Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23: 43 How many of us long for that kind of direct reassurance? I can’t begin to imagine what a comfort that must have been for the criminal who was hanging on a cross on one side of […]
We often think of the Cross as the place where our victory has been won. Jesus’ Victory March is progressively revealed through His Seven Last Words, or statements from the Cross. In Luke 23:34, “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by […]
As we work our way into the last days of Lent, we look toward the finish line—which in one sense is the Cross and in another sense is far beyond it. If the Cross was a window into eternity, this is the scene we would see: Revelation 5:1-14. It’s a passage I love so much […]
Prepare the Way has been our theme during this season of Lent (Isaiah 40:3-5) as we’ve pondered reasons for a time of desert preparation, discussed ways of being consecrated—set apart—as God’s redeemed people. The Way of Holiness has been paved for us by Christ Himself whose glory was about to be revealed in the final […]
I belong to a group called Christian Cancer Survivors. As individuals who’ve each experienced cancer in our own ways, we gather together to encourage one another and to bring the love of Christ to people—whether patients or caregivers—who could use some strengthening for the journey. At our last meeting, one of the people in our […]
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 2 John 1:6 Love inspires a vast array of Christian platitudes and clichés. “Jesus loves me this I know, ‘cause the Bible tells me so.” “God loves you and […]
There’s a question I think about when I ponder life’s mysteries: If Jesus hadn’t been baptized as one of us, would His death have been for us? We can be in such a hurry to get to the empty tomb of Easter that we barely stop long enough at the Cross to know the importance […]
Not a typo of desserts. And while our journey started with preparation in the desert, it’s not that type of desert either. It’s Just Deserts. I love learning origins of words and phrases. This one, interestingly, comes from a play entitled Warning Faire Women (1599): “Upon a pillory – that al the world may see, […]
My son is currently studying for the required GRE exams for graduate school. I’ve been quizzing him on vocabulary and among the words he stumbled over at the beginning was lapidary. I had no problem remembering lapidary relates to the art of cutting precious stones because growing up, our family would visit a lapidary museum […]
Last year, my clematis that I bought grew so big that they topped the trellises I had on the side of my garage and cascaded back toward the ground. This year, I’m giving them support worthy of their vigor and beauty. Since it’s early spring, I know now is the perfect time to make the […]
