Leaders must be dealers in hope. That is what Napoleon said (not Napoleon Dynamite, Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor who nearly conquered the world). Napoleon rightly understood that hope is one of the most potent forces on the planet. Without it, communities collapse. With it, chains are cast aside and…

He hungered—yet He fed thousands. He thirsted—yet He exclaimed, “Whosoever thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” He was tired—yet He is the “rest” of the weary and the burdened. He pays tax—yet He uses a fish to do it. He is called a “Samaritan, demonically possessed”—but He rescues…

Have you ever had a Jacob’s ladder moment when heaven opened up above you? In Genesis 28, Jacob fell asleep, and in his dream-like state, he saw what he could not see during his distracted waking hours. He saw angels ascending and descending on a giant stairway that stretched between…

Several years ago, a doctor wrote a small book entitled Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants. Understandably, the publishing company balked at the title, asserting that no one would purchase a book that hailed pain as a gift. Consequently, after a brief run, the word “pain” was dropped and the book was simply…