Reconciliation is a common word that I suspect we have all used at one time or another. Most of the time we use it to describe two individuals who have been in conflict, only to see that conflict dissolve because they have reconciled. In short, they have “made peace” with

The Bible uses several terms to identify a person’s new position in Christ, and one of them is “justification.” It’s a legal term used to describe the position of the person who has received from Jesus the gift of “LIFE.” This person is said to have been “justified,” or brought

Redemption is the process whereby a person who has been held in bondage is set free. There is always a price to pay for the person’s release, and that is called a “ransom.” Interestingly, the ransom is never paid by the one who is being held captive. It’s almost always

Yes, there really is a difference between merely “existing” and actually “living.” All of us born on planet earth not only “exists,” but we are also considered to be “living,” breathing human beings. But it was Jesus Himself who drew the distinction between “existing” and “living.” You see, everyone is

OK – I get it! It’s a lot easier to talk about bearing fruit than actually doing it. Jesus knew that fruit bearing was a difficult undertaking, and so He provided His disciples with a blueprint for doing so. He did this by using the illustration of a grape vine

Jesus always encouraged his hearers to live their lives bearing the kind of fruit that would bring glory to God and blessings to others. On one occasion, He told the story of a man (God) who planted a fig tree in his vineyard, but never found any figs on it.

Let’s face it – There have been times when we have simply been exhausted: Exhausted after an 8-hour shift of doing hard physical labor; Exhausted after a full day of watching over and caring for rambunctious toddlers; Exhausted after walking off the field after a grueling and intense competition; Exhausted

Peggy and I both grew up in pretty traditional churches. That is where I got to know and love the hymns. I would sing them often, although I made sure that no one heard me except when singing in church. Peggy used to be amazed at me when we would

One of the foundation stones of any marriage is trust. When suspicion is present in any relationship, the foundation begins to crack and will eventually crumble. Like in any marriage, an essential element of having a meaningful relationship with God is learning to trust Him to be faithful in keeping

Let’s return for a few moments to a site just outside the walls of Jerusalem on that first Easter Sunday morning. It was the women bringing spices to anoint Jesus’ body who first noticed that the stone had been rolled away and that Jesus was not inside the tomb. Of