bet I can put that

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