My Name is Barabbas He was a rebel and a murderer. Condemned to die without any chance of appeal. He was guilty and he knew it. Then when it appeared all hope was gone, reprieve arrived in the form of another chosen to die in his place (Luke 23). I have been a...
National I Am in Control Day Church tradition commemorates the Thursday before Easter as “Maundy Thursday”—the day of Jesus’ last supper with His disciples. It was the evening before His crucifixion, when He spent time in the Garden of Gethsemane with His...
Odor or Aroma? My backyard finally smells good again. For the past two months, an odd odor has emanated from three trees and lingered all around the outside of my house. Others across south Florida have described the smell as a musky combination of sweet...
Meet the Tate Family Been thinking about organizations that depend on volunteers. Whether it’s your church, Bible study, non-profit agency, or even your workplace, you may have met one or more members of the Tate family. They can be found in almost every organization…...
Beyond the Calling There’s a lot of talk in Christian circles about being “called,” and rightly so. The Bible tells us: We’re called to a holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9) Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14) God works all things together for God for...
Unnecessary Burdens Have you noticed how some things are becoming smaller and lighter these days? The first computer took up an entire building. Now you can hold a mini iPad in the palm of your hand. The first mobile phone looked and felt like a brick with an...
The Rise and Fall of Nations It’s been happening for millennia. Countries grow into empires with increasing power reaching far beyond their original borders. But sooner or later each is replaced with another empire, bigger, stronger, and fiercer in their...
Misconceptions About Love We want love. We need love. More than one thousand song titles contain the word love. Books have been written about it. Poems recited. We chase it and sing about it and fall for imitations. And no matter what we do, we can’t get...
The Shape of Rescue What does rescue look like? Rescue doesn’t always appear in the form we expect. That’s because God doesn’t think as we do. He doesn’t act as we do, either. And trouble follows when I expect God to respond based on my understanding of the...
Every Day is Special Are you tired of all the clichés yet? New year. New start. Blank slate. Except that it isn’t a blank slate anymore, is it? Your days have already begun to fill up, despite the pandemic that refuses to leave. The holidays are a given. New...
Hot Buttons We all have them. Hot buttons. Sore spots, tender to even a verbal touch. When poked, these sore...
Six Steps to Speaking the Truth in Love Ever been attacked by someone who wields truth like a club? I have. And...
The Order of Submission If ever a word could be identified as an emotional trigger, it’s submission. And if...