Several years ago, in attempting to justify a serious moral failure. I heard a TV evangelist claim that “the devil made me do it.” He was not the first to make that claim. The phrase was popularized by comedian Flip Wilson in the early 1970s. He used it to excuse a character’s impulsive behavior when she said, "The devil made me buy this dress!". It is possible to blame the devil for all sorts of shortcomings and failures. We can blame the devil, and he (or she) is indeed r

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) Stephen King described his The Stand: The Complete Uncut Edition as “this long tale of dark Christianity.” It’s an apt description. The novel is packed with themes any Bible reader would recognize. One in particular stands out for me: King’s characters have strange dreams. Each character dreams of a person and a place. All the dreamers are called to come. Each commences a journey to follow the voice in the dream. In time, the dreamers form

One of God’s commandments in Exodus 20 states: “ Thou shalt not kill ,” or more precisely, “ You shall not murder .” The act of deliberately taking a human life is wrong, although we have justified situations such as with self-defense, war, and capital punishment. In 2023 The U.S. homicide rate averaged around 6.8 per 100,000 people, with approximately 22,830 total homicides. The Southeast had the highest rates, showing Mississippi at the top, with around 20.5 deaths per 10

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) Eagles singer Don Henley and friends wrote “The Heart of the Matter” in 1989. The song was a hit because of Henley's voice and the fact it is so singable. The lyrics tell us that a former love has found someone new. How many similar songs have you heard? A hundred? A thousand? If you thought the song was about a person pining for their lost love, you weren’t alone. It’s just that, well, there's quite a bit more to it. Check these lyrics: Th

“ Friendly fire ” is military slang that means your own side has fired upon you. There was difficulty in communication between two battle stations, and the result is most often loss of life. The casualties are just as severe, whether they are deliberate or not and such events are not “ friendly ” at all. Friendly fire often kills. Recently, a so-called friendly nation shot down three of our jet fighter planes. The pilots bailed out and were safe, but the billion-dollar flyi

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) In late summer 1942, the United States government force-purchased more than 60,000 Tennessee acres near the Appalachian foothills. Many of those acres had been farms. Earth was leveled, streets were laid, foundations were poured, and buildings rose. No one was told why. The "whatever it is" needed people: cooks, launderers, janitors, trash collectors, typists, file clerks, carpenters, lifeguards, teachers, plumbers, nurses, doctors, librar

This is an unusual topic, but both items are important and common in our Western tradition. What is the difference between the two? It is really quite simple: caskets were first used in the 16 th century, and “ coffin ” comes from an old French word (coffin) meaning “a little basket” which originally referred to a small box or chest for precious items like jewelry. The physical difference between a coffin and a casket is in their shapes. A coffin traditionally has six side

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection for Easter) In the novel (and film) The Robe , Tribune Marcellus Gallio was “assigned” to a remote post in the far eastern reaches of the Roman Empire—Jerusalem. He was sent there as punishment for an indiscretion he committed in Rome. It was an exile intended to end his career. While there, he was given what should have been a simple job for any high-ranking officer of the Roman Empire’s army: oversee the crucifixion of the Jewish rabble

When my wife Joice was dying in March 2021, I sat by her side and said “ goodbye ” many times as I held her hand and stroked her head. Each of our Waco grandchildren went to her bedside and also said their “ goodbyes .” Our Aussie families did the same by internet and phone and one of our PNG couples sent a recording of a song they composed and sang for her. Joice did not like to say goodbye. She would talk to our guests as they were leaving at the front door and then cont

We probably all agree that God’s concept of “time” and our earthly reckoning of it are quite different. We are assisted by our calendars and computers, God is not. Nevertheless, there does come a day when our “times up” here on earth and we are summoned for heaven. David’s prayer to the Lord can help us put our life here on earth in perspective: “ Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. ” (Psalm 39.