Do you remember the old saying, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?” Young people today have never heard that saying… and wouldn’t have a clue regarding its meaning. “Looking the gift horse in the mouth” comes from the practice of examining the degree of wear of a horse’s teeth to tell what age [...]

One of the things that impressed me as we were considering coming to Woodland Oaks was the amount of mission work in which this congregation was involved. We have some really dedicated deacons and other individuals involved in this outreach ministry. I would like to commend you for your dedication in reaching out with the [...]

Why do we find it so difficult to accept God’s righteousness as a gift? We certainly realize that our righteousness is hardly a shadow in comparison to His, right? Then why do we struggle to accept His gift? Maybe because of the magnitude of the gift. I’ve known some folks (maybe I know him really, [...]

Everyone loves a trimmed hedge.” I don’t know where I ever heard that, but it has been with me for a long time. And I don’t know if it makes sense to anyone in the world but me, but to me it says, “Not many folks want to get out in the heat and trim [...]

  I know of no greater need for every person than to come to know God so intimately that we trust him implicitly.  That’s my goal in life- to trust God for and with everything.  Absolutely nothing held back.  That’s my goal.  And that my goal for you.    We’re involved in a series of lessons entitled “The [...]

The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want. He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me. He gently reminds me to pray and do all things without murmuring and complaining.He reminds me that he is my source and not my job.  He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions [...]

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go and visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with [...]

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?What if we flipped through it several times a day? What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? What if we used it to receive messages from the text? What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it? [...]

There are certain assumptions upon which our understanding and perception is based. Such an assumption is called a “premise.” We all have them. However, we often don’t recognize ours as “assumptions.” To us, they are simply facts. We’ve been taught them all our lives and often, everyone in “our world” makes the same assumptions. That’s [...]

Sometimes the Lord has a way of checking us out to see if we are “real” or not. He makes us answer the question, “Are you practicing what you’re preaching?” I recently wrote an article for our church bulletin entitled “Freedom” in which I decried the loss of freedom to recite a prayer and read [...]