Author: Larry Murray

I'm a child of One, a son of two, a husband of my one and only, a dad of three + two, Pop to one, a pastor of sheep, and a fan of baseball. Follow me...as I follow Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 11:1; Philippians 2:5; 1 Peter 2:21)

Turning Complaints into Thanks

Thanksgiving is this week. So the calendar tells us it’s time to begin contemplating why we are thankful. Giving thanks for family, friends, or our jobs in a general sense is fairly easy. Giving thanks for specific things and even for the heartaches of life? Well, sometimes that takes more emotional effort than we care … Continue reading Turning Complaints into Thanks →

Quitting the Rat Race

In this mad world where we live, we're constantly getting beat down under pressure, zooming down the fast lanes of life, trying to dot all the i's and cross all the t's, straining to keep pace. Maybe, like me, you feel the weight of trying to measure up as a man, husband, father, friend, provider, … Continue reading Quitting the Rat Race →

If God knows everything, why pray?

One of the great paradoxes of our journey through life with God is that He wants us to talk to Him about everything going on in our lives, even though He already knows everything. If God is unchanging, why pray? Throughout the centuries, believers have wrestled with God through prayer and Scripture with that question. When … Continue reading If God knows everything, why pray? →

What the…Hell?

It seems I hear that phrase all the time. It pops up in some surprising places. Some substitute "Hell" for its moresocially acceptable cousin, "Heck."  While others just drop off the word altogether by saying, "What the . . .  " so that we get to fill in the blank ourselves. We hear people use … Continue reading What the…Hell? →

Stand up and Stand out

Goliath has fallen. David has ascended. Yesterday marked the end of an era for the mighty Los Angeles Lakers as they fell to the lowly, "soft" Dallas Mavericks. At the start of the playoffs, no one gave the Mavericks a fighting chance against their first round opponent (the Portland Trailblazers) much less the reigning NBA … Continue reading Stand up and Stand out →

2010 Texas Rangers Season on Facebook

Every year on Opening Day of MLB for the previous 38 years of my life, I was hopeful, but not optimistic that the Texas Rangers would make it to the World Series. The 2010 season was no exception as the team wrapped up Spring Training in Surprise, AZ and headed for Arlington. I guarded my … Continue reading 2010 Texas Rangers Season on Facebook →

Faith greater than Fate

When others suffer unexplainably, we often want to provide encouragement with words of explanation. “Everything happens for a reason,” we hear people say. “It will all work out in the end,” others proclaim. In the aftermath of the earthquakes and tsumani in Japan, many Buddhist survivors may be told, “Your karma (destiny) is that you … Continue reading Faith greater than Fate →

Where is God when the Earth shakes?

Over the past week, the reports, pictures, and videos following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11 have overwhelmed us. Since the initial earthquake, dozens of aftershocks have continued to shake the island nation including an aftershock with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 that struck Tuesday in the eastern part of Honshu, … Continue reading Where is God when the Earth shakes? →

How Long, O Lord?

Though we often wish He would move sooner, God is always right on time. Everything in God’s plan has a proper time; the gap between the present and that proper time tests and cultivates our faith. When we are in the middle of intense suffering or pain, time is of the essence. We want relief. … Continue reading How Long, O Lord? →