Tag: suffering
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The Master Sculptor
Romans 8:29 “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” I heard a recording of the late Elizabeth Elliott some years ago in which she was speaking about God’s transforming work in the lives of believers. As an illustration, she was speaking about the great sculptor, Michelangelo. One day…
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Jars of Clay
2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” When the glory of God is manifested in the life of a person, it is radically different from the glory of man. When we think of the glory, i.e., the greatness, of…
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Fiery Trials
1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.” One of the greatest blessings of the Bible is how…
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Your Walls
Isaiah 49:16 “. . . your walls are continually before me.” Have you ever felt all alone? Have you ever gone through something that, although there may have people around you, you were certain that none of them could understand what you were going through, and any attempt to explain it to them seemed futile?…
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It Will Be Worth It All
2 Corinthians 1:14 “. . . that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.” One day we will all stand before the Lord of Glory. We will face the Judge of all the earth. It is at that moment that things will become crystal…
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When I Am Weak . . .
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He…
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The Believer’s Empathy
2 Corinthians 1:7-8 “Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of…
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Prepared to Comfort
1 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” One of the…
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Preaching (to Ourself)
Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” In thinking about the above verse the other day, a thought came to me that I’d not considered before. The primary intent of this command from Jesus, a command that has come to be known…
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The Gift of Hope
1 Thessalonians 4:13 “. . . others . . . who have no hope.” As I’ve been thinking about all the sickness that has affected my family and friends of late, the verse above has come to my mind. Cancer: no one wants to hear that word, especially as it applies to themselves or a…
To Encourage You 