Making Life Work

By: Hugh Buchanan

    In November of 2007 I accompanied my wife, Boni, to the funeral of Wanda, her dear lifelong friend. At the service, I experienced something remarkable and unexpected that lit up one Scripture for me in a way nothing except personal experience can do. I wasn’t close to Wanda. Although serious and sobered by the nearness of death, I was not gripped by the aching loneliness and sense of loss the death of a close friend or loved one brings.     At the service, as soon as Boni made eye contact with Wanda’s sister, they were drawn toward each other at a run, as if a magnetic force drew them. They threw their arms around each other. Their faces contorted in grimaces of anguish and grief and their eyes filled with tears. Their bodies...

By: Ronald L. Dart

    Is there really an ever–burning hell where sinners are tormented with fire and brimstone throughout all eternity? Is it only for the very wicked? What about the “unsaved”? The Bible tells us there is only one name given in heaven and earth whereby we must be saved–the name of Jesus. What about all those who have never heard that name? Do they go immediately to the torments of a fiery hell at death? What about babies and little children? Surely they don’t go to hell? Churches have an astonishing variety of answers to these questions, but what does the Bible say? How can we really know the truth?

By: Ronald L. Dart

 

“There are two kinds of people in the world,” intoned the preacher, “the saved and the lost. There is no middle ground with God.”

    Now there is a sobering thought. If indeed there are only two kinds of people in the world, and if I am “people,” I must be either saved or lost. And if I’m not consciously aware of having been saved, then I must be lost. And if I’m lost...

By: Ronald L. Dart

    When we are young, we are a little unsure about funerals. We don't like to think about death and we are uncomfortable being around people who are grieving. We don't know how to feel, and we don't know what to say. As we grow older and mature a little, we come to realize that a funeral is a response to death and that grief is an exactly the right response. And we learn that we really don't have to say very much to a person who is bereaved. Just "I am so sorry," and "I love you." That, along with being there is usually quite enough.

By: Lenny Cacchio

    The last time I checked, God’s scorecard doesn’t look too good.  Of the six billion people on the earth today, 4 billion of them adhere to a set of beliefs other than what is broadly termed Christianity (source: http://www.adherents.com/). Even if we assume for a moment that all those who claim the label of "Christian" really are Christians in deed as well as name, it means God isn’t doing very well in the battle for souls.

    Add to this the historical reality that the explosion in the world’s Christian population is a comparatively recent phenomenon (the past 500 years), and we must wonder why God seems impotent, if it so be that Christianity’s traditional truth claims are...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    The Athletes in Action Super Bowl breakfast is an annual event sponsored by former Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr to recognize NFL players on the basis of character and service.  In February 2006, the day before Super Bowl XL, the award was presented to New York Jets running back Curtis Martin.  Tony Dungy delivered the keynote address, who a year later would be handed the Vince Lombardi Trophy as head coach of the champion Indianapolis Colts.

    On that particular Saturday morning, Dungy spoke of the two things closest to his heart, and neither had anything to do with the National Football League. His two great passions of family and faith were evident, for just weeks before Dungy had buried James, his oldest son. ...

By: Lenny Cacchio

    There is a chapter in the Book of Revelation that contains a curious passage with some rarely heard phraseology.  Verses 4 - 6 of Revelation 20 read:     "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death...

By: Lenny Cacchio  

    It seems to be an anomaly that a loving God as depicted in the Scriptures would condemn the majority of people who have ever lived to an eternity apart from him.  That at least is the idea we get from traditional Christian theology.  Speaking of Jesus, Paul said, "There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12 NIV). Does that imply that billions of Hindus, Buddhists, animists, agnostics, and plain old decent human beings throughout history have no hope, for by dint of birth in time and place they never quite got the Christian message?     Jesus himself once said that "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:43 NIV), while Peter wrote that God is "not...

By: Lenny Cacchio

On October 12, those of us the Church of God Kansas City lost Ray Dahl, a dear friend and brother. Four years ago this month our congregation honored Ray on his 85th birthday. Though he would deny it, years do make wisdom, and his comments that evening touched all of us who were there. They are presented here in his memory. LC -------------------------- Ray Dahl’s Remarks 85th Birthday Celebration October 31, 2001 Thank you so much for being here tonight, and my thanks to John Akin and others who organized this dinner. When John told me a party was being planned, I literally pleaded with him to call it off. I have done absolutely nothing to deserve a party like this - except to...