Desperate Joy

  Like most little boys back in the day, I was fascinated with toy cars. I had the usual collection of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, and then a new fad came along of even smaller models, Micro Machines. I loved collecting, playing with and trading these tiny vehicles. In the imagination of a child these small cars had nearly as much charm as the full-sized originals they mimicked. When I played with these cars, part of the "cool" factor was how well they represented the real thing. This one looked like a Lamborghini, that one looked like a Corvette. And that one, that one is a monster truck! At times I would get my hands on more sophisticated models, they might have doors that swung open and a steering wheel that turned with the wheels in the front, and I would be amazed. Then there were the remote-controlled cars, what a blast it was to race those things around! All of these toys and models are just replicas. While the toy car may resemble the real thing and may have w...

  "My body, my choice!" Perhaps you have heard this rallying cry for the abortion movement. This idea is all too common in our culture. Most people believe that their body is their own personal property and they can do with it what they will, up to and including the ending of a precious, innocent life developing in that body.   But this attitude extends beyond abortion and is used to excuse all manner of sinful behaviors and lifestyle choices. "It's my body, I can have sex any time I want! It's my body, I can smoke, drink, or eat whatever I want! I can do whatever I want, and nobody can tell me otherwise! My body belongs to me and no one else!"   As long as we are not hurting anyone else, anything goes. Or at least that is what many believe. This is not the shape of reality presented in the Bible. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at a few ideas about what the Bible teaches about our bodies. First of all, we need to understand that our bo...