I Googled the word “Easter” on my computer, and what came up was page after page of pictures of eggs and bunnies; more and more colorful eggs and bunnies. Rabbits and Technicolor eggs are fine. We hunt Easter eggs with our grandchildren. We also always have ham for Easter dinner. But Easter is about much more than eggs, bunnies and ham.   Christians world-wide celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Sunday following Palm Sunday, designated, “Easter.” It was during this week of the Jewish Passover 2,000 years ago that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. When the authorities w ..read more

Christians around the world celebrate the Sunday before Easter as “Palm Sunday.” This year it falls on March 29. The events that occurred on this day are described in each of the four gospels. You may see this day called His “Triumphal Entry.” Palm Sunday begins what is also called “Passion Week” when Jesus was betrayed, abandoned, arrested, tried and sacrificed on the cross. Palm Sunday begins as a time of great rejoicing and celebration. In Jerusalem, it marked the beginning of the week of Passover – the high point of the Israelite year. Jewish worshipers came to their holy city from all ov ..read more

Have you ever dreaded an upcoming event in your life? A few years ago I was facing a deadline…(don’t you hate that word? “Dead” “Line”?)  It was a date I had expected for six years. I knew it was coming. During the years leading up to it, I rarely went through a day without thinking about its arrival. I was trying to prepare, but as it approached, I would often wake up at 3:00 AM in a cold sweat. Finally, I survived the ordeal, and am thankful every day that it is in my past. Since you can identify with anticipating an unpleasant event, can you imagine what it was like for Jesus, Who, fr ..read more

 The Lord’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5—7) was not contrary to the Old Testament Law. In fact, the teaching of Jesus fulfilled the Law. When He died on the cross, He had so accomplished the keeping of God’s Law that He removed it from sentencing mankind to death for not keeping it. Because He so perfectly fulfilled it, He paid the penalty for all sinners and transgressors who break it. Paul put it this way: “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, hav ..read more

An old man was having a down day. His friend saw the signs and asked what the problem was, to which the old man simply said, “Life.” Pushing him a little, the friend said, “What’s the problem with life?” The old man looked at his friend with frustration and responded: “It’s so daily.” When Paul challenged the Ephesians to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1), he was begging them to make the actions of their Christian life a daily habit, not a once-a-week experience. Living the Christian life was to be like walking—normal, regular and practical—so ..read more

The New Testament book of Ephesians is a delicate balance of Christian doctrine and duty. It talks about belief, then about behavior.  It matters what you believe—because what you believe determines how you behave. The first three chapters are doctrinal—the final three chapters are practical. It is as if he was saying, “You have believed these things (Eph. 1—3), now practice these things (Eph. 4—6).”  Written by the apostle Paul from a prison cell in Rome, chapters 4, 5 and 6, reveal great insights in how Christians are to walk with God as they live in this world. He writes about th ..read more

Are you afflicted with Metathesiophobia? Me too. I have to fight it all the time. There are no medications or vaccines that will cure it. It can bring on depression, anxiety and hinder personal growth. The only cure for it is a change in attitude and outlook. You see, like many of you, I hate change. That long, technical word describes people who fear change or changing things. However, things in life are always changing. Despising change won’t stop it. Complaining about change will only bother the people who hear you. Altering the way we do things is uncomfortable. But in the flux of variabl ..read more

I Googled the word “Easter” on my computer, and what came up was page after page of pictures of eggs and bunnies; more and more colorful eggs and bunnies. Rabbits and Technicolor eggs are fine. We hunt Easter eggs with our grandchildren. We also always have ham for Easter dinner. But Easter is about much more than eggs, bunnies and ham.   Christians world-wide celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Sunday following Palm Sunday, designated, “Easter.” It was during this week of the Jewish Passover 2,000 years ago that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. When the authorities w ..read more

Christians around the world celebrate the Sunday before Easter as “Palm Sunday.” This year it falls on March 29. The events that occurred on this day are described in each of the four gospels. You may see this day called His “Triumphal Entry.” Palm Sunday begins what is also called “Passion Week” when Jesus was betrayed, abandoned, arrested, tried and sacrificed on the cross. Palm Sunday begins as a time of great rejoicing and celebration. In Jerusalem, it marked the beginning of the week of Passover – the high point of the Israelite year. Jewish worshipers came to their holy city from all ov ..read more

Have you ever dreaded an upcoming event in your life? A few years ago I was facing a deadline…(don’t you hate that word? “Dead” “Line”?)  It was a date I had expected for six years. I knew it was coming. During the years leading up to it, I rarely went through a day without thinking about its arrival. I was trying to prepare, but as it approached, I would often wake up at 3:00 AM in a cold sweat. Finally, I survived the ordeal, and am thankful every day that it is in my past. Since you can identify with anticipating an unpleasant event, can you imagine what it was like for Jesus, Who, fr ..read more