Does this beautiful thing ever happen to you?

It still amazes me when I come across a passage of Scripture that seems to flash like a neon sign. Though the words have been there for thousands of years, sometimes, they seem beautifully brand new. I’ve even smiled a little bit in my prayers, saying, “God, did you just put that there?” His WordContinue reading “Does this beautiful thing ever happen to you?”

When you remember there’s a wedding coming…

Kentucky lost one of its best basketball players to the NBA yesterday, Reed Sheppard. My son, Ben, is a HUGE Kentucky fan.He was pretty upset when he read the news. But then. He looks up from his phone and gets the biggest smile, and says, “But I’m getting married.” And a week from Saturday, BenContinue reading “When you remember there’s a wedding coming…”

Stopping the up and the down

The seventy return to tell Jesus “even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” (Luke 10:9) Those who had been sent out came back amazed at what had happened. Their eyes had seen the power of God at work through them. But Jesus tells them “do not rejoice because the spirits are subjectContinue reading “Stopping the up and the down”

Trusting ourselves too much and God too little.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31) God is for us, not against us. I recently heard a pastor say, “Don’t you think if God we’re out to get you, He would have gotten you by now?!” We laugh. We say weContinue reading “Trusting ourselves too much and God too little.”

Her Journal.

She was just twelve when I snapped this picture of her journal. A few years have passed but she’s still seeking God. She’s studying. She is trying to understand. She’s hiding God’s Word in her heart. For years, she’s watched her parents do the same. A while back, she and I were discussing a passageContinue reading “Her Journal.”

Do your friends truly love you? Do you truly love them?

I heard a pastor once say, “You can’t preach peace to those who walk in disobedience.” The truth is, as much as we want others to experience the rivers of peace we know because of Christ; those who insist on walking their own way, in disobedience to the ways of God, will never experience theContinue reading “Do your friends truly love you? Do you truly love them?”

Need some peace??

I’m a slow learner, but I can say with certainty, peace comes not from “fixed” circumstances -but rather from a heart fixed on God. Specifically, to find peace, we must keep our thoughts fixed on Who He Is more than what we observe Him to do. For if we tie our peace only to whatContinue reading “Need some peace??”

Tuesday after Easter

About now, I think about those who only attend church on Easter and Christmas. Something draws them there—maybe it’s sweet childhood memories, maybe they are trying to check a box, maybe they are looking for God but are not sure if they can go “all in”. After all, there’s a lot about faith in aContinue reading “Tuesday after Easter”

It’s all true!

The ground shook.The angel appeared.The stone rolled away.The soldiers fell like dead men.The grave empty.Death defeated!The Way Made!Victory complete. JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND DEFEATED SIN AND DEATH! This changed everything! When Christians say, “He is Risen”, it’s not that we are saying Christianity is useful. We are saying that it is TRUE! AllContinue reading “It’s all true!”

Silence

Silence. That day after the Savior had died. The pounding of the nails,the jeers of the crowd, His cries of pain. Now Silent. His body in the tomb. What now? They surely longed to hear His comforting voice. But Silence. They had left jobs, families, everything to follow Him. Now what? Silence. Nothing.But.Silence. Confused, afraid,Continue reading “Silence”

The Two Beside Him

Those two criminals.Bleeding.Bruised.Guilty. In the Savior’s final moments, one criminal hung on each side of Him. Those two represent all of us. We are each likeoneor the otherof them. It’s no accident, this picture. There they were.So close to Jesus.Can you imagine? They both knew who He was.But only one of them would be saved.Continue reading “The Two Beside Him”

How could this be good?

The picture is horrific. Our eyes want to turn away. We know. We’ve heard the story. We’ve been told, it’s not about bunnies but about a bloody cross. That day, that Good Friday, that day that looked anything but “good” – that day everything changed. Early in the morning on the day Jesus would beContinue reading “How could this be good?”

Judas Heart

Judas betrayed Jesus (Matt 26:47). His name is forever linked with betrayal. He sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, and we’ve shaken our heads that he could betray the Son of God for so very little…for so cheap. While I know Jesus was completely in control, came to die, and could have called downContinue reading “Judas Heart”

He waited

Silent Wednesday. It’s what some scholars call this day of Holy Week. Jesus had spent Tuesday preaching and warning, being aggressively challenged by the religious leaders. But then there is Wednesday. Silent Wednesday. Waiting Wednesday. Jesus knew what was coming. He watched his friend, Judas, slip away to make a deal to betray him. MaryContinue reading “He waited”

Tuesday of Holy Week. All she had.

Jesus spends most of Tuesday of Holy Week teaching and being questioned by the religious leaders in order that they might trap Him somehow. Were they jealous of His following? Did they feel threatened by the authority with which He taught? Or did they reason, if they could trip Him up, they might surely proveContinue reading “Tuesday of Holy Week. All she had.”

After the cheers faded…

I wonder about that morning after Jesus had rode in on the donkey, after the crowd had cheered and waved palm branches…I wonder, did He look around at His disciples? I wonder, as the disciples still celebrated over breakfast, did he wonder if they remembered what He had told them just a few days before?Continue reading “After the cheers faded…”

Palm Sunday

With smiles on their faces and exuberant expectation, the crowds waved the palm branches shouting, “Hosanna” which literally means, “Save Please!” and then, just a while later, that same crowd would scream, “Crucify Him!” And we question, how could they so quickly change? How could they question the famous one, the Miracle Maker, who hadContinue reading “Palm Sunday”

A Sovereign Delay while Satan Rules.

I can only imagine the spiritual battle being waged in the heavenlies as Jesus headed toward Jerusalem and what we call the Triumphal Entry and Holy Week. Surely, the demons seethed and swarmed. And while we prepare our hearts to celebrate the fact that Satan and his minions were eternally defeated with the blood-bought, death-defeatingContinue reading “A Sovereign Delay while Satan Rules.”

Felix’s last chance

So many, who hold on to this world, think they have many, many chances left to think about eternity and Jesus. Surely Felix did. (Acts 24). Felix had been a slave, set free by the Emperor Claudius and went on to gain political status to govern Judea from A.D. 52 to 60. The writer TacitusContinue reading “Felix’s last chance”