Hope For Today

Dear Friends, One way we learn is through asking questions and I can remember my son, Josh, asking me when he was a young boy, "Why do we call the day Jesus died on the cross Good Friday?"  You know, that's a very good question to ask, and by asking it of me he actually made me think seriously about it before responding to him. Why would anyone name the day we remember someone dying as good?  Well, I would think on that day, over 2,000 years ago, the devil thought it must have been a very good day.  He must have been rubbing his hands in glee.  At last, or so he thought, he was victorious over Jesus, finally, or so he thought, he had orchestrated the death of his enemy, God's Son.  He thought he'd struck God a mortal blow.  The religious leaders thought they too had also finally got their way by having Jesus put to death on a cross. Jesus' mother and family, his friends and followers would hardly have thought it a good day as they ...

Dear Friends, Over the past few weeks my family and I have been watching "I'm a celebrity...get me out of here!"  We've watched as a group of celebrities who don't know each other are dropped off in the Australian jungle for a few weeks. They take little with them into the camp, they sleep on camp beds and cook basic food on the camp fire.  They take part in various gruesome trials and face elimination from the jungle by public vote until just one person, the winner, is left. The one who is the last to leave is crowned King (or Queen) of the Jungle.  Although they may not all admit to it, they have selfish reasons for participating in this reality tv show, whether it's money, or to further their career or to win public approval.  To some people it would be viewed as quite a feat as the celebrities face and survive the jungle, with one person winning the victory by lasting the longest. But, I know of one who has done something far mor...