Comfort from God

The obvious theme of the opening verses of 2 Corinthians 1 is the comfort of God: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in […]

Making mountains out of molehills

I needed this reminder from John Newton today: The hour is coming when we shall be astonished to think what mere trifles were once capable of discouraging us; for though many things we now meet with have a kind of importance respecting the present life and our natural feelings, yet when we come to see […]

Life principles

Last fall, I preached a series of messages entitled, “Necessities of Life” — six truths every follower of Christ needs to believe and six activities ever Christian needs to do in order to thrive as a Christian. In James 1, the apostle has something of a similar list of principles that will transform and change […]

Take courage

Jesus never promises His followers a pain and trouble-free life. In fact, He promises just the opposite. There will be troubles, and often those troubles are because we are followers of Him. As two examples, consider: “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted […]

Who sinned?

In A View from a Zoo, Gary Richmond tells about the birth of a giraffe: The first things to emerge are the baby giraffe’s front hooves and head. A few minutes later the plucky newborn calf is hurled forth, falls ten feet, and lands on its back. Within seconds, he rolls to an upright position […]

Weeping in the night

David: Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. (Ps. 30:5) Paul: Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory […]

When you are in trouble

There are a number of ideas about David’s circumstances in Psalm 27, but no one is certain what actually was happening to him. But one thing is certain — he was tempted to despair. Notice all the different phrases he used to indicate the oppression he was under: fear (vv. 1, 3), dread (think “panicked […]

Suffer well

“Prepare your people for suffering,” one pastor has repeatedly advised other pastors. He’s right. And his counsel imitates what Christ did for His disciples while on earth, and what His Word repeatedly does for its readers even now. Persecution and suffering are inevitable for the follower of Christ (2 Tim. 3:12). Make a choice to […]

I will sing to the Lord

Today is Sunday. So the first part of Psalm 13:6 resonates (at least a little) with us: “I will sing to the Lord.” It’s fitting. It’s right. It’s what we should do. It’s what we have to do. We will sing. But notice why David says he will sing: “because He has dealt bountifully with […]

Nancy Guthrie talks about suffering

Nancy Guthrie recently conducted a live interview on Desiring God. She speaks of the death of her two children from a genetic disease and how that stimulate a deep trust in God in both her and her husband. [Aside: read anything you can that she has written or edited on the topic of suffering or […]

God is not like us

I’ve been thinking much lately about how God uses difficulties, trials, and even sin for the accomplishment of His purposes and even for good in the lives of the believers (think Romans 8:28-29). Our tendency is to react defensively and with significant resistance to a statement like that. We struggle to accept that God works […]

Sunday Leftovers (7/10/11)

One writer has observed about the tendency not only of our culture but even believers, “We are willing to worship God only if God makes us safe. Thus you get the silly question, ‘How does a good God let bad things happen to good people?’” Too many want God only for the safety and comfort […]

A testimony of grace and suffering

This is a five-minute video that is well worth your time. Wrestling With An Angel. My favorite statement in the video: God brings us to the end of ourselves — to the end of our strength, to the end of our wits — He destroys our pride and our self-confidence in order to reveal to […]

Four truths about trials

As to my own circumstances, I still meet with trouble and expect no other as long as I live in this world. [Jonathan Edwards] Things haven’t changed much since the time of Edwards. In fact, it has always been that way, and as long as we live in an unredeemed state, it always will be […]

When children suffer

Parents have dreams and desires for their children. And sometimes those desires are cut short by the intrusion of Job-like illness, suffering, and even death. We believe in the sovereignty of God. We know that worship is our calling when God orchestrates trials in our lives. But what does that worship sound like when our […]