I hear voices inside my head.
Not schizophrenic voices, but the kind of self-talk that makes me feel less than. Voices that tell me I’m not good enough, not spiritual enough, not humble enough… That everyone around me succeeds in pleasing God, but that I don’t measure up because I can’t get my act together.
We all hear those accusing voices from time to time, and we often try to drown them out by trying harder.
We strive, adopting personal disciplines such as quiet times, tithing, fasting and serving in one form or another. We pray and read our Bibles and we do good things.
Continue Reading »
“In Christ alone, who took on flesh,
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.”
Continue Reading »
It’s almost too familiar, the Easter story.
Jesus’ arrest, trial, scourging, crucifixion and resurrection. God’s remarkable story of redemption settles in our hearts, but we often lose the awe.
A perfect man, the Lord Jesus Christ, was wrongly accused by a group of people who felt threatened by Him. They conspired against Him and had Him beaten and executed.
Most Christians understand the spiritual implications of Jesus’ sacrifice, that He
- bore the weight of our cross,
- took our punishment, and
- paid the penalty for our sin.
But we often lose sight of what happened in the physical realm, that the beating Jesus received left Him bloody and unrecognizable.
Continue Reading »
When I was a little girl, Easter meant exactly 3 things to me.
- I would get to wear a pretty new dress that probably involved a very scratchy petticoat underneath.
- There would be a big basket of candy and colored Easter eggs hidden in one of the closets in our home.
- And Jesus was alive!
I am not sure what each of those things has to do with the other, but I would never turn down a chance for candy and new clothes. If we celebrated Jesus by munching on sweets and wearing some sparkly white gloves; that was perfectly fine with me.
Continue Reading »
