It comes as a surprise to no one that I love music. Choral music, instrumental music, popular music, as well as classical stuff . . . folk tunes, ballads, fun songs, and serious works . . . country western and bluegrass, as well as the patriotic and romantic. For me, music is a must. This […]
Read MoreCategory Archives: Easter
Tell Me a Story Daddy
“Tell me a story Dad!” “In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf.” So begins Eric Carle’s children’s story The Very Hungry Caterpillar… I love story-time with my three girls: curling up together to read a favourite book before bedtime; watching little fingers turn pages, and sharing with them in […]
Read MoreIn Moments Like These
At this very moment, as I write these words, I have just returned from the Insight for Living tour of Israel. By every measure it was a great expedition. But you probably know what it’s like coming down from a great expedition – there’s a round-shouldered slump and a sigh as you gather up the […]
Read MoreHope Beyond Failure
Rarely will one of God’s heroes show up in the Scriptures having lived a life free of failure. Take Peter, for example. As soon as you read the name, you remember his story. Peter experienced the extreme highs and lows of life—from days spent in blessed fellowship with Christ . . . to the heart-wrenching […]
Read MoreGetting Past Guilt: Overcoming Barriers to Feeling Forgiven
Puritan minister Richard Baxter warned about the emotional toll of carrying unnecessary guilt: “That sorrow, even for sin, may be overmuch. That overmuch sorrow swalloweth one up.”1 In his wonderful old English, Reverend Baxter captured the feelings of people who have not experienced forgiveness. Grief over past sins plunges them into a depth of sorrow. […]
Read MoreEaster is Over…Now What?
A tick. What does it mean? It’s a symbol of approval indicating a bold, clear, definitive ‘Yes.’ ‘Spot on!’ ‘That’s right.’ ‘That’s good.’ It carries the authority of the one doing the ticking. They have declared that something is right or complete. Have you ever thought of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as God’s tick? […]
Read MoreAn Easter Narrative
Mary woke with the dawn cry of the rooster. The coolness of the early morning air served only to confirm the grief she had fallen asleep with. Heavy-hearted and downcast with the events of Friday, she hadn’t slept much the last two nights. Tossing and turning, she couldn’t dispel those images from her mind. The […]
Read MoreA Good Man or the God-Man? The Case for the Deity of Jesus
“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) Jesus asked this question two thousand years ago, and the answers are still coming in: a rabbi who preached compassion, a brilliant leader who touched the hearts of thousands, a misunderstood innovator who died as a martyr. His enemies said He was a devil, a rabble-rouser […]
Read MoreA Hope Transfusion
Easter and hope are synonymous. The special day never arrives without its refreshing reminder that there is life beyond this one. True life. Eternal life. Glorious life. Those who live on what we might call the “outskirts of hope” need a transfusion. Easter gives it. For some strange reason, I’ve experienced times in my life when several people […]
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