Every Christian who struggles with depression struggles to keep their hope clear. There is nothing wrong with the object of their hope - Jesus Christ is not defective in any way whatsoever. But the view from the struggling Christian's heart of their objective hope could be obscured by disease and pain, the pressures of life, and by Satanic fiery darts shot against them... All discouragement and depression is related to the obscuring of our hope, and we need to get those clouds out of the way and fight like crazy to see clearly how precious Christ is.
The Christian life becomes impossible. That is, it becomes supernatural.
If we are serious about our discipleship, Jesus will eventually request each of us to do those very things which are most difficult for us to do.
Satan can't keep God from answering our prayers, but he will keep us from asking.
God seems to be an unwilling participant in our efforts to pigeonhole Him.
At one level, the message of the book of Ruth is that the life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, but they do get there.
Jesus Christ said, 'I pray your faith will not fail.' This means your faith will be tested. What is testing your faith right now?
May it not be that, just as we have to have faith in Him, God has to have faith in us and, considering the history of the human race so far, may it not be that 'faith' is even more difficult for Him than it is for us?
One of the most critical reasons believers experience defeat is because we categorize only a few areas of our lives as Christ's arena.
It's tough being a Jew.
It's impossible to be a good Christian. If you think it's easy to be a good Christian, then you're not really trying hard enough.
Wherever God has given faith, it is given, among other reasons, for the very purpose of being tried.
There are times when God leaves huge question marks as tools in our lives to stretch our our faith.
If you are going to walk with Jesus Christ, you are going to be opposed by everything in the world and by the great majority of evangelicals. You're going to be opposed.
I definitely think that since I've become born again, if you understand in the supernatural realm the spiritual warfare that goes on everyday, I've had far greater challenges on a personal level than before I became a Christian.
I personally claim no special insight into Satan's methods, but I have at times been able to identify his influence and his actions in my life and in the lives of others. When I was on my first mission, Satan sought to divert me from my future path and, if possible, to destroy my usefulness in the Lord's work.
Is there any reason why you should not have faith in God? Has God ever broken one of His promises? I defy any infidel or unbeliever to place a finger on a single promise of God ever made and failed to fulfill.
For the people of God, the Word of God leaves pleasant bruises.
I think the hardest questions had to do with suffering. It had to do with all of our church members and friends passing through difficult times. Sometimes it's the global climate: tsunamis, earthquakes, radiation. I think these kinds of questions are absolutely the most difficult, yet we need to be ready to respond to them because we have to be able as pastors to walk people through these valleys, these tough times in their lives.
The gospel of Jesus Christ must be defended in every generation. It is always the center of attack by the forces of evil.
Sometimes God allows us to be tested because He's preparing us for promotion.
If the devil never roars, the Church will never sing! God is not doing much if the devil is not awake and busy. Depend upon it: a working Christ makes a raging devil! When you hear ill reports, cruel speeches, threats, taunts and the like, believe that the Lord is among His people and is working gloriously.
if we hold fast our confidence in Him, but our faith is also, by the exercise, strengthened: and so it comes, that, if we walk with God in any measure of uprightness of heart, the trials of faith will be greater and greater.
Faith may have removed mountains way off somewhere, a long time ago, but it won't remove a wart at home this week.
I think everybody goes through things in their life where they're like, 'This does not make any sense,' or 'I don't understand why this is happening,' but that's part of the journey of faith.
