Dictionaries tell us that “shame” is a painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace. What things in your life are causing you to experience shame? This week. Right now. When we feel shame we generally wish to turn away from those with whom we normally feel safe but before READ MORE
shame
Brutal Honesty
If we are brutally honest, all of us have issues of shame and fear and regret in our lives. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard. This reality keeps us from God (Romans 6:23). To what extent are you willing to acknowledge this in your own life? What are the ways READ MORE
The Galilean Carpenter
Though routine the soldiers’ work on top of the hill attracted onlookers. They labored away, planting stakes and laying out the timbers that would form the stands for some rough crosses. The sun was devouring the morning fog, and from that hill one could see the beginning of a very busy Friday in Jerusalem. Across READ MORE
Your King is Coming!
Five hundred and forty years before the first Easter a prophet named Zechariah captured the attention of God’s people, speaking directly into their vulnerabilities, fears and brokenness. After seventy years of exile within the high walls of a brutal empire, the Jewish people had been released to return to their ancient homeland and its capital, READ MORE
Do Not Be Afraid
Someone that I have known for many years told me that she felt afraid as she thinks about the future and what the implications of past sin are for the future. The sin issue that she referenced was abortion. Below is part of what I shared with her, without using her name or particulars, of READ MORE
The Entrance
Jesus’ movement from the synogogue to Peter’s home is far more significant than might seem on the surface. Consider the text, according to the English Standard Version, from Mark 1:29-34: And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a READ MORE