Why do writers of creeds (theologians?) have an aversion to quoting the Bible ?
They ‘have to’ change the wording, make new wording, different from the simple Words of God, or they haven’t done their job.
Or they’re out of a job.
TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME
April 9, 2026 By Leave a Comment
A University of Massachusetts poll in 2020:
A majority of New Hampshire Democrats said they’d rather “a giant meteor strikes the earth, extinguishing all human life” than President Donald Trump win re-election. Yikes.
No change six years later, only more intense.
TDS—Rather destroy America than support anything good for America from Trump.
TRUE TEXAN RETURNS TO TEXAS
April 8, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Wrote this after watching
FALLING FOR VERMONT
(True Texan still falls for love stories.)
I was born in the middle of Texas, and the ‘Heart of Texas’ is in my heart.
I also did my time outside of Texas, so I know even more what it means to be a Texan.
Spent the last three years of college in Nebraska.
Survived ‘up north’, -14° one morning, because I didn’t need a car (walked everywhere in the small college town).
Spent the next seventeen years ‘in the big city’ of South Florida.
Should qualify in Guiness Book for longest a Texan spent in S. Florida (maybe the only Texan—never met any there).
When moving onto my inheritance (in land) became an option, I thought it was better for my children to finish growing up in the country and attend small-town high school (with its limitations, without metal detectors).
Hasn’t been perfect, but no regrets for this Texan returning to Texas.
Please enter TEXAS in the search bar,
and read more, lots more, what it means to be a Texan.
Note the dates on articles.
I wrote all that since returning to Texas.
COMFORTABLE
April 8, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Can one word say so much ?
Can one word say it all ?
Can one word preach a sermon ?
Can one word write a book ?
Then I realized the book might not happen now.
And the sermon might be too long.
And, maybe there is food for thought in the outline itself.
I want the reader to think, not just read what I think (I do plenty of that).
As I wrote the following notes, two pertinent illustrations came to mind.
I forgot one before I could write it down.
And that makes me uncomfortable as a writer.
I’ll have to live, and write, without it.
Bull—Here’s the winner, that got this article going.
A trusted foreman for a wise cattleman was sent to an auction some distance away, to bid for a special bull to be sold on a certain day.
He was given enough money for bus fare both ways, and the max he could bid.
The bidding was intense, because it was a top-of-the-line bull.
As the bids approached the amount of money in his pocket, the foreman made a decision.
If necessary, he would add the amount of his bus fare home and his own money.
Sure enough, he won the bid and bought the bull.
But he had no way home, and only enough money for a one-word telegram to his boss.
He came up with the perfect one-liner in one word:
COMFORTABLE
That story may not leave you with profound insights, but you will remember COM FOR TA BLE and this article.
Comfortable—good, bad, ugly ?
Do we know what we want to communicate, what we must communicate, what matters most, to the people who matter most, ahead of time, before we know what is going to happen, no matter what happens.
Do we expect to communicate success in the things that matter most, because we will give everything we have (that is, everything that has been entrusted to us) to accomplish what we were sent here to accomplish ? ***
– – – – – – – – – –
Comfortable Culture
Comfortable America
Comfortable Lifestyle
Comfortable Military/Wars
Comfortable Retirement
Comfortable Theology
Comfortable Death
Comfortable Afterlife
x ? x ? x ? x ? x ? x ? x ?
Not so Comfortable ?
Comfortable Pioneers
Comfortable Soldiers
Comfortable Seniors (with limitations)
Comfortable Christians
Comfortable Lukewarm Christians
Comfortable Non-Christians
Comfortable Anti-Christians
Comfortable Hell
(and, more meddling)
Comfortable MAGA
Comfortable ANTI-MAGA
Comfortable TDS
Comfortable DDS
Most of my prayers are asking God to make my life easier, more Comfortable.
I usually want others to feel sorry for me or help me when my life is not Comfortable.
Without the sermon (the book) on Comfortable, on all the above—a few words from The Word, the bottom line:
“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion.”
“Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
” ‘Take your ease . . .’—BUT GOD said, ‘Tonight your soul will be required of you.’ “
And there’s a boatload more from The Book, already written.
– – – – – – – – – –
*** “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a little; I will put you in charge of much.”
TDS – Trump Derangement Syndrome
DDS – Daddy Derangement Syndrome
WHAT’S FOR REAL AND WHAT’S NOT
March 31, 2026 By Leave a Comment
In all my interactions with others nowadays, there is an assumption and expectation of functioning like always, when I know that is simply not the case anymore.
It is difficult to reconcile life as normal, that others want to see, and still count on—and life as I know it (losing ground), that others don’t want to see and can’t count on as in the past.
So the alternative is to start pretending more and more, to carry on life as in the past as long as possible—all the while knowing it isn’t real, and it’s not real living.
There comes a dreaded or feared reality when others finally recognize and label you with some “condition” so they can talk about “it”.
That is worse because you become the “it”.
The worst is awareness of talk about you, which most surely will feel demeaning.
And all along you just want[ed] someone to believe you, accept you, and relate with you where you are—not what they hope, wish, expect, pretend, so they can cope with (or ignore) their their own life issues.
And, you certainly want to avoid turning inward and focused on no one understanding—when your heart’s mission is to unselfishly make a difference in others with your wisdom from living.
Nowadays it seems no one under 50? has time or patience to step in the shoes of seniors, with struggles—and with much to offer.
It is much harder for over-busy, over-loaded, over-scheduled younger generations today to be content spending time—TIME—with older folks just to absorb good stuff gained through decades of living.
Rather, they are more likely to apply the lense of their ‘got it together’ generation and ‘much too fast life’—wanting quick answers that they will accept by pre-set default.
They don’t have time to wrestle through issues in life like older folks did, to come to convictions and foundation principles to stand firm on, through difficult, rough, hard times, like today, and the uncertain days ahead.
Where is there room for those in 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, to find change in their life, from time spent with seniors ?
Wisdom is so much more than just an interesting story of someone who has lived longer.
The Bible is full of wisdom, and so are the older ones among us who have walked with the Lord and His Word.
Mary chose “the one thing needful”, sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening.
I urge the reader to do the same, and sit with a senior, and listen.
CHOICES ?
March 26, 2026 By Leave a Comment
“The debate is no longer beteeen right or left.
It is between normal and crazy.”
—–Sarah Huckabee/Sanders
“These people are CRAZY.”
—–Donald Trump, directly to democrats in the room refusing to acknowlege anything good, anything heroic, anything American, any brave Americans recognized in person in the room, during his State Of The Union address
HELICOPTER PARENTING – – – BY GOD ?
March 24, 2026 By Leave a Comment
We recoil at the description of helicopter parenting.
Perhaps that is why we resist the thought of God literally running every detail of our life.
–
How can Jesus’ relationship with His Father show how we can relate with our Father ?
The same Father !
Personal, prompting this article–
Psalm 90 is a bit hard, unless you’ve been there, unless you’re there.
God sends stuff.
God sends a boatload.
And more.
And you ask—and I ask,
Why all this ?
Why now, after all these years ?
☆ What I have learned ?☆
What have I not learned ?
There is still hope !
Something I wrote over 15 years ago, still ringing true today:
“What I don’t deserve is the goodness of God graciously sending me consequences for my sin to lead me to repentance.”
That is helicopter parenting by God !
Is anything off-limits for God in our lives, in my life ?
Re-worded—Anything God can’t do in my life ?
Re-worded—Anything I don’t want God to do in my life ?
We may say–
There are some things I have to do, that God might not.
We may say–
God gave me a brain, to figure out some things myself.
Sounds so American, to Americans.
Sounds so arrogant, to God.
–
I want to get something done today.
And–
God wants to get something done today.
What does it take for the two to match ?
Which one has to move ?
“Have Your own way, Lord.
Have Your own way.
You are the potter;
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me
After Your will,
While I am waiting,
Yielded and still.”
“THE BIBLE DOES NOT MEAN . . .” ?
March 24, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Be wary and very skeptical of any teaching on a Bible passage that starts with saying what it doesn’t mean.
I’ve heard that a lot, and it bothers me, like giving an apology or disclaimer for the Bible, so it’s not so harsh or offensive.
It’s like we want and expect the Bible to be more compatible with our thinking than it sounds at first reading.
We must set aside what we believe the Bible should say when it says something different than our ideas.
God’s Word is written to confront us, before it can comfort us—to show what’s wrong between us, before it can create what is right between us.
We are called to preach The Word, without obligation to compatibility.
CHURCH – ‘OR’ – STATE
March 22, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Hmmm
Does the debate over “church and state” mean we have to choose between church OR state ?
The Roman State became The Roman Church.
Both were BAD !
The Roman State became ‘bad’ for Christians, wih severe persecution.
BUT GOD – – –
Result of persecution was so powerful for growth of Christianity that the ‘church’ took over the state—which made the known world of ‘church and state’ even worse.
The church gained power, so much control, then it had to desperately maintain such control, so that THE CHURCH had to restrict freedom of the people to think for themselves, even eliminate* them to read the Bible for themselves.
That canceled the transformation by the Word that is the heart and soul of the power in Christianity.
For centuries ?
Yes.
Until the Reformation, and even beyond for many people.
Is the answer to have ‘balance’ ? Balance between church and state ?
Does balance mean compromise—that is, mutual compromise ?
NO NO NO
NEVER WORKS
Reminds me of “mutual submissiom” in marriage.
Mutual submission is an oxymoron in any context.
Similar to “agree to disagree”—that means someone doesn’t have strong enough convictions to stand on, stand for, to make a difference, pay the cost.
Church and State—
Organized Church is not Christians called to be salt and light.
Organized Church and State—
Both run by human nature seeking power to control people.
Mission of Christians, surrendered to Jesus, is seeking changed lives from the inside, that will make a difference in society (in other people), no matter what the form of government.
Government set up “of the people, by the people, for the people” is ideal for discipling and missions.
American governmentt blessed this country through “TRUST IN GOD”.
So, “GOD BLESSED AMERICA”.
And then—
Sadly, the profound success of revivals, awakenings, and sending missionaries, eventually led to profound prosperity and comfortable Christianity and loss of faithfulness – – – faithfulness which endures only through hard times.
History repeats.
Church history repeats.
BUT GOD repeats, calling His faithful remnant back to repentance and relationship and power.
CHURCH ~ STATE
- When Christians are in the persecuted minority, we are in good company, closer to Jesus and each other “in the fellowship of His sufferings.”
- When Christians seem to be in the ‘majority’, be very careful to stay on “the narrow way” that Jesus said, “few will find it.”
In times like these
Be very sure
Your anchor holds
And grips the solid rock.
That rock is Jesus,
Yes He’s the One.
That rock is Jesus,
The Only One.
BE VERY SURE.
*eliminate, often literally
HELICOPTER PARENTING – – – HELICOPTER HUSBANDING ?
March 22, 2026 By Leave a Comment
The question is this:
Would it work in our lives if we took the Bible verses just as they are written, and applied them ?
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”
If we don’t believe it would work, then the Bible continues in the next verse with how it works.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her . . .
In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.”
Nowadays we think we improve on many things the Bible says, to make us more comfortable or more excited.
For decades now there has been a plethora of ‘upgrades’ to fit our enlightenment—book after book and programs galore explaining how marriage and family really work.
Doesn’t anybody raise a healthy skepticism over the compulsion to write a new list or formula that gets it right—meaning we didn’t have the secret before ?
How is it that we have created such a demand for new answers from psychology, and authors and talk show hosts capitalize on the ‘market’, boosting the search for even more.
Mutual submission does not come out of Eph 6, unless you are trying to ‘soften the blow’ of wives submitting.
If your marriage is great, you don’t have to listen to all the new presentations.
If your marriage is not good, then you ‘have to’ pay attention and try to follow every new book that fixes thousands, guaranteed.