As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27-28)

Whatever this woman meant when she shouted this out, it’s clear that she thought Mary had a sweet deal. You can almost hear in her words, “I wish I had a child like you!”

What, do you suppose, was behind her cry?

Maybe she had agonized over infertility or maybe she grieved the death of a child.

Maybe she was the mother of a disabled child and her cry came out of deep anguish, thinking herself or her child cursed by God (John 9:1).

Or ma…

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On the ancient temple mount in Jerusalem there stands a mosque.

Observant Jews see a profaning of their most holy place and plead with YHWH to remove their disgrace. Observant Muslims see Allah’s favor, a sign that the true religion sits in ascendency.

The world sees a centuries-old religious/political drama being played out on the edge of a knife, with diplomats delicately working like a bomb squad to avoid an explosion.

But most miss the real significance of the mosque on the mount.

When the temple stood there it was the very heart of Judaism. It was the place where the presence of God dwelt among his people and sacrifices were offered to atone for sin.

But the Presence remained …

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Why is it so hard to just find some peace of mind?

Well, peace is hard to come by when you live in a warzone. And like it or not you are in a war—a very serious one. This war is cosmic in its proportions. It involves God, humans, angels, demons, principalities, powers, nations, and antichrists.

And do you know where the front of the battle is? It’s in your head.

Here is how Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take eve…

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Remember the story of Narcissus? He’s the proud, beautiful man in the Greek myth who saw his reflection in a pool, fell in love with it, couldn’t tear himself away, and it killed him.

Mirrors are very dangerous for proud people. Believe me. I speak from experience.

But mirrors present most of us with a different danger than Narcissus. When we look into a mirror we do not see enchanting beauty, nor do we see the glory of God imaging forth in the indescribably complex, ingenious, phenomenal, spectacular miracle that is a human being. What we see mainly are defects.

The captivating power mirrors wield over us is not what we see, but what we want to see. What we see is deficiency. What we …

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How does God want us to deal with the emotion we call disappointment?

Joseph Barsabbas was disappointed by Jesus. Joseph was a candidate to replace Judas Iscariot as one of the Twelve, but when the lot was cast it “fell on Matthias” (Acts 1:26). I’ll bet that was a blow.

The Bible never mentions Joseph again. But tradition says he later became the Bishop of Eleutheropolis (32 miles southwest of Jerusalem) and died a martyr. Assuming that’s accurate, imagine what Joseph may have learned about disappointment and how he might have counseled a disappointed young disciple twenty years later.

________

Bishop Joseph looked at his sullen disciple. “You’re disappointed.”

“Yes,” replied Prim…

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I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me (Job 30:20-21).

These words came out of the mouth of the man God considered the most blameless and upright on earth at the time (Job 1:8).

Thank you, God, for these words! Thank you that the Bible is so guileless. It says it like it is, and sometimes just what it feels like. Most of its heroes are unvarnished and clay-footed. Sometimes they wonder if you’re cruel. That’s a mercy to all of us shortsighted, weak, doubting, clay-footed stumblers. There’s hope for us.

Can you identify with Job? You cry out to God in your affliction and you see nothing change. It seems like he’s j…

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Malaise is a mercy that feels yucky.

Malaise is that feeling you get when you’re getting sick but you don’t quite know it yet. It’s a vague sense of dis-ease. Your energy is draining. You just want to lie down. Emotionally, you might feel discouraged, irritable, depressed, or cynical for no identifiable reason. You ask yourself, “What’s the matter with me?”

Precisely what you’re supposed to ask. Malaise is the early warning system God designed for the body. It’s telling you something destructive is attacking your bodily systems. It’s a messenger running ahead of an invading enemy alerting us to get our defenses in place.

The soul also has its diseases and they are more deadly than the …

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W. Somerset Maugham once said, “There is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror.”

With networks and newspapers broadcasting another New York Congressman’s sordid sexual secrets, and the public in a swirl of surprise and horror (and prurient fascination), it’s good for us to ponder again the profound grace that Jesus Christ extends to sinners like us, guilty of shameful things.

History has tended to give Mary Magdalene a reputation as a woman with a sordid sexual past. We’re not sure why. The Bible tells us little about Mary other than she had seven demons cast out of her, was present at Jesus’ crucifixion, saw whe…

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If you’re a romantic (and I think you should be) you love the book of Ruth.

This short story almost seems like it was made for film. It has all the components of a great romance: tragedy, loyalty, courage, virtuous love, unlikely lovers, a great obstacle, the triumphant moment, the happy ending, and the hand of Providence guiding it all. It’s a feel-good read.

But I don’t think Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz experienced it as romantic until they saw it all in retrospect.

Just think of chapter one. Naomi thinks her life is over. At this point she’s more “Ecclesiastes” than “Ruth.” With her husband and two sons dead, she has nothing. God appears to have turned on her. All she has to look forward …

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Princess Diana once said, “Only do what your heart tells you.”

This is a creed believed by millions. It’s a statement of faith in one of the great pop cultural myths of the Western world. It’s a gospel proclaimed in many of our stories, movies, and songs.

It states that your heart is a compass inside of you that will point you to your own true north if you can just see it clearly. Your heart is a true guide that will lead you to happiness if you can just tune into it. We are lost, and our heart will save us.

This sounds so simple and liberating. It’s tempting to believe.

Until you consider that your heart has sociopathic tendencies.

Think about it for a moment. What does your heart…

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