From the mounting scientific evidence, gratitude seems to be good for our health. The leading American researcher in this field, Robert Emmons, found it lowers blood pressure, improves immune function, and facilitates more efficient sleep. Other benefits include lower levels of cellular inflammation, more prosocial behaviors (that foster new and better relationships), and greater resiliency [...]
Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” And his question continues to echo down through time. What can we believe? Is there objective truth apart from our perceptions and opinions? Or is truth merely what we want it to be? Today we have to wrestle with philosophical propaganda, wishful thinking, blatant lies, and fake news all [...]
Sometimes biblical statements astound me. Not just in the truth they express but the expanse of their application. Here’s one from 1 Corinthians 1:5: “In [Christ] you have been enriched in every way.” Can it be that every aspect of our lives is enriched … made better … when we belong to Jesus? Is He [...]
What do you get teased about in your family? Everybody in mine knows I’m likely to push second helpings onto dinner guests and offer leftovers to them as they leave our house. Why? Because I have a thing about good things being wasted. I’m not sure where I picked up my aversion. It was probably [...]
The setting where Jesus fought His greatest battle was fittingly an olive grove. As He knelt among the trees and prayed to His Father, He foreshadowed the process the olives around Him would soon undergo. On the tree they were safe and protected, but the time was coming when men would gather them for another [...]
“No man ever spoke like this man” … or prayed … or healed … or listened … or cared like this man. He could confront hypocrisy with perfect judgment yet offer love and forgiveness to the worst of sinners. No doubt about it: Jesus was (and is) in a class of His own. I sometimes [...]
Expectations are beliefs springing from our thoughts and experiences. When our expectations are met (even our negative ones) we feel empowered, like our lives make sense. But what if our expectations are denied over and over again … or our assumed outcomes never materialize ... what then? We tend to react with feelings of anger, [...]
A brand new year! Spotless and full of promise at this point but also fraught with new challenges, maybe even danger. So how will we engage it? To boldly step out and face 2018 without fear won’t be easy for some of us. We’re struggling with health problems that could become serious in the months [...]
Approaching the Temple Mount in Jerusalem today holds none of the visual splendor enjoyed by the pilgrims in Jesus’ day. We stood in line at the base of a long staircase coming out of the Jewish sector of the old city, waiting to be admitted at the entry point for non-Muslims, a dingy checkpoint near [...]
In October I traveled to Israel and got to see with my own eyes the places I’ve just read about in the Bible. When I experienced for myself the barrenness of the southern desert region I could understand better how hard it must have been for the Jews to leave the relative fertility of Egypt [...]
Adventuring with God 