Buffaloed

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Buffaloed

From where did the term “Buffaloed” come?  In answer to the question two plausible and interesting possibilities are below: 1 – In the early history of America, millions of buffalo once roamed the land.  The vast and eerie rumbling was said to be quite intimidating.  Thus, the idea of being “buffaloed” or intimidated arose. 2 – The American Indians when hunting buffalo would cover themselves in Buffalo carcasses and be able to wander right up to the buffalo herds.  At this point, they were able to shoot the buffalos with arrows or even firearms and the other buffalo around would not run.  Thus, the Indians had deceived or “buffaloed” the buffalo. Modern definitions of the word “buffaloed” include the words “intimidate” and “deceive”.  Whether...
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“I Do Not Know You”

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I Do Not Know You

I remember hearing a story one time of a groupie of a famous singer who tried to get backstage after a concert.  All the man wanted to do was to meet the object of his admiration; yet because he did not possess a pass, he was turned away.  Not to be denied, the man supposedly followed the singer to an exclusive restaurant and attempted to gain entrance by saying, “I’m with him.”  When the “maitre d” asked the singer to confirm the man, he said, “I don’t know him,” and he was denied entry. I can’t help but to see a spiritual parallel here.  Matthew 25:1-13 tells of five foolish bridesmaids who tried to gain entrance to the wedding; but the Lord said to...
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Sound Bytes

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Sound Bytes

Mostly it is important to recognize that plucking a short passage of Scripture from its context is hazardous. For example, I might grab a verse that indicates that the Lord will guide and protect me, and yet a contextual study will reveal that this promise is conditional: The Lord will guide and protect me only as I live by obedient faith. Therefore, simply passing around a small “byte” of Scripture can be quite misleading, and should never be used as a talisman to ward off evil. In fact, if you do latch onto a verse that really strikes you, your first step should be to read the verse in context to be sure its assurances or advice are what they appear to be. Nevertheless, the Bible is full of “one-liners” that can be used appropriately to guard our lips, lift our hearts, or protect...
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“See, Here Is Water”

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See, Here Is Water

“And the eunuch said, “See, here is water.  What hinders me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36) Many reject the concept that water baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, saying, “There’s no power in the water.”  In 2 Kings 5:9-14 Naaman (who had leprosy) was told to dip in water in order to be healed.  At first he objected and went away (still a leper); yet after his servant convinced him, saying, “…if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it?  How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” he dipped in the water and he was clean.  Was the power in the water, or in the Lord?  In John 9:6-7 Jesus healed a blind man by anointing his eyes and saying, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.”  The blind man...
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