For Holy Saturday

(This is a repeat from 2015. I hope it's a blessing to you.)

We sat in that room all that Sabbath day. We men sat pretty much in silence, scattered around the floor, in shock; not trying to talk, not knowing what to say. The women were huddled together in the corner, sometimes whispering to one another then breaking out into quiet sobbing. Mary

Dirty Feet and Messy Hearts

This is Maundy Thursday, the day of the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples in Jerusalem, the day before he died on the cross. I wrote this post three years ago and I believe it's still got a lot going for it.

On Thursday of the week he was to die, Jesus

Good Shepherd Gives His Life for His Sheep

In the middle of the week when he was to be crucified, Jesus knew he was only a short time away from being stripped, beaten, cursed, spat upon, slapped, scorned and humiliated. Whatever bullying you

I Gave Up ___ For Lent, and Look What it Got Me

This year, I gave up bread for Lent. Sandwiches, burgers, donuts, cake...well, you get the picture. Maybe for you it's coffee.  Now, you don't have to actually give up something for Lent, in order to please God or prove your obedience. Giving up something is an exercise in learning what you've grown

The Fake Snake, or the Real Deal?

If one day you realized you had been living in a fantasy world that you had constructed for yourself, a world that let you be in control but that was going to end badly, would you

The Door Is Open

This time of year, Christians talk a lot about God's forgiveness. But we humans so often think that we need to clean ourselves up of at least some of our sins before we can become 'acceptable enough' that God will forgive us. We're trying to keep our hands on the steering wheel, so to speak, even if we think that what we're doing is just 'repenting harder' so God will

He Did it Because He Loves You

We're only a few weeks away from Easter, the celebration of our Savior's resurrection. But before he could be raised, he died a horrible death: an innocent in the hands of sinners, the Just One killed unjustly, the Sinless One thrown in with criminals, the Ruler of All betrayed by everyone in power in his time. The one who made humanity from dust was laid in the dust for us, the One who breathed life into Adam breathed his last so he could bring eternal life to us all.

He did it 2,000 years ago because he loves you today. As the