Happy 4th of July & 250th Anniversary of the USA! Today is a great day for celebration! Enjoy it! But I would like you to pause first and give consideration to the price that was paid and the foundation that was laid for our liberty as a nation…Paul Harvey, noted radio commentator, wrote the article years ago, “What Price Freedom?” In it, he answered the question: “What happened to those men who s...  Read More

The devotional today is about personal failure. If you have never failed, then this writing is not for you. But, of course, failure is a part of life—everyone’s life—including yours! That we all fail does not make it any easier. Nor does it mean we are okay with it. None of us wants to fail…but we all do. Moreover, we are in good company when we do…On the threshold of our 250th Anniversary as a na...  Read More

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). I have always loved this verse for it tells us: God never will let us down, because He is ever-present in times of trouble. We need to know this since there will always be troubles. Jesus said as much… Remember, the night before the crucifixion in the Upper Room, Jesus told His disciples three things about facing troub...  Read More

Today I want to remind you of the power of temptation. I think we all understand this, though we may not always be inclined to admit it. However, as the compass needle is affected by magnetic pull, even so every person feels the pull of sin. Temptation can be a powerful force. Consider what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his book Temptation:“In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards d...  Read More

I was listening to the oldies channel on Sirius radio the other day and they played a once popular song by The Bee Gee’s. Remember them?  I sang along with them in my best falsetto voice “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” (I am so glad you did not hear me—I bet you are, too!). Anyway, the song does raise an interesting question: Can you mend a broken heart? Well, the answer is: You can’t! But God ...  Read More

This past Memorial Sunday, I reminded us that the freedom we enjoy as Americans came at a price. Someone took a bullet for us. Someone paid the ultimate price for us. That is why Memorial Day is important. It is a day of remembering the ones who died for us. However, in the Sunday sermon, I chose to remind us of the One who died for us. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for humanity; He paid the p...  Read More