A Fisherman of Men
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
When I was younger, I always looked forward to fishing with my father. Sometimes people would ask about the type of fish that we would be angling for during our outings at the lake. My father would reply, “Any fish that will bite the end of our hook is good.” There are many parallels between fishing and doing evangelism.
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Seared with a Hot Iron
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
When I was in high school, I was an active member of our FFA chapter. In addition to being in the Future Farmers of America, I had classes in high school that taught skills that could be used on the farm and many other facets of vocational work. One such skill was welding.
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The Fight Is Not Over
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
The Bible teaches that God is aware of human beings before they are ever born. While theologians and scientists debate the moment a person has a soul, it appears that one is given a soul at the very moment of conception. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Instead of a unborn child being described as a “fetus,” scripture describes it as a “baby” (Luke 1:41).
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Olympic Mistake
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
By now, most people have heard about the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Paris. The responses over social media have varied from complete outrage to complete shock that the followers of Christ would respond in such a manner. Some have argued that the scene depicted by several drag queens was nothing more than the recreation of a pagan feast depicting Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, and ecstasy. One of the creators of the scene even made this assertion.1 Still, many people viewed it as a recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the “The Last Supper.”
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Word Games with God
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus confronts the hypocrisy of the scribes and pharisees. Their perverted leadership had led some astray. Matthew 15:12-14 says, “Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”
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Was Peter the First Pope?
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
Roman Catholic tradition places Peter in Rome and names him as the first pope. An immediate question might be, “How does Roman Catholic tradition measure up to scripture and historical facts relating to Peter’s travels during his lifetime?” For one to have a fuller understanding of the papacy, some examination of how the pope is view by certain Catholic Apologists might be in order.
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Month Long Pride Goes Before the Fall
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
In case you have not noticed from the coverage on television, June is gay pride month. This is offered “tongue in cheek,” because one cannot seem to get away from this “celebration.” It seems funny that it takes an entire month to celebrate “gay pride.” Perhaps it is more about celebrating the myriads of sexual genders and orientations that people have invented over the last few decades, and it takes an entire month to get them celebrated. After all, there are at least seventy-two genders!1 Perhaps supporters of these orientations and genders need about two and a half months to show their pride instead of just one.
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Various Sacrifices and Their Purposes
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
One cannot approach God without the shedding of blood. This was true in the Old Testament regarding sacrifices, and it is true in the New Testament when one considers the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
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The Roman Catholic Church and Scripture
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
Just recently an individual offered some questions that he had regarding the Roman Catholic Church. These responses are not offered to attack any person, but in examination of claims made by Roman Catholic authorities and various documents regarding the collection of scripture.
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The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth!
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
While Jesus was on trial with Pilate, Pilate asked a question that was rhetorical in nature. John 18:37-38 says “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him at all.’”
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Almost
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
[The name of the man being discussed has been changed to protect the privacy of his family, but the events are true.]
The phone rang at 2 a.m. Those calls are almost never good and cause the one answering to awaken with a start. The sheriff’s deputy on the other end of the line said, “Carter has passed away, and his wife wants to know if you can come over.” Of course, my answer was “Yes, I will be right over.”
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The Decline of the Biblical Family Model
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
As we consider the shape of our society, it becomes evident that our culture is in decay and our morals are becoming nonexistent. This can be traced to the decline of Christianity and with it the deterioration of the traditional family. The Bible tells humankind that marriage is designed for a man and a woman (heterosexual in nature) who are expected to remain married until one party of that marriage passes away (enduring in nature). It is only to be dissolved with an eye towards remarriage for the most serious of reasons—fornication (cf. Matthew 19:3-12). Within the context of that union, children are brought into the world (cf. I Timothy 5:14). There is no allowance for premarital sex or immoral forms of cohabitation (cf. I Corinthians 7:1-4). Our society shattered these biblical models several decades ago.
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Christ: Delivered to the Will of the People
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
Jesus did not meet the expectations of the religious leaders of His time. It seems that He did not live up to the hopes of the people regarding the things that He rejected or demanded of those who would be His disciples. He was not the Messiah they expected, wanted, or accepted. Isaiah’s prophecies point this fact out several hundred years before Jesus’ birth. Isaiah 53:3-54 says, “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.”
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What the Fires Meant
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
When I was younger, I seldom woke up during the night. As I have gotten older though, mother nature makes my sleep determinations if you know what I mean. Even though I did not wake easily when I was younger, there was one night in the early eighties when I woke up for no reason. I remember it vividly.
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Broken But Valuable
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
C.B. Arnett was the first person in the Southeastern United States to import antiques and other items from Europe. I met Mr. Arnett when I worked for him to earn some extra money as a student at MTSU. As we interacted over a ten-year period of time, he shared some very interesting stories regarding his quest for antiques at various European destinations.
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Reaching for the Fallen
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
Just recently, the mayor of Dallas, Eric Johnson, was interviewed by Ben Ferguson and Ted Cruz on the Verdict podcast. While Johnson is not a member of the church of Christ, as evidenced by things said in his interview, he indicated that his grandparents were devout members of the church.
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Fighting Discouragement
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
Every person faces discouragement in their lives—even the child of God. Paul makes this evident in various places and offers solutions to the problem. He underscores the discouragement in the lives of the Corinthian brethren in his letter labeled Second Corinthians. He says, in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” The Corinthian brethren had been greatly mistreated but they had not been “in despair,” “forsaken,” nor “destroyed.” Since all people face discouragement, how can we be equipped, through God’s word, to overcome the disappointments we face in life?
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Biblical Preaching
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
What is good preaching? Should it be the goal of the preacher to build numbers by entertainment? Should one’s success in preaching be measured by the numbers on the board at each service or is there a different standard that we must use? Can one serve as an evangelist for a small congregation and still be called a “good” preacher?
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Team Players
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
The idea of playing as a team is exemplified in many sports. One great example of playing as a team is found in the game of football. If you have ever played this game as an organized sport, you know that every person’s position is important for the success of the entire team.
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Jealous of Your Christianity
by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
Jealousy is not always a negative thing as presented by scripture. God is described as “jealous” over His people. Exodus 20:5 says, “You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” In the realm of human interaction and Christianity, there can be good envy or evil envy depending upon the situation.
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