Our pain is real. Even a quick look at the Bible bears witness to the fact that we aren’t the first to walk down the difficult roads of disappointment, persecution, and bitterness. In God’s Word, we find hope for stormy times. Whenever I have suffered, the psalms have been a source of strength and healing. Are you facing a bend in the road? An unexpected diagnosis? A … [Read more...] about Why Does God Allow Suffering?

One of the questions I’m regularly asked is, “Pastor, can I commit a sin that God cannot forgive?” Jesus addressed the topic in Mark 3:20-30. According to Jesus, there is one thing a person can do for which there is no forgiveness either in this age or in the age to come: blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. But what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? Let’s look … [Read more...] about Is There a Sin God Cannot Forgive?

When you think about climbing a mountain, what comes to mind? Do you envision breathtaking vistas from the mountaintop or breathless wheezing along the way? As different as they are, both perspectives capture aspects of the same journey. Reaching the summit requires grit and determination. Spiritual growth is no different. It demands perseverance, but the view from the top is … [Read more...] about 7 Steps to a Closer Walk With God

A Case for Simple Faith Jesus told a story about a wayward son who wasted his inheritance on wild living and ended up destitute. Filled with guilt and shame, the young man returned to his father’s house in hopes of working as a servant—he didn’t dare believe he could return as a son. When the boy arrived home, his father rushed to greet him, threw his arms around him, and … [Read more...] about Is Faith Enough?

Advice columnist, Ann Landers, when asked if there was a common denominator among the thousands of letters that came to her, said that the great overriding theme of all the letters was fear—fear of nearly everything imaginable until the problem became, for countless readers, a fear of life itself. Yet Proverbs 3:25-26 commands, “Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of … [Read more...] about The Bible’s Powerful 3-Step Process for Banishing Worry and Fear

4 Aspects of God’s Faithfulness Every Christian Should Remember In case of emergency—break glass. No doubt you’ve seen signs bearing these words. Painted bright red, they stand out from their surroundings to grab our attention, offering a lifeline when disaster strikes. Whether it’s a means of turning off the gas line or accessing an AED or activating an alarm, emergency … [Read more...] about When You Feel Discouraged … Do THIS Immediately

Walking the Persistent Christian Journey The Christian life is a journey of persistence and endurance. Each morning when we wake up, we have no idea what the day will bring—a flat tire, a troubling phone call, a medical diagnosis. The question isn’t whether we’ll have trouble but when and how.  Following the example of Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica, we … [Read more...] about 5 Biblical Strategies for When Life Is Hard

As a child, where did you go for answers? As a teenager, who was your “go-to” person? In your career now, do you have a mentor who helps you find the answers you seek? When Moses didn’t know what to do with the Israelites in the wilderness, his father-in-law, Jethro, told him how to organize the people into a functioning nation (Exodus 18). When David became the king of Israel, … [Read more...] about Trusting God When Your Prayers Aren’t Answered

Recently a young, single woman quit her job in the city and moved back to her small hometown, abandoning her career and leaving a place of service in the church she had joined. When asked why, she replied, “I just got tired of eating supper alone.” No one is immune from it. Even one of the most brilliant men who ever lived, Albert Einstein, complained, “It is strange to be … [Read more...] about 3 Ways to Overcome Loneliness

Paul Jergan’s bend in the road came in the middle of the night, May 1, 2001, when he was jolted from bed by the ringing of the phone. Half-asleep, groping in the darkness for the phone, he muttered a groggy “hello.” A half-second later he was fully alert. It was the emergency room of a distant hospital. Paul’s son, Travis, a university student in another state, was in critical … [Read more...] about 4 Ways to Meet God in Hard Times

The setting is the peak of the Cold War. America and an unnamed superpower have both developed a new technology called miniaturization, allowing any object to be temporarily shrunk to microscopic size. A scientist named Benes makes a breakthrough—a way for miniaturization to last indefinitely. But his life is threatened by a blood clot in the brain. If he dies, the secret to … [Read more...] about 5 Surprising Reasons God Allows Adversity

  You Cannot Sin Away the Grace of God "God's grace is available to rescue you from whatever you've done. I have people say to me, 'Dr. Jeremiah, if you knew what I've done in my life...' It does not make any difference what you've done. It doesn't make any difference how far you feel you're away from God. God's arms of grace are long and reach out to all. You cannot … [Read more...] about How to Become a Christian

Know how to survive a dirty bomb? How to start a fire using a glass bottle? How to preserve food? Have you stockpiled cans of beans and tins of meat? Do you own a solar-powered flashlight? How about your contact list—do you have a hard copy in case our electronics crash? What about a first aid kit and toolbox? Have you studied wild mushrooms and edible insects? Know how to … [Read more...] about What Does the Bible Say About Fear of the End Times?

I don’t see this as often as I used to, but it still happens. I’m talking about the occasional sighting of a car pulled off the side of the road with its hood up, steam billowing from the engine compartment. Besides the obvious embarrassment associated with such an event, there’s the resulting hassle of getting our car towed to the shop and having the problem repaired. What … [Read more...] about The 4 Reasons You Feel Spiritually Drained and How You Can Avoid Them

What advice would you give these people? SITUATION 1: In World War II, a patrol of Soviet soldiers captures a German woman who was foraging for food for her three children. Her husband is already in a POW camp in England, and she is taken to a POW camp in Russia. When her husband returns to Germany, he locates their children but is unable to find his wife. The wife, interred … [Read more...] about Why Your Circumstances Don’t Define Your Spiritual Growth

Let’s do a little geology to get started: The surface of the earth is made of giant plates (the Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, the South American Plate, the African, Arabian, Eurasian, Indian Plates—and so on). These plates that form the earth’s crust sit atop the mantle, which is semi-molten—a thick liquid, if you will. Hard plates, sitting atop a molten foundation, … [Read more...] about How To Prevent Spiritual “Earthquakes” In Your Life