Jesus clearly understood the debilitating nature of bondage. During His earthly ministry, He witnessed Roman slaves taken in their conquest of foreign lands who were then forced to serve their captors. Although not indifferent to physical bondage, Jesus focused upon the bondage that everyone faces, regardless of their status in

In addition to listening to Christmas music, I love hearing the Christmas story, regardless of how many times I have read it or heard it told. While the shepherds tended their flocks, their “routine” night was suddenly interrupted by an angel who shattered the darkness with blinding light. Trembling in

Fear is a natural human reaction to stressful and potentially harmful situations. We have all been “afraid” at certain times in our lives, and often, those times are indelibly etched in our memories. Jesus’ disciples were no different. In fact, on at least two occasions, fear enveloped the disciples while

How in the world can we be dead and yet still be living? The Bible says that unless Jesus gives a person LIFE, he or she is spiritually dead and separated from God. The implication is that most people are just “existing” on planet earth, not really “living.” Maybe you

I pray that you had a special Memorial Day holiday last week. Each year, Americans take a special day (and even an entire weekend) to remember those soldiers (and all military personnel) who have died while serving in the Unites States Armed Forces. As an extension, it is also a

In our last blog, we saw that Jesus is known as “The Prince of Peace” because He is the only one who can forgive sin and bring us into a relationship with God, making it possible for us to have peace with Him. This is the most important aspect of

Catherine Marshall in the book “Stories for the Heart,” provided a great illustration entitled “A Picture of Peace.” She tells the story of a king who once offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried, and the king looked at all

Jesus said that if we are to be blessed, we need to be “pure in heart” (Mt. 5:8). As we saw in my previous blog on this topic, the Greek word for “pure” refers to the removal of something unclean or useless from our lives that will result in having

Not too long ago, I was introduced to a song entitled “Without His Cross.” The lyrics tell the whole story of how the events of “Good Friday” impact our lives, even today. Here is the essence of those lyrics:  “Without His tears, there is no comfort; without His death, there

In the first century, the “heart” was considered to be the center of one’s personality. Consider the following: when obviously referring to the “mind,” the Apostle Paul spoke of “…foolish hearts becoming darkened” (Rom. 1:21); when referring to the “will,” Paul spoke of certain people having “…stubborn and unrepentant hearts”