After my son’s arrest, I felt so much shame that I rarely left my home in order to conceal myself. The news of my son’s arrest hit the state news. Because of the media blasts, immediately my son’s identity became associated with the crimes he was accused of committing. Then the identity association hit my husband and I as his parents. We heard over and over in churches, “You’ll know what kind of parents people are based on the children’s…
Do you believe God is able? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced the option of being thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to the golden statue. While staring death in the face, they declared, “God is able.” “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power,…
Thomas “Bart” Whitaker’s death sentence was commuted to life without parole by Texas Governor Greg Abbott just minutes prior to his scheduled execution on February 22, 2018. Bart Whitaker received the death penalty after being convicted of plotting the murders of his family in 2003 in Houston, Texas. Bart hired two accomplices to carry out the murders in the family home. After returning home from a family dinner at a local restaurant, Bart’s mother and brother were fatally shot upon…
In life, we become accustomed to our ways. Habits and routines set in. We adapt and become comfortable with our lives even if we don’t necessarily like everything about our lives. Any change will disrupt the pattern we’ve adapted to as we tend to focus on our present circumstances. The disciples were a lot like us in that regard. They had traveled the country side with Jesus. In Mark 9, as they traveled, Jesus’ mind was on the eternal as…
Each year, my husband, Eldon and I follow a read the Bible through in a year reading plan. This week, we read in Exodus 12 about the first Passover. This was the tenth and final plague known as the death of the firstborn. The Lord had Moses instruct the people to take the blood of a lamb without blemish and put it on the two side posts of the door and above the door. When the Lord saw the blood…
“Are you ready for Christmas,” the clerk asks at the checkout. That innocent question can provoke a myriad of emotions. Especially for those who are struggling with the loss of a family member, chronic illnesses, the empty seat at the table due to an incarcerated loved one, or other difficult situations. The mind screams, “Do I look like I’m ready? I just want to make my purchases and get home!” Holiday music is piping through the store speakers. “It’s the…
Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read from the scroll, what we know as Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” (Luke 4:18-19 NLT) Jesus came to “proclaim that the captives will be…