The Struggle
Have you ever heard someone suggest that if you just trust Jesus, He’ll solve all your problems and you’ll float through life with riches and peace?
A Little Perspective
A college student wrote a startling letter to her parents:
When The Pressure Is On
What makes a shiny apple look so delicious? The skin, of course. But what is it about an apple that actually makes it delicious? The juice and substance inside. That’s the apple’s real "character."
The Glorious Sunset
It is wonderful to be young, with clear sight, acute hearing, elastic step, pulses drumming to the march of exhilarating health. But old age has glories that youth cannot know. It is a blessed old age indeed if it ends brightly at evening time.
The Good That Pain Can Do
Affliction, when we accept it with humility, can be instructive, a discipline that leads us to a deeper, fuller life. “Before I was afflicted I went astray,” David said, “but now I keep Your Word” (Psalm 119:67). Peter would agree: Affliction leads us not to live for ourselves “but for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:2).
Band Of Brothers
Of all Shakespeare’s great plays, Henry V may rank as the most heroic. In one stirring scene, the English army stands fearfully before superior French troops. King Henry challenges his men to take heart. Because the battle will be fought on “the feast of Crispian,” their victory will be remembered in its yearly celebration. The king tells his men, “This day is called the feast of Crispian . . . . We in it shall be remembered; we few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”
Learn To Teach
After my father injured his eye so severely that it had to be surgically removed, doctors and nurses commented on how well he accepted the loss. His response was indeed exceptional. Throughout the ordeal I never heard him complain.
Three Needs
I've heard it said that there are three things a person needs to be happy:
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Something to do-meaningful work or helping others.
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Someone to love-someone to whom we can give of ourselves, such as a spouse, a child, or a friend.
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Something to look forward to-a vacation, a visit from a loved one, improved health, the realization of a dream.
"But God . . ."
What if Joseph had succumbed to the advances of Potiphar's wife? (Genesis 39). Imagine how he could have justified his sin. "But God, You don't want me to be unhappy, and you know how lonely it is here. Besides, I think I really love her."
