Satan knows when we are weak. He loves to tempt us when we are hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. Take hunger for example: Satan came to tempt Jesus after he fasted 40 days in the wilderness. But thankfully, Jesus resisted temptation and serves as our example of how to trust and depend on our heavenly Father. Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or… Read More »
In his book Loving Well, William P. Smith recounts a story of an elder sharing that he and his wife thought the secret to the success of their 27-year-long marriage was that they had learned how to be patient with each other. He went on to say that he thought that was similar to our… Read More »
Do you ever feel powerless in the storms of life? Does life ever feel unbearable? There may be periods in life when a storm comes upon us. Perhaps your storm is financial. Perhaps it is relational. Or perhaps it is an internal struggle that no one knows about. Regardless, peace seems no where to be found.… Read More »
It is easy for me to become impatient with those that I love the most. Perhaps this is because there are more opportunities for me to sin given the time I spend with loved ones, or perhaps I practice less self-control around loved ones because I’m not afraid of what they think of me! I… Read More »
Is forgiveness conditioned on repentance? In other words, would you be a softy for forgiving someone who shows no remorse for his wrong doing and offers no signs of repentance? Perhaps your offender doesn’t even know he did anything wrong and is oblivious to his actions, or even worse, perhaps he adamantly insists that he… Read More »
This is a guest post by Pastor Mike Sharrett, a pastor that has served in the PCA. Paul makes the amazing assertion in Philippians 3:20 that “our citizenship is in heaven.” That no doubt resonated well with his audience because Philippi was a Roman colony and therefore its inhabitants enjoyed the rights and privileges of… Read More »
(Authors note: As I read this blog post a decade later (2023) and having grown in my understanding of how oppression desecrates the image of God in both the oppressor and the victim, I want to clarify that there are times to leave an oppressive relationship. There are Biblical examples of people fleeing for safety… Read More »
The next time you face a conflict, consider whether you are forgetting your duty, depravity, or destiny. In the final Keynote Address of the 2013 Peacemaker Conference, Tara Barthel, a “recovering attorney”, wife, and mother gave us the 3 D’s checklist of remembrance, a tool that has served her well in dealing with conflict. We can… Read More »
This is a guest post by Pastor William Harrell, the founding pastor at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, a PCA church in Norfolk, Virginia. For over 30 years, “Pastor Bill” has faithfully served the flock in preaching, teaching, and pastoring. We are familiar with our Lord’s teaching concerning the speck we can so readily see in our brother’s… Read More »
At the 2013 Peacemaker Conference, Daniel Teater, the President of Live at Peace Ministries, had the opportunity to call us to strive for unity. Using Philippians 1:27 to 2:11, he asked us,”What gospel is your life gospelling?” In other words, what news is your life transmitting? What good news is your life proclaiming? Daniel explained… Read More »