Are you in physical pain today? Someone reading this is in pain. Perhaps it’s you. Or maybe you know someone in pain. Pain rarely makes sense and often continues without relief. Throughout the ages, others who have endured pain have turned their attention from the temporary pain to things eternal by meditating on passages of […]
Read MoreCategory Archives: Encouragement & Healing
It’s All a Matter of Reputation
Eli! Eli! Lama Sabachthani? When Jesus called out from the Cross, some standing there thought He was calling for Elijah. They misunderstood – He was actually quoting what King David had written a thousand years beforehand. Matthew and Mark both explain that the Lord was actually citing the opening lines of Psalm 22. The fact […]
Read MoreIsaac’s Apple
Have you ever come across this puzzle? It’s known as Isaac’s Apple. The aim is to break the apple into all its pieces and reassemble again. The final piece is the central ‘core’. Once it’s inserted into the middle, it locks all the other pieces into position; completing the apple. If you like puzzles, this […]
Read MoreHow God Gives You Wisdom
I’ll never forget a lunch I had with a Christian businessman. As we discussed many of the responsibilities connected with his vocation, the subject of wisdom kept sliding into our conversation. He and I were agreeing on the value of certain qualities that cannot be learned in school—things like intuition, diligence, integrity, perception, consistency, loyalty […]
Read MoreHow to Trust When You’re Troubled
Some of you are facing what could easily be called an unsolvable problem. It’s you I hope to encourage today. Often the situations with no human answers form the basis upon which God does some of His best work. This is illustrated beautifully in the life of Job, who, in my opinion, is a living […]
Read MoreHow Do I Overcome Anxiety?
Question: Last month, I thought I was having a heart attack. My pulse was racing, my palms were sweating, and I started breathing heavily, as if I were going to pass out. I went to the hospital, and they said my heart was fine—what I had experienced was a panic attack. Now I have anxiety […]
Read MoreGod’s Holiness – the Exacting Standard That Condemns Sexual Abuse
Redeemed people are called to live in a manner that reflects God’s holy character. Nowhere is this more clearly spelled out than in Leviticus, Israel’s handbook for life: “You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. . . . Thus you are to be holy to Me, for […]
Read MoreGod Doesn’t Waste Our Suffering
Suffering comes in all sorts of packages—physical, emotional, relational. No one is immune to the trials of life. With suffering come questions: How will this change my life? What happened to God’s plan for me? Can He still use me? When I was 15 months old, my body was continually covered with bruises. Doctors diagnosed […]
Read MoreEncouragement Takes the Sting Out of Life
All of us need encouragement. We need somebody to believe in us. To reassure and reinforce us. To help us pick up the pieces and go on. To fuel our flame of determination as we face the odds against us. I don’t care how influential, secure, or mature a person may appear to be, an […]
Read MoreDoes God Care about Our Suffering?
Agonizing in prayer over a difficult leader who was causing conflict in my church, I asked God to remove him and to protect my family and me. As senior pastor, I became the target for a few disgruntled people that this man had secretly poisoned against me. Eventually they demanded my resignation, threatening to disrupt […]
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