We’ve been talking about the very common and very real problem of stress. Today I’d like to tackle a practical suggestion for stress-reduction: spreading out the workload. There is a side of stress that is easily overlooked, and that is trying to do too much ourselves. All of us have a limit. If those huge freight trucks on the highway have a load limit, you can be sure each one of us does, too.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Encouragement & Healing
In God’s Service
Then the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” (Isaiah 6:6–7) This is a major part of the […]
Read MoreGod’s Calm Control
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8) Isaiah says, “I saw the Lord!” His earthly situation turned his eyes upward. That’s what happened to me back in the late 1950s. My disappointment, […]
Read MoreA Great Outlook on Life
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. (2 Corinthians 4:16) Let’s consider a couple of alternative responses to aging. First, view life as a challenge not a threat. You’ve been around long enough to know that nobody can predict our tomorrows. So, obviously […]
Read MoreCalled Alongside to Help
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25) Certainly there is more to encouragement than a smile and a quick pat on the back. We need to realise just how valuable it really is. […]
Read MoreContradictory Truths, Part Two
God often delivers His best gifts to us in unexpected ways . . . with surprises inside the wrappings. Through apparent contradictions. Somewhat like the therapy He used when Elijah was so low, so terribly disillusioned. How did the Lord minister to him? By an earthquake? In a whirlwind? Through a scorching fire? You’d expect all the above since Elijah was such a passionate, hard-charging prophet. But no.
Read MoreThe Turning Point, Part Two
Yesterday I told you about my days in a Marine Corps Quonset hut in Okinawa in 1958. It was an intense time living among those whose lifestyle I found nauseating and empty. I can trace the acceptance of my circumstance and the shift of my focus to a single verse of Scripture. When I happened upon it, it seemed to leap from the page.
Read MoreThe Turning Point, Part One
I remember it well. Almost as clearly as if it happened last month. But it didn’t. It happened deep in the summer of ’58. I was a Marine. Almost eight thousand miles of ocean between me and my wife. One-word descriptions of my condition? Disillusioned. Stretched. Learning. Lonely. Determined. Sincere. Uncertain. Afraid.
Read MoreFreedom from Shame
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and […]
Read MoreUrgent Versus Important
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to […]
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