As the war in Ukraine grinds on from one horror to another, I think we must seriously question whether someone like Vladimir Putin is a human being, or whether he has abrogated his humanity. Colloquially we may call such people ‘monsters,’ but might not this assessment in fact be the truth?
We’re familiar with the story of Jesus’ agonized prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He died. But there was another, earlier night of agonized prayer in our Lord’s life, described in Luke 6:12-19.
Today I had a very noisy quiet time. ‘Quiet time’ is what I call my morning prayer session, and I like it to be quiet. But today it wasn’t quiet, it was cacaphonous.
My wife’s mother, a fine Christian woman, loved Queen Elizabeth II. When my wife learned of the Queen’s death, she imagined her arriving in heaven and said, “My mom will be first in line to greet her.”
Julian of Norwich famously saw a vision of a hazelnut, which the Lord told her was “everything that has been made.”
My friend Chris felt his life hadn’t amounted to much. As a child he’d dreamed of accomplishing some great work and leaving his mark on the world. How that might happen, he wasn’t sure, but he had a sense of destiny.
I begin with a story by musician Steve Bell, who for some time had been asking God the question, “Who are You?” Eventually the Lord answered—not in words but in an experience. Steve writes:
Last week I wrote about an answer to prayer I received, when God spoke to me through Isaiah 30:18: “Blessed are those who wait for the Lord.”
A year ago I finished my first adult novel, a blend of realistic fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi entitled Angels & Aliens. Ever since then I’ve been trying to get it published, sending it everywhere I can think of and getting one rejection after another. I’ve been very patient throughout this process, thinking it was only a matter of time. But finally one day I lost patience and began complaining bitterly to God.
A rich young man knelt before Jesus, asking how to obtain eternal life. He’d always obeyed the commandments. What else should he do?