Trials

In order to preserve civilization, decisive action against terror organizations is not an option.  Can we forgive our enemies, as Jesus mandated, and crush them at the same time?  Can …

“We seem to lurch from tragedy to tragedy, shooting to shooting, bombing to bombing. The kids didn’t deserve such a death. Their parents don’t deserve such grief. And we received …

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, …

Tests and trials are unavoidable, but the way we respond to them is up to us. Join us for the next talk in our series Far from Perfect as we take a …

Here is a word I haven’t dared to use when I’ve faced relationship issues or tensions in the past. I’ve avoided it. I’ve been afraid to name it. I’ve ignored …

Have You Learned to Speak To The Storm? In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus had just finished ministering to the multitudes…and He was about to display to His disciples His authoritative reign over the …

Forgiving someone who wronged you can be hard—it might even seem impossible. We’re learning what can happen when we unlock the power of forgiveness. From the latest headline to social …

Paul faced many kinds of trauma throughout his ministry. Here are just a few: Acute: a response from a one-time traumatic event Chronic: a long-term response from prolonged or repeated …

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 …

Dark Times Are Permitted by God. They enhance the presence of God. They are a pathway for God and include perks from God. skipheitzig.com.      

James tells us that we can find joy in suffering because it causes us to be conformed to the image of Jesus. www.newlifebiblefellowship.org

God uses suffering for his glory and our growth. Sermon begins at 19:00 Preached at New Life Bible Fellowship, Tucson, Arizona. Team sermon by Greg Lavine and John Beeson

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 …

Introduction Whenever a teacher in school gave you a test, they never had much to say during the test. The teacher had nothing to say because the test was designed …

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 …

In sixth century BC, Babylon was the preeminent power in the world, and this passage shows how they conquered Israel and deported the professional classes, including artisans, scholars, and government …

We saw the storm coming. While it was still days away, the predictions chilled our spines and jolted our complacency. “It’s a monster!” “Disaster is not only at our doorstep, …

What do you do when you feel like you’re slipping? Discover four handles for when what you are holding feels too heavy and how to carry on when what you …

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 …

Dear Roger, My life is a constant struggle. I feel like everything is falling apart. I feel depressed and miserable. My marriage is crumbling. I just lost my job. I pray to …

Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their …

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 …

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.  Attending …

Moore says, “The courage to stand is the courage to be crucified.” Indeed, Jesus sets the tone for this book. And if you’re going to worship and follow a Savior …

What do we do when our worst, out of control fears come true? JOB’S WORST FEARS CAME TRUE. JOB 1:1: In the land of Uz there lived a man whose …

The day had arrived. It was beyond sad. It was solemn, and it was heavy. Without hesitation we were there to support, to console, and to be present. In what …

“Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.” Isaiah 35:3 One of the reasons we make a trip to the desert is so God can heal us. God …

Do you ever get tired of the spin? It even affects the language that we use. John Ortberg has noted how our language has changed a little bit over the …

Perhaps the biggest impediment to believing in God (as stated by those who don’t) is the presence of pain and suffering in the world. How can there be a God …

Dear Roger,   I’ve had a very hurtful past. My wife abused me. She was angry and mean to the children. Of course, we’ve all had our share of physical …

  Dear Roger,   I recently attended the funeral of one of my best friends. As I listened to the comments, I was surprised by how many people weren’t really …

In Genesis 32:24-32 we find the story of Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the twin brother of Esau.  After deceiving his brother, Esau, out of his birthright (Genesis 27), …

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 …

“Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil and let us see what we are made of.” —Charles Spurgeon I agree with Charles Spurgeon: Trials are indeed a …

I see the face of a man who failed. . . who failed his Maker. Again. I promised I wouldn’t, but I did. I was quiet when I should have …

God is sovereign, wise, just, and merciful. He governs all things, making no mistakes, doing no one wrong, and making all things serve the everlasting joy of undeserving persons who …

God never guarantees that the Christian life will be smooth or easy. In fact, he promises the opposite: “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” …

Sarah is my favorite woman in the Bible. Flawed but faithful, she inspires me to finish my race well. Although I stumble and struggle along the way, I know I will …

I’ve decided that my life verse is Jeremiah 29:11-13. I’m usually not one to post about the new year. However, the lessons I’ve learned from studying these verses were ones …

I’ve decided that my verse for the new year is Jeremiah 29:11-13. I’m usually not one to post about the new year. However, the lessons I’ve learned from studying these …

We all struggle with evil. David expressed his sorrow and frustration in this psalm. “How Long, O God?” David struggled – and then he prayed fervently. When pain, heartache, injustice and …

Extreme weather is now a daily news story. Storms are coming. The sun is searing hot. Fires are blazing. Snows will suddenly follow. Hurricanes and typhoons pummel our shores. We …

Dear Roger, I have an inoperable brain tumor. The pain is increasing. I am on heavy pain medicines. It still hurts. I’ve read several articles on dealing with pain, done …

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 …

Dear Roger,   Greetings in Jesus name.   Let me be sincere with you, things are NOT well with us. Due to the challenges we have undergone last year in …

The day had arrived. It was beyond sad. It was solemn, and it was heavy. Without hesitation we were there to support, to console, and to be present. In what …

“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you …

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 …

“Don’t look now,” said Steve, our associate pastor of counseling. “I see Don Perry sitting with his fourth wife. Wives one and three just walked up the aisle and sat …

“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 …

Dear Roger, I’m scared for my brother. He’s turned his back on Christianity. All of us kids grew up in church and got baptized when we were children. Mom and …

Dear Roger, I see temptations, trials, and testing in the Bible. Are they different? How does God use them in our lives?   Sincerely, Mike   Dear Mike,   Solve …

When I was diagnosed with cancer, the question “Why me?” was a natural one. Later, when I survived but others with the same kind of cancer died, I also had …

Sometimes misery comes in waves.  For me that was the year both my parents died.  I also lost both our dogs that year; my oldest child left for college and …

Roger, My best friend and I were talking recently and he said to me during a discussion about God that, “the bible was written for people who lived a long …

Circumstances. You face them every day, you are always reacting to them–positively or negatively. Think about it. What situations in your life do you wish would change right now? A different …

We learn from Paul’s bout with the stormy Mediterranean Sea that all of us occasionally face “the perfect storm.” When a sequence of catastrophic events rock our world, Paul reminds …

  This study is a comprehensive look at a difficult topic. Please read the article in its entirety. Although this article is specifically about homosexuality, all iterations of LGBTQ+ issues …

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 …

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 …

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, …

Ed Young Jr. describes why God allows us to suffer, and how pain shapes us into the people God wants us to be. Pain is purposeful, building our faith. Pain …

In Memory of Dr. Dallas Willard-May, 2013. Let us understand “wisdom” in the following manner: a person has wisdom provided that (i) he understands the certain and the probable sources …

Who is your enemy? Perhaps you think of Satan or a political leader. Yet, it could be a family member, ex-spouse, neighbor or the person who just cut you off …

Furnaces come in all shapes and sizes. Some are the fires fueled by pain and suffering. Some fires are caused by our broken world. Some fires are heated for God’s …

Acts 16:19: “And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers. “ …

I would suggest that most of us have one of two models of forgiveness: a Brita model or a leaky spigot model.  The Brita model is the American model, the …

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’ …

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 …

No matter what kind of pressure we are under, the Lord understands and comforts us. Even while being stoned, Stephen sees the glory of God and testifies of his Savior. …