2002 Articles by Ray Pritchard

Jabal and Jubal (Jan 06, 2002)
JABAL AND JUBAL by Ray Pritchard As I write these words, I have just finished reading about Cain and Abel and the fascinating story of two other brothers named Jabal and Jubal. We all know that Cain murdered Abel, but who were Jabal and Jubal? What exactly did they do to merit a special mention in the Bible? It turns out th…

Your Church Hath Need of You (Jan 13, 2002)
“YOUR CHURCH HATH NEED OF YOU” by Ray Pritchard Last Sunday, January 6, I used the phrase in my title as a way to encourage many of our people to sign up to serve in our new four worship service format that begins on February 10–just four weeks from now. Some people probably recognized the phrase from their read…

Why Extra Temptation Can Be Good For You (Feb 03, 2002)
WHY EXTRA TEMPTATION CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU by Ray Pritchard Since we started the campaign to read through the Bible this year, I have received a number of e-mails from people both locally and around the nation who have written to testify about the personal blessings they have already received. I think the most interesting com…

WMBI Commentaries (Feb 07, 2002)

Plan B Living (Feb 10, 2002)
PLAN B LIVING by Ray Pritchard Some time ago I heard the following statement on the radio and thought it was worth passing along: “The key to success in life is how well you adapt to Plan B.” There is a world of truth in that simple sentence. So many of us go through life frustrated because we're still working on …

Self-Pity: Your Worst Enemy (Feb 17, 2002)
SELF-PITY: YOUR WORST ENEMY By Ray Pritchard The story I am about to tell is true but the details have been changed. Once upon a time there was a man who had a great job as a high-school English teacher. He knew his subject inside and out and enjoyed working with his students. A few years ago he was voted Best Teacher by th…

Too Much Sugar for a Dime (Mar 10, 2002)
TOO MUCH SUGAR FOR A DIME by Ray Pritchard “He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue” (Proverbs 28:23). The key to understanding this verse lies in the phrase “in the end.” Some things that seem good at first leave a bitter taste later, and some things that…

Beepers, Cell Phones & Crying Babies (Mar 24, 2002)
BEEPERS, CELL PHONES & CRYING BABIES by Ray Pritchard Technology can be a mixed blessing. Take cell phones, for instance. Or pagers. Or beepers. Each can be a timesaver that enables you to get your messages quicker and your work done faster. And these days, getting things done faster is what life is all about. All of us are…

Holy Discontentment (Mar 31, 2002)
HOLY DISCONTENTMENT by Ray Pritchard Last Sunday I mentioned in my sermon that living by faith requires a certain kind of “discontentment” with the way things are. The next day I received the following e-mail: “I had a question regarding your message on Sunday morning. Paul writes in Philippians chapter 4 tha…

For Sinners Only (Apr 21, 2002)
FOR SINNERS ONLY by Ray Pritchard Last Wednesday night I listened as Von Matthews taught an excellent class on the virtue of humility. Somewhere near the beginning he commented that humility is hard to define. Then he asked the group sitting around each table to come up with a definition of humility. The struggle (and the s…

Why I Support Israel (Apr 28, 2002)
WHY I SUPPORT ISRAEL by Ray Pritchard A week ago I received a letter inviting me to join the Board of Governors of an organization called Churches United With Israel. The letter said that I had been nominated to become one of 120 evangelical leaders on the board, and that the list already included Tim LaHaye, Pat Robertson,…

Are We All Going to Look the Same When We Get to Heaven? (May 05, 2002)
ARE WE ALL GOING TO LOOK THE SAME WHEN WE GET TO HEAVEN? by Ray Pritchard Last Thursday night I was the special guest for “Ask the Pastor” night for our Allied Force high school ministry. Before my visit the students turn in questions they want me to answer. That night I answer those questions first, then I take q…

Never Alone (May 12, 2002)
NEVER ALONE by Ray Pritchard The woman sat in my office and unfolded a sad story. Barely holding back the tears, she spoke of how difficult it is to raise a child as a single mother. Her parents live hundreds of miles away, the baby’s father doesn’t want to help, she doesn’t have a job, her money is just abou…

A Lesson from the Cave (May 19, 2002)
A LESSON FROM THE CAVE by Ray Pritchard This week the “Bible Bus” has taken us on a bumpy ride through the early years of David’s rise to power in Israel. It was a hard road because Saul envied David and repeatedly tried to kill him. At one point David spent several years in the desert, on the run, hiding fro…

When God Says No (May 26, 2002)
WHEN GOD SAYS NO by Ray Pritchard This week the Bible Bus passed through the early chapters of II Samuel where we followed David as he rose to the throne and captured the city of Jerusalem. Second Samuel 7 tells the fascinating story of his desire to build a beautiful temple for the Lord. David felt it was wrong for the kin…

Silence: A Fool's Best Friend (Jun 02, 2002)
SILENCE: A FOOL’S BEST FRIEND by Ray Pritchard “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” Proverbs 17:28 This certainly is one of the most encouraging proverbs. It offers hope for all of us who basically make our living with words. Here are a few other verses on t…

The Crisis in the Catholic Church (Jun 09, 2002)
THE CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH by Ray Pritchard All of us, I am sure, have been shocked and saddened by the repeated revelations of serious sexual misconduct (and an apparent cover-up in many cases) by priests inside the Catholic Church. How should those of us outside that particular church respond? A recent editorial in…

The Way of Love (Jun 16, 2002)
THE WAY OF LOVE by Ray Pritchard A few days ago the “Bible bus” came rumbling through the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-16). This is the final message Jesus gave to his disciples before his crucifixion. While reading John 15, I was struck by the difference between the first half and the last half of the chapter. I…

Remembering September 11 (Aug 25, 2002)
REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11 by Ray Pritchard Sometimes you know an idea is right the first time you hear it. That happened to me in June when someone suggested we ought to hold a public service on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Since then we’ve been working behind the scenes to make it happen. Firs…

Knowing Less and Knowing More (Sep 01, 2002)
KNOWING LESS AND KNOWING MORE by Ray Pritchard It is no secret that in less than a month I will celebrate my 50th birthday. Even as I write these words, I think to myself, “Is celebrate the right word?” But I'm smiling to myself as I ask the question. Yes, of course, celebrate is the right word. Outside the sun is…

Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero (Sep 08, 2002)
FAITH AND DOUBT AT GROUND ZERO by Ray Pritchard Researchers tell us that one of the central questions arising out of the ashes of 9/11 is a spiritual one: Where was God when those planes crashed into the World Trade Center? Sometimes the question is put in terms that are agonizingly personal, such as the father who lost his…

It's Hard to Let Go (Sep 15, 2002)
IT’S HARD TO LET GO by Ray Pritchard The man and the woman involved in this story don’t know each other and will almost certainly never meet each other. They have nothing in common except that the woman sent me an e-mail (she lives in another country) and the man dropped by to see me this week. Here is part of wha…

God's Wrapping Paper (Sep 22, 2002)
GOD’S WRAPPING PAPER by Ray Pritchard Not long ago I had lunch with a man who said he was trying to “recover from God’s goodness.” That statement is so unusual that it arrests the mind. What did he mean, to “recover” from God’s goodness? We usually speak of “recovering” from sick…

Broken, Then Blessed (Sep 29, 2002)
BROKEN, THEN BLESSED by Ray Pritchard The story I'm about to tell comes from a friend who has been going through a very hard time. The precise details don't matter except to say that this friend has struggled in his job for a long time and hasn't been able to take care of his family the way he would like. He tried and tried…

The Overcoming Series (Oct 06, 2002)
THE OVERCOMING SERIES by Ray Pritchard Everyone has a story to tell, even the people who seem to smile all the time. This is one of the first things a young pastor learns when he graduates from seminary and begins his ministry. Some people look so well-adjusted and happy that you think they don’t have a care in the wor…

Gentleness: Power Under Control (Oct 13, 2002)
GENTLENESS: POWER UNDER CONTROL by Ray Pritchard “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 I have a friend who learned this verse the hard way. Whenever she said something in a harsh tone, her mother made her write this verse 50 times on a sheet of paper. It must have worke…

Reciting Psalm 119 (Oct 20, 2002)
RECITING PSALM 119 by Ray Pritchard Tuesday was one of “those days” for me, a day when I started out behind and never really caught up. As I thought about it later, it seemed like a “disheveled” day, which is a strange word but perfectly describes how I felt. There was one bright spot–and only one–in…

Preparation: Where Victory Begins (Oct 27, 2002)
PREPARATION: WHERE VICTORY BEGINS by Ray Pritchard “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.” (Proverbs 21:31) When the Bible Bus passed through Proverbs 21 earlier this week, a long-forgotten melody rolled through my mind. Over 20 years ago, when Joshua was only two or three…

Saved in the Nick of Time (Nov 03, 2002)
SAVED IN THE NICK OF TIME by Ray Pritchard Recently I heard about a man in his 80s who came to Christ shortly before he died. It happened like this. For nearly his entire life, the man had lived without any conscious dependence on God. He wasn’t an atheist or an agnostic and he wasn’t an evangelist for his unbelie…

Why You Ought to Pray for Your Enemies (Nov 10, 2002)
WHY YOU OUGHT TO PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMIES by Ray Pritchard I suppose one of the hardest commands in the Bible to obey is the command of Jesus that we should pray for our enemies. It is hard because prayer is the last thing we want to do for our enemies. Mostly, there a lot of things we would like to do to our enemies–like ge…

Sobriety: Knowing When to Say No (Nov 17, 2002)
SOBRIETY KNOWING WHEN TO SAY NO “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” Proverbs 20:1 There are a great many references to wine, strong drink, and drunkenness scattered throughout the Bible. The earliest reference is in Genesis, the last in Revelation. The total number of …

How Long Should I Pray? (Nov 24, 2002)
HOW LONG SHOULD I PRAY? by Ray Pritchard Last Tuesday I had an hour-long interview with a radio station in Philadelphia. A listener called in with a heart-searching question. He had come to Christ from a Jewish background and has a burden to see his family saved. After years of prayer for them, and many hours of discussion,…

What Would Jesus Drive? (Dec 08, 2002)
WHAT WOULD JESUS DRIVE? by Ray Pritchard A few weeks ago an organization called the Evangelical Environmental Network began sponsoring a series of newspaper ads with the catchy slogan, “What Would Jesus Drive?” The people behind the ads want to convince all of us to get rid of our gas-guzzling SUVs (too much pollu…

The James Ossuary (Dec 15, 2002)
THE JAMES OSSUARY BY RAY PRITCHARD The recent discovery of the “James ossuary” has given the world a close encounter with Jesus and his family. An ossuary was a small limestone box in which the bones of a deceased loved one were placed. This sort of burial was very common among the Jews of the first century. What …

Donahue and Jesus (Dec 22, 2002)
DONAHUE AND JESUS by Ray Pritchard On MSNBC last Tuesday night, Phil Donahue hosted a raucous discussion on the topic: “Is the highway to heaven only open to the Christians? Some say only faith in Jesus will earn you a place beyond the pearly gates. So what about Jews, Muslims, and followers of other faiths?” The …

Two Predictions (Dec 29, 2002)
TWO PREDICTIONS by Ray Pritchard It’s always dangerous to try to predict the future. The Old Testament offers a simple test for anyone claiming to be a prophet of God. If what he says comes true, then he’s a prophet. If it doesn’t, then he’s an imposter and should be stoned to death. That last condition …