“Lot pitched his tent near Sodom” (Genesis 13:13). Here’s the story. Abraham’s family had outgrown the land in which they lived. Abraham had no choice. The family would need to be divided geographically. He offered his nephew Lot several options as to where he would settle with his part of the family. While Lot would…
Let’s talk about joy. Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said, “Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God.” I agree. God is the author of joy. Even for the addict and the offended spouse, joy is an option. Paul knew a little about persecution and injustices when he prayed, “May the God…
An overcoming feeling of insignificance and isolation cripples too many of us. Spiritual formations teacher Richard Foster writes, “The most wonderful thing that can happen to any human being is to be loved.” Our value is not measured by the depth of our addiction, but by the depth of God’s love. And that love is…
Twenty years after his graduation, a man visited his old college science professor. Looking over the tests the prof was grading, he observed, “This is the same test you gave us twenty years ago! How do you keep students from cheating? What if someone who had just taken the test a year ago gave the…
I like to talk. Most of us do. That’s why I found this Old Testament verse rather troubling at first: “The more words, the less the meaning” (Ecclesiastes 6:11). And this one from the New Testament: “My beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). My…
A busload of politicians was driving down a country road when it ran off the road and hit a tree in an old farmer’s field. After viewing the tragedy up close, the old farmer was moved to give the politicians a respectful burial. The farmer then went to visit the local sheriff to report the…
For those of you living in the United States, today is election day. Millions of us will go to the polls and make a decision as to who should be our next senator, mayor, or dogcatcher. These decisions matter. There are other decisions that matter. Let me give you my top ten list of great…
An article by the Harvard Medical School identifies five action steps for quitting an addiction. One of those steps is to create a support network. They write, “Talk to your family and friends and ask for their encouragement and support. Let them know you are quitting.” Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little;…
God allowed Moses to climb a historic mountain, where he did historic things. Then God told Moses, “On the mountain you have climbed you will die” (Deuteronomy 32:50). We all like the “mountain” thing. But then we die? I offer three thoughts. We will all die sometime. It is better to die on the mountain…
“We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.” – Step 1, Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery begins where control ends. We must accept the fact that we have a problem. Marsha Linehan said it well. “Radical acceptance rests on letting go of the illusion of control and a willingness to notice…