Barnabas Powell's Blog, page 158
March 30, 2018
A Proverbs 31 Woman!
My grandmother once told me “Son, a good woman is hard to find.” The longer I live, the more I think that it’s the fault of bad men that this saying may be accurate. But what does that even mean after all? Good according to what measure? Is it looks? We all know that physical beauty is fleeting. Is it intelligence? Using what standard? All of this feels so arbitrary. No wonder…
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March 29, 2018
Wine, When It is Red
In my old law enforcement days I served on the DUI Task Force in our local community. This was when Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) was just getting started and there was a real push to get impaired drivers off the road. We had to do extensive training on just how alcoholic beverages or any intoxicant affected a person’s ability to safely operate their car. One tool we had was a car…
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March 28, 2018
The False Face of the Fool
“Smiling faces, smiling faces, sometimes, they don’t tell the truth, smiling faces, smiling faces, tell lies, and I’ve got proof…” The Temptations did this song in 1971 and it’s a favorite. But it’s message is all too familiar. Sometimes, a friend turns out to be no friend at all. Sometimes, the smiling mask someone wears hides an evil and jealous intent. And too often we learn about this the hard way. It…
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March 27, 2018
Better To Live on the Roof!
Drama! I confess, I am not a fan of drama in my house. And here I am living with three women! I guess the joke’s on me! OK, before I get in real trouble here, let me say that I have noticed the older I get, the more I like quiet and smooth sailing. And yet, I’m a parish priest of a growing congregation filled with dynamic people, the head of a…
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March 26, 2018
A Poor Man is Better than A Liar
Why is it I keep having to learn wisdom the hard way? I mean, it isn’t like I haven’t had wise men and women and friends who have offered wise counsel. I’ve seen how bad choices can really wreck a life and then I’ve watched myself make those SAME BAD CHOICES! What gives? Well, what gives is our common, human struggle. Our will, our “want to” is weakened by fear and death.…
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March 23, 2018
God Provides AFTER the Test
“But I don’t understand!” How many times have I said these very words concerning something I was going through in my life? If I had a nickel for every time I said this or heard this, especially from my children, I’d be very wealthy. And I really don’t understand why God does what He does; why He allows what He allows, and why He doesn’t do what I think is obvious He…
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March 22, 2018
Let’s Make A Deal
“So, now we’re negotiating.” It was a great moment. We had been going back and forth for a while and finally had agreed on a course of action and all that was left to do was determine the details. You see, it had become clear to me that we were not really on the same page about the general vision and direction we wanted the ministry to go and, if we were…
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March 21, 2018
God Changes Your Name
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Well, sure, but the name “rose” captures that smell perfectly, doesn’t it? You see, names matter. They aren’t merely random labels we attach to things, places, and persons. That kind of thinking has gotten us in deep trouble as a society! No, it is no mistake that one of the first jobs God gave Adam was to “name” things! Names reveal (or…
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March 20, 2018
Believing IS Doing!
There’s a prevailing notion that the mere granting of mental assent is believing. But is that really true? Is that really enough to actually believe? Does simply saying you think something is true mean you truly believe it? I know we live in a society that likes to reduce life to “manageable” sizes. We want to reduce achievement to “imagine the possibilities.” We want “positive thinking” to replace the hard work of…
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March 19, 2018
Where Are Your Holy Places?
The concept of “holy space” takes a beating in our modern society that values egalitarianism above hierarchy. But without one place being set aside as “holy” we lose the ability to see the “holy” in every place! In our Scripture Lesson today we read how God promised Abram (later his name would be changed to “Abraham”) the land of Israel for his people. Look at Genesis 13:12-18: Abram dwelt in the…
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