Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 64 – Suffering and Comfort
by TJ Bates Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. –2 Corinthians 1:3-5 It isn't uncommon to hear cancer patients describe how they were
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 52 – Anger and Patience
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all: he has compassion on all he has made. -Psalm 145:8-9 "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…" Not only a sweet sound, but, "What a relief! God could have been anything he wanted to be, but he is actually gracious and compassionate. In our Western or 'Christianized' world we're so used to hearing about 'amazing grace' that it doesn't seem so amazing anymore." "…Whatever pain
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 39 – The Destination
by TJ Bates via Theology Mix I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. -Romans 8:18 Have heard of the Navy Seal motto during "Hell Week" (the last week of training)? It is "Pain is good. Extreme pain is extremely good." I hadn't heard it before and I can't say I agree with it. However, when I hear about the amazing feats a Navy Seal performs, then I realize the end
From the Pastor: God Feels Our Pain
“Jesus wept,” are some of the most powerful words that we find in Scripture. Jesus is weeping at the death of Lazarus, even though he knows he’s about to raise him from the dead. So why is he weeping when inexpressible joy and the most astonishing miracle in his ministry is about to occur? Jesus could well have said to Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, “Why are you grieving so much? I’m about to show you how little a thing death is.” But
