Here is a blog post written by Justin Taylor and posted on August 17, 2017 at The Gospel Coalition website. I’m placing it here unedited and unchanged, and as a resource because I am frequently asked about the beliefs of the Jehovah Witnesses. The 11 Beliefs You Should Know about Jehovah’s Witnesses When They Knock at the Door … Continue reading →
My grandparents on my mother’s side were Martin and Margaret Soos, both full blooded Hungarians. As I understand their story, Martin met Margaret in Trenton, New Jersey at some point after Martin came to America from Ugod, Hungary. The Soos story as I know it was handed down to me through my older brother Lou and my grandfather’s brother, Joe … Continue reading →
I seem to get asked about my family history, often. It usually begins with my name when someone says, Durkac…what is the origin of your name? or they just ask, What kind of name is Durkac? Durkac is a unique name, and I usually tell people if you meet another Durkac we are related. At least we would be related … Continue reading →
Today is Saturday and it was my last day of employment as a hospital chaplain. Tomorrow is Sunday and it will be a day marked by me being unemployed. However, Monday morning I will start my new job as a hospice chaplain. In this post I simply want to reflect on going from a hospital chaplain to a hospice chaplain. … Continue reading →
I’m not one to comment on everything that happens in our society and culture, especially when it involves celebrities, but the recent passing of Jimmy Buffett is an opportunity for me to remind us all of the obvious. The obvious is that death doesn’t care if you are a billionaire or a pauper, it’s going to have its day with … Continue reading →
I’ve been contemplating Ecclesiastes 1:11 which says, “No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them” (NIV). After we die, it’s just a matter of time until only our closest friends and family remember us. Life moves on for the living, and eventually even they die. Which means that … Continue reading →
There is one Former Seventh-day Adventist Facebook group that I still follow, probably because it’s not as angry as the majority of these groups are. Although it has recently occurred to me that it too has the one or two critics who have found their fame in their anti-SDA cause. Over the years I have joined about all of these … Continue reading →
For nearly 12-years CrossHope Chapel was an informal, simpler expression of church, where one could encounter the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, engage others in authentic New Testament fellowship, and be encouraged through the verse-by-verse study of the Bible. When you walked through the doors you would immediately notice that we had round tables, no pews or side by … Continue reading →
Happy Independence Day! I share with you an insightful statement from 1906, found in today’s Maranatha devotional by E.G. White. The statement speaks in support of patriotism and against political deconstruction. Enjoy… “The Lord has done more for the United States than for any other country upon which the sun shines. Here He provided an asylum for His people, where … Continue reading →
On this day, Mother’s Day, I always think of a verse in the epistle of Paul to Timothy. The chapter includes some instructions to the young pastor about caring for widows and it is in the middle of this that Paul writes in regard to women as “known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children” (1 Timothy 5:10, … Continue reading →
In my youth I often had older people tell me that time flies as you age. In recent years I have come to believe that, because I feel like I have been caught off guard on the ending of 2021. This year is over. A new one starts in just two days. As I was thinking about this Romans 13:11 … Continue reading →
The Christmas season is an opportunity for us to reflect on the first advent of our Savior, even though we may not buy into it as a religious celebration. Since leaving Catholicism I have lost a sense of obligation to celebrate Christmas with religious significance or requirement. There is no biblical command to celebrate the Savior’s birth, no certainty in … Continue reading →
Yesterday I turned 59 years old and I wasn’t feeling good about it. I took my 50th birthday hard, because I realized that 50 years of my life just filtered through my hands like grains of sand at the beach. Turning 59 was not as bad for me as when I turned 50, but I am wondering about my next … Continue reading →
I’m contemplating death today, because I just learned of the passing of Edith Waugh, a former church member from my Rock Hill, South Carolina days and wife of Les Waugh, whom I wrote about in a previous blog post. Edith was also the sitter for my children and allowed me the opportunity to be out and involved with church ministry, … Continue reading →
With the October 21, 2020 passing of my mother, I am beginning to feel what I’ve heard expressed so many times by adult children following the death of their last living parent. I am feeling the sentiment expressed by surviving children who say, “I feel like an orphan.” For me, it’s been over six-weeks of “I feel like an orphan” … Continue reading →
My mother passed away on October 21, 2020 after a long battle with Alzheimer/Dementia. I wrote about my mother and the smile I miss at my previous blog post titled Irene H. Durkac. Her Catholic funeral mass was conducted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 in Rossford, Ohio and the funeral home’s obituary was published a few days prior to that … Continue reading →
Love can mean different things to different people, but 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 gives us a clear definition of what love is. All we need to know for how to love our spouse is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, and I want to share the sixteen points mentioned in this passage of Scripture of what love means. At most of my weddings … Continue reading →
My younger sister and I sat in the living room of our childhood home where my mother laid in her hospice bed. As we talked quietly, trying not to disturb our mother’s rest, I could see my mom open her eyes and fix her gaze toward me with a slight smile. I smiled back and continued the conversation with my … Continue reading →
Many years ago I hosted a syndicated radio broadcast called Ask the Bible which was a listener call-in question and answer radio show in the South Carolina and North Carolina market. It’s hard for me to think of those days or use the phrase “Ask the Bible” without thinking about Les Waugh. Les was a parishioner and elder at a church I … Continue reading →
I was reminded this morning by a friend still living in my home town of Rossford, Ohio that it was 40 years ago today that we graduated from High School in the class of 1980. After the shock wore off that it was 40 years already, it occurred to me that Payton is graduating from High School on this very … Continue reading →
It may not be the first Bible promise you have thought of when dealing with your coronavirus anxiety, but it is very applicable. Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Consider this encouraging truth: the Lord Jesus Christ is the same today as He was during any other season of anxiety in your … Continue reading →
I don’t want to call this a rant, though in some ways that is how it is swelling up within me. In recent months and years I have found it disheartening to see so many young pastors advertising their know-how as a commodity to sell to other pastors in order to be like them in their wisdom, experience, and success. … Continue reading →
My Dad, Louis S. Durkac, died this morning, September 4, 2019. He was 91 years old and the adopted father of 5 adopted children, and he himself was adopted. He died just 2 days shy of his 67th wedding anniversary with my Mom, Irene, whom he leaves behind in a fight against dementia. I am the middle child of the … Continue reading →
I would like to suggest to my Seventh-day Adventist friends to substitute the word “Messiah” for the word “Sabbath,” every time you read it in the Bible or in the writings of Ellen White. I once had a New Testament professor who in teaching through the book of Galatians, suggested that when we read the word “law” we could add the … Continue reading →