I can win any slam dunk contest through him who gives me strength. If I will ask God for the ability to do so "in Jesus' name," of course.

When I was a kid I had a poster of Philippians 4:13 — "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" — with a photo of a guy dunking a basketball. You can bet I thought long and hard about how Jesus was gonna help me dunk on some fools.

Paul wrote the letter to the church at Philippi from jail. Chapter 4, verse 13 may sound like it needs to be slapped on whatever the Christian equivalent of a PowerBar is, but Paul was not talking about Jesus being our genie, but Jesus being our satisfaction in all situations, whether rich or poor, free or enslaved, healthy or sick, successful or getting dunked on. Wherever our promised trouble-full life finds us, we will persevere only in Christ.

Similarly, Jeremiah 29:11 is a great verse, but it's not an affirmation of the American dream. It's an affirmation of God's predestining purposes even when the American dream crashes down around us and we are crushed. You can put it on a coffee cup, I s'pose, but don't throw it away when you're on the streets and you need it to beg for change. The verse will still be true.

Jesus is no talisman. Crucify "Jesus as key to your personal achievement" and he will stay dead. But the real Jesus achieves a victory greater and far superior to any wish-dream of any man. He is life itself, and life eternal. Worship that Jesus.