Serious About Scripture

Mentoring and motivating Christ’s people to live his words

The Last Forty-five Minutes

He was lying down, gasping. It was his own bed and it was his time. Forty-five minutes from this moment he would die. Beside him sat his wife in the overstuffed leather chair that had been pulled close for the final event. She had been there all night. She sat on the edge as she patted his hand and tried to soothe him—disheveled, wide-eyed with simmering panic, twitching, pleading. It had been the hardest night of her life. The hospice…

Disinterestedness

Disinterestedness. This compelling word is not about what you might expect. We have all seen (and been) the disinterested student, expressionless, gazing into some unknown blank space outside the classroom, waiting out the final eternal moments of the professor’s pedantic, sleep-inducing hum. That describes a use of the word, but not our use. What we wish to say with this word is immensely desirable; it was once employed to describe the best of conditions of the believer. The following intriguing…

Upon the Gibbous Moon

Upon the Gibbous MoonJim Elliff Upon the gibbous moonThe ward was lighted, clean;Outside were dark and gloomAnd aggravated fiends. “Now he, the boy, is born,”They said in muffled tones,Their face in furtive scornAnd gurgling up their moans Sweet mother rests her head,With evanescent smiles;Awhile she lay in bed,Who birthed the precious child. The child was gently placedInto his mother’s arms,Though all the vicious racedTo plot the baby’s harm And then, first signs were found And ancient lines reviewedThe entry first…

When Your Pastor Thinks He’s Brother Molehill

It might surprise you to know that many pastors who have generous smiles on their faces each Sunday are, deep down, very disheartened. Pastoring a church is difficult work. For one thing, it is usually thankless. I know there are some churches that seem to remember their pastors with much fanfare, but most churches do not ever esteem them. They don’t work for just the members ultimately, so they can get over it, but never hearing those words, “Thanks for…