one morning
There aren’t many days that noticeably change the world. In my lifetime I would count 9/11, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and perhaps a few more. Even so, today we conduct our business much as we did before those events.
carrying your cross
My wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in October 2012. I shared with a friend about the challenges this situation had posed for me. As we talked, he gently told me that this is the cross I have to carry. “Carrying your cross” means living with sickness or a child with a disability, or financial problems, or any difficult circumstance of life. But when Jesus tells us to carry our own crosses, is He referring to life’s burdens?
Give Me Barabbas?
“Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, 'Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For he…
an innocent man
On April 15, 1865, family, physicians, and government officials crowded around the bedside of US President Abraham Lincoln. He was unconscious and close to death from an assassin’s fatal bullet.
smartly, not seductively
I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently. “Much preaching about women dressing modestly has been destructive,” she said, “because it subtly places the blame for men’s lust on women. Men should take responsibility for their lust, and women should be free to wear what they want.” My friend’s words got me thinking.
you choose Q: where in the Bible does it say to celebrate Christmas?
Q: where in the Bible does it say to celebrate Christmas? —Ronald
A: As a devout Jew, Jesus would have faithfully kept the 7 major annual sacred feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Weeks or Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles), for these were clearly stipulated in the Old Testament (Leviticus 23:5-44, Deuteronomy 16:1-16). In addition, Jesus would have also faithfully observed the weekly…
at work
A group of us were sharing dinner and then we gave testimonies about a God who loves His people enough to speak His dreams into their hearts. We heard of an apartment complex for single mothers. A wedding barn and a Christian campground. A new local church being established. Common to all was the desire that God’s name would be made great through each respective leap of faith.
in the light of God
Pastor G. Campbell Morgan was quoted as saying: “What we do in the crisis always depends on whether we see the difficulties in the light of God, or God in the shadow of the difficulties.” When people face any kind of crisis, they tend to look through the lens of fear and anxiety.
April 14, 2014
As we approach Good Friday and Easter, how have Jesus’ death and resurrection affected your life?
according to plan
It was the week of the Passover celebration. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims came to the temple to commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-28). On the Sunday preceding the Passover, Jesus had allowed the people to honor Him as king as He entered Jerusalem—something He hadn’t allowed them to do earlier (John 12:12-16).
In a Tough Place
God doesn’t reject or ignore us when we’re in a tough place. In Isaiah, we read these words: “I, the LORD, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them” (Isaiah 41:17). The Lord is present—listening to our prayers, feeling what we feel, and loving us when no one else seems to care.
love that dies
Renowned Christian writer Dallas Willard wrote: “The aim of God in history is the creation of an all-inclusive community of loving persons, with Himself included in that community as its prime sustainer and most glorious inhabitant.” Marriage is one way God continues to create this community.
after the wilderness
If you’ve ever experienced prolonged disappointment or pain, you know it can feel like you’re in the “wilderness”—a barren place where you never seem to reach the much-hoped-for “Promised Land.”
you’re in good hands
Sometime back in the 1950s, the Allstate Insurance Company’s marketing group was struggling to come up with a slogan for the company’s first major national advertising campaign. As the team was ready to quit after an empty day of brainstorming, sales executive Davis Ellis remembered a reassuring comment his wife made to him months earlier when their child was sick in the hospital.
what we focus on
The moon has recently been so bright and big that it almost seemed possible to step out my window, onto its surface, and go for a 2 a.m. stroll. It’s beautiful, but its brilliance has been disturbing the rest of our little light-sleeper son who keeps getting up—thinking it’s time for breakfast. On nights like these, it’s hard to believe that the moon is, in fact, dull, lifeless, and dark. Only the reflection of the sun allows us to see it.
