Devotionals

People react differently to change, and while some are more tolerant of it, even the most flexible can find themselves overcome with anxiety when they are life-altering ones.  Getting married, moving, starting a new job or losing a loved one are examples of those kinds of impactful life disruptions.  When change is imposed on you, it can feel like you have no control, leaving [...]

The words are frequently interchanged, but there is a difference between guilt and shame.  Guilt is related to actions.  When you violate God’s law (sin) you feel guilty (for good reason).  Because guilt is tied to actions, it can be resolved the same way.  Guilt motivates people to take action to seek forgiveness from others and to repent before the Lord.  Proverbs 28:13 contrasts [...]

I recently watched a childhood favorite with two of my grandsons, The Wizard of Oz.  In it, Dorothy and her newfound friends progressed to the end of the yellow brick road where they entered the bejeweled capital, the Emerald City.  Once inside, they were greeted with gleeful songs and sparkling smiles because, after all, it was home to the “wonderful wizard.” You know the story.  [...]

Televisions were in wide use by the 1950s, and from Dragnet to Hawaii Five-O to Murder, She Wrote, criminal investigation shows have been one of the most popular genres, producing hundreds of programs and thousands of episodes.  As of this writing, NCIS alone has aired 488 episodes and is still going.  So spellbound is American culture by the art of investigation that it spawned the sub-genre of True Crime such as Cold [...]

I had a friend that worked at the police department for several years prior to me.  When I was first hired, I eagerly pelted him with questions about what to expect.  With grace, he endured my enthusiasm but one time, during a pause in the conversation, he said he had something serious to share with me.  He described an “us vs. them” phenomenon that [...]

“House of” is a phrase used to refer to a particular body of people.  Some are legislative, such as the “House of Representatives” in the U.S. or the U.K.’s “House of Lords” and “House of Commons.”  It can take a more personal form when it is applied to a dynasty like the Spanish House of Bourbon, the Austrian House Habsburg or the British House [...]