Posts From Bruce Ashford
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and physical health disorder caused by experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. Persons who experience PTSD often turn to alcohol or drugs to alleviate physical or mental symptoms. Physical symptoms include surges in levels of adrenaline or cortisol which cause a person’s body to be on perpetual “high [ Read More ]
The fifth line of the Lord’s Prayer is “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Now that we have hallowed God’s name and his intentions, relied on him for provision, and practiced gospel-centered forgiveness, we have begun “playing offense” in the world of spiritual warfare. However, we need also to “play defense.” [ Read More ]
Only a person with the dimmest powers of critical reflection could fail to notice the importance of psychological operations (psyops) in today’s world and in contemporary theaters of warfare. Even though the average American might not be familiar with the terms “psychological operations” or “psyops,” he or she is most likely well aware of the [ Read More ]
With the onset of Putin’s aggression against Ukraine, and subsequent implicit threats of a Russian nuclear strike against Ukraine or Western allies, the specter of “all-out war” has reemerged. The fear of nuclear war had largely dissipated since the end of the Cold War. Military conflict generally has taken place through small- and medium-sized wars [ Read More ]
The fourth line of the Lord’s prayer is, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” After having honored his name and his intentions and having asked for him to provide our daily needs, we inquire about one specific need: we pray for him to forgive our sin and to empower [ Read More ]
After having opened our prayer by expressing our longing for God’s kingdom and honoring his promise to restore the world, we are now ready to ask him to provide for our needs This is the third line of the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” In this time between Christ’s first and [ Read More ]
Many contemporary thought leaders have spoken intriguingly about a future without Jesus or, to be more precise, a future in which the transcendent truths of the Christian faith hold little or no sway over society. More to the point, these thought leaders often pose as anthropologists who find Christianity dehumanizing and as tea-leaf readers who [ Read More ]
It has been said that harboring resentment is like ingesting poison and then waiting for the other person to die. Indeed, resentment rots the soul. It causes the soul, and in some ways the body, to wither on the vine. Thus, if we wish to keep our souls vibrant and our bodies healthy, we must [ Read More ]
The second line of the Lord’s prayer is, “Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Or, in paraphrase, “Please send your Son soon to set the world to rights, so that we can live under your loving reign, with no more sin or suffering, and in the context [ Read More ]
The first line of the Lord’s prayer is, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” Or, in more contemporary English, “Our Father in heaven, holy and wonderful and beautiful is your name.” It functions as the opening salvo of a payer that proceeds to instruct us on how to savor and honor [ Read More ]