Life's Inanities and Ironies

 Something different as a bonus today  It has been 80 years this past August since the guns of World War II finally fell silent, a moment that should stir our souls with both gratitude and profound sorrow. Somewhere between 70 million and 85 million precious lives were torn away in that brutal storm of conflict, extinguished by the cruel ingenuity of man's most horrifying weapons—devices that unleashed hell on earth and shattered families forever. Here in the United States, around 407,000 brave souls—soldiers and civilians alike—gave everything, their final breaths drawn by August 15, 1945, when Japan surrendered at last (with the formal papers signed on September 2). Among those last heartbreaking losses were four young Navy pilots from Fighter Squadron 88 (VF-88), heroes aboard the mighty aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) "The Fighting Lady". And it's one of those eternal boys—frozen in youth by time and tragedy—that tugs at my heartstrings relentlessly. Ensign...

 Today, I want to invite you on a profound spiritual journey—a journey that takes us back thousands of years, into the very heart of ancient Israelite worship, and then catapults us forward to the eternal truth of our salvation in Jesus Christ . We’re going to explore Yom Kippur , the Jewish Day of Atonement , and discover how this solemn observance illuminates the glorious work of our Savior. Now, as Christians, we live under grace, not under the Law . This is a foundational truth of our faith, and it’s a truth that sets us free! Yet, to dismiss the Old Testament , to ignore the rich tapestry of God’s dealings with Israel, would be to miss the very blueprint for understanding our redemption . As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, the Law, its rituals, and its sacrifices were but a "shadow of the good things to come, and not the true form of these realities" ( Hebrews 10:1 ). The shadows always point to a substance, and for us, that substance is Christ. Yom Kippur: A Day of Ho...

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share a deeply humbling experience I had after church this morning. One of my brothers in Christ—who is in as bad or worse shape than I am most days—stopped and asked me about the requirements to donate a kidney, or at least to explore the possibility. Now, I know that sounds extraordinary, but what you might not realize is that my brother Larry is in his 80s, has been in poor health off and on for the last 6-8 years, and is currently living in a nursing home. Yet, he felt led to ask me about this. The fact that someone going through so much is still ready to offer up even more, if he can, is incredibly humbling to me. I explained to him that the criteria for being a donor are very strict. Over the last three years, I've had at least five people try to sign up to donate for me, and each one has been turned down for various reasons: diabetes, liver conditions, histories of various diseases that disqualify people from the list. Part of me is very glad t...