The film Cuties is currently available on Netflix. The streaming service describes the movie this way: “Eleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.”
“Free-spirited” doesn’t begin to tell the story.
Yesterday, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the third and fourth Arab countries to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
No matter how quickly the world seems to change, human nature does not. We still face the same underlying fears and feel the same cherished hopes as our ancestors in 1920 and 1820. And we still need the unchanging truth of biblical revelation in 2020.
It is when we do not understand our suffering that we especially need to trust the One who sees what we cannot (Proverbs 15:3) and who loves us with unconditional grace (Titus 2:11). It is when our pain is greatest that we most need our Great Physician (cf. John 5:1-9).
Humans fly planes into buildings. Humans die from viruses they did not know existed a few months ago. Leaders can work to make our lives better, but they cannot give us what we need most: hope for the present and for eternity that only God offers.
What God does in us, he does through us. He used a crippled man to reach the multitude who witnessed his healing. He works through changed lives to change lives.
I am not a medical doctor or professional counselor and am not offering professional advice on the issue of suicide and mental health. However, as a minister, I can encourage anyone who is considering suicide to seek help immediately. I can also encourage anyone who knows someone who is suffering emotionally or considering suicide to help them seek help now.
In a broken world filled with disaster, disease, and despair, Jesus is our only hope. Even more than we need a COVID-19 vaccine and solutions for the divisiveness of our day, we need to know Jesus.
A new survey reveals that 52 percent of American adults believe Jesus was a great teacher but not God. This is despite Jesus’ clear claims to divinity. Tragically, 30 percent of evangelical Christians agree that Jesus was merely a great teacher.
One of the enduring lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic is the frailty of human life. No matter our celebrity status, financial wealth, political power, or cultural success, the play Camelot is more fiction than fact in our fallen world.
