It's almost over. Moses has died, and so has the generation of Israel who failed to take the land of Canaan when God wanted to give it. This time for sure! Joshua sends in spies again, just two, secretly this time, seemingly hoping to avoid an instant replay of the first disastrous community panic attack and refusal enter the promised land. What do the spies learn? Rahab,...

In his important book, Being Mortal, Atul Gawande unpacks some unexpected results of research about what makes for peace and stability at the end of life. He first reports on a study which found that "far from growing unhappier, people reported more positive emotions as they aged . . . they found living to be a more emotionally satisfying and stable experience as time pass...

We are hearing the wordliesevery day now in the news. Charges and counter charges. Are certain political leaders lying to us? Or is it the media? Most of us, if we're honest, have a gnawing sense of uncertainty about what's really going on. But the issue of lying itself is not news at all, rather it is a sign of our fallen state, and the presence of the "father of lies" i...

Do you ever wish, as I do, that God would hand you His personality inventory assessment of you, kind of like a divine Myers-Briggs report? King David cries out for it in Psalm 139:Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (v. 23-24 NLT)I feel this espe...

Eleven troubling habits of chronically unhappy people. Five ways to spice up your marriage. Seven reasons to stay single. Eight steps to managing stress. Ten reasons twenty-somethings are returning to traditional worship ... Is anyone else weary of endless lists in the blogosphere or social media? Yes? So why would I offer you another one? Give me credit for this: the lis...

There's an almost comical sameness to the way God's people respond to the difficulties God allows them to experience in the Wilderness. They wail. They rail. They rage and accuse. For some reason this reminds me of old TV comedies. I picture Jackie Gleason or Archie Bunker bellowing at their wives. Then there's Lucille Ball, often unable to wheedle what she wants from husb...

When our three daughters were small, they invited a neighborhood boy to our church's Friday night children's program. Jay came, and loved it. The next day he appeared at our back door, face alight, eager to return the kindness. He invited the girls across the street to his house, "to meetmy god!" Jay's family was from India, and he led the girls to his family room where hi...