restore us
He brazenly told me of his life as both a drug user and dealer. I strived to show him that I cared as I described the real and fulfilling life that can be found only in Jesus. He described the death and destruction that he had experienced. My instinct was to try to rescue him, to help him find restoration in God. But, after just a few minutes, he said goodbye and walked away. As I watched him slip into the shadows of the streets, I silently lamented.
turning away
His tears revealed the sincerity of his sorrow. My young friend, a member of the youth group I work with, was torn up inside. For years, he had used drugs. Then he began selling them to others. Now, no longer dealing, his heart was broken as he considered the many kids and youth that he turned on to drugs. He saw them sinking into self-destruction and he felt terrible.
you are loved
A counselor was conducting a family therapy session with the parents of a teenager who had been caught using drugs. The parents excused their daughter’s drug use, saying that it was no big deal and just a phase that most teenagers go through. After a while the counselor told the parents to leave the room and, turning to the daughter,…
spiritual pursuit
On this day in 1963, the world was shocked by the news that John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, had been killed by an assassin’s bullet. Though it’s not as well known or remembered, Christian author C. S. Lewis passed away the very same day. Even fewer will remember that Aldous Huxley, author of the book…
the kingdom of things
Since 1993, sales of luxury cars in my country— Australia—have doubled. Since the 1950s, Australian homes have doubled in size, yet the average family has decreased by a third. We’ve been on a pilgrimage to the “kingdom of things.” But, on arrival, we haven’t found fulfillment. Thirty percent of us take some form of mood-enhancing substance (like drugs, alcohol, sleeping…
