Tag: suffering
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The Happy and the Blessed
James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” Is it more important to you that you are happy or that you are blessed? You may ask, “What’s the difference?” “Happiness” can…
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A Word about Needs
James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Perhaps one of the most comforting and encouraging Scriptures in all the Bible is Philippians 4:19: “And my…
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The Inner Self
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Thought our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that…
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Be What You Are
1 Peter 4:1-2 “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” Yesterday, in dealing with the passage above, we looked…
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A Right Response
Hebrews 12:13 “Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” Some people have a propensity, when they face some difficulty or trial, to respond in ways that just make things worse. Examples are when we try to hide a wrongdoing, or…
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Running the Race
Hebrews 12:10-12 “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees” You do realize, don’t you, that the ultimate…
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Are you a “have” or a “have not”?
1 Samuel 31:4-7 “Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.” Have you ever thought about the day…
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Why is this happening to me?!
Hebrews 12:3-6 “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly…
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Joy to the World
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the…
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The Life (and Death) of Faith
Hebrews 11:32-39 “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies…
To Encourage You 