Don’t Let Painful Experiences Cripple Your Life
James 1:2-3: ‘Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, 3 for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow,…
James 1:2-3: ‘Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, 3 for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow,…
I love dreaming about and planning for tomorrow. Want to draw up a strategic plan? Count me in. Want to talk about which young basketball or football star will have…
Joy. The dictionary defines it as “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.” The apostle James tells us to “Consider it pure joy,…
All of us realize that we live in a broken world that is not getting any better, yet few of us are doing something ahead of time to prepare for…
Recently, my Bible study group came face-to-face with the age-old problem: “Why do the righteous suffer?” After almost an hour of discussion, a member of our group said, “I’ve recently…
Lessons from the life of King David. Here’s a blueprint for how to survive when we walk through the lowest parts of our lives. www.northcoastchurch.com.
Christ’s departure from this planet was not a departure from His church. He promised His disciples before He ascended to heaven, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). And in…
Philippians makes clear that our stories are living expressions of Jesus’ story.” As Christ-followers, we’re called to emulate Jesus by living a life of joy, prayer, and perseverance through hardship.…
When you set out with intention to fulfill God’s purpose for your life, you are going to face resistance and encounter roadblocks. They are inevitable. Take Nola Ochs, for example.…
“I have fought long and hard for my Lord, and through it all I have kept true to him. And now the time has come for me to stop fighting…
By now you have discovered that we who are Christians are surrounded! There seems to always be more who are against us than who are for us. We face the…
“Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants…Ephraim did not dive out the Canaanites…Zubulun did not drive out the inhabitants…Asher did not drive out the inhabitants…Naphtali did not drive out…
What is the full effect of steadfastness? That we lack nothing. When we are discontent, we think that we lack something. “If only I had…” James tells us that when…
To call someone a fool is serious business. Jesus warned against it in the Sermon on the Mount: “Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew…
If you have ever tried to walk straight while aboard a ship being tossed by the ocean’s waves, you know how hard that is. The motion around you challenges the…
Yellowed and shriveled up, the sight before me was inconceivable. The cactus looked dead but was flush with flowers. Gently and carefully my coworker moved around the thorns to pick…
The instructions were simple, but I was struggling to actually believe them. “Make sure you transplant the cactus and succulents with dry soil.” Really? These directions confused me because before…
Hebrews 12:27 moment—everything that can be shaken will be shaken. God is shaking false securities and false identities, false assumptions, and false narratives, false idols, and false ideologies. But we…
Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in…
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4 Diligence is the constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken. —Atal…
When you set out with intention to fulfill God’s purpose for your life, you are going to face resistance and encounter roadblocks. They are inevitable. Take Nola Ochs, for example.…
Change is inevitable, and it can be a difficult thing in life. Over my 25-plus years of leadership, I’ve learned six critical moves to solving life problems and I want…
Jesus gave us a clear picture of what “readiness” looks like in his parable about wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-8: “At that time the kingdom of heaven will…
Paul, in his first epistle to the Thessalonians, clarified further what the concept of “being ready for the coming of the Lord” is all about. He used the same analogy-being…
Dear Roger, I have a question: If our salvation is eternally secure, why does the Bible warn so strongly against apostasy? Sincerely, Weldon Dear Weldon, Let’s begin by defining the word,…
GOD CAME TO US AND OFFERED HIMSELF. HOW DO WE RETURN TO HIM? Psalm 51, was penned by David immediately after Nathan the prophet had confronted him. It is one…
Dear Roger, COVID-19 is still here! All over the world, nations are continually trying to eradicate it. People still seem frightened, frustrated and angry. I know that we are continuing…
“How can God just do nothing?” This was the vulnerable and honest question I got from someone in the audience during a recent Q&A. The pain in her question was…
Have you ever stopped praying because you have lost heart, or feel like you’re just repeating yourself, or wonder if God really hears you and your words just bounce off…
Years ago, on the advice of an older and wiser Christian, I began trying to pray through the Psalms once every month. Don’t be too impressed—I seldom make it through…
I want to talk today about you. There are a lot of questions about what kind of unique witness should the church have at a time like this—how do you…
We all have a place we want to go, a goal we want to achieve. But one of the biggest challenges in getting to where we want to go is…
The world needs leaders, especially during times of uncertainty. But not just any leaders. King Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by God in a drastic way, but learned from his suffering to…
How would someone in your trials respond if they were confident? God was with them. If they were absolutely confident that it was more to their circumstances than meets the…
So what’s needed to have stronger faith, the faith of Paul? What’s needed is that tenacity. What’s needed is that spirit that says, hold on a second. I’m not going…
How can I possibly wait on God? Why do you call it “Wait Time”? Once I was visiting with a friend about the time we spend waiting on God,…
“I don’t even know why we’re here. Nothing is going to change.” I’ve heard those words many times in counseling sessions. And I’ve felt those words from the posture, from…
Some years ago I passed through a time of discouragement. I can’t remember the source of the struggle, but I recall the fruit. I created a tool for divine encouragement.…
“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and…
Are you an effective leader? If not, have you ever wondered why? As a leader, there are things you do every day. Some help—others, not so much. I’ve found that…
How can God use stress in our lives to produce good. How can it conform us to the image of Christ. Randy Alcorn writes: 1. God uses stress to get…
There was a man who started on a life journey only to see it come crashing down as he exited in failure. What was a hopeful beginning ended in bitter…
One night after I had gone to bed early, the phone rang, and when my son picked up he heard a woman weeping on the other end. She was crying…
Dear Roger, I have a question about what has been termed to be “earning my crown.” My husband and I want to hear your explanation of what earning “jewels in…
How do we pray for our protectors? Over 1.3 million U.S. military members currently deployed to Afghanistan and other contingencies around the globe. Each of these has mothers and fathers…
The most important influence to my pastoral counseling is from David Powlison. Powlison was a professor at the seminary my wife Angel graduated from and has had an indelible impact…
Once on a mission trip to Pakistan I saw an appalling sight in the market place. A man was begging with a gazillion flies swarming around an open sore on…
We’ve all done it. We’ve all invested time and energy into someone or something and then come to the horrible conclusion that nothing is changing. Nothing we seem to do…
Intercessors live on the frontier of change. We are positioned to stand between the needs of man and the provision of God. Because we are the agents of redemption, Satan…
Lysa encourages us to persevere when life gets hard: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of…
“You’re going to die, retire, quit or get fired,” said Jim Collins (the author of Good to Great). “You’ll not pastor your church forever.” “What!” I thought, as he…
How are we supposed to do our work “as unto the Lord?” I’d like to give some Bible tips for students, stay at home moms and dads, those who don’t…
So many people never receive what God has promised because they don’t persevere. The first reason is because our perspective gets blocked. Secondly, I think a lot of us stop short…
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 NIV Do you know how to comfort and reassure your children? When tragedy, disease and death strike as…
Mark 6:32–56 Successful ministry involves meeting people’s needs in the power of God. Disciples commissioned by the divinely powerful Jesus are themselves divinely empowered by him to meet any need.…
Jesus had to live a worthy life to die and unworthy death. He didn’t just die for me. He died as me. That’s the power of salvation.” God had faith in you enough to…
Rejoice. Refuse to resent. Recognize God’s Hand at work. Appreciate all seasons of life. Don’t confuse the supply with the Source. Recognize. Release. Receive. Remain. Preached at Elevation Church. Used…
Know your Enemy’s strategy: temptation, lies and condemnation. Overcome by being tethered to the truth, led by the Holy Spirit and understanding the compassion of God. Only those who know…
We constantly find ourselves captivated by a whole lot of things. There’s a seemingly endless bunch of stuff that we become absolutely fascinated with and fixated upon, sometimes to the…
Could be God preparing us for the future, so that we are ready to share our faith in a post-Christian culture, under persecution? Or are we so complacent that we…
I just heard a bad sermon today (visiting friends, of course). I tried not to sleep through it. Forty-five minutes of meticulous theology rapidly delivered in a soft monotone. Zzzzzz…..…
How do we learn to persevere in the challenges of our lives? We play hurt. In the world of athletics, the phrase playing hurt is used to describe an athlete who continues…
Jon Acuff’s best-selling book provides unique insights for you to progress from average to awesome. Here are some of his thoughts: Over the last 100 years, the road to success…
Sitting on a friend’s porch watching a cloud-lit sunset is hardly the image you may have of how a savage rape occurs. But that’s my story. As I waited…
Courageous commitment doesn’t make sense and it never will. It didn’t in Daniel’s day and it doesn’t in ours-but as we learn in the unusual suspect of Daniel, because of…
What do you do when storms crash around you? Stay in the boat, hold onto Jesus. When life becomes difficult, you deepen your roots in faith. Watch the sermon “Planted…
People have a desire to be know by others. All of us have an appetite to be known, but the thing about an appetite is it can never fully and…
The greatest seasons of faith in our lives don’t occur when we’re on the mountain top, when life is going as planned and God’s favor is most tangible. In reality,…
Hebrews 12 is a key passage in perseverance in the faith. Heaven is cheering us on. Jesus is the pioneer who inspires us to run the race without giving up.…
God loves us. He has rescued us and He has a plan for us. These are some of the foundational statements our faith found in scripture. And when we read…
We are inspired to persevere, to protect each other and to live with strong values and strong faith from the builder generation. From them, we can be inspired to press…
David’s darkest hour running from King Saul was the day he returned home to Ziklag to find his family, flocks, and food cruelly ripped away. How did David deal with…
In my reading this past month, I discovered that Immanuel Kant made a case for a Christian sexual ethic but without using any appeal to the Bible or theology. In…
Preach It, Teach It has presented various discussions regarding the issue of homosexuality. Tom Terry, seasoned author, is presenting his own view on the volatile issue of gay discrimination. What…
“It is not God who hinders the healing of our land. Rather it is our apathy, our own unbelief, that keeps us from grasping the potential offered in the Gospel…
Dear Roger, Do you have to publicly become a Christian or can you do it in private? Sincerely, Anonymous Dear Anonymous, When I was growing up every worship service…
Good conversation with God is like tennis, with back and forth exchange. Prayer is two-way communication. God not only hears you, but you can hear Him. In other words, prayer…
My wife had a bad experience with Chick-Fil-A. But here’s the truth: sometimes we have a single bad experience and never go back. We eat at Chick-Fil-A at least two…
Every year, it seems, the amount of attention paid to the mechanics and outcomes of partisan politics grows. Thirty years ago there was nothing like this amount of attention given…
The fullest expression of Christian living has to be a combination of God’s truth entering the head, igniting the heart, and outworking through the hands. If we’re going to enjoy…
A friend of mine commented the other day that whereas Paul calls us to work out our salvation with “fear and trembling” he felt more that his was being worked…
The Israelites didn’t want to be facing the Red Sea with the Egyptian Army breathing down their necks. They thought God made a mistake. But it’s because we are totally…
The desperate widow who begged Jesus for help, the neighbor who continued to knock and beg for bread were stories Jesus told to cause us to have indomitable faith and…
Disasters and detours in our lives jar and disorient us. They “rattle the cage.” You get a bad diagnosis or a pink slip or divorce papers. Often those things…
Jesus was not always welcomed warmly by earth-travelers. Some saw Him as a threat. Some saw Him as a heretic. Most saw Him as an enigma. Not everyone in Jesus’…
Jesus was not always welcomed warmly by earth-travelers. Some saw Him as a threat. Some saw Him as a heretic. Most saw Him as an enigma. Not everyone in Jesus’…
Here I am toe-tapping again, my silent protest to waiting. My body weight shifts every few minutes as I check my watch and tap some more. I can feel the…
A great start in our Christian walk matters little if we finish poorly. If we refuse to listen to the voice of God, ignore spiritual values and base our conduct…
Jesus knows about the afflictions, poverty and persecution the church at Smyrna has endured. This has not changed for us today. He intimately knows our pressures, needs and misunderstandings, but…
Each of us has a race to run and everyone of us can finish well. Great racers strip down and develop endurance.
Sometimes there are compelling realities to life that move us to action. The resurrection should move us to take a risk with no reserves, no retreat and no regrets.
Spiritual warfare is an essential component of our discipleship. Spiritual warfare and a Biblical world-view are defined.
The test of faith is to stand firm and follow in the footsteps of Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 11 gives us a litany of faithful…
Peter emphasizes the paradox of experiencing joy in the midst of suffering. We can know God’s grace and peace when we suffer for His name and live in the hope…