Are You Thriving or Diving?
We all go through times of trial. We are all tossed here and there by the storms of life. But how do we ride through the storms without sinking or drowning? Psalm 46 directs us to shift our focus from
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NUGGETS
Here’s some articles I encourage you to read this weekend. Thoughts on Being a Father – Tedd Tripp reflects on 1 Thessalonians 2, drawing truths about a faithful father’s example and instruction. 5 Marks of a Servant Leader – What
Continue readingRERUN: Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart
Trusting God is one of those challenges we as Christians talk about, but may not necessarily define. We encourage one another to “trust the Lord,” but we are not sure what it really means. We also tend to view it
Continue reading4 Reasons to Study Lamentations
[This is the first of four posts encouraging you to study the Old Testament book of Lamentations.] In truth, all suffering can be traced back to the entrance of sin into our world; that is, before sin entered the world
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Six Actions to Take when Grieving the Death of a Loved One
Elisabeth Elliot was widowed twice and, therefore, understood grief better than most others. In a simple tract entitled “Facing the Death of Someone You Love,” which I recently discovered on one of my favorite book websites, she brings words of
Continue readingFour Reasons Job Stumbled
Job started so well. His faith was as invulnerable to Satan’s onslaughts as a turtle snuggled up inside its shell is to the frantic pawings of a dog. Job tucked his head and feet inside his faith in God and
Continue reading8 Action Points When Facing Terminal Illness
Our life in this fallen world will be filled with many expected and unexpected forms of suffering. The curse in the Garden announced this, Jesus confirmed it in His teaching, and the experience of the New Testament church testifies of
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Unanswered Prayer Is a Means to Test Our Faith
As God performs his sanctifying work in us—conforming us to the image of his Son, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)—there will be times when answers to prayer seem out of all possible reach. When we try
Continue readingNUGGETS (April 6)
The Particular Temptations of Young Men – “I love to spend time with young men, to counsel them, and to assure them that this time in their lives has great significance. As we speak, I find a number of common
Continue readingUnexpected Good
When you are in the midst of a whirlwind of calamity that could only have been sovereignly overseen by God, it is hard to believe that anything good may ever come out of it. But it can. Satan’s diabolical agenda,
Continue readingJoseph’s Theology of Providence – A Bible Study for You
Yesterday, I taught a breakout session at the 40th annual ACBC Conference in Indianapolis. My session was entitled Joseph’s Theology of Providence. I’ve put it into outline form for your personal or small group study. What Is Providence? The providence
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The Struggle of Rejoicing with Those who Rejoice – “You may not think of opening your mail as a prime time for temptation, but it can be if your life has not panned out exactly the way you hoped it
Continue readingBeauty Out of Ashes
Yesterday, as I was reviewing notes from a workshop I’ve taught on trials and suffering, I was again counseled by these words from Jerry Bridges: “As we watch tragic events unfolding, or more particularly as we experience adversity ourselves, we
Continue readingThe Effects of Hostility and Betrayal upon the Mind and Body
Last week, I spent several days in Psalms 3-7 as part of my study through Alec Motyer’s devotional translation of the Hebrew songbook we know as the book of Psalms. Whether or not all agree that Psalms 3-7 belong to the
Continue readingAffliction Does Not Hinder the Gospel
I’ve been thinking about last week’s post on three ways suffering makes us like Christ and remembered an illustration that I told in an earlier book. As servants of Christ suffer for His name, and for the sake of His
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3 Ways Suffering Helps to Make Us like Christ
The past two Lord’s Days, our congregation has been considering what the apostle had in mind when he declared his heart’s longing, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like
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The Joy of Sacrificial Service
The Christian life—when properly understood—is a life of sacrifice. Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it,
Continue readingSuffering and Singing
Singing to the Lord is a significant means of ministering to our own souls in times of suffering. That’s one reason why we are so drawn to the Psalms, and why Suffering and Singing is a fitting title for a
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