Craig Daily Press / Faith

The Rev. Michael Rapp: Being secular is easy …

Tim Tebow gets a lot of press for talking about Jesus. Some say he’s the hero of Christian witness professional sports has been missing, some say it’s all fake and he’s just stirring up his own celebrity in a niche market, and some say he should be censored because it’s all annoying at best, if not downright offensive to shamelessly promote religion in the public square. “Don’t be fooled by good sports or a cheerful personality… he’s that guy,” dissenters say. He is that guy.

Pat Jones: Prayer — Heartfelt conversations with God

I attended a Love INC conference near Chicago. It’s a beautiful area and the people I met are so nice. Our Love INC national is restructuring to be more “grassroots” and to provide leadership and mentoring to affiliates such as ours by having a strong, well-established Love INC available to provide training and advice as needed. We’re excited to come back to our valley filled to the brim with encouraging words, practical help, and sound training. In one of the sessions, our trainer offered some insight about the importance of prayer. The difference between good work and God’s work is prayer.

F. Neil Folks: God’s projects — Accepting others as they are

It is said that holding a grudge can be hazardous to your health. When we hold grudges or resentments from the past towards someone, this hidden emotional endeavor masks or shrouds our heart and it loses its ability to feel and love again, the loss of empowerment. Not only does it suppress the immune system, it creates dysfunctional relationships and situations. Both end in bad health — mentally, physically and spiritually. We fail to see what Jesus attempted to teach the Jews: “See your enemies, not as God’s failures, but as God’s works in progress.” While we are in the throws of anger, vindictiveness, “ouches” and resentments, we fail to see the hurting face of the Christ in others, the same face that’s in us.

The Rev. Karen Gibson: We are all travelers

For the past 10 years, Matt Lauer has been featured on NBC’s “Today Show” in a special five-day world tour called “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” During that five-day tour, every morning the show opens with a catchy tune to attract the viewers’ attention. For the five days prior to the next show Matt offers a clue to help one guess where the weary traveler, Matt Lauer, may be found the next morning.

The Rev. Len Browning: Life indeed

I have intentionally avoided news of the occupy movement. Fearing I might be tempted to empathize and knowing that I would definitely be driven to anger over the ignorant youthful zeal and misplaced impassioned activism, I have chosen blissful ignorance. So, I am not an expert on what is taking place or why the occupy movement is as phenomenal as it has become.

The Rev. Linda Taylor: My golden girls

I recently went on vacation, and each day I was gone I would call my husband who stayed behind to hold down the homefront. I would always start by asking him, how are the girls doing?

Katie Grobe: Reconnecting with God

“The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest. It makes me lie down only when exhausted. It leads me to deep depression. It hounds my soul.

The Rev. Tim Douglas: Time to morph

Change happens. Yes, the morning air has become crisp, and the leaves have changed and are falling from the tree in my backyard in greater amounts each day. There are some changes that occur that none of us can control. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time and season for everything under the sun. I encourage you to read that chapter today. I know people in our community that have entered a season that was unexpected and they had no control over just as I cannot stop the leaves from falling from the tree. It is a fact of life that there are some changes that are beyond our control.

The Rev. Michael Rapp: Fishin’ out West

A lot of people admire Jesus for being a healer, a wise man, a good guy or God. Those are nice, but I’m impressed that he was a good angler. I’ve been trying to learn to fly fish for a year and half now, and I’m still lost. I grew up fishing lakes in Minnesota, where you stick a worm on a metal hook and then throw it in the water with what I always considered a regular pole, but have recently learned that having a spinning reel is like training wheels and live bait is cheating. Well, I haven’t yet discovered how to pick the right fly, manage to cast it without tangling in the reeds or my own hat, or even figure out where a fish might be swimming around in the river.

Governor orders flags lowered for Patriot Day

Hickenlooper also calls for state residents to participate in Moment of Remembrance

Gov. John Hickenlooper issued an order this morning that flags be lowered to half-staff on all public buildings statewide Sunday, in honor of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Flags are to be lowered from sunrise to sunset. On Dec. 18, 2001, Congress approved Public Law 107-89, which designated Sept. 11 as Patriot Day. It’s become customary for the president and governors to order flags lowered on this day annually.

Karen Gibson: Doing God's work

As I drove away Tuesday from Sunset Meadows 2, after our Love INC fundraiser meeting for the annual pig roast on Sept. 17, I thought “Oh my gosh!” (OMG for those texters out there) I have a lot of contacts to make, which is another way of saying I have a lot of work to do. And so, I hastily headed towards home. As I drove along, the words ran through my mind like the print at the bottom of a television screen, like the one you see at my bank where they are reporting the day’s stock market prices, “DOING GOD’S WORK.”

2 Colo. congregations unite to build 1 church

(AP) — For several years, two local church congregations in Silt have been without a permanent home. And although they hail from different countries and cultures — one Spanish-speaking and one English-speaking — they are joining together to build a shared place of worship. The Congregational Church of the Valley, in the United Church of Christ denomination, and Iglesia Puerta De Esperanza (Door of Hope Church), a non-denominational Christian church, have mingled their money, property and labor to build a new church downtown at First Street in Silt.

Speaking truth through love

By KATIE GROBE Director, Yampa Valley Pregnancy Center I’ve often thought about Paul’s exhortation to us in Ephesians 4:15: “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ.”

Tim Douglas: Are we there yet?

Wow, summer has finally arrived and that means camping, fishing, hiking, golf, softball, baseball and many other outdoor activities. Of course, summer also means road trips for vacation. I recently took my brother and 9-year-old nephew back to Denver to fly home to Texas.

The Rev. Tony Bohrer: The heart of a person

I’m covering an issue today that, in my opinion, is something the Bible mentions a lot, but churches don’t. I want to elaborate on the heart of people. Heart is mentioned 830 times in the King James Version of the Bible. In the Book of Proverbs alone, it’s mentioned 81 times. The Bible is not slack in dealing with issues of the heart.