FULFILLMENT MUST BE ONE OF life’s choicest gifts. It is a major building block toward authentic happiness. No doubt, Solomon had it in mind when he wrote these timeless words: If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace; if you accept correction, you will be honored. It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them. PROVERBS 13:18–19
Read MoreCategory Archives: Encouragement & Healing
Don’t Flinch, Stand Firm
TUCKED AWAY IN THE FOLDS OF Hebrews 11 is a two-word biography worth a second glance: “He endured” (11:27, NASB). The Living Bible says, “[he] kept right on going.” The New International Version: “He persevered.” The New English Bible: “He was resolute.” The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition: “He held staunchly to his purpose.” And Moffatt’s quaint rendering: “He never flinched.”
Read MoreJust Be You
THERE IS ONLY ONE YOU. In our overly-populated, identity-crisis era it is easy to forget this. Individuality is played down. We are asked to conform to the “system.” This results in what I’d like to call an image syndrome, especially among the members of God’s family called Christians. My mind lands upon a fig-picker from Tekoa . . . a rough, raw-boned shepherd who was about as subtle as a Mack truck on the Santa Ana Freeway.
Read MoreBeing a Miracle
HER VOICE WAS WEAK and fearful as she spoke to me over the phone. It was almost midnight, and she kept apologizing . . . but she was so lonely and wanted someone to listen. I never got her name nor her address nor enough hints about her location to follow up our conversation. Her desperate story broke my heart. I wept after she said “Good-bye—thanks for listening.”
Read MoreSheep, Not Cattle
EVER GET THAT cattle-in-the-corral feeling? Sure you have. Whether it’s sitting in morning traffic or standing in a long check-out line at Walmart-it’s easy to feel as if you’re only a blip on the radar of some cosmic force, herding people like cattle to their inevitable ends. Aside from the physical and emotional discomfort of being shoved around like thick-skinned creatures with horns, there’s a subtle signal that goes off inside us with damaging results.
Read MoreA Source of All Comfort
You are never more like God when you are available to those who suffer. I urge you to be available for the long haul to that one who is grieving a devastating loss of a loved one.
Read MoreGrace Leads You Home
Long before my mother died, she and a neighbor friend compiled a book of God’s promises taken from the Scriptures. Each made her own. My mother used that little book as a primer for her prayers.
Read MoreThe Power of Weakness
Paul pressed ahead through a mind-boggling series of intense hardships. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
Read MoreDespite Your Circumstances
Few people in the first century had a deeper understanding of God’s grace than the apostle Paul. Redeemed from a life of vicious brutality as a rigid legalistic Pharisee, the man turned the corner, repented, . . .
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