A man we’ll call Taher lived in Iran where it is dangerous to be a Christian. His house was ransacked. He was taken from his wife and two daughters. He spent time in jail, interrogated at night between midnight and 4am. He was told to write down the names of other Christians. He didn’t. Eventually … Continue reading Do you need consistent encouragement?
encouragement
Comfortis
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). As far as I can tell, … Continue reading Comfortis
Discouragement is a comma, not a period
There’s a movie that some people watch every year: It’s A Wonderful Life. There’s a scene right at the start of the movie where we overhear what is supposed to be a conversation between God and a guardian angel named Clarence. “A man down on earth needs our help,” God says, referring to George Bailey. … Continue reading Discouragement is a comma, not a period
Undermining your own goldmine
Do you want to persevere through this challenging chapter of life? If so, James 5 provides some powerful and down-to-earth How-To’s. Amongst other things he says, “Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged” (verse 9). Perhaps his first-century audience was in the habit of moaning and groaning against each … Continue reading Undermining your own goldmine
Your verbal legacy
Words. They have power, don’t they? In the Bible, James writes: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:9-10). So if … Continue reading Your verbal legacy
Opportunities to connect
One of the things COVID-19 has made me appreciate—even more than before—is the importance that other people play in our faith. I miss having our church family all together at the same time. When we would go to a worship service, we would primarily worship God, of course. But we would also talk, encourage one … Continue reading Opportunities to connect
Pretending to be perfect
Today I’d like to ask you this: If you’re going through something really tough, have you talked to someone about it? Talking to someone about your situation can be hard. It can be difficult to verbalize your feelings. Or maybe you doubt if it will do any good. But one of the reasons I think … Continue reading Pretending to be perfect
The talent you never knew you had
I’m guessing that a lot of you have a talent you never knew you had: Listening. Many people are burdened. Maybe that’s why Paul encouraged the Galatians to “Carry each other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2) People had them then. People have them now. Listening is just that. Listening. Not talking. Not solving. Not judging. Not fixing. … Continue reading The talent you never knew you had
A licence plate or a message from God?
Frederick Buechner was upset about his daughter’s illness. If you’ve ever worried about a sick child maybe you can relate to that gut-wrenching reality. He was sitting at the side of the road parked in his car depressed and afraid. All of a sudden, another car came up from behind him as if out of nowhere … Continue reading A licence plate or a message from God?
Your soldiers for the battle
Why have many of us bought the lie that life is supposed to be easy? Maybe it's tempting to believe all the shiny, happy people in the TV commercials. But no. Life is a... Battle. In this country, 1 in 4 are "very stressed" at work. 1 in 8 families struggle to put food on … Continue reading Your soldiers for the battle
