John 8:2-11 Jesus spent the night at the Mount of Olives. By dawn he returned to the temple courts, where all the people have been expecting him and he sat down to teach them. His voice cut through the noise of the sellers, of the crowd, of the animals to be sacrificed, and off the rough commands shouted by the Temple guards in an effort to bring some order to the chaos. But the religious leaders of Israel, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, wanted to make an example of him. They wanted to be sure the people knew that Jesus would not obey the law, that he…

Corrie Ten Boom (kor-ee ten bome) was born in 1892 in the Netherlands. World War II broke out in Europe when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Although the Netherlands was officially neutral, the German Army invaded in 1940. German bombing runs devastated Dutch cities, and within five days the government and Royal family had fled to England and Canada, and the Dutch army laid down their arms. All Nazi occupations were evil through and through, and they were particularly successful in the Netherlands. The Nazis began an efficient program of rounding up Dutch Jews for the death camps, achieving an unholy 70% fatality rate. However, some Dutch citizens…

Forgiveness. It is not in our human nature to forgive. We are attacked. We defend ourselves. Someone treats us unjustly and we want justice. Someone is mean to us. We want to hit back, even as the event recedes into the past. We keep it alive with our revenge fantasies. Yet, Jesus was extremely clear that we need to forgive. Mark 11:25:  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them so that your father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” God has told us in no uncertain terms to forgive. It’s true that God does not automatically forgive anyone ever born. He loves us,…