Dirty Bible, Clean Heart

  "God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering ." -Saint Augustine  "For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." -2 Cor 1:5 I don't think that any of us particularly enjoy suffering. In fact, we spend most of our time trying to avoid even the least bit of it. I was reminded of this during the beginning of this Covid-19 pandemic when I saw the massive crowds rushing to the grocery store purchasing what seemed like an excessive amount of food and toilet paper. I understand that these shopping patterns were mainly driven by fear, but it made my point nonetheless. As humans we cringe at even the thought of the slightest discomfort. Even natural forces such as wind and water do this. The theory is rightly termed the path of least resistance . And this is the path that we often take, sometimes even unknowingly to us. However following Jesus will at times require us to go through ...

"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt , because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."  James 1:6-7 I recently heard a podcast interview between a well-known psychologist and his patient. The patient struggled with binge-eating disorder and this counselor sought to help the woman overcome her addiction. As I listened to the conversation, I was struck by a statement that the psychologist frequently uses with his patients- " feelings aren't facts !" The counselor had the woman repeat this phrase out loud several times and then instructed her to say it (but more importantly internalize it) whenever she felt the urge to binge. This mantra, said he, was one of the slogans that helped him differentiate between what was true and what was a lie which in turn helped him defeat his previous food addiction. Listening to this conversation made me realize ho...