“When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’ ” (Matthew 27:54) When you stop and think about it, there is a wonderful salvation story here because that Roman Centurion was the first man to believe that Jesus died on the Cross to save him. I am sure he felt the shame that many of us felt when our eyes were first opened to the sin […]

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Several years ago, my wife spent two weeks in Hawaii with her mother. The idea was her mom’s. “I want to watch you enjoy part of your inheritance,” she told her. For several weeks prior to leaving, Robbie repeatedly thanked me for “letting her go”. “I’m not letting you go,” I told her. “I want you to go. This will be a great memory for you and you mother to […]

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalms 119:105) My wife and I stumbled into an art gallery serveral yesrs ago unlike any we’ve ever seen. If you haven’t taken a trip to one of Thomas Kinkade’s galleries, it’s a must. Every picture hanging on the wall literally glows. For example, neighborhood scenes show light-filled houses that look as if the light is inside is real. The truth is the light is real, at least according to Kinkade, who recently wrote […]

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 The date was June 24, 1962. I was nine years-old and had just walked down the aisle of First Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to profess my faith in Christ. After Sunday dinner that afternoon, a friend of my family gave me a Bible with an inscription that read, “To my little friend, Mike Ruffin: Today, June 24, 1962, you have opened your […]