Real Trust
Trust in God is often expressed by our restraint. We are expected to recognize that God is present, aware and lovingly involved in every difficult situation we face. It is required that Christians curb many of…
patience
Grace, Patience & Persistence
We should give thanks for all of God’s kind provisions as we patiently and uncompromisingly stand up for Christ in our increasingly hostile culture.
Praying
Reading through the Psalms can yield enlightening insights regarding what constitutes a godly prayer life. As we read these lines from God’s inspired Psalter we might expect lofty and refined theological ideas encased in polished and pietistic lyrics. Instead, we often encounter the raw emotions of…
Perseverance
So many Christian virtues orbit around the “stick-to-itiveness” of the biblical word “perseverance”. To be patient or long-suffering, to look to the future with steadfast hope or “wait on the Lord”, to endure trials or persistently pray – these all relate to this fundamental godly trait called perseverance. To exercise biblical
Desert Attitudes
When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, the destination was the promised land of Canaan – a land of abundance and rest. The route was through the desert – which by contrast was hot, difficult and filled with discomfort. As is so often the case, God’s good plans include a path through the desert. From the perspective of the New Testament
Scriptural Reasons & Reasonable Explanations
Knowing Christians will have sincere and ardent disagreements, we should be ready when needed to employ reasoned and scriptural explanations in pursuit of Christian peace and unity.
Pain and Suffering
Like any good parent, there are times when God brings difficulty, pain and loss to the lives of his children. The biblical reasons vary, but the hurt is always real. And when those times come it is good to remember
Persistent Prayer
Most Christians are quickly stirred to guilt whenever the topic of prayer is raised. We all know we need to pray more often. And so we should. But as we increase our time in prayer, let us also remember to apply the words of Christ when he told us that we…
The Postponement for Moses
The vindication of the gospel always involves waiting, difficulties, and rejection—but God provides the resources to patiently and resolutely endure.
The Preparation of Moses
We have every reason to fully trust in God’s good promises, knowing how he has faithfully worked and is providentially working to deliver on them all.
Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness
We must learn the definition and application of kindness from an ongoing biblical study of God’s character, in prayerful hope of reflecting that same godly kindness in our relationships.
Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
Christians are promised to have the strength to power through all of the daily demands of life as we hope in the faithful promises and perfect timing of our Sovereign God.
Patience
It should not come as a surprise to those of us who make it our practice to ponder timeless biblical principles and worship an eternal God, that many aspects of the Christian life are going to require a lot more waiting…
Wait Patiently
Sometimes the way we read the Bible becomes a disservice to our Christian life. When a tension is presented in the plot of a biblical narrative we naturally “can’t wait” to see how it will be resolved; so we rush on to see how God works it all out. And after we’ve become familiar
Patience and Peace
Because God often makes his children wait for relief, deliverance, and blessings, we must seek to cultivate a patient and trust-filled prayer life, knowing that God is faithful to lovingly do what’s best for his children.
Confident in God’s Justice
We ought patiently endure this present age with great faith, confidently working and praying for God’s will in everything, always looking with hope for the return of Christ and the establishment of his kingdom.
How NOT to Persist in Prayer
We must be mature in our praying, not continuing to pray for just anything, but knowing that the call to persevere in prayer is qualified throughout the Bible by a number of wise and godly factors.
Patience & Forgiveness
Because for now our Christian friendships will be periodically marked by insensitive actions and sinful transgressions, we must for Christ’s sake resolve ahead of time to reflect God’s patience and forgiveness.
Our Struggle to Say “Any Time”
We must be flexible with God’s sovereign timing in our lives because he knows when everything is ready for us to make the impact he desires.
Curbing Your Appetites
We must be vigilant to the ways our legitimate desires are exploited to entice us to disregard God’s promised provision so we’ll pursue unbiblical means of satisfaction.
When Nothing Seems Fair
Though we experience a lot of painful inequities in this life we must replace frustration & complaining with a trust in God’s justice and a focus on his incomparable benefits.
Working to Rest in God’s Justice
When treated unjustly we must patiently entrust our situation to a just and loving God who promises that one way or another he will settle the score on every sinful act.
Discovering the Patience of Christian Hope
We must patiently work through the internal frustration inherent in the Christian life knowing that almost all the benefits God promised us are postponed until the next life.
Trusting God When Hope Seems Lost
We must tenaciously trust in the goodness of God even when he makes us wait for his perfect timing or introduces a divinely designed detour.
Abraham-A Fascinating Template of Promises & Faith
God’s covenant with Abraham shows us that while God’s promises are trustworthy & gracious, they will require a lot of faith & patience before they are fully realized.
Practicing Wholehearted Forgiveness
We can never be real friends with imperfect people until we learn to forgive quickly and completely.
