December 16th, 2017
He took my death and called it His own
But my death was swallowed up by His life
Because in Him is life everlasting
He gives me His life and calls it my own
Now life everlasting is mine!
His unfailing love continues forever
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December 12th, 2017
At the last supper, as recorded in each of the four gospels, Christ made two predictions. The first was that one of their number, one they considered a friend and shared meals with, would betray Him. And of course we all know He was referring to Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples. He signified the inevitability of this prediction by quoting the prophecy from Psalm 41 which reads “the one who shared my food has turned against me.” In fact, John 6:64 makes it very clear that Christ knew all along who would betray Him. Even the price of His betrayal, 30 pieces of silver, was prophesied centuries earlier in Zechariah 11:12.
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December 12th, 2017
Christmas is a time for bells. Sleigh bells, jingle bells, silver bells. Pretty much any kind of bell in fact. Bells are generally associated with celebrations and in our country especially, with freedom and liberty. The most famous bell is the Liberty Bell which is on display in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is believed this bell was rung to mark the reading of the Declaration of Independence.
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November 23rd, 2017
I loved fairy tales growing up. Still do. I especially enjoy good fantasy novels where the heroes overcome impossible odds to save the world from some evil, oppressive tyrant. As a young teenager, I couldn’t get enough of these stories. And I loved to daydream. Whenever I was bored, I would simply imagine myself as a hero in one of these tales, slaying dragons and rescuing princesses.
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November 18th, 2017
In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 17, we read a story I’m sure most of us are familiar with. Jesus is making His way south from Galilee to Jerusalem for the last time. By now, people everywhere had heard countless stories of Jesus’ many miracles and without a doubt, those with incurable ailments and diseases paid the most attention. As He enters a village on the border between Galilee and Samaria, He sees ten lepers crying out to Him from a distance “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Leprosy was a highly contagious life-threatening skin disease that had plagued the region for centuries.
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November 9th, 2017
In 1505, a 21 year old law student at the University of Erfurt Germany, oppressed and afflicted with guilt over his sin, dropped out of school and joined the local Augustinian Monastery known as “The Black Cloister” for the color of the monks’ habits. His father was furious over what he considered a waste of his son’s education. Desperate to find relief from the weight of his guilt, the young man once spent six hours in the confessional with the vicar of the monastery Johann Von Staupitz. Rumor had it that the comprehensive breadth of his confessions rivaled that of Saint Augustine himself after whom the monastery was named. Staupitz would later say of this young man, Martin Luther, that he would confess for hours on end without confessing “anything interesting.”
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November 5th, 2017
Despite their best effort and a few great plays against Northwestern Saturday, the Huskers racked up another loss. I’m no sports analyst, but the Huskers’ outlook seems bleak this year, struggling on both sides of the ball with a quarterback prone to throwing interceptions. I remember the days when our defense was a force to be reckoned with, intimidating every team in the nation. Now our defense intimidates no one. Like a championship football team, the Gospel’s place in our hearts requires a strong defense.
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