Justice or Mercy?
Several years ago the father of one of my daughter’s friends was murdered during his late night shift at 7-11. A few weeks later I was called for jury duty. Imagine my shock when I was seated as a prospective juror for the trial of the two young men accused of his murder. When I […]
Shame Off You
Has anyone said to you, “Shame on you!” or “You ought to be ashamed!”? Shame makes us feel small, flawed, not good enough. Shame adversely affects our relationship with God, ourselves, and others. It hinders our ability to experience God’s unconditional love. The good news is there is power in God’s Word to break through […]
Zombies
We have seen it on the hospital dramas: “He’s going into cardiac arrest! Give me the paddles. Clear!” Zap. Beep…beep…beep. “He’s back.” We were all dead in sin: drug dealers, pimps, sex offenders, gossips, unforgiving or prideful. All equally dead. Just another cold corpse in the spiritual morgue that stretches for miles. But God… I […]
Pulling Down Strongholds
“Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” I’m sure you have seen that bumper sticker. Our issues have different names but the question is the same. I am “more than a conqueror” (Romans 8:37) yet I still struggle daily. I’ve lost more than my share of battles to worry, fear, unbelief, pride or lustful thoughts. Maybe someone […]
Bouncing Back
2 Corinthians 3:17 declares, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” I want to live in that freedom, but to do that I must be willing to let the Holy Spirit flow through me. I can’t afford to be satisfied. Just this morning I read 1Thessalonians 4 in my devotional. Paul recognized […]
Counterfeit
In junior high one of my favorite hobbies was coin collecting. I had a wide range of coins, several over 200 years old, one was 2,000 years old. Today the collection is tucked away in a safe deposit box but I still enjoy looking at those bits of history. Oddly one of my favorite coins […]
