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  • Some Bible 4:12 verses in context

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Apr 12, 2023

    I use all kinds of things as the bases for my articles. While considering this one, to be published on April 12, I heard Acts 4:12 read, making me wonder what the other Bible books had for chapter 4, verse 12. So, I checked that out. Of the 66 Bible books, 11 didn’t have four chapters and another four didn’t have 12 verses in their fourth chapter. Two of the latter books, Jonah and Revelation, stopped at 4:11. Because those verses are pretty neat, I’ve included them in this introduction. Revelation 4:11 recognizes God as the Creator,...

  • Fact-checking foils fate of the foolish

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Mar 29, 2023

    I suspect most of us have survived and adjusted to what many consider the foolishness of springing our clocks forward for daylight saving time recently. April Fool’s Day is looming this Saturday. At least that only comes once each year, while the clock “foolishness” happens twice. We’ve all likely heard the saying, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Balaam’s donkey saved him from certain death three times before he accused her of making a fool of him at which time she reminded him she’d been faithful to...

  • Have you chosen the Rock or the hard place?

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Mar 15, 2023

    We sprang our clocks forward of this past weekend to start Mountain Daylight Savings Time, and spring begins at 3:24 pm MDST this coming Monday. So we’re between the springing forward and the spring equinox. The recent changing of the clocks and the upcoming first official day of spring brought a few things to mind. That is, moving the clock forward means getting up an hour earlier in the morning and makes the day seem longer, at least for a brief period, because it gets dark later. Then, the onset of spring leads to an increase in activities...

  • Keep your love of God green and growing

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Mar 1, 2023

    My last article was about Valentine’s Day in regard to maintaining our love for God by showing others his love for us all (John 3:16; 13:34-35). I also love the season of twitterpation that follows Valentine’s Day during the onset of spring. I’m not referring to the date of the spring equinox — March 20 — but rather the greening up as grasses start growing and trees sprout leaves. I recall when I moved to Tucumcari from central Kentucky in December 1996 that I came from green to brown. I was depressed until about March 1, when I...

  • Valentine's Day honors multiple saints

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Feb 15, 2023

    Feb. 14 is Valentine’s Day, which I love as a celebration of love. But there’s a lot about its origin I didn’t previously know. First, there are more than one Saint Valentine and the Feb. 14 holiday honors at least two — one in Rome and one in present day Terni, Italy, and maybe a third in Africa, although numerous martyrs were named Valentine. Some churches honor the different Valentines on different dates. The Romans martyred all of the Valentines for their acts of love and service to God by ministering to persecuted Christians. The V...

  • It's Ground-Dwelling Animal Day

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Feb 1, 2023

    Groundhog Day is tomorrow, or today, if your Quay County Sun comes in the mail and you live fairly locally. Groundhog Day is celebrated in the U.S. and Canada, based on European traditions about various animals emerging from their burrows and seeing their shadows or not. Apparently, the actual animal doesn’t matter as long as it winters underground because the traditional point was actually a four- to six-week weather forecast based on whether it’s sunny or cloudy that day. The accuracy rate of that forecast is generally less than 50% but...

  • MLK, Apostle Paul both had a dream

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Jan 18, 2023

    This past Sunday was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, which we celebrated on Monday as a federal holiday named Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As I was considering the approach of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I realized there were a lot of similarities between him and the Apostle Paul as two great men of the faith, as well as between them and the rest of us. First, MLK was born Michael King Jr., but his father changed both their names when MLK was 5. While the Apostle Paul didn’t change his earthly name, he was originally known in his...

  • God can make you feel new

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Jan 4, 2023

    Well, another year has flown by with all its hopes and dreams, fulfilled or not, and a new year has begun. Newness usually leads to a positive outlook, like turning over a new leaf, which anyone with a conscience readily admits they should do for their own good and the basis for New Year’s resolutions. The Bible says there’s nothing new under the sun, but the opportunity for a new life isn’t new and it’s not under the sun, anyway, because God planned it before he created the sun and Jesus said that anyone following the plan wouldn’t...

  • The reason for the season

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Dec 21, 2022

    This Sunday is Christmas (in case you missed that). Although you’ve probably heard or read the accounts of Jesus’ birth multiple times recently, read them again because you might learn something new with each reading (Matthew 1:1-25; Luke 1:26-56; 2:1-20; Matthew 2:1-23; Galatians 4:4; John 1:1-18). You’ll certainly be encouraged by the hope that the reason for the season brings. Learning about hope and having that hope leads to rejoicing on many fronts. When the angels shared the good news of Jesus’ birth with the shepherds, both the...

  • Days of infamy and honor

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Dec 7, 2022

    Dec. 7, 1941, was described by President Franklin Roosevelt as “a day that would live in infamy” because of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. While most Americans have come to peace with Japan since then, the term “day of infamy” became associated with any day of such tragedy and disgrace. We’ve had a few more of those days since then, but each day of infamy has united our nation making us stronger and eventually resulted in a day of honor, such as V-J Day. The Bible describes many days of infamy followed by days of honor and glory...

  • Being thankful for spiritual blessings

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Nov 23, 2022

    Thanksgiving reminds of our bounteous natural resources, our society’s diversity and the faith-based principles upon which our nation was founded. These have led to our great success as a nation because our forebears trusted in God (Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 91:1-2; 18:2; 32:12-32). We should never forget our true history because that would cause us to miss out on an equally bright future (Jeremiah 29:10-14). Remember that Israel had a long history of sin and repentance because they didn’t learn the first, second, or you count the times how...

  • Being thankful for spiritual blessings

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Nov 23, 2022

    Thanksgiving reminds of our bounteous natural resources, our society’s diversity and the faith-based principles upon which our nation was founded. These have led to our great success as a nation because our forebears trusted in God (Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 91:1-2; 18:2; 32:12-32). We should never forget our true history because that would cause us to miss out on an equally bright future (Jeremiah 29:10-14). Remember that Israel had a long history of sin and repentance because they didn’t learn the first, second, or you count the times how...

  • Not-so-hidden treasures of the Bible

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Nov 9, 2022

    Previously, I’ve written that I tried to keep my little stretch of road clean by picking up the trash a couple of times each year. So, I developed a keen eye for trash. Even a small piece sticks out like a sore thumb. Sometimes, I find treasures, including a nice pair of work gloves I found about 10 years ago that actually fit me. I also have found gloves that made a pair, although noticeably mismatched. While the nicer gloves had been lost or misplaced by their original owner, by finding them before the highway right-of-way was mowed, I...

  • Doing will of God protects you from falling away

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Oct 26, 2022

    We’re now about mid-autumn, which is also called fall. Autumn is from the Latin word “autumnus,” which likely came from a pre-Latin word meaning “increasing,” possibly referring to the typical lengthening of the dark period due to shortening days. Fall, on the other hand, is likely a shortened version of “fall of the leaves,” which needs no explanation. “Spring” also is easy, being derived from “springing time,” which refers to plants popping out of the ground in areas with any spring precipitation at all and temperatures...

  • Find unity in the blood of Christ

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Oct 12, 2022

    My pocket calendar says today (Oct. 12) is a Mexican holiday called, “Day of the Race.” Having no clue what it was, I looked it up on the internet and found it’s called by various names in various countries, including “Columbus Day.” In Mexico and other Spanish countries and communities, it’s celebrated as the fusion of the Spanish and indigenous American cultures.” The website states that, although there’s some controversy over the events surrounding the European colonization of the Western Hemisphere, the holiday is festively...

  • Stay seasoned with the salt of Christ

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Sep 28, 2022

    My wife and I discussed reducing sodium in our diets. While humans need sodium for good health, we usually get more than we need, and too much of even any good thing is not good, except when it comes to God. Anyway, using a salt substitute or light salt was broached and hastily dismissed. I’d never used either product, but my wife and her parents had and quickly decided they had an unfavorable taste. The conversation then took a different direction as my wife asked about Jesus’ statement regarding our major Christian responsibility to be...

  • Facts of history support the truth

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Sep 14, 2022

    While I have many ideas for my articles, sometimes I check the internet to see what happened on the expected date of publication in the Quay County Sun. I did so this year for Sept. 14, and here’s a sampling of what I found at Brittanica.com, with some comments. Born Sept. 14, 1849, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov is known for demonstrating the concept of conditioned reflex using a buzzer whenever some dogs were fed, then making the sound without feeding them, causing them to salivate. Christians are to desire God’s word as food for...

  • Allow God to cultivate you positively as a Christian

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Aug 31, 2022

    Monday is Labor Day, the last summer holiday, although most schools, including colleges and universities, already have started classes. So be careful of young people walking, running and playing on their way to school. Anyway, appropriate labor is a God-given gift for our good (Genesis 2:8-15; Ecclesiastes 5:18-20). Those refusing to do the work God prepared for them really miss out on the joy he wants for them in this life and the next (Ephesians 2:10). That joy from work includes successfully cultivating young minds to become productive...

  • Keep an eye out for the one and only Jesus Christ

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Aug 17, 2022

    People occasionally get the best of me and, recently, I was bested big-time by a teenager. Another teen was holding a younger child and said, in jest, she was going to kidnap her, likely because the “kidnappee” was so cute and sweet, but I asked about the ransom. The “kidnapper” quoted $1 million, which I thought wasn’t nearly enough. When I asked the “kidnappee” what she was worth, she didn’t answer. So, I said, “She’s worth Jesus, after all God sent his only begotten son as the ransom for each person; therefore, even the...

  • A tale of two camps

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Aug 3, 2022

    Our grandson spent a week at two church camps this summer — one in northern New Mexico and one in southern New Mexico, both in the mountains. When we dropped him off at the second camp, I mentioned to his cabin counselor he’d spent a week at the other camp a couple of weeks previously. The counselor jokingly apologized, saying he’d gone to that camp as a youth. He also admitted both camps knew many young people attended both, which led to the development of a healthy but congenial rivalry. Regardless, he hoped our grandson also would...

  • The bigger role of doorkeeping

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Jul 20, 2022

    My last article earlier this month ended with a statement that being a doorkeeper in the Lord’s house was a great area of service for new Christians of almost any age because anyone can do the courtesy of holding the door open for anyone else (Psalm 84:10-12). Although that is a good place to start, I realized being a doorkeeper means a lot more than opening and closing doors for people at church. The house of the Lord in Old Testament times, also called the Tabernacle or Temple, took a bunch of Levites, members of the priestly tribe, to...

  • Learning to serve through 4-H

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Jul 6, 2022

    Quay County 4-H was well-represented at the Eastern District Contests in Alamogordo recently. Contests included a broad range of topics; see aces.nmsu.edu/4h/contests/sedistrict/index.html for more information. Our youth did well as individuals and teams, as reported in today’s Quay County Sun. I think they had a good time at the contests, as well as swimming and visiting White Sands National Park. While they were well-prepared for their contests, I suspect some (well, at least one) did less than their best in some contests for various...

  • Prescriptions for salvation

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Jun 22, 2022

    I had influenza A recently, and although the meds my doctor prescribed were effective, I was still weak with no appetite for a few days. To justify not eating, I read up on feeding colds and starving fevers, and learned the nearly 650-year-old saying was based on myths and most medical professionals now say there’s only one proven remedy for a cold or fever — plenty of rest and fluids. That statement caught my attention — one remedy with multiple components. The Bible says Jesus is the only way to salvation for everyone (John 14:6;...

  • Thoughts about the concept of hope

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Jun 8, 2022

    New Mexico’s primary election will be over by the time this article is published but, while the outcome isn’t known as I write, the results have likely been widely reported on radio, television and the internet. I suspect all concerned Americans are hopeful for a positive final outcome of this year’s elections, no matter how they view events over the past five years. I’ve heard a lot about hope lately, so I thought I’d write about that. A doctor we visited recently spoke with concern and hope our country survives all the emerging...

  • What counts and who's counting

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|May 25, 2022

    It seems my articles in the Quay County Sun this year often have fallen close to holidays, which gives me plenty to write about, but I don’t remember it happening much in the past. Next Monday is Memorial Day, when we remember those who gave their lives in war to protect the United States of America, although the holiday was expanded to remember anyone who’s passed away. While I haven’t been intentionally keeping count, I checked, and this is my 20th year writing religion articles for the Sun. During that time, as best as I can count, I...

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