What is the most important thing you can tell a Christian who feels defeated? Although “we have the victory in Christ,” many times throughout our journeys we will feel defeated. Whether it’s because we are dealing with repetitive sin, spiritual warfare, hormonal imbalance, a relational conflict, or even a if you are dealing with physical pain, the most important thing to remember when you feel defeated is that you must never give up.
Unless you are a stay at home parent, which is a full-time job with its own unique challenges, a huge portion of your life will most likely be spent in the work place. No matter how much you love your job, there will always be challengers in this area of life trying to steal your joy.
The parable of the prodigal son is perhaps the richest parable in the entire Bible. So many theological and practical points can be made about God, humans, and the story we all find ourselves in through studying Luke 15:11-32.
Perhaps one of the most beautiful angles to look at this story is by answering the question, “Why did the father of the prodigal son celebrate his homecoming?” When we answer this question, our appreciation for the glory of God and his great love for us expressed in grace is intensified.
So here are four reasons the father of the prodigal son celebrated his homecoming.
To talk about happiness seems so trite, doesn’t it? Corny even. It certainly doesn’t feel like it has much impact on the weightier matters in life, most importantly our walk with God. As Christians, happiness is great, but obedience, that’s the real point to all this. Right?
In our world, when someone seeks to exalt themselves, they are usually doing it at the expense of pushing others down. But God is not like this. He’s not like kids on a playground.
(Note: The names and minor details of this story have been changed to protect people’s identities.)
Jose was a drug addict. Although much older now and obviously a different man, his rough, tattooed exterior and muscular build allowed for an easy visual of his former life of crime. By his own admission, he had lived a crazy existence full of violence, quick pleasures, and self-centeredness. Eventually his rebellious ways brought him to jail. It was there God found him. The prison chaplain led Jose to accept Christ and he never looked back. He even went to seminary and began a career in counseling other men who had fallen into the same traps he had.
If we’re being honest, in times of trial, to “rejoice always” as we are commanded seems utterly ridiculous.
Certainly the Lord does not mean we should pretend to be joyful when we are really not. Does he? It doesn’t seem authentic to even seek happiness when trials, temptations, and tragedies are present, let alone to actually be happy in times like these.
So what does Philippians 4:4-7 mean when we are told to “Rejoice in the Lord always”?
When we look at other people’s lives, it’s usually pretty easy to see root of their problems. Your friend can’t commit even though she keeps meeting potentially great partners, and she just can’t figure out why. You know her dad left her when she was young, so it seems obvious to you that her commitment issue is probably a defense mechanism to protect herself from not getting abandoned again. Why can’t she see this?
Detoxing is a medical term often associated with cleansing the body from impure substances. You can detox from anything ranging from sugar to relationship or from chocolate to crack cocaine. While detoxing from sin is not a topic directly found in the Bible, there are certainly many similarities.
What does the Bible say about sleep? This is an important question considering that anywhere from one-third of our life will be spent on earth with our eyes closed, slumbering away in our beds. That’s a lot of time sleeping! So what does God think about sleep? Can we sleep too much, too little, and how can we use sleep the way God intended?
Sleep, like everything else God has made, is good when it’s used right but also has the potential to be greatly misused.