"But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God." (1 Peter 2:20) I frequently marvel at the faith which the first Christians displayed. They were...
King David has always been my favorite biblical character. As a teenager, I found a photo in a magazine of a young man wearing a ring of flowers upon his black, curly hair. He resembled what I imagined David the boy shepherd may have looked like. I asked my artist...
Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his? Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty. Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at...
In times of need many will call on the Lord to intervene. In the wake of the tragedy of 9/11 many turned to prayer and God to save and protect. The churches were full and the people were on their knees, but where are they now? The Bible says that there is nothing new...
Let's focus for a moment today on the floggings that Jesus received: "Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified." (Matt 27:26 NIV) The Israelites had a law about flogging: "If the guilty man deserves to be beaten,...
History records that the Roman soldiers often played a game with their prisoners. They would strip them of their clothing, dress them in one of their red outer robes, twist together a crown of thorns, and place a staff in their hands, for a scepter. Then they would...
There are seven recorded utterances that Jesus made while hanging on that cruel cross. Each was short - no more than a few words, and each one showed complete devotion to mankind and to God. Except for one. One was a simple two word utterance, one that gives us a tiny...
We pick up the story with Jesus' troubles at their peak. His blood loss is incredible. He is weak with hunger, dehydrated, His bones are out of joint (see Ps. 22), and the pain is astronomical. He is slowly asphyxiating, and just when things didn't seem like they can...