📖 Are you cursed?

I. One of the best things in life is watching your kids do things they love.

Raising kids is hard, especially in the early years. But the older they get, the better it can get (assuming you don’t slack off on discipline).

I wouldn’t trade my kids for literally anything in the world.

Here’s my advice to the younger crowd: Get married and have kids. Don’t listen to the single TikTokers in their 20s traveling around everywhere claiming they are living their best life.

The best life starts in the home and with meaningful relationships.

There is nothing better.

Psalm 127:3-5 is true: “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one’s youth. Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.”

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II. Anyone who is relying on their good works to get to heaven is in trouble.

Paul writes in Galatians 3:10, “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written: ‘Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.’”

Paul is talking about the Old Testament law, but his point is transferable to all of us.

We are cursed if we think law-keeping, or doing good things, is what makes us right before God, because unless we can be perfect at all times, we will stand under God’s righteous and just verdict of condemnation.

This is why salvation must come another way. That is why Paul then writes, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13).

We need a perfect sacrifice to stand in our imperfect place.

Muslims often claim the Bible was altered over time, especially regarding doctrines like the virgin birth, Jesus’ divinity, and his resurrection.

The historical problem with that claim is that we possess complete New Testament manuscripts from the 300s, long before Islam began, and they match the New Testament we have today. We also have earlier manuscript fragments that confirm this same text, showing the Bible was not later rewritten or altered.

There is no historical evidence of a widespread, coordinated change to the New Testament across regions and languages.

The Bible we read today is the same Bible that existed centuries before Islam emerged.

The Bible never changed.

Most people picture angels/spiritual beings as gentle, glowing humans with wings, soft faces, and calming voices. That image comes more from art and pop culture than from the Bible.

In Scripture, spiritual beings are often frightening. When they appear, people regularly fall to the ground, are terrified, or think they are about to die. That’s why angels so often begin by saying, “Do not be afraid.”

Some biblical descriptions are even stranger. In Ezekiel and Revelation, angelic beings are described with multiple faces, wings covered in eyes, wheels within wheels, and overwhelming brightness. These are overwhelming figures.

The Bible’s point isn’t to satisfy our curiosity about angels, but to remind us that the spiritual world is real, ordered by God, and far more magnificent than we often imagine.

The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter

A book about how detrimental the comforts of modern life have become for our health. The first half of the book was rather slow at points and was almost a slog for me to get through. I enjoyed the second half much more.

This book is a mixture of personal stories told by the author, research, and feedback he has received from experts. It addresses how we eat, our lack of exercise, lack of boredom, and how we face very minimal discomfort overall compared to most of human history. And this isn’t good for us.

While there were a few things that stuck out to me, perhaps most interesting was seeing how much of our anxiety and stress in life today comes from never allowing ourselves to be bored at all.

Ironically, we make it worse by scrolling more and ensuring we never experience any quiet. We think that helps us; in reality, it only compounds the problem.

The author doesn't spend much time on spirituality, however, other than talking about dying. He references Buddhism and his conversations with Buddhist monks/leaders — he makes a passing comment about Jesus a couple of times — but clearly, faith is not a part of his life and so is not focused on in the book.

The second part of the book raised the score for me, and I appreciated his perspective and research.

7.5/10

P.S. A short story about decisions…