RickPage

See Me! May 25, 2016 A friend was sharing about his and another friend's depression recently. Both men had long struggled with depression. Through the years they had a daily conversations, and as they moved apart, it was most often by phone.  In the conversation in question, our common friend said, "I don't have a friend in the world."  The irony was that he had thousands of friends - including the friend on the phone.  At that moment he just could not see anything, except the enormity of the issue before him. Such is the nature of depression.  It makes the seeing blind - to hope.  It is a wind so fierce, it whisks away words of hope and encouragement from perfectly functioning ears.  Reason is nearly gone, if not gone completely.  The onslaught of depression is merciless.  The ravages to mind and spirit are further complicated by an assault on the body.  Vitality is gone.  Lethargy sets in.  Work, play and worship is a...

Words May 11, 2016 At a conference I'm attending this week three college students are highlighted who are entered into the NextGen Preacher Search.  They each must present a five minute sermon.  We heard the first one last night.  The focus on a short, effective sermon reminded me of the story of Edward Everett.  In his day, Everett was famous for his oratory skills.  The son of a pastor, and himself a pastor, Everett turned to politics and public speaking.  After delivering a 13,607 word speech, he passed a note to the man who followed him with a 272 word speech.  Everett wrote, "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."  Everett's was to be the address of the day, but the ten-line jewel crafted by by Abraham Lincoln has, to this day, been known as the Gettysburg Address. Martin Luther King 's famous speech, "I Have a Dream" is also a tes...

Moments May 2, 2016 Do you have a friend with whom communication is difficult?  Specifically, I'm talking about those who who are not particularly good about listening.  Generally, these individuals are poor listeners because they are always talking - completely oblivious to the fact that someone else might want to say something.  One such individual comes to mind as I write this.  Lately, the blame has been put on the loss of hearing.  Doubtful, as the issue has been in place long before any hearing loss began to take place.   I wonder if God's communication with us is often just as frustrating - to him.  It's not that our hearing is defective, it's that our attention is defective.  For the most part, we tend to not be tuned in to God's communication network.  We may treat him like my friend treats others - we are too busy talking to listen.  Being the patient God that he is, I imagine he awaits the moments we stop talking ...

Despair A friend died last week.  Let me clarify that...a friend took his life on Friday.  He left behind a beautiful family - wife, five children, loving parents.  They are left angry, grief-stricken, hurting and perhaps the cruelest blow of all - questioning with no hope of answers.  Friends and acquaintances are no better off.  This man was a leader within the church, a worship minister, a shepherd and one who helped others.  What could bring a man who believed in the Eternal, and hope for believers in Him for eternity, to the point of self destruction? Pain. Despair. However, that is only supposition.  That is the cruelty for those left behind by suicide.  Picking up the pieces and questions without any answers.  The answers, what few we can get, come from those who have been close, but not successful in their suicides.  They can help...a little. Pain.  Physical pain can be the basis, but the real culprit is a p...

F ear aith April 20, 2016 I've been talking to a lot of people lately - actually, for quite some time - about fear.  Their fear or fears I should add.  Some fears are well founded, but most fears just leave me wondering about faith and fear.  I should add that I have grown into my current worldview.  After all, I've been faced with a few fears. There are fears we all face and grow beyond.  Correction, fears we all face and most of us grow beyond.  Like the fear of being called upon in class.  Some of us face that fear still on Sunday mornings, "I hope no one asks me to read Scripture this morning!"  There are fears related to performance in a new job.  There was the time as a teenager when a group of us thought we were being chased by a sea monster.  There was the time I was at the police station with my buddies and didn't want to call home for a ride - I walked.  There was the time in college when it was the middle of ...

Disarmed March 30, 2016 "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,   rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."  So starts this section of Colossians, chapter 2. The theme of this section could be, "Live as victors - not as vanquished."  I thought I had a pretty good handle on that concept, that is, until God used a major roadblock to wake me up to the realities of my own heart.  I found that it is easy to become overwhelmed, not by real power, but by perceived power.  In such a time, it is easy to forget that He who is for you, is greater than he who is against you. The Bible, and the New Testament in particular, reminds us that God is GOD - powerful, mighty, sovereign, victorious, invincible, absolute, full of love, abounding in grace and mercy.  If you are on his team, he is on your team.  It is hard though, accustomed as we are to relying upon o...

Paycheck March 21, 2016 This verse reminds me of a lesson learned many years ago.  A new store had opened in our area, specializing in retail electronics and appliances.  Store employees included the store manager, Mike Lee, and the sales staff.  I've lost track of Mike - good Christian fellow, I wonder where he is these days.  The sales staff were paid commission.  If a salesperson was good, he or she made a lot of money.  If the salesperson wasn't good, then he or she made minimum wage for the week.  As I said, it was a new store.  We were responsible for getting it ready for opening day.  Of course this meant there were no customers - which meant no sales - which meant we were all working for minimum wage.  In other words, we didn't KNOW if we were good yet.  However, there was plenty of ego to challenge the known facts.  I'm sure someone - several someones complained.  No one likes working for minimum wage. ...