Posts by Ken Fleeman
SOUND WORDS, JAN 23, 2022
Weakness Weakness is an unfavorable attribute regardless of one’s perspective. Peace between nations often lies in the perception of military strength and the emotional fortitude of a nation’s leadership. An imbalance between the two emboldens enemies and demoralizes the citizenry. Weakness may be exploited by enemies and consequently, nations may fall. This scenario has played out many times since the beginning of time. Citizens of fallen nations became servants of the oppressor. Opportunity to escape is rare. Exploitation of weakness…
SOUND WORDS, JAN 16, 2022
Wealth King Solomon was blessed with great wealth. This benefit was bestowed upon him because of his humble request for wisdom rather than for fame or fortune. “And God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life-but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king-…
SOUND WORDS, JAN 9, 2022
Anchor of the Soul One of the great and comforting images presented in the book of Hebrews is Jesus Christ as our great high priest ever standing in the presence of Almighty God (Heb. 4-7). That image alone is more than I can completely understand, but the fact He is interceding for you, and I is absolutely awesome. Under the Law of Moses, the Levitical high priest had the privilege and great responsibility of interceding for the nation of Israel.…
SOUND WORDS, JAN 2, 2022
Celebration of each new year dates to at least the ancient Babylonian empire. According to history.com the Babylonians celebrated on the first new moon following the vernal equinox. This coincided with their barley harvest. The festival, known as Akitu, lasted for eleven days during which the Babylonians celebrated their sky god, Marduk. The Egyptian new year was heralded by the flooding of the Nile while China celebrated the second new moon after winter solstice. Our traditional New Year’s Day came…
SOUND WORDS, DEC 26, 2021
God’s Wondrous Ways It has taken decades to collect the random assortment of magnets which now adorn our “fridge-for-later”. Our oldest daughter Jessica was the first in our home to turn this ordinary appliance into an art gallery. She was also the one to coin the name which we still affectionately use. Katrina, Emma and Logan contributed in turn to make the kitchen a colorful display of creativity. As the children grew so did their skills. No work by any…
SOUND WORDS, DEC 19, 2021
WILL What will tomorrow bring? The truth is that none of us know. We have an idea what we wish for tomorrow to be. We make plans and act on them like they are set in stone. Sometimes we are devastated when things do not go as we planned. James warned Christians about the uncertainty of the future. “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy…
SOUND WORDS, DEC 12, 2021
REGRET Grief covers a wide range of emotion. At one extreme is a debilitating sadness. This is usually the result of great personal loss. At the other extreme is mild aggravation. Have you as a parent ever said, “My children have given me nothing but grief today”? As an emotion grief is usually a response to something unexpected, something outside of our control. Sometimes grief is the direct result of our own actions. The consequence of sin is always loss.…
SOUND WORDS, DEC 5, 2021
WISDOM Benjamin Franklin said, “After crosses and losses men grow humbler and wiser.” If only there were a way to obtain wisdom without suffering. If only there were a way to learn humility without falling. What if we could know the right course without taking the wrong one first? What if we could always say the right thing instead of causing others pain? How different would our lives be? How different would the lives of our family, friends and neighbors…