Posts Tagged ‘Victory’
How Family Tragedies Shape Lives
As with most first-person accounts, President Theodore Roosevelt’s autobiography provides unique insight and observations that would be missing from the full record of his life had it not been written. One extraordinary thing about Roosevelt’s autobiography is what is learned by what he omits. Roosevelt was married to a young socialite named Alice Hathaway. Two…
Read MoreAnger Management (from Proverbs)
If a parent constantly criticizes you, a co-worker gossips about you, a spouse commits adultery against you, an employee steals from you, or a friend hurts you by their actions or words, it is difficult to manage the anger, bitterness, and desire for revenge that you may feel. Anger can take over your life and…
Read MoreHappily Ever After?
Psalm 88 is a lament. The psalmist is greatly distressed and emotional. Most interpreters of the psalm believe the reason for the distress lies in some type of terminal illness. Loneliness and spiritual distress accompany physical illness. The psalm reflects this as well. Many psalms have a theme which connects judgment from God with the…
Read MoreGuns and Sanctification
The recent tragedy of the shooting in Florida reminds us once again of man’s depravity and his need for salvation through Jesus Christ to receive a changed heart. The wake of this egregious crime certainly has spurred debate about guns, but common sense recognizes the truth of the adage, “The only thing that stops a…
Read MoreVictory over Sin
George Stiekes Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth forever. If the Son therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed. John 8:34-36 Sin enslaves people for two reasons: 1)…
Read MoreThere Are No Unique or Hopeless Problems
John Vaughn Greatly discouraged believers are usually those facing problems that have them bewildered. The attitude that says, “No one has ever been through anything like this,” or “It’s hopeless; there is absolutely nothing I can do!” compounds the pain of overwhelming circumstances. The value of the Old Testament to the Christian is not only…
Read MoreStubborn, Ceaseless Civil War (2)
Mark Minnick In Part One, Dr. Minnick writes to us of the struggle of the spiritual life, instructing us of the Nature of the struggle and assuring us of the Normalcy of the struggle. The Enormity of This Struggle Though everything described thus far is the normal experience of all Christians, it isn’t their experience…
Read MoreStubborn, Ceaseless Civil War (1)
Mark Minnick All Christ’s followers, ministers or otherwise, are in one of three states of spiritual warfare: (1) some have given up battling almost entirely, (2) some are battling weakly but generally unsuccessfully, and (3) some are battling energetically and generally victoriously. But there is no such thing as a child of God who is…
Read MoreThe Competitive Nature of the Christian Life
Walter Kirk When one enters the Christian life through belief and trust in Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior, he also enters into the arena of conflict and competition. The Christian life is by its nature competitive. The old life prior to conversion has been shed, and the believer now stands on God’s side,…
Read MoreThe Certainty of Sanctification
by Don Johnson An occasional series on sanctification — Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here. We’ve covered two topics in this series so far, the Strategy of Sanctification (Rm 6) and the Struggle for Sanctification (Rm 7). God offers us the former and we generally experience the latter. When you get to the…
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