There was no indication that this neighborhood was any different from the blocks surrounding it. But as I rounded the corner, the close-packed stone buildings abruptly gave way to the sprawling grounds of a ruined ancient church. And there on the edge of the site was a five-foot-tall marble pillar. As I stood before it, I was overcome with emotion as I realized that the apostle Paul had also...
When considering your life’s journey, I don’t know if you can truly leave your abortion in the past. Every experience you go through becomes part of your larger story. With this in mind, how you view your abortion at this point in your life is what is most important. Do you still feel shame and condemnation, or are you living in the light of Christ’s redemption? Are you moving forward and...
In 1987 the suit-wearing, red-headed British sensation Rick Astley debuted “Never Gonna Give You Up.” It stayed atop the charts for months and became a music sensation. My generation loved it. Thanks to internet memes, Astley is enjoying resurging fame. Kids send a link that is mislabeled to a friend, and the link takes them to a short gif of Astley dancing. “You just got Rick Rolled,” the kids...
The road to change is a difficult, whether your circumstances were caused by your own choices or instead are a result of the actions and decisions of others. While nothing makes the journey “easy,” walking it out one step at a time with the support of your peers and a biblical community makes it achievable. In the support group curriculum Overcoming Addiction: 9 Steps Toward Freedom, counselor...
The concept of idolatry may or may not be familiar to you, so let’s make sure we have the same understanding of what the words idol and idolatry mean. Unlike the Israelites bowing down to worship a golden calf or carved image of wood or stone, in our culture an idol is not typically a statue. However, today’s idols are similar to the idols in ancient biblical times in that they are still...
