By Alvin Rogness, The Word for Every Day, page 303, Augsburg Publishing House, 1981. If God is perfect, does he suffer? If he is all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present, holy and eternal, can we possibly cause him to suffer? Would it not be beneath his dignity to let small people like us cause him pain? […]
1025) The Suffering God Read More »
I Samuel 18:5-9 — Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well. When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine (Goliath), the women came out from all the towns
———- By Dorothy Sayers, British writer (1893-1957), Creation or Chaos, 1949, pages 56-57: The Church’s approach to an intelligent carpenter is usually confined to exhorting him not to be drunk and disorderly in his leisure hours, and to come to church on Sundays. What the Church should be telling him is this: that the very first demand
1023) Doing Good Work Read More »
By William Willimon, Pastor, pages 92-93, Abingdon Press, 2002: A woman in my church suffered from periodic bouts of depression. These were described to me as times when she felt “down and depressed.” During such times, she would often call me to come by her house for a visit. I would have conversation
1022) Sowing in Tears Read More »
Chapel of St. Ananias, Damascus, Syria, an early Christian house of worship (1st century) ————————————– Adapted from A Godward Life, by John Piper, pages 303-404, Multnomah Press, 1997. About A.D. 133 Aristeides, a teacher of philosophy, presented a defense of Christianity to Emperor Hadrian. From it we get a glimpse of what the
1021) How the Early Church Grew Read More »
One cannot say enough about the importance of prayer in the life of a Christian. Prayer is commanded and described in the Bible. There are, in the Bible, many examples of God’s people at prayer, and it was something Jesus himself did on a regular basis. What can be more important for us
1020) Be Generous; But Use Your Head Read More »
“The Slow Fires of Misery: Enduring the Pain of a Flawed Marriage” By John Piper, A Godward Life, pages 33-35, Multnomah, 1997. Quotes are from “The Struggle for Lincoln’s Soul,” by Mark Noll, in Books and Culture, September/October 1995 issue. Abraham Lincoln’s marriage was a mess, and accepting the pain brought deep strength
1019) The Lincolns’ Unhappy Marriage Read More »
By Randy Alcorn, January 22, 2016 blog at: http://www.epm.org No Christian should be a pessimist. We should be realists—focused on the actuality that we serve a sovereign and gracious God. But because of the reality of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and His promises, biblical realism is, ultimately, optimism. If we build our
1018) Optimist or Pessimist? Read More »
By William Willimon, Pastor, pages 99-100, Abingdon, 2002 Early in my ministry I arrived at a hospital room where a woman in my church had just given birth. I had been told that “there were problems with the birth.” A couple sat in the hospital room waiting for the doctor. The doctor appeared
(…continued) It would have been easy, of course, for God to explain this all to Job, but God chooses not to do that– not for Job, and not for us, either. There is nothing in the Bible to suggest that God is always making such deals with Satan and that is what leads
1016) The Test (3/3) Read More »
