I'm so thankful to have a teaching pastor who doesn't shy away from the hard passages.

Today's message was one of the clearest and most in-depth sermons I've ever heard on the difficult passages in Hebrews 6 (primarily verses 4 through 8).

Scratch that. This was possibly the only sermon I've ever heard on that passage. And Dr. Howell dove pretty deep into it; he discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the various interpretations, shared supporting scripture, and included generous and frequent references to the Gospel.

It's so good to be in a place where the Bible is taught.

The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

- Psalm 145:14-21

Teach me, O God, so to use all the circumstances of my life today that they may bring forth in me the fruits of holiness rather than the fruits of sin.

Let me use disappointment as material for patience
Let me use success as material for thankfulness
Let me use trouble as material for perseverance
Let me use danger as material for courage
Let me use reproach as material for long suffering
Let me use praise as material for humility
Let me use pleasures as material for temperance
Let me use pain as material for endurance

- John Baillie

Read today in church:

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

- Hebrews 2:14-18 (ESV)

When I think of the Lord's suffering, it's common for me to concentrate on the last day of his life. This is what we call his Passion, when Christ endured the excruciating pain of torture, mockery, and execution for our sakes and for God's glory.

I often forget that Christ's entire life was part of his Passion. As the writer of Hebrews recounts above, Christ "suffered when tempted", the only man who has ever resisted fully and completely the temptations common to us all.

C.S. Lewis has a great quote on this (and is there any quote from old Jack that isn't great?); this was also shared from the pulpit today.

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.”

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

In contrast to this, I had a very weak day. Emotionally on edge, for reasons I'm not exactly sure of, I lashed out more than once today at those closest to me. I did a poor job of resisting the temptation to give into what my flesh was telling me to say. I've asked for and have received forgiveness, but the regret lives on.

Thank God that every new day is truly a "new day" when you're in Christ. I'm going to bed tonight hoping to do better tomorrow, trusting in my great High Priest to continue molding me into the man he wants me to be.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35

These are words Jesus spoke to his disciples on the night before his torture and crucifixion. They amaze me. They cause me to bow in shame. They cause me to rejoice.

This passage has been simmering in me for quite some time. I have found it hard to tackle this core truth; this beautiful, beautiful diamond of a command that Jesus gave us his last night on earth pre-resurrection.

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples . . ." - by what? By the fact that we have love for one another. I like the way the ESV (and NASB too) render that last phrase: "if you have love for one another".

Do you know anyone who has love for you? I certainly hope so. I hope I'm not mangling this or reading too much into it - not all versions translate it that way - but I am caught by the subtle difference between "if you have love for one another" and "if you love one another". Someone can love you and never show it, can't they? Someone can say they love you, and not mean it. But if someone has love for you - the image I get is that they have love ready, available, on full display, kind of like a good meal, set out for you - now that's quite another thing.

But be that as it may, it is definitely quite another thing, quite a different thing, quite an amazing thing, to love our brothers and sisters in Christ so that all the world can see it. That's the beauty of the church. You see, loving people who are just like you is easy. But the church is diverse, different, full of many, many different kinds of people, spanning the globe and spanning history.

The love of Christ is the kind of love that can spring into full bloom between two people who's only similarity is that they are in Christ. When the world sees that, they know it's real. The love of Jesus, truly and freely given to our brothers and sisters in Christ, is the height of (to use a word very popular these days) authenticity.

It's absolutely beautiful.

And this is one reason I am afraid. Not just because the church is divided; God's love can span those divisions and has for millennia. But in our day, in this time, it seems our divisions are becoming more dumbed-down, and hence less hefty, and, therefore, far less excusable. It's one thing to respectfully divide from a brother over the weightier matters of doctrine. It's quite another to divide from him because he isn't as relevant as you are, or because you want to be called "Christian" and he wants to be called "Christ-follower", or because his suit irritates you, or . . . whatever. It's one thing to disagree on the meaning of communion, quite another to bash your brother because you think ministering to people's physical needs is primary and you're embarrassed because he wants to give them a Bible.

It's common to be embarrassed by our brothers and sisters in Christ, isn't it? It's so easy to have that thought slip into our minds: "They're doing it wrong. They're giving me a bad name." When, God help us, by our rejection of our brother, we give Christ a bad name. I've written around this subject recently, and continue to think on it with Christ's words in mind.

I read the passage at the top of this post and I want to sing and dance for joy, and I want to fall to the ground and hide from God's wrath. I'm no theologian, but I'm pretty sure that it means that Jesus wants us to have love for our Christian brothers and sisters. Full, unashamed, on-display, familial love. Not a love that sweeps aside true differences, but rather a love like that with which Christ loved, one that sharpens our brothers and sisters, speaks the truth in love, forgives, yields, shows mercy, gives others preference in honor, and stands beside them always.

"just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

If there was ever someone who Jesus could be embarrassed of, it's me. It might be you too. Yet he loves me. And he loves you. And he wasn't too embarrassed to be seen with us. In fact, he humbled himself beyond all imagining to come dwell among us so we could kill him.

In light of that, the least I can do is follow his example and love you.


Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. - 1 John 4:7

When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.

Psalm 94:19

Have you ever tried to encourage someone? It feels clumsy sometimes. I find the same phrases spilling out of me:

"It will be alright"

"This too shall pass"

"Hang in there"

And, how about this one?

"C'mon, cheer up!"

Works like a charm, no?

No.

See? clumsy.

God, on the other hand, doesn't know clumsy. He knows the end from the beginning, actually, and when he says it will be alright, it will. From his perspective, it already is.

We don't always believe that, of course. At least I don't. It's so tempting to want proof that all will turn out right in the end, and it can be so frustrating to have to walk by faith.

I often wonder at the saying "God has a wonderful plan for your life". Now, I fully believe he has a wonderful plan, and I fervently hope he is including me in it. But as I read scripture I become increasingly convinced that he has absolutely no plan to fill me in on the details. That's not his way. He wants me to walk by faith, not by sight. He wants me to trust.

Because he truly does have it under control. He's got this. For him, it's easy.

I really don't need to worry.

And if that consolation doesn't cheer my soul, I'm not sure what will.

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

- Revelation 5:1-5

This spoke to me tonight. I started by looking for passages on comfort, because, goodness knows I could use some encouragement right now, and I'll bet you could to.

But I landed upon this. And on the backdrop of my angst and tribulation of mind, this passage chiseled itself in gold letters.

Sometimes I just don't know what on earth to do. Seriously; everything I've tried has turned to skubalon and I'm at a loss. Thank God for prayer, but even that becomes such difficult work when words fail. And I am realizing more with every passing day how terribly bad I am at it.

Among many other things, this passage has to do with what worth is. I can almost see the hot tears running down John's cheeks as he begins to weep loudly, realizing that no one there is worthy to open the scroll. Likewise, our souls cry out for the One who is worthy. We long to hear the news: "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered . . ."

I am so encouraged by this: Jesus Christ is worthy! He has conquered! All power and authority has been given to him. He is the King.

And he is the only one who is worthy, in worthiness as measured with the standard of Heaven.

John wept for one who was worthy. We weep today to find the same one. We need him. We need him so badly that it hurts.

Jesus is worthy. He's the only one who is.

In reading that, I am comforted. Praise be to God!

Good night everyone.

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

- John 2:23-25 (ESV)

Don't you admire Jesus?

That's a strange question, isn't it? It's common to be asked if you love Jesus, or if you follow him, or if you obey him. But I read passages like the one above and I feel a deep sense of respect and admiration for Jesus as well.

Jesus was wise. At the time of this passage, his ministry was just starting, and it was being authenticated by signs and wonders. People were beginning to get swept up in it; they were starting to believe.

Look at how the New Living Translation translates that last sentence:

"No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like."

No they didn't. Jesus knew well what mankind was (and is) like; with his sinless eyes he had witnessed thirty years of our shenanigans, our schemes, our deceits, murders, idolotry and wickedness. We were created through him in the first place, and through our own sin we marred his creation.

I sense that Jesus was glad people believed. But he kept it in perspective; He knew that the same people praising his name on this day would be the ones calling for his death all too soon.

Jesus knows us.

And that's what makes Jesus that much more worthy of praise. He knew all about us, and he still stayed, still labored, still loved, taught, and served a thick-necked, unstable and fickle people.

We looked in his eyes and saw love. He looked in ours and saw his own death. He didn't need to be told what mankind was like.

Yet he stayed and saw his mission through, out of love for us and out of a deep desire to glorify the Father.

Thank you Lord Jesus!

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

- Hebrews 3:12-19

The words "original confidence" above bring back so many memories.

. . . if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

I remember my original confidence, when I first knew the Lord. I hope that I have held on to it and built on it over the years, but I also find myself wanting to reach back to those days sometimes. My original confidence sparkled with a childlike (and clumsy) faith that I have, in many ways, "grown out of", to my detriment.

And I know many - too many - people who had what appeared to be an original confidence in the Lord which now appears to be missing. Or at least it's not visible anymore. By appearances they have fallen into the trap the writer warns us about in Hebrews 2; that of neglecting so great a salvation.

For salvation is often neglected. We have so many other things to attend to, or so we think. I've learned that it doesn't take long for the crust to begin building up around our hearts. It can come in those difficult years when, weaned from the student ministry we grew up in, we find that this faith we call our own is suddenly a strange thing, and a thing that needs tending and diligence that we are no longer willing to give. Tending our faith is often something we never learned to do.

For others of us, other things have shoved their way in; jealous gods of this world who stand against the one true God. Almost without knowing it, we find ourselves once again at the pagan altar, offering strange fire to the gods of our own imagining.

. . . if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

The writer points us to the Israelites of the Exodus. The horror of their fate is a punch to the heart when you think of it. They all died, save for Joshua and Celeb, in the wilderness, never having gone to the promised land. And all because of one day, when they heard the call of God to take the land, but because of unbelief and fear they decided they weren't able.

They lost their original confidence in God on the day of decision. And the result was tragedy. If only they had kept their hearts soft, their eyes clear, and their confidence grounded in the Lord who had brought them through so much!

Today has an urgency to it. This may be the day of our calling, when our faith ceases to be something we keep in our back pockets for difficult situations, and itself becomes the driving force that hurls us, joyfully and with full confidence, into difficult situations that will unleash the terrifying, wonderful, joyous will of God upon us and those around us.

Sometimes every day for the rest of our lives depends on what we do, and Who we believe, today.

Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.

- Psalm 10:13-14

Have you ever noticed that so many lines in the Psalms start with the word "why"?

This psalm, psalm 10, starts with a "why". Verse 1 asks "Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?" It is a cry heard throughout history, uttered by the despairing, the oppressed, the fearful, the helpless - often, the writers of Scripture. Feeling helpless, small and alone in a very, very large universe is part of the human condition. At least it is when we're looking at life honestly.

The psalmist here answers his initial "why" question with another, in verse 13: "why does the wicked renounce God"? Indeed. We may feel alone in a very large universe, but the psalmist rightly recognizes the fact that we are not alone. We have a King who "is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land." (verse 16). He is King of the entire universe, and, indeed, he's bigger than it is. Even the nations, these vast, quarrelsome and often oppressive beasts that prowl history, will perish. The Lord will remain. Wickedness will not prevail. And those who do it would be well advised to pay attention to the one to whom they will give an account. To the one who knows the Lord and walks in his ways, the question must be asked - why do the wicked renounce God? Can't they see?

Our Lord has a special place in his heart for the helpless who cry out to him. And he helps and fights for those who are "fatherless"; those who have no one to fight for them.

And he's big enough to gently heed our "whys", and strengthen the heart from which those questions ring.

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

- Psalm 10:17-18

Poking my head back in . . . is this blog still here?

Missed the old place . . .

But I wanted to announce the adding to the blogroll of a fantastic site called Stuff Christians Like. It's hilarious.

For example:

#61. Being Relevant

If you ever want to really insult a Christian, say the following:

"I don't think you're relevant."

That is our kryptonite. The idea of irrelevance keeps us up at night. Seriously, if someone doesn't find us to be relevant than we're probably going to need to fire the worship leader or at the bare minimum get him a pair of white Pumas. Irrelevance is simply unacceptable.

The weird thing though is that in some ways, Jesus was the perfect example of what it means to be "irrelevant." Think about it. His message was the exact opposite of what was going on in the world. People were expecting a strong, powerful, forceful savior and instead got a baby. The powers that be were drunk on the law and he preached against their hypocrisy. He shunned the people that were relevant and hung out with the irrelevant, the tax collectors, hookers and sinners. Now granted you could argue that to a world hungry for truth, the truth of Christ was very relevant, but I'm just saying it's an interesting thought exercise.

Heh. More to sample:

#47. Rooting for secret Christians on American Idol.

#43. Metrosexual Worship Leaders.

#26. Songs that sound Christian but aren't.

#24. Church names that sound like clothing stores.

They are all funny, and many will smack you in the face with the truth while you're laughing.

[Hat tip: Jared]

. . . to share some trivia about me from The Mechanical Contrivium:

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Bill!

1. Ideally, Bill should be stored on his side at a temperature of 55 degrees.
2. Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover up Bill.
3. Antarctica is the only continent without Bill.
4. In Vermont, the ratio of cows to Bill is 10:1!
5. Bill was named after Bill the taxi driver in Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life'!
6. The Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter is made entirely of Bill.
7. It's bad luck for a flag to touch Bill.
8. The international dialling code for Bill is 672!
9. When provoked, Bill will swivel the tip of his abdomen and shoot a jet of boiling chemicals at his attacker!
10. The water in oceans is four times less salty than the water in Bill.

[HT, the Thinklings]

But you probably already figured that out, since I haven't posted for almost a month!

All is well. Very busy. I'm paddling down Life's whitewater rapids right now, and it's all good. Even when it's not, it still is, because God is.

Will be back soon!

In the meantime, you might want to click on the "View Bloogroll Posts" link in the navbar to the right, to read what some of the excellent bloggers on my bloogroll are saying these days.

God bless . . .

He works through people like Kumar (as reported on the excellent Letters from Kamp Krusty):

Kumar was on a crowded bus in Chennai, India. He heard God's voice. "Unmistakably," he says. I heard God say, twice, 'Seek Me.' That was it. Twice."

Just "Seek Me"?

"Just 'Seek Me'. And I knew it was God, but which God? I was Hindu. Was it Vishnu? Calli...? No idea. I just knew it was God. Somehow, I knew it. Unmistakable."

And Kumar isn't the gullible type. He has multiple advanced degrees in Aero Engineering and Physics, for starters, from the M.I.T.-equivalent in India.

He studied and researched, but just wasn't satisfied that it was one of his familiar gods, and eventually found a friend with a Bible -- a "good luck charm" -- and traded a textbook for it. He started reading, got confused, but eventually was pointed to Jesus.

He became a Jesus-follower. Costly decision.

You should go read the rest. And then come sit with me in speechless silence.

[Hat tip: Jared]

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.—For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.—He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward.—And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant.

Taken from today's Daily Light on the Daily Path.

Wow, what a game!

You had the underdog, battling back after having already been beaten once by the seemingly invincible champion.

You had the favored team, under the shadow of allegations of wrongdoing.

You had a close, close game that went down to the wire.

Congratulations to Blake's soccer team, the Fury, for winning the Cy Fair Classic tournament (10-year-old Rec division)! They defeated a team that had been caught fielding non-roster players the previous day, and had already beaten the Fury once.

The final score was 2 to 1. Blake scored one of our goals. Well done Blake!

(Oh, the Super Bowl was pretty good too, I guess :-)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

- Romans 5:1-5

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

- 1 Corinthians 13:7

You've heard of a fool's hope, forlorn hope, false hopes, and "all we can do now is hope". Hope seems to be a most milquetoast emotion, the way we often talk about it. Hope seems the last resort of the weak.

But not in the Bible. In the Bible hope is strong, it is virile, it is tough. Hope is a warrior. Hope sees the victory, before the battle has even begun. Hope bursts forth, the fruit of suffering that has produced endurance and a character strong enough to hope.

Hope is not a salve to numb us or a delusion to hide us away from hopeless reality. Hope is Reality. Hope is something that sets us apart; it is a key aspect of what we call holiness. Hope charges the bunkers of despair, hope outflanks its lines, hope takes the enemy camp. Hope is the flag raised on the Mount Suribachi of our fears, and hope doesn't give heed to the bullets.

Hope is a primary trait of Biblical love, and Biblical love is something else which is as high above our often weak, watery view of love as the stars are above the earth.

Hope laughs at the darkness and sets it alight. Hope is rooted, grounded, anchored, and secured in Jesus. Hope has no fear of our problems, of our darknesses, of our heartbreaks and our loss. Hope has seen the Beloved tortured and nailed to a cross, beaten bloody and killed by His own who did not recognize him. And three days later Hope was born anew as the stone tumbled away and the powers of death crumbled. Hope has seen the worse the enemy can bring, and has seen him defeated. Hope will see the defeat of the principalities and powers that plague us today.

Child of God, your deepest dream will come true. In your flesh you will see God. And He will make all things right.

And because God's love has been poured out in our hearts, we hope.

I'm hoping my good buddy Scott, one of the original Bloo testers, won't mind me testing my trackback send against his blog.

It works find against other Bloo blogs. Now needing to test it against something non-Bloo.

So I'm sending a trackback from here to this post on Scott's blog.

(Also, Scott, I'm putting you on my Bloogroll!)

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

- Matthew 6:25-34

As I read this passage, while simultaneously observing our culture (and myself), a few things jump out at me:

First, Jesus was admonishing his listeners to not be "anxious about their life". Notice their worries: What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? These worries were not the same worries most of us have in the 21st century West. When we worry about "what shall we wear", it's because we're having a hard time choosing from all the clothes in the closet. In Jesus time, they were worried about not having any clothes. Ditto for "what shall we eat"; they weren't stressed because they couldn't decide between Mexican and Steak. they were stressed because they were running out of oil and grain, and harvest was still two months away.

For the most part, we have it so much better than they did, materially. And yet I am surrounded by people consumed by their worries. I know people, who have almost everything they could possibly wish for materially, socially, spiritually, and familialy (new word!), who are paralyzed with fear for the future and with uncertainty about the now. I want to tell them "don't worry! Just live!" But then I look at myself; all it takes is just one tear in just one of the multiple safety-nets that I have been blessed with to start me revving the engine of worry in my own life.

For many of us, worry is something that we wrongly think comes at us from the outside. And yet in the Bible anxiety is rightly shown to be something we do, and that we should not do. "Do not be anxious" is a command, much like "rejoice!" is a command. It is in our power to refuse anxiety, and Christ tells us to do so.

And it's only because of Him that we can do so! This universe can be a scary, lonely place, even for well-heeled, modern, 21st century types like many of us. But the Gospel, the Good News proclaimed by Jesus, includes the wonderful reassurance that our Father knows our needs, and He cares for us. No matter what happens in this life (and there are many bad things that can and do happen) He is there, and in His hand is ultimate healing, ultimate sustenance, ultimate protection.

We are not alone.

Jesus calls us to focus our lives on what is really important. Have you ever noticed that worry does a great job of crowding out of your mind the things you need to be focusing on? Like living, for instance. Worry sticks our feet in plaster, befogs our eyes, and stuffs our ears with cotton.

Jesus tells us to throw all that aside, and live, setting our eyes, minds, thoughts, and actions toward the Kingdom of God that Jesus Himself has inaugurated, and toward the righteousness that is the banner of that Kingdom.

". . . and all these things will be added to you."

[Note: this was cross-posted at Thinklings]

My daughter, Bethany, is in her freshman year of high school. Also attending her school is a young actor named Tony Oller, who stars in the Disney short series "As the Bell Rings". Throughout this first semester Bethany got to know Tony a bit (they say hi in the halls, are MySpace friends, etc)

Today we got a fun surprise. Bethany was a bit shy about telling us this, but it turns out that awhile ago she sent a picture of herself and Tony to PopStar!™ magazine as part of a contest.

And, wouldn't you know it - if you know Beth, this is no surprise, actually :-) - here she is, right on page 32 (I scanned this in tonight).

Awesome.



And here's the magazine cover.