Since the day the humble tax collector cried, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” the faithful in Christ have been doing the same. There are plenty of reasons to regularly pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” But, I’ll limit it to three: 1. It is a practical way to “pray without ceasing.” … Read More
I watched this clip from The Andy Griffith Show a couple weeks ago and, with my convoluted mind, thought of Awana. How many kids, sitting in front of their Awana leader, try to recall the words to verses they thought they’d memorized? Awana is very strict about “word-for-word” memory and only a couple “helps.” I wonder how many kids were … Read More
The hardest thing Jesus asks of you and me is to die. To underscore the great significance of dying, Jesus repeats the command 5 times in the Gospels. He does that with no other command. Over and over again, He calls his followers to “take up his cross.” Simply put, the cross is a symbol of death. In the first … Read More
“Was blind, but now I see,” writes John Newton (1725-1805) in the most-popular hymn, Amazing Grace. As Jesus walked near Jericho, a blind man yelled out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” People around him tried to get him to shut up. He cried out even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped. He wanted … Read More
When it comes to doing what Jesus asks of us, we just disagree. He wants me to love my neighbor. But she lets her dog poop in my flowers and keeps me awake with her wild parties. She doesn’t deserve my love. He wants me to pray for my enemies. But they hate Americans and despise Christians. I can’t find … Read More
