TAG   |   courage

Prerequisites for Blessin...

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he c...

God Bless Us with a Rebir...

One of the joys of today is that there is so much good fighting going on. By a good fight I mean an honest struggle between ideas and convictions. Yet there are so few who will fight. We are afflicted with moral laryngitis. We are like the lad who was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” He replied, “Alive.” That is what we want mo...

God Bless Us with a Rebir...

Let me point to just one area where we need some people to “yell” a little. That is in the field of entertainment. By the time a child enters the first grade, he has spent more hours in front of a TV set than he will spend in a college classroom, and much of what he sees is filth. Can anyone deny that movies, TV, and books are dirtier than ever? But we don...

Faith and Suffering

Anyone who has tried to understand human suffering knows that suffering will be a mystery to humankind for as long as people live on this earth. In the face of unexplainable suffering, here are a few suggestions to help you. Believe that God has an answer as to why we suffer and that in his own time he will give it to you. Faith, after all, is assurance of things hop...

Jesus Pushes the Undo But...

I was in Mineola visiting with Marc about a book we are working on together. And he was showing me his computer. And he was putting something on the screen and he made a mistake and he pushed a button and it erased all of it. And he said to me, “That’s the undo button.” And I looked over and sure enough right there on the button was “undo.&rdqu...

America Needs You

At the turn of the 19th century, when the forces of lawlessness were let loose in England, William Wordsworth paid tribute to John Milton by writing, “Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this hour: England, hath need of thee… Oh! raise us up, return to us again; and give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.” Today this same call could well be sent to...

Because He Lives Sermon

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments....

If the Lord Delights in U...

8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.  Introduction       The background of this passage is that great event of the children of Israel moving into the Promised Land. God came to Moses and told him to appoint men to go and spy out the land that he would give to...

The Sure Foundation

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past al...

Today's Devotional

Senseless Tragedies

Once we buried a young lady who was only 21 years old. She was killed in a head-on collision while on her way to church. The night before the funeral, my daughter asked why God allows things like this to happen.

I wish I knew. Things like this have puzzled saints, wise men, and philosophers since the world began.

There is simply no one easy answer as to why tragedies like this happen. The answer may lie in the fact that God made us free. He created us with the ability to make our own choices, and choices always involve consequences. If we are careless or foolish in our choices, or if others are, we may suffer because of them. If God did not allow us freedom, we’d be less than people. We’d be robots.

This may be the only explanation we will ever have for some suffering. However, we do not have to know why things happen in order to be victorious over them. On the cross Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) But the heavens were as brass. God was silent. He didn’t even answer his own Son. Jesus might have despaired and become bitter against God. But instead he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend [entrust, hand over] my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

This kind of faith is far more important than any answer we might receive. In our lives, as in the life of Jesus, it is faith that makes the difference between victory and defeat.

So keep believing in God no matter what. Commit your life to him and regardless of what happens, God will help you.

Missed yesterday's devotional?

Get it

Want to search all devotionals?

Go

Want to receive the weekday devotional in your inbox?

Register