All of us need encouragement. We need somebody to believe in us. To reassure and reinforce us. To help us pick up the pieces and go on. To fuel our flame of determination as we face the odds against us.
For some, devotions are like a placebo. People go through the motions but since there are no active ingredients, the effect is minimal.
Everyone struggles with some sort of weakness, deprivation, affliction, attack, or test from time to time. Jesus exemplifies how even in the face of such severe circumstances we can stand strong.
Clipping away the dead growth on a grapevine is hard work. But any gardener can tell you, pruning is an essential step if you want the vine to flourish! Chuck Swindoll describes how God prunes His children…so we can be healthy and produce spiritual fruit!
If you were to list the basic essentials for life, you would likely include air, water, food, and perhaps shelter. But what about friendship? Chuck Swindoll argues that companionship isn’t a perk, it’s a requirement for life.
There’s no shortage of preachers who offer a “prosperity gospel” promising health, wealth, and happiness. While those outcomes are wonderful, they’re not guaranteed! Chuck Swindoll reminds us that as followers of Christ, we will face persecution.
An allegory is an extended metaphor in which the characters are symbols representing other things. While a typical parable is told in order to teach one important matter, an allegory teaches numerous hidden truths throughout the story.
While Jesus was indeed gentle and kind, He also took a bold stand against sin. In fact, His formidable anger took many by surprise. From the example of Jesus, we learn how to stand up for the truth, even as we suffer persecution for doing what is right.
One of Jesus’ most vivid metaphors is of a vine and branches found in John 15:1–11. Pastor Chuck Swindoll unfolds the symbolism of the Father as the vinedresser, Jesus as the sustaining vine, and believers as the branches.
Like the branch of a grapevine should bear grapes, a believer should bear the fruit of a Christlike character.
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Insight for Living is committed to excellence in communicating the truths of Scripture and the Person of Jesus Christ in an accurate, clear, and practical manner so that people will come to an understanding of God’s plan for their lives, as well as their significant role as authentic Christians in a needy, hostile, and desperate world.
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