Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:1-2) If you grew up in church, you know the story of Jonah. God asked him to go to Nineveh, a city of 120,000, to help him save them from their own wickedness. Like most of us, when we run from what we think is trouble, we often go somewhere we think we […]

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) The story is told about a young child who prayed to ask Jesus to come and live in his heart during Sunday School. When he saw his mother, he proudly told her, “Mama, I asked Jesus to come and live in my heart today and take my skin away.” His mother chuckled but later realized that her young child was serious. Several […]

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1) As the chief executive officer of a county government with 1,900 employees and a $700 million budget, I have been swamped by the local impact of our national financial crisis. We have seen our investment earnings, sales tax revenue, and property tax income plummet. Like every other state and local government across the country, these reductions in income have forced us to examine every service we provide and how efficiently […]

“Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.” (Psalms 54:2) My son left for Miami this week to go on a Caribbean cruise. I drove him to the airport in a heavy snowstorm and knew he was in for a bumpy flight. He called when he arrived in Miami and let me know his flight had landed. “How was the flight,” I asked. “Sort of rough,” he said. His response reminded me that air travel is one of the best ways to improve your […]