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Should we judge church attendance?

And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord — Genesis 24:48 In the last article, I made the statement that we should never equate church attendance with righteousness or godly character. Judas was a consistent follower of Jesus but was really serving the devil; he was present when they gathered for the last supper. Going to church doesn’t make anyone into a good, moral, God-fearing Christian. If you were to think of a person in the Bible that impressed you with a godly character and lifestyle, who would it be? Some of us would choose individuals from the Old Testament like Noah, ...

Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord

She flung herself across the bed and broke down in tears of frustration. Some years back James Moore shared a wonderful story that appeared in an Atlanta newspaper. A young mother was trying to get her young son to take some medicine. But he stubbornly refused. He closed his mouth as tightly as he could, shook his head furiously from side to side and even hit the spoon with both hands. He wasn’t going to take the medicine. This young mother tried everything. She pleaded, begged, even threatened--all to no avail. Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer. Exasperated, she threw down ...

Hold, please! The frustration of waiting

1 Kings 19:9-15 Many of us have experienced the frustration we felt when we were placed on hold. You finally reach a real person, and before you can give your name or state your reason for calling you are quickly advised, “Hold, please!” In addition to that, many modern-day time saving devices do not eliminate the frustration over waiting. These modern cars, with their air conditioning, CD players, sunroofs, power locks, power windows, power brakes and power steering do not eradicate the feeling of waiting we feel at red lights. Think for a moment about the microwaves we use in ...

Hunting season means venison on the table

Hello from the kitchen! Hope you are all recuperated from the Thanksgiving festivities. Next up in Pennsylvania is hunting season, which is happening now. I was raised in a hunting family, so venison was a part of our meals. As my kids were growing up, we had canned venison, marinated sirloins and jerky. Jerky is fun to make and makes the house smell so good. Canned venison is convenient when you need a quick meal, so if you’re fortunate enough to get a deer, be sure to try some canned. Best of luck to all the hunters. Be safe out there. Eat well my friends! Marinated venison ...

Pay it forward by shopping local

It is that time of year, the time when I pull out my soapbox, (to be honest it is never truly stowed away) and beg everyone to consider shopping locally. I know it is easy and convenient to sit in the comfort of your own home or office, (although I am sure none of you EVER shop during work hours, especially during those long, sometimes coma inducing, ZOOM meetings!) click a few keys, and magically your gifts show up at your door, but is that the best option? I argue, it is not. When your money goes to those online retailers, a whopping zero percent of that money stays in your community. ...

Donation hold only temporary

By now you probably have heard that the Mifflin County Library is no longer accepting books for the annual book sales. Don’t worry! This is only temporary. But I know some of you are concerned that we’ll never have a book sale ever again. Because at this last book sale in September, some customers were surprised that we had books for sale that were published before the year 2000. I heard people saying, “I thought you didn’t take donations of books before 2000.” And I admit, I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about at first. Then I remembered. When we ...