Capturing The Slippery, Deceitful Human Heart

by Dane Massey    (Dane Massey is the former Pastor of Mulvane Christian Church. He is now in ministry in Houston, Texas.)      Today I find  my thoughts captivated by Joel 2:12:    “Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and …

Watch Your Step, You Dancing Christians

by Kevin Burton    There has been some shuffling and backpeddling, some twisting, prancing and jiving over the years about Christians and dancing.   You could maybe add waltzing and tap dancing.    Just so you know, I hate dancing, at least formal dancing.  So to those who want to condemn it outright, I may …

My Prayer To God In His Good Morning

by Kevin Burton    What can I say about the morning that poets through the centuries haven’t already said, much better than I can?    And what could I tell you about the morning that you don’t already hold in your innermost heart?    Answer to both: nothing.    With our heads, we know that …

Steely Dan Takes On Lennon And “Imagine”

  by Kevin Burton One of the few Steely Dan tunes I don’t really like took on more juice recently when I read that the song is an attack on John Lennon’s “Imagine.” I had no idea the song “Only A Fool Would Say That,” from the 1972 album “Can’t Buy A Thrill” casts Lennon as …

Thursdays With Mom: Golden Memories

by Kevin Burton    I took custody of the gold yesterday.  Didn’t make me any richer, not in the monetary sense anyway.     The transaction took place at my mother’s apartment at an assisted living facility twelve miles north of where I live.  I go there to visit her just about every Thursday.  We are …

Thankful Dependence On God For Daily Bread

by Kevin Burton    God knows I am thankful. He also knows I’m not thankful enough.    My mind is on thanksgiving these days, being truly grateful to God for the things He has given me.  Stopping, or at least slowing down, long enough to acknowledge that “every good gift and every perfect gift is …

Hating The Remedy, Loving The Cure

by Kevin Burton    Can my cat put two and two together, connect the dots?    This I can never know, of course. But I wonder if at any level she connects her recent trip to the vet and her improved health.    This much we know: Gabbie hates being put in a cat carrier, …

Fruit Of The Spirit: Self-Control

by Kevin Burton    Self-control is the final Gift of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. It is potentially the most confusing.    This is the ninth and final part of our series.    Self-control is an easy enough concept, but the self part could throw us off. The power is not in self. It …

Ready Or Not? Jesus Is Coming Back

by Kevin Burton    Remember playing hide and seek as a child?    Surely you do. Just about all of us played. It’s a game played worldwide. You don’t need any equipment, no gadgets, no batteries, no special clothing. Don’t need direct parental supervision.      “Hide-and-seek, (is an) old and popular children’s game in which …

Fruit Of The Spirit: Faithfulness

by Kevin Burton     One who is faithful is “steadfast in affection or allegiance” and “firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty.”    Those are the first two definitions given by Merriam-Webster. Mine is “consistently reliable.”    God is all these things and more. A Christian yielded to the Holy Spirit will …