From Anglican Mainstream.

Again this week we are challenged by the idea of temptation but this time in the story of Joseph [in Genesis 39]. His story reminds us that contrary to popular opinion temptation does not build character. Our ability to overcome temptation does not build character nor does it build will power. It is Godly character that stands this test and we need to be mindful of that in this story.

I enjoy the daily Lenten devotions it publishes. Check them out.

From Fox News.

Two teachers’ performance of a dirty dance at a Canadian high school rally has led to their suspension without pay, The Globe and Mail reported. After footage of the graphic lap dance was posted online, the Winnipeg School Division launched an investigation into the incident at Churchill High School. The video, “Two Teachers, One Chair,” features physical education instructor Chrystie Fitchner and an unidentified male teacher in a sexually explicit routine that had students turn from laughter to disbelief.

Read it all.

As a former high school teacher and college professor, I can only shake my head in sad amazement. We are such a profoundly broken people. I feel compassion for these two misguided souls and hope God will help them come to their senses so that they can start to rebuild their lives.

From Fox News:

The “Big Man Upstairs” is getting accolades from mental health specialists who say they are finding that a belief in God plays a positive role in the treatment of anxiety and depression, the Washington Times reports. University of Toronto psychologists reported last year that “believing in God can help block anxiety and minimize stress,” their research showcasing “distinct brain differences” between believers and nonbelievers. A new study released Wednesday by Rush University Medical Center in Chicago took the idea a step further. In patients diagnosed with clinical depression, “belief in a concerned God can improve response to medical treatment,” said the new research, which has been published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. The operative term here is “caring,” the researchers said. “The study found that those with strong beliefs in a personal and concerned God were more likely to experience an improvement.”

The Big Man Upstairs??? Give me a break. Despite the use of this goofy phrase, as one who suffered from both anxiety and depression at one time, I can say “Amen” to this. I know it has certainly helped me weather the storm of my parents’ deaths as well as my father-in-law’s.  Read it all.

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

—1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (TNIV)

Here Paul makes it clear that our faith is a gift from God himself. This passage also can serve as a self-diagnostic of sorts. Consider the cross of Christ. Does it make sense to you or does it seem like some superstitious nonsense? Where do your ultimate loyalties lie? How  you answer depends, in part, on your worldview. But it also depends on whether you have the Spirit indwelling you.

Such tests are necessary, of course, because of the non-intrusive nature of the Spirit. He is so gentle with us, so unwilling to violate our core personalities, that his Presence is often hard to detect without conscious effort. I think that is how it should be because none of us want to be little automatons or robots. To rob people of their freedom to choose is to rob us of an integral part of our humanity.

Of course, those of us who are blessed to have the Spirit living in us and teaching us do not have the license to become all haughty and puffed up with spiritual pride (nah, nah, nah boo-boo; I’ve got the Spirit and you don’t). The Spirit’s indwelling us has nothing to do with our worthiness or intrinsic moral character. It has everything to do with God’s gracious sovereignty. If anything, the Spirit’s indwelling us should make us fall to our knees in wonder and humility because none of us deserves to be blessed with his Presence.

As you attempt to observe a holy Lent this season, think on these things. Your ability to observe a holy Lent as well as any new insights you glean, are the product of the effort you exert powered by God’s very Spirit himself. What a wondrous gift. What a gracious God!

For the serpent [Satan], seeking a way to enter, clearly sought the door of pride, when he declared, “You shall be as gods,” That is why it is written, “Pride is the beginning of all sin,” and “The beginning of pride of man is to fall away from God.”

—Augustine, On Nature and Grace 29.33