Forwarded Messages

There's an amazing story about Jesus and a man named Jairus who was a  religious leader, one of the rulers of the Jewish synagogue. At that  time, that would have made him unlikely to go see someone like Jesus. But Jairus went. He went because his daughter was very sick. He went because he was  desperate. He went because he considered Jesus to be his only hope.  Jairus was able to convince Jesus to come to his house. But while they were on the way, someone came with terrible news: Jairus' daughter was  dead. All hope was now gone. Or so Jairus must have thought. But Jesus thought otherwise. He said to the grieving father: "Don't be  afraid; just believe, and she will be healed" (Luke 8:50).  When they arrived at Jairus' house, people were standing outside,  crying. Jesus told them: "She is not dead but asleep." They laughed at  him, because everyone knew she was dead. Except Jesus. That is, he knew she was dead. But he also knew that ...

Our culture loves to rank things. Just take a look at all the top ten lists that are published. There are lists ranking the best — or worst — songs, movies, jobs, places to live, and things to see. We rank people too. There are lists covering looks, bodies, popularity, effectiveness, and abilities. High school athletes are rated by recruiting services as one star up to five stars. The only thing worse than a low rating is no rating. People even rank themselves. Just listen to conversations that include phrases like "... at least I am better than so and so." Or, "... at least I look better than she does."

If you've been working long enough and you don’t have any savings in your bank account, you might wonder why your money seems to be disappearing into thin air. There are a lot of reasons and excuses that people have to explain why they are not saving enough. They’re the breadwinner in the family and they have a lot of dependents to support; their salary is barely enough to meet day-to-day expenses and monthly bills; or the rising cost of living makes it impossible to save. But, I think consumers are to blame, more than anything else.

Dear God,  I know that a thousand years are as a day to you, but we humans are bound up in time. As a new year is about to begin, please teach me to...