BLOG––Encouraged by Faith

Disapproval is a default position programmed into personalities by lifelong practice. This is not love. It is not grace. It is unforgiving, unwilling to extend the saving grace of God to those in need of it. Disapproval is a modeled behavior. Friends and relatives influence young people by...

(Dealing with Difficult People) Galatians 5:22-23 In horrible days that I now remember fondly, I worked in a stressful environment for a long time. My success was always uncertain. My competence was continually questioned, and not only by me. My job seemed perpetually tentative. Technically I...

You may have grown up quoting Hezekiah 6:1, “God helps those that help themselves.” Even if you know that verse is not in the Bible, you might believe it’s true. I think there is a true principle at work in that verse, but it was originated by an English philosopher and...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all...

Most of my life I’ve wanted to be what God wants me to be. I’ll admit there were some times when that was not my intent. I was fortunate to survive those interludes of self-centered folly, and I consider it a blessing from God to have experienced a few death-defying thrills without...

I have resisted or rebelled against human authority all my life. I don’t like to be controlled by others. I hate to be pushed or pressured to conform to anyone else’s expectations. My first response to coercion or threat is defensive, even before thought. As a child I dreamed of...

Mother is leaving us. She told me she is going home soon, to her new heavenly home where she has a reservation. This confident assurance has characterized her whole life and it has been her constant message to everyone who knows her. People have been coming to her for encouragement for decades...

Do you remember when reading was what you did when you were bored? Radio or television became early substitutes for reading. Now there is the internet, the world-wide web of technology to ensnare every free thought and moment. Boredom now almost seems a rare luxury. Research into the opinions...

Only the most determined effort of will seems able to protect us from a relentless assault––that is the war of political ideologies in this present age. A regular refreshing of our faith is available by a review of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:11-18. A frequent nourishing of the...

More often than now and then, I get defensive about what I imagine someone else thinks of me. Usually, it is what I’m afraid they may have good reason to think of me. This situation arises before I’m aware of it and feelings have already been hurt. It is insulting to assume that...