The Mystery Box

J.J. Abrams is one of the foremost story tellers of our generation. Creator of Lost and director of Mission Impossible 3, Super 8, and Star Trek, Abrams is renowned for pulling viewers into a story until, well, they have a hard time finding their way out. In this TEDTalk, Abrams shares his...

Mark 4:33-34

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. We’ve already talked about parables, describing them as truth delivered “sideways,” or indirectly. They...

Mark 4:21-25

He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” And he said to them, “Pay...

Prayer & Mystery May15

Prayer & Mystery

I’ve wanted for a while to write an occasional series of posts on prayer. Why? Because, frankly, I don’t understand prayer. I know I’m supposed to do it. And I do. But that doesn’t mean I understand it. I don’t understand, for instance, how it works. I’m not always sure what I’m supposed to do, either. And I definitely can’t quite figure out the part about “answered” prayer. Maybe you’ve felt that way, too. Maybe there’s a lot about prayer that you don’t understand, but you still do it. And maybe that’s okay. Maybe prayer is too big to simply understand, too important for us to be able to define simply or once and...