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‘Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.’ (Heb. 3:13) At a church service headed by a dynamic, on-the-go leader, a young father asked for prayer: ‘I am ashamed to admit but I am desperate for attention from my pastor who just hasn’t time for me.’ A young woman confessed to me soon after: ‘It’s like he [the elusive pastor] looks right through me but never sees me.’ Both are sensitive souls who suff

My wife Annette observed an 8-year-old boy in a waiting room trying to make sense of a photo in People magazine of two men in tuxes, probably a feature on some celeb ‘gay wedding.’ Wide-eyed, and too truthful to have anything but a visceral response to the madness, he said: ‘Are those guys… you know, together? That’s real scary.’ No scarier than the wedding photo in front of me of two men, 20-years apart yet mirror images of each other, with their adopted 4-year-old daughter

New evidence now exists to show a host of challenges to kids of gay parents. Professor Mark Regenerus found that, when compared to adults raised in married, mother/father families, adults raised by lesbian parents had negative outcomes in 24 out of 40 categories, while adults raised by gay fathers had negative outcomes in 19 categories. (See http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/10/study-suggests-risks-from-same-sex-parenting/) More studies are in the works to debunk t

Woodcut, published ca. 1880. I just read in the New York Times that Dr. Robert Spitzer, the man who documented the transformation of 200 former homosexuals like me, now claims (for no apparent reason) that we must have been lying. Who knew? Not my wife and kids… Bowing to the irrational drive of gay activists who insist that no homosexual can change (in spite of pretty good evidence to the contrary), Spitzer capitulated. Gratefully, God helps those who aspire to live the trut

Ascension of Christ. Woodcut after a drawing by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (German painter, 1794 - 1872), published in 1877. ‘Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.’ (Jn 16:6) Jesus had to leave us in order to liberate us. He had to depart in order to give us power. But for the disciples, Jesus’ ascension back to the Father may have felt more like abandonment than the assurance of authority. Think about it. Jesus’ followe

— Merciful Trust 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 39 ‘Trusting in Your Mercy, I walk through life like a little child, Offering You each day this heart Burning with love for Your greater glory.’ (2) We entrust ourselves to the Mercy of God. ‘Although sin is an abyss of wickedness and ingratitude, the price paid for us can never be equaled. Therefore let every soul trust in the Passion of the Lord and place its hope in His Mercy. (72) Jesus, full of joy in the Ho

— Mercy for Minors 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 33 Truth wears a crown of thorns. (1103) Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; He will take up their case against you. (Pr. 23:10,11) We fight for the integrity of marriage in order to vie for the virtue of children. Father, we acknowledge You as the Defender of children against every kind of evil. Forgive our pursuit of false liberty;

— Boldness and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 30 If the Lord demands something of a soul, He gives it the means to carry it out; through grace, He makes it capable. At the Lord’s command, the soul can undertake things beyond its expectation if God’s power and strength, which makes the soul courageous and valiant, are manifest within it. (1090) Your assignment on earth is to beg Mercy for the whole world. (570) O Father, make Your Church glorious, rich in

— Patience and Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 29 The greatest power is hidden in patience. I see that patience always leads to victory, although not immediately; but that victory will become manifest after many years. (1514) I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word, I put my hope. (Ps. 130:5) I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and take heart, and wait for t

Merciful Discipline 3: Broken, We Endure Shame In the Church, God has put Himself into hands that betray Him again and again. – Pope Benedict Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may Your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of Your Name; deliver us, and forgive us our sins for Your Name’s sake. Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” (PS 79:8-10a) We repent on behalf of the abuse-broken chu

— The Gaze from the Cross, Part 4 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 19 When I was dying on the cross, I was not thinking about Myself but about sinners, and I prayed for them to the Father. (324) As God has made us sharers in His Mercy, and even more than that, dispensers of that Mercy, we should therefore have great love for each soul… (539) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to My Father’s glor

Merciful Discipline 2: Broken, We Repent for the Church’s Mishandling of Abuse ‘This crisis isn’t about sex abuse. It is about covering up sex abuse.’ Spokesperson for victims of priestly abuse ‘God’s justice summons us to give account of our actions and to conceal nothing.’ Pope Benedict to priests who abused children As the Church, we are united as members of one Body. When one is abused, all suffer. When abuse is covered up or mishandled by Church leaders, the abused are a

— Abundance for a Lonely Son 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 14 Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven, You are my peace. You are my salvation, You are my sovereignty in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubt…You are everything to a lonely soul. (247) Who is weak and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin and I do not inwardly burn? St. Paul (2 Corinthians 11:29) Father, we too are weak. At times we are subject to desires that deride us, a

— Mercy Restores Our Inheritance 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 13 My Heart overflows with Mercy for souls, especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them, and that it is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with Mercy. (367) While the son was still a long way off, the father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around hi

— Mercy’s Rule 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 10 When the battle becomes too much for me, I throw myself like a child into the arms of the Heavenly Father and trust I will not perish…I do not lose heart. I trust God’s grace, which abounds in the worst misery. (606) How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your  eye,’ when you fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you w

— Mercy and the Truth of Sin 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 8 The knowledge of my own misery allows me to know the immensity of Your mercy. (56) Do not withhold Your mercy from me, O Lord; may Your love and Your truth always protect me. (Psalm 40:10-11) Father, we ask for great clarity and discernment regarding the nature of Mercy. Please rouse us where we have adopted worldly ideas of her. We pray for the conviction of sin in our own hearts and in those we lov

— False Mercy 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 7 The great sins of the world are superficial wounds on My Heart, but the sins of a chosen soul pierce My Heart through and through… (1702) Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness… (Isaiah 5:20-21) Father, grant us clarity as to what pleases You and what does not. Thank you for the clear witness of Scripture and the Church. Help us to discern ‘blind guides’; mo

— Mercy and Judgment 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 6 ‘Do not fear anything, I am with you. These matters are in My hands and I will bring them to fruition according to My mercy, for nothing can oppose My will.’  (573) ‘Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.’ (Joel 3: 14) Father, we cry out for loved ones in ‘the valley of decision.’ Would you act in Mercy on their behalf? Would You send Your

— Prisoners of Hope 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 5 ‘In spite of everything, Jesus, I trust You in the face of every sentiment which sets itself against hope.’ (14) ‘In the time of my favor, I will answer you; on the day of salvation, I will help you…I will say to the captives, ‘Come out!’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’  (Isaiah 49:8-9) Who is like You, Father of Mercy? Even our sin is not stronger than Your Mercy. You woo us with a Love sweeter and stro

— Trusting in Our Fighting Father 40 Days of Mercy Devotional – Lent 2012 – Day 4 ‘I Myself am fighting for them!’ (1516) ‘I do not understand how it is possible not to trust Him who can do all things. With Him everything; without Him, nothing. He is Lord. He will not allow those who place their trust in Him to be put to shame.’ (358) Father, we trust You as the One who fights for our dignity and for the dignity of all. You meet us in the desert and carry us; You know our ene