One of the more surprising moments in counselling happens when I ask about physical health. Sleep, exercise, diet. There’s often a pause, sometimes even confusion. What does that have to do with anxiety? But over time, it becomes clear that how we care for our bodies shapes far more than we tend to admit. Many of us have been taught to think of the Christian life as something that happens primarily in the heart and mind. We focus on beliefs, and spiritual disciplines, while the body becomes...

Happy are you O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help and the sword of your triumph (Deut 33:29). The nation of Israel stood at last at the Jordan. A new generation looked across the river toward the Promised Land on the other side. They’d waited, wandered, and wondered for forty years. Now, the time had finally come. Moses blessed the people with his final words, ending in praise to God who had kept them and provided for them again and again. Because...

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27) Enjoying a meal together, reclining at the table as Passover begins, Jesus once again alludes to His leaving. Bewildered and discouraged, the disciples try to understand where He would go and why He would leave. Distress begins to rise, and He reassures them with reminders of His identity, His promises, and His instructions. But...