Continuing with Jesus’ admonition on prayer…

Never give up. (See Luke 18.1)

…the Luke 18 parable ends this way:

But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” (Luke 18.8, NLT)

How many will he find…who have faith? Would he find me a man of faith? You? How much faith is enough to “count.” Let me suggest a simple way to look at that important question. Consider first:

• You walk into a dark room. How much faith is required to bring light? Answer: enough faith to flip the switch. The switch doesn’t make light. The light bulbs do that provided they are connected to a power source. But if the light bulbs are functional, and they are connected to power, all you need do is flip the switch. An act of faith.
• You are afraid to fly. How much faith does it take fly to a distant destination? Answer: enough faith to get on the plane. It doesn’t matter how you feel about it. What matters is that conditions are right for flying, the plane is in good repair, and the crew members are competent. All you need do is get on the plane.
• You need something from God. How much faith does it take? Enough faith to pray.

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. (Luke 18.1, NLT)

Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. (James 4.2, NLT)

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (Ephesians 6.18, NLT)

Yesterday’s blog ended with Jesus’ admonition that we should always pray and never give up. (Luke 18.1)

So how am I feeling about our prayers for the house sale? I had asked for:

• The right people
• The right price
• The right time

I haven’t met the people who tendered the offer, but I know they are a 49-year-old married couple, one of whose mothers is going to move into the house with them. The price was certainly right: our asking price and cash.

What about “the right time”? I thought “now” would be the right time, but apparently God thought later would be just fine. These folks can’t buy our house until they sell theirs. A central theme of this move has been blessing others, mainly with our excess furniture. I think our house is going to bless these people. They’re moving from a 2,000 square-foot, two-bedroom house in the desert to a 3,600 square-foot, four-bedroom house in the woods. It will feel like a mansion.

So we pray…for no glitches in the process and a quick sale of a home in the Phoenix area. As always,

We should always pray and never give up. – Jesus

If you follow baseball, you know that the Colorado Rockies are having a dismal season. Their record as of last night is 29-80 (not a typo), and their season’s goal right now is to avoid setting a new Major League record for losses. As Jason Gay wrote in an article about the “pretty good” New York Yankees:

If you’re a Rockies fan, you can’t believe anyone can be spoiled like this. Actually, that’s not true—if you’re a Rockies fan, you’ve disavowed baseball and taken up knitting hats for the neighborhood squirrels. – Jason Gay, Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2025

But, as we used to say in the Air Force, “Even a blind hog finds an acorn sometimes,” and even the Rockies can inspire. Last night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates is a case in point.

Before the Rockies came to bat in the bottom of the first inning, they were already behind by nine runs. That’s right, 9-0 after the top half of the first inning. I turned the game on during the Rockies’ half of the fifth where they scored four runs bringing their deficit up from 15-6 to 15-10. When I turned the game off, it was 16-10.

But, as we were going to bed, I glanced at my phone, which gives me the running score of the game even while the phone is off, and I told June: “It’s 16-15 in the bottom of the ninth with only one out. The Rockies have a man on first. They can actually win this thing!” And they did. A minute later, the phone’s display changed:

Walk-off home run. The AP story posted on ESPN opens with:

DENVER — — Brenton Doyle hit a walk-off, two-run homer in a five-run ninth inning and the Colorado Rockies overcame a nine-run first-inning deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 17-16 on Friday night.

You can’t make this stuff up…

I have a picture in my office of the great tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walking across Niagara Falls on a high wire. He signed it:

Bob, never give up.

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. (Luke 18.1, NLT)

I don’t know what the significance of this story is… We’re a wealthy country? We really care about animals? Or By caring about animals, we help ourselves? Here goes…

If you drive on I-25 north of Monument, you’ll see a bridge over the interstate under construction. Not that unusual except…there’s no road there! What’s the purpose of the bridge?

It’s a wildlife bridge! You can’t make this stuff up. No matter that when the highway between Monument and Castle Rock was widened a few years ago, they built five underpasses for wildlife. It turns out that some wildlife won’t use the underpasses…so Let’s build an overpass! And so we are. Our local newspaper reports:

The wildlife overpass under construction on Interstate 25 between Larkspur and Monument will be the “world’s largest bridge structure built for wildlife,” officials said in a release Friday as they marked the project’s halfway point. 

Measuring 200 feet wide and 209 feet long, the massive I-25 Greenland Wildlife Overpass will cover nearly an acre once completed. It will span six lanes of traffic, on a stretch of the interstate traveled by more than 100,000 vehicles each day, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The purpose?

With the stretch of the interstate between Castle Rock and Monument averaging “one wild-life vehicle crash a day in the spring and fall seasons,” officials say the bridge is expected to reduce wildlife collisions by 90%.

There are already five nearby underpasses in the area, this bridge, however, will benefit elk and pronghorn in particular. Officials say both species prefer to cross “open structures that provide clear and open sight lines” instead of tunnels. Moose, bear, mountain lions, mule deer and smaller animals are expected to use the structure as well.

How much?

The $15 million overpass is expected to be completed in December 2025. 

Like I say, I’m not sure of the significance. I’ve read before that some herds got split when the interstate was first built, and the new bridge will allow them to reunite. It’s not something I lay awake worrying about, but apparently some people do. And one wonders where the 90% figure comes from. One crash per day in spring and fall equates to, what, 180 crashes per year? And they expect that number to go down to 18? How do they know?

OK, enough! I’m violating an important principle…

LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. (Psalm 131.1, NLT)

Re Trusting and Waiting for our buyer, right before yesterday’s blog posted, THE OFFER came in!

The good news is that it’s a cash deal for the asking price. The not as good news is we have to wait until the buyers sell their home in the Phoenix area. We’re aiming for a closing of October 15th or earlier.

So the trusting and waiting continues, now praying for a buyer for a home in Phoenix!

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! (Psalm 27.14, NKJV)

Still waiting for the house to sell. There’s been a lot of action in the last few days, 10 showings total, which our son and real estate agent says is normally enough for an offer… None yet.

So we wait…

Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73.23 – 26, NKJV)

“You will guide me with your counsel…” I’m presuming that God guided us in this move. He led Mark to lead us to this house and gave us the desire for it. Everything has happened step by step as planned. Now, God just needs to finish it off.

But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works. (Psalm 73.28, NKJV)

Our trust is in God. Not in our planning. And when it sells, I will “declare all his works.” Stay tuned.

If I can write about Hulk Hogan’s passing, I would be remiss not to recognize the brilliant satirist (and mathematician!) Tom Lehrer who passed on July 26 at age 97. (Google the news outlet of your choice.)

Unlike Hulk Hogan, there’s no evidence that Tom was a believer in any deity although he was Jewish by birth.

I have a “personal” connection in that I’ve sung some of his songs. I have a modest collection of funny songs that I can be persuaded to perform (badly) from time to time. “I’m My Own Grandpa” I learned from Andy Griffith (sung here by Ray Stevens with diagrams!). Allan Sherman gave me “You’ve Gott Have Skin,” which became one of my signature pieces.

Tom Lehrer? Just last week I was having a math conversation with a young man I’ve been working with for several years. He wanted to know about doing arithmetic in bases besides base 10. So I referred him to the Tom Lehrer song New Math in which he shows how to do subtraction in Base 8.

I can’t sing New Math, but I have done Poisoning Pigeons in the Park at places as diverse as the Christian Conference Center Spring Canyon, my son Mark’s wedding rehearsal, and by request at my 70th birthday party. At the wedding rehearsal, the pastor came up and said, “I bet you have “Vatican Rag” running around in there somewhere!” I replied, “I do, but I don’t do that one in public.” Tom Lehrer did, and it’s considered his most controversial song.

If you don’t know, the man was brilliant:

After graduating early from the Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut, Mr. Lehrer went to Harvard, where he majored in mathematics and received his bachelor’s degree in 1946, at 18. He earned a master’s from Harvard the next year… – from the NY Times Obituary

I thought that despite all that education, he made his living in music. For example he occasionally wrote songs for the television show “That Was the Week that Was.” Not so. The obit continues:

But his entertainment career ultimately took a back seat to academia. In his heart he never quit his day job; he just took a few sabbaticals.

He stopped performing in 1960 after only a few years, resumed briefly in 1965 and then stopped for good in 1967. His music was ultimately just a momentary detour in an academic career that included teaching posts at Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, and even a stint with the Atomic Energy Commission.

In an era where song writers’ families earn money for generations from royalties, Tom posted a notice on his website in 2020:

I, Tom Lehrer, individually and as trustee of the Tom Lehrer Trust 2007, hereby grant the following permissions:

All copyrights to lyrics or music written or composed by me have been permanently and irrevocably relinquished, and therefore such songs are now in the public domain. All of my songs that have never been copyrighted, having been available for free for so long, are now also in the public domain. In other words, I have abandoned, surrendered and disclaimed all right, title and interest in and to my work and have injected any and all copyrights into the public domain.

…

Performing and recording rights to all of my songs are included in this permission. Translation rights are also included.

In particular, permission is hereby granted to anyone to set any of these lyrics to their own music, or to set any of this music to their own lyrics, and to publish or perform their parodies or distortions of these songs without payment or fear of legal action.

Some recording, movie, and television rights to songs written by me are merely licensed non-exclusively by me to recording, movie, or TV companies. All such rights are now released herewith and therefore do not require any permission from me or from Maelstrom Music, which is merely me in another hat, nor from the recording, movie, or TV companies involved.

In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs.

So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money.

He said he would take the site down at some time in the future, but it’s still up: https://tomlehrersongs.com/

He brought joy to a lot of people. Faith Bottum of the Wall Street Journal concludes her tribute with:

I’ve always had a soft spot for Tom Lehrer. I discovered him when I was young going through my parents’ old CDs. Somehow I still sing his songs with surprising regularity. After being stuck on the highway after the car broke down. To cheer up an old friend. To laugh when I’m feeling down. Lehrer’s music was funny—funny enough for people to hum 70 years later. – July 28, 2025

I’ve written before, we ought to recognize excellence wherever we see it, and we worship a God who gave us music and humor.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38.4 – 7, NKJV)

Professional wrestler and over-the-top showman Hulk Hogan passed away last week at the age of 71. If you’re not familiar with his persona, this 8-minute clip from Rocky III captures it well.

I wouldn’t be writing about it except a pastor writing for World Magazine wrote Remembering Hulk Hogan on July 25, 2025. The tag line is:

The Hulkster showed that it’s never too late to repent and believe in Christ. – David Mitzenmacher, pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Fla.

The article is worth the read in its entirety, but here are a few snippets.

As a boy, I counted Hulk Hogan among my heroes. He told me (and millions of others) to say our prayers and take our vitamins, and I listened. I was the only son of a single mother, and Hulk Hogan offered a picture of manhood (cartoonish as it was) that taught me to protect the weak, work hard, and be courageous. Those exhortations were simplistic, but they pointed me to virtues much more real than the world of wrestling kayfabe.

When I was 18, working at a Kinko’s, Terry Bollea (his real name) came in several times to get copies made. I was always struck by the fact that if a family with kids came in, he would immediately stop whatever he was doing, step fully into the Hulk Hogan character, and spend time talking to the kids (always encouraging them to obey their parents and work hard). That momentary theater seemed, for him, a kind of joyful duty. It was clear that he understood the weight of his position of influence. Hulk Hogan was a character, but Terry Bollea was a genuine human being.

In December 2023, Bollea and his wife were baptized at Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Largo, Fla. He called it the greatest day of his life, describing the event as one of “total surrender and dedication to Jesus.” …Some doubt the sincerity of such professions, or point to past scandals as disqualifying. But the gospel does not operate according to our suspicions or cynicism. Scripture calls every sinner to repentance and faith, and it promises mercy to those who come. 

…His death is a sobering reminder that no man, however strong, can escape mortality. It is humbling to consider that the man with the 24-inch pythons who beat Andre the Giant, The Iron Sheik, and Yokozuna could not defeat death. But neither physical strength nor fame nor fortune can conquer the grave. That victory belongs to Christ alone.

…We can be thankful for the good we received from a flawed man without whitewashing his failures. Hogan’s public record includes sin, scandal, and foolishness. So does yours. So does mine. But the proper response is not to highlight moral failures as if grace were a reward for the worthy. It is to marvel that God saves sinners, even in the eleventh hour. 

Amen.

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23.42, 43, ESV)

My friend and blog reader Kathleen wrote this comment to my house sale prayer request from Thursday:

I feel your concerns Bob. Our house has been on the market for a little over 5 weeks. Showings have picked up. While we elected to not do a bridge loan, I completely understand how you are feeling. I will keep you in my prayers for the sale of your home. Please keep Dan & I in your prayers that ours sells soon too. Trusting God’s perfect timing, not ours.

I assured her that I was praying for her house sale as I prayed for my own, and that day I came across these verses from Psalm 78:

And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired. He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. (Psalm 78.53 – 55, NKJV)

I can pray this for the house sale. It was a process getting the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land, but God accomplished both. Got them out. Got them in. In our case, he got us in through the cooperation of the credit union and the bridge loan. Now he will get us out.

For Dan and Kathleen, it’s the other order. God needs to get them out of their current house and into the house of his choice, as she says, in “God’s perfect timing.”

Or, to change the metaphor:

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out. (Luke 8.22. ESV, emphasis mine)

I had a really bad experience at a local building supply store a few days ago. Among the many issues was I was going to purchase a 4×8 piece of pegboard, which I would cut in half so I could get it into my car. I would have…except the saw was broken. “No problem,” an employee said. “We’ll deliver it to you.” When they rang up the sale, the price came up way too high. “Oh, delivery is $70.” I said, “There’s no way I will pay $70 for you to deliver a $25 piece of pegboard because your saw is broken. Cancel everything.”

I’m pleased to say that while a wee bit frustrated, I did not get angry. (I think that’s the fruit of the Spirit at work over the last 50+ years!) Anyway, this little parable from Sahil Bloom speaks to it.

A monk goes out on a boat in a small lake to meditate. After a few hours of uninterrupted silence, he suddenly feels the jarring impact of another boat bumping into his.

While he does not open his eyes, he feels the irritation and anger building within him.

“Why would someone do that? Can’t they see me here? How dare they disturb my meditation?”

He opens his eyes, ready to shout at the person in the other boat, only to realize that it is empty. It had come untied from the dock and was floating in the middle of the lake.

In that moment, his anger and frustration disappears. After all, you cannot be angry at an empty boat.

I don’t think the store was out to get me, personally. The store is just poorly run. Sahil writes:

If you convince yourself that every collision is a deliberate action by a bad actor, negative emotions will control your entire life. In others words, your interpretation of the collision creates your own poison.

The Empty Boat Mindset is the reminder that most of these collisions you experience in life are with an empty boat. There is no negative intent. There is no desire to harm. They are simply the random collisions of objects floating along on the lake of life.

So, the next time you feel a collision and find your negative emotions growing, pause and ask yourself a simple question:

Am I just getting angry at an empty boat?

“…your interpretation of the collision creates your own poison.”

Bitterness is a pill you take and hope the other guy dies. – Skip Gray

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (Ephesians 4.31, ESV)

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. (Hebrews 12.15, ESV)