“In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” (Ephesians 6:16) The piece of armor Paul is referring to here is the large Roman shield covered with leather, which could be soaked in water and used to put out flame-tipped arrows. Although the Roman soldiers needed this physical shield to protect them while in battle with surrounding armies, Paul knew that this church in Ephesus also needed a spiritual shield Continue Reading
Shoes of Peace
Have you ever had a long, hard day? Has your phone ever rung with bad news on the other end? Have you ever been laid off, dumped, had a health scare? Have you ever hurt someone you love? Have you ever been mistreated, abused, abandoned, or ignored? Have you ever had more month than money, more problems than solutions, and more drama than a little bit? If you answered “yes” to one or more of those questions, you and I have something in common: a need for some help! Turns out, Continue Reading
Don’t You Just Love Being Right?
I remember as a kid my mother was very adamant about us always going to bed with a clean kitchen. Leaving dishes in the sink overnight was not an option. As much as I wished she’d let up at times, I must admit that, in hindsight, I appreciate her firmness. I now know her primary goal was to minimize the likelihood that we would have creepy crawling visitors in response to the presence of the dirty dishes. Wiping down countertops, sweeping and mopping the floors, and taking out the trash Continue Reading