by Charles Gumm | Aug 15, 2020 | Uncategorized
In the late 1970s Bell telephone launched an ad campaign with the slogan, “Long Distance is the next best thing to being there.” There is an unspoken truth in its message which we often don’t give much thought – the best thing is actually to be in the presence of the...
by Charles Gumm | Aug 8, 2020 | Uncategorized
Christians have struggled with the following questions for centuries. “How do I grow in my faith in Christ?” “It seems like so often I’m just going through the motions.” “Why...
by Charles Gumm | Aug 1, 2020 | Uncategorized
The old man sat in the worn recliner, finishing his lunch while talking to one of the nursing aides. His eyes, with a vacant, distant gaze made the young woman sad. She had spent the last half hour with him to keep him company. Little had she expected the man to pour...
by Charles Gumm | Jul 25, 2020 | Uncategorized
A quarterback’s worst nightmare is to hear from behind the sound of a gargantuan defensive end an instant before making contact. The impact is sudden, unexpected and often leads to severe injury. The downside of playing quarterback is “the blindside”. But football...
by Charles Gumm | Jul 18, 2020 | Uncategorized
Normally, our reaction to an invitation is positive. We think of invitations to a dinner or a party or a wedding. What’s great about an invitation is that it is a request for us to participate, but only by our choice. We are usually not forced to either accept or turn...
by Charles Gumm | Jul 11, 2020 | Uncategorized
There is nothing easier than to write a paragraph about the benefits of learning to forgive other people. There is nothing more difficult than to put what one wrote into real life practice. Learning to truly forgive another person from the heart after experiencing a...
by Charles Gumm | Jul 1, 2020 | Uncategorized
In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to ask God the Father to “give us this day our daily bread.” The words sound quaint but woefully antiquated. “Daily bread?!” How does that concept fit with a trip to Costco to buy 200 rolls of toilet paper and an 85” TV? From...
by Charles Gumm | Jun 27, 2020 | Uncategorized
Sometimes God’s will seems so mysterious. We wonder what he is doing. We’re at a loss as to how he might be accomplishing anything in our lives which could be remotely called good. While there certainly are times when God’s ways don’t make sense, more often than not,...
by Charles Gumm | Jun 13, 2020 | Uncategorized
You’ve got to admit, if you saw the rock pictured in the photo laying on the ground, you’d probably pick it up. There would be a “it’s too good to be true” hope you had found a valuable piece of gold. Later on, unfortunately, you would discover your gem was only...
by Charles Gumm | Jun 6, 2020 | Uncategorized
News outlets have run several reports that people have begun to pray much more regularly since the Covid-19 virus broke out. There could be many reasons for this happening. When people are scared and uncertain about the future, prayer tends to calm their fears. For...
