Advent Meditation: Hope Fulfilled

Advent Meditation: Hope Fulfilled – “The advent of Christ wasn’t meant to be a surprise. God had been promising his people a serpent-crushing offspring from the earliest pages of the Bible (Gen. 3:15). The real story of Christmas isn’t a story of surprise but of fulfillment.”

Which Jesus Do You See in Your Suffering?

Which Jesus Do You See in Your Suffering? – “As with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, our Savior refuses to sit back and watch us suffer alone. Christ became man to identify, suffer, and walk with his people before saving us, forever binding himself to us intimately.”

Burdened Excessively and Despairing of Life

Burdened Excessively and Despairing of Life – “Through the unshakable Hope available in Christ Jesus we have an invitation to be comforted and delivered through every affliction by the living God who promises to uphold his children with His righteous right hand.”

Borrowed Strength

Borrowed Strength – “Hope is warranted. Hope is essential and real and it’s different from wishing or dreaming, because real hope built on the person of Jesus.”

Jesus Gives Grace, Not Pep-Talks

Jesus Gives Grace, Not Pep-Talks – “Jesus, free us to get the help we need, the counsel we lack, and the replenishment you promise. Also, give us your compassion for fellow strugglers.” 

How to Build Hope

How to Build Hope – “To build hope doesn’t happen by turning on a switch. A totally rebuilt life doesn’t just drop out of the sky.”

Traveling Down the Road to Biblical Illiteracy

Traveling Down the Road to Biblical Illiteracy – “America is traveling down the road to biblical illiteracy. Here is an example that recently took place.”

 

How to Pull Yourself Out of a Funk

How to Pull Yourself Out of a Funk – “Pay attention to these four steps—even if you’re not in a funk now, you’ll likely fall into one later and need help climbing out.”

Biblical Hope Is a Solid Certainty

Biblical Hope Is a Solid Certainty – “To many of us, ‘hope’ sounds wishful and tentative, but biblical hope means to anticipate with trust.

Biblical Hope Is a Solid Certainty

Biblical Hope Is a Solid Certainty – “The Christian worldview doesn’t offer some vague, tenuous hope that there might be eternal life and happiness.”

The Funny Thing About Hope

The Funny Thing About Hope – This article offers some practical things to do when you are struggling with hope, in addition to helping us ground it in God’s character and Word.

The Funny Thing about Hope

The Funny Thing about Hope – “Two specific narratives help us understand the importance of hope better.”

Sleep Beneath His Promises: Learning Rest from the Psalms

Sleep Beneath His Promises: Learning Rest from the Psalms – “If the Lord really is our shepherd, then our wants do not require a worried and wakeful heart. He can do far more in our sleeping than we can do in our waking. And whatever needs tomorrow holds, his provision will prove equal to the task.”

Entering Grief and Risking Hope

Entering Grief and Risking Hope – “We have never been more ready to celebrate Easter. Our hope is profoundly sure because Jesus’ tomb is completely empty.”

What God Can Make from a Shattered Life

What God Can Make from a Shattered Life – “Some pain fills the whole frame of this life. Some wounds never heal fully in this world. Some hopes follow us, still deferred, into the grave. But glory is coming.”

To Love Life and See Good Days

To Love Life and See Good Days – “How many of us desire to love life and see good days? My guess is it is all of us. Only the jaded have abandoned this hope. This desire for the good life may seem like something from the self-help section, but it is directly from scripture.” 

Your Past Does Not Have To Be Your Future

Your Past Does Not Have To Be Your Future – “Stop living in the past and get busy living for the future God has for you.”

The Keys and Key to Everything

The Keys and Key to Everything – For every trouble, fear, or pain – Jesus is and has the key.

How to Pray When the Prognosis Is Grim

How to Pray When the Prognosis Is Grim – “If God is sovereign, and he has allowed this illness, am I submitting to his will if I desire and ask for healing? If I ask for healing and it doesn’t come, at some point does my asking become discontent? Am I required to pray for healing? And what should I expect if I do?”

7 Reasons Winter Reminds Us to Hold on to Hope

7 Reasons Winter Reminds Us to Hold on to Hope – Here are “seven reminders to hold on to hope; whether in the physical season of winter or the personal wintery trials we encounter.”