Date:
December 18, 2023Plain Old Hard Work
Whether you’re completing a university degree, harvesting potatoes, or planting a church, anything worth doing takes dedication and a lot of hard work.
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Encouragement
In the classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character, Christian, tumbles into the miry bog, the “slough of despond,” and struggles to get free. But the heavy burden on his back pulls him in deeper, and he begins to sink.
This image pictures what it feels like when we’re sinking in difficult circumstances—when our debts outweigh our income, when past hurts won’t heal, when discontentment marks our relationships, and when the light of heaven seems distant and dim. Discouragement, despondency, pain, suffering—these miry pits along life’s journey can pull us down into our own “slough of despond.”
Christian’s rescue came by the hand of a fellow traveller named Help...and the same is true for you today. Use these resources to find encouragement for your own life...or to minister help to those you find along life’s journey.
Background Workers
Being unknown doesn’t mean a person is unimportant. Without the behind-the-scenes support people, very little would get done. If you’re in the background, never doubt the significant impact you make with your loyalty, commitment, and support.
The Reality of Death
Death is inevitable, but even death can’t threaten God’s ultimate protection over our lives. We can trust God to protect us from now till the dawning of eternity.
A Place Like No Other
The church is a place like no other. You’ll rarely find such a supportive community elsewhere in life. When you hurt there are people who will stay with you and suffer with you.
Go For It
How few are those who see beyond the danger...who say to those on the edge of some venture, “Go for it!” I suppose it's related to one's inner ability to imagine, to envision, to be enraptured by the unseen, all the hazards and hardships notwithstanding.
People On Our Path
We meet all sorts of people on our path. Some we meet only briefly, and yet God uses seemingly insignificant events to shape us. The people we meet on our path leave us forever changed, and we do the same for them.
Finding Balance between Abundant Life and Challenges
If Jesus promised an abundant, rich and satisfying life, how could He also promise many trials and sorrows? Aren’t those opposites? Why is the Christian life abundantly difficult at times?
Attitude of Gratitude
Do you believe God is at work in your current situation? Chuck Swindoll explains how faith is strongly related to the attitude we have as we begin each day.
The Rewards of a Life Well-Lived
If someone went over your life with a fine-tooth comb, what would he find? As Chuck says, the rewards of a life well-lived never end. They continue from generation to generation.
Authentic Influencer: The Barnabas Way of Shaping Lives for Jesus
Every follower of Jesus must do the same. Influence in your little corner of the world begins there. This is precisely why Barnabas’s account is given to us in the book of Acts—he is a role model for followers of Jesus.
