It’s human nature to resist what’s in our best interest. Kids resist being put to bed, even when they’re exhausted. Adults ignore health guidelines and indulge in harmful junk foods, even as they complain about not being able to fit into their clothes. We binge-watch shows we’ll soon forget the details of; we spend hours [...]
We’re not sure how Jesus was feeling when He said it. Was He sad? Frustrated? Stressed out? Or just lamenting? Whatever the case, it was a heads-up moment for His disciples—a foretaste of what lay ahead for them. In Luke 12:50 Jesus says, “I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under [...]
Most of us long to be significant … to contribute something that’ll make a positive difference in the world. I remember studying psychologist Abraham Maslow’s theory about human motivation when I was in college. His chart—called the hierarchy of needs—was a triangle. The large base was made up of basic physiological needs like breathing, food, [...]
Picture the scene with me. Jesus has risen from the dead, validating His claim to be God in the flesh. He’s appeared to more than 500 people in the past 40 days (1 Corinthians 15:6) and now He’s gathered together His remaining disciples to give them their new assignment: something we call the Great Commission. [...]
The words that resonate with our generation are inclusion, tolerance, and diversity. We don’t like the idea of excluding anyone from anything, so we have a hard time digesting (or even understanding) verses in the Bible like these: “Come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy [...]
For centuries, the classic question about causality has been Which Came First … the Chicken or the Egg? Dilemmas like these arise when we can’t discern which of two events should be considered the cause and which considered the effect. When we try to figure it out through human reasoning we often get it wrong. [...]
Have you ever opened a Christmas present and felt deflated by what was inside? If you’re an adult, you try to hide your disappointment. You murmur what you hope is a heartfelt “thank you” to the one who gave it. After all, you tell yourself, it’s the thought that counts, right? But the feeling of [...]
Adventuring with God 