Monthly Archives: April 2015

Very few of us have the spiritual ability to be “full of joy now” when we experience trouble and suffering. Because we are so afraid of getting hurt and being overcome by negative circumstances, our faith falters as we struggle to carry on and survive. During hardship, our spiritual enemy works hard to pull us away from believing in God’s love and desire to bring blessings into our lives. He attempts to shatter our faith in a good God and…..

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The disciples were Jesus’ chosen, unique followers. On this particular day they had personally witnessed Jesus performing many mighty miracles and had heard Him proclaiming undeniable wisdom and truth. In the safety of His presence, it was easy for then to have faith as they basked in His gentle love and encountered His awesome power. Later that evening, Jesus said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” They got into the boat, and Jesus went…..

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When teaching His disciples how to pray, Jesus pointed out the importance of practicing forgiveness. Many times this text is misinterpreted as God’s refusal to forgive us unless we forgive others, which is not true. This statement was made before the redemptive act of Christ on the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice made the way for all of us to receive forgiveness for our failings and shortcomings, even if we have not yet worked out the process of forgiving others in our…..

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When fear and anxiety are motivating our decisions, usually more conflict and confusion are created from our choices. As the pattern of making choices out of fear and worry becomes established in our hearts and minds, we will simply follow fear instead of faith. Attempting to shape our futures through our own anxious efforts and ideas – apart from the Lord’s guidance is vain, unproductive, and futile. The testing point of faith begins when there is need in our lives……

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At the beginning of Job’s time of suffering, the Scriptures say, “In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly.” However, as the days of Job’s testing continued, his three “comforting friends” only generated more upset and discomfort, and Job fell into the abyss of self-pity. The dictionary defines self-pity as the “self-indulgent belief that one’s life is harder and sadder than everyone else’s.” Pitying ourselves is counterproductive to spiritual and emotional growth. As we wallow in this state,…..

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Anger is a touchy subject, and most of us were never taught God’s way of dealing with this powerful emotion in a healthy way. Many Christians are so afraid of their own anger, they deny its existence and attempt to push down its ugly presence. There are others who are comfortable in their anger and use it to feel powerful, but at the same time push down their feelings of fear and hurt. Whether our anger makes us feel bad…..

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We are all looking for a way to be satisfied in our lives. Most believe contentment will be experienced when “life goes our way,” or challenges and pressures are minimal. Yet there are many who outwardly seem to live the so called “good life,” but find themselves empty and restless, seeking for something else to bring satisfaction to their life. True contentment must come from within, not from without. In Philippians, Paul stated that he had learned through experience how…..

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We are all born with the desire to be accepted, understood, and listened to. Some of us are blessed with not perfect, but loving family members, friends, or others who unconditionally love, believe in, and listen to what we have to say-even though we are far from flawless. To have someone who will pay attention to our words while making a conscious effort to hear our heart is a priceless blessing. In stark contrast to this blessing, there are many…..

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The dictionary states that the word endure means “to carry on through, despite hardships; undergo; to bear with tolerance”. The Bible tells while learning to push through by His grace, and endure; God has the ability to work beneficial character traits into our hearts and lives. This sounds positive to our spirit, but our natural man shuns learning endurance, because it’s hard to accept as true…. good can come out of hardship. Nevertheless, it is the truth….. God has the…..

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It is God’s will that we learn to love and accept ourselves and others the way Jesus does. Unfortunately, there are times we get pulled off this positive path of love and wisdom, by comparing ourselves with others. When we access our worth by comparison, even though we have never walked in the person’s shoes we are comparing ourselves to, we become unwise. Nevertheless, many times we continue on and compare our: looks, children, partners, material goods, behaviors, strengths, and…..

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