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For months the world watched and prayed as 33 Chilean miners remained trapped nearly 2 kilometers in the heart of the earth. News updates came from around the globe on the welfare of the men and the heroic men and women that assisted recovery. The rescue effort brought experts from every major county to assist and advise the crews. No costs was spared as the eyes of the world were upon them. When the men were lifted out, one by one, the cheers and applause were universally heard and seen in studios, living rooms, lobby's, restaurants, and lecture halls. In a sociology class, a professor asked his students this question. "What is the most valuable thing to come out of a mine." Some of the students shouted gold, some said silver, others shouted diamonds. The professor rejected every answer. "The most valuable thing to come from a mine," he said,  "is a Miner !" A physician said to me just days ago that he felt it important to...

 People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway. It's between you and God...! Mother Teresa had it right. If God is for us, who can be against us? Serving God in the trenches can be disheartening when your good is evil spoken of.  You ...

The story is told of a WWII infantry unit that was scheduled to lead a decisive push in the famed battle of the bulge. The night before the fight, soldiers were gathered around the fire in a somber, reflective, and intense atmosphere. The Colonel instructed the chaplain to assemble the men and conduct some form of  chapel service. It was apparent for most of the men that the battle for freedom and liberty would soon require the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. Needless to say the air was thick with death and fear. Cautiously the chaplain approached the men and spoke of their call to duty and the value of their sacrifice. The men were silent and downcast as he spoke. The chaplain then asked if any had a favorite hymn,  if any had a poem,  or perhaps a letter from home. He asked if anyone had a word. One soldier broke the silence and said… ”Chap., maybe you need to tell all these men how to meet God!” What a moment of clarity. Sometimes the obvious…is not so o...

There's a saying that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans Whenever you work on the international mission field there is a consistent word of advice you hear over and again: be flexible, plans change! The healthy perspective for you and me is to approach every day with this:          God, I don't know where you're going today          but I'm going with you. Abraham and His brother Lot parted company because their traveling families had become too large to coexist. Abraham said to Lot, "We need to split up. If you go left I'll go right, if you go right I'll go left." To the left were the plains of Sodom and Gommorah. Consequently, Lot chose left and his life was ruined! What if Lot had chosen right? That would have placed Abraham in the cesspool of Sodom. Would Abraham have experienced the same fate as his brother? Not likely. Why? Because Abraham, as a child of ...

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, did not hesitate. The fiery furnace was in their future. They didn't presume to understand why or how God could use this experience for His purposes but they were determined to be faithful. Their response to the king was, "Our God will save us from the fire, if not here, then in glory." It wasn't until they were cast into the blazing furnace that the image of the fourth man appeared, the presence of Christ was there! God may have the fiery furnace set before you, but take courage. It is when you are in the fire that the 4th man appears. God will use this for good!" I knew God wanted me to share this Old Testament story. The soldier for whom God had chosen this message was a patient of mine. After speaking to him about these things I wasn't sure how much of it he would remember. His medical situation had left him discouraged and hollow. The following day I stopped in to check on his condition  and ...

"Hello Mr. K, I'm chaplain Thomas. Your doctor asked me to come by. You asked for communion and anointing oil?" "Yes. Come in. Come in. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." "Oh my," I thought to myself. "I've caught me a live one here." I shook Mr. K's hand and pulled up a chair to chat with him for a few minutes. After his opening invocation, my interest was peaked. He asked about my ministry as a chaplain and I shared a brief outline of the work. I asked him to share about his life, work, family, and service. Mr. K. was warm and delightful. With every detail of his life history he would quote some applicable verse. The joy of the lord was radiant in his life. As he moved from his boyhood to marriage and so forth he spoke of Gods intervention at every turn. "My wife of 65 years went home to be wi...

1 Corinthians 15:57 (Message) But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! In NCAA football, Alabama reigned number one for weeks until   they met number 12 Carolina. As a friend put it, they didn't just win, they beat them! Consequently, when the South Carolina Gamecocks rolled into UK Wildcats territory Saturday I'm sure that most were thinking it would be a walk in the park. But it wasn't. It was a huge upset. Past victory doesn't insure you any victory today. In our spiritual lives its much the same way.  It doesn't matter what we did yesterday, last week, or last year. What matters is what were doing now.   Today.   Right this moment. Victorious living is a daily achievement. Sin, defeat, and failure lurk in every crevice of our lives. Our Lord conquered our defeat and through Him, triumph awaits us.  For a child of God our victory is found in Chris...

There were two other men crucified with Jesus on that day. Both were sinners Neither were baptized Both were condemned Neither had good works One of them cursed Jesus. The other cried for mercy. One said remember me when you come into your kingdom. The other made fun and mocked Him. One believed in Him as the Christ. The other denied Him. One feared God. The other said He saved others let Him save himself and us. The difference...? One went to heaven for all eternity. The other spent an eternity separated from God in hell. Which one are you? Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. iPhone

Cursing... bellowing out expletives... objecting to the very notion that he needed a chaplain. "I don't want to talk to you, I just want to lay here and rest."  I'm fine, just leave me alone". Cursing as I left the room. I was irritated by his rejection but not too much. It wasn't the first time I've been asked to leave. Thoughts of him didn't enter my mind again until early the next day The following morning I met with Dr. D and we were discussing several patients. "I'd like for you to go by and visit Mr. C. in room 214.  He has a psa of over 200. Normal is 4. A psa that elevated indicates a rapid growing cancer of the pancreas.  The medical team met with him this morning. He doesn't have very long." The moment he mentioned the name I new it was the patient that practically threw me out the day before. I left the doctors office and headed toward the room. When I arrived, I found myself hesitating before going in. ...

James 4:14 (NASB) Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Touring across the state on a road bicycle allows you to see plenty of amazing sights. I was pushing my pedals trying to make it up a 12% grade when I passed a road marker that I'll never forget. The road name was "life road". My mind raced with all the symbolism and metaphors of "traveling down life's road". No sooner than when I had that processed in my head and thinking of who gave the road such an interesting name, I rode past the next country lane. The name of that road was..."life cut off". Some county road engineer was really enjoying themselves. The idea of naming two county roads, life road , and life cut off, is genius. Those two street signs in east TN are still making people think! It's difficult to imagine our lives like a mist or vapor. The fog that rolled off the Cumber...

2 Corinthians 5 (Message) 1-5 For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. I'm falling in love with the message translation. It tackles this rather muddled KJV scripture and puts it in beautiful language. However, when a patient of mine passed today, In prayer, I quoted the old text to the best of my recollection and it...

Can you imagine the LORD saying that ? I can. It has a familiar ring to it. Sounds like something a close friend might say or a co-worker. My brother says this to me all the time. We had our first annual Thomas reunion a couple of weeks ago. My doting brother said to me a few times, "...I got this". I can see his little smirk, "...go on John Mark, I got this". He likes to push me out of the way and take charge. He's always been a brute. :) When it comes to serving the Lord, it's nice to have a big brother. Scripture says that Christ sticks closer than a brother. Cast your cares upon the Lord for he cares for you as it says in 1 Peter. I can fancy my heavenly Father saying to me "I got this..." Isn't it wonderful to know that he wants to carry our burdens? He wants to lift our load. He has the power to handle it all. When he says I got this... there's no doubt...HE'S GOT IT! My goal for this week...quit trying...

Colossians 3:12 (The Message) So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Kindness can be the most precious gift you can bestow on others. It's free...but priceless. It's easy...but dynamic. Kindness shouldn't be rare or seldom seen. It's like a smile, how difficult is that? This simple fruit of the spirit has been underrated. Kindness can do more for the kingdom of God than 10 thousand sermons. Simple acts of goodness. Cruelty, harassment, and rudeness are facts of life for so many. Kindness can take many shapes. A smile, a warm hello, gestures of goodness, listening with patience, opening a door, the opportunities are endless. It takes very little effort but the benefits are huge. One of them is the deep sense of pleasure and satisfaction that you get in return from knowing that you did not fail your neighbor in offering to them a small piece of yourself. The pie...