suffering

You Are Antifragile

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” – Romans 5:3-5 Today we will continue with part two of examining three cultural keys. Each point is vital and will add significant value to your life! Yesterday we spoke about the importance of connecting with others. Today’s key is we are antifragile. Antifragile is a word coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, one of my favorite authors. He said the opposite of fragile is not robust, it’s antifragile. Antifragile means that small amounts of harm cause a person, place, or thing to become better. I consider books to be antifragile. The best way to get a book to sell is

October 14, 2022 No Comments

The Power to Face Our Problems

“He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.” – Deuteronomy 8:15 There’s a story about Moses, who is called to lead God’s people out of the tyranny of Egypt. A clinical therapist I follow, who is not a theologian, had an insightful viewpoint on this story that I’d like to share with you. He said the conditions in Egypt were slavery and tyranny, but free of the risks of the journey ahead. As Moses moves them to freedom through the wilderness, they’re brought into a harsh reality. This new challenging life away from their previous comfort zone, even in slavery, caused them to start worshiping idols, other than God. The therapist noted this gave them a sense of purpose and enabled them to forget they were in an intense period

June 9, 2022 No Comments

Make Christ the Center of Your Life

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ ” – John 14:6 As a pastor, I have officiated hundreds of weddings. At one point in time, I was doing four weddings per weekend. As you know, these celebrations are a beautiful thing! One trend I have noticed lately is how expensive they have become. I wonder how families are able to spend tens of thousands of dollars on these costly weddings. Can they really afford them? Then I began to think of something else. In this age of Pinterest and Instagram, Are people thinking more about the wedding than the marriage? Weddings are important and they should be memorable, beautiful, lovely, and special. But when you think of a couple in preparation for marriage, if they spend more time communicating about the wedding versus the marriage, this

May 20, 2022 No Comments

Soften Your Heart

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” – Ezekiel 36:26 In my own life experiences, I have struggled with addressing various issues with a hardened heart. In our world today, we know how to power up, and to tell it like it is, feeling like we have to always be tough on the outside. Today, I want to challenge you to soften your heart! First soften your heart to God, then to your friends and co-workers. If you are married, soften your heart to your spouse, your kids if you have any, or your parents. God has good things in store for you, but our hearts must be softened to fully receive them. Suffering through bad experiences can indeed make us feel despondent and discouraged. Maybe in

May 6, 2022 No Comments

Blessings at the Back of the Line

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we want you to do for us whatever we ask.’ ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ he asked. They replied, ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’ ” – Mark 10:35-37 Whenever we study the Bible, it’s helpful to understand the cultural and historical context of the stories. Although we don’t always think about it, Jesus was living in what was perhaps the greatest and most powerful nation in human history. The Roman empire was the seat of world dominion and it was all about power, which was dictated from the top down. It was a place where people were vying for authority and where Caesar was in his lofty position only because he had an army. The Jews were living in the

April 28, 2022 No Comments

You Have Many Callings!

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” – John 15:16 Did you know that you have many callings? A lot of us go through life with the mistaken idea that there’s just one major thing we’re supposed to do, but this is not the case. Most of us have many callings and each one prepares us for the next. For example, we looked at the story of Joseph, and for the last couple of days, the life and trials of Jesus. I really don’t believe we would have seen Joseph leading the nation of Egypt without his experience at Potiphar’s house. Nor do I believe that Jesus could have so completely redeemed our suffering without choosing to first suffer with us

April 22, 2022 No Comments

In His Time

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” – Hebrews 10:36 A few days ago, we talked about how twists and turns in the course of our life can frustrate us. We may feel like we are moving further away from our destiny instead of closer to it. However, because God has gone before us and He is sovereign, we can rest assured that we will ultimately get to where we need to be. We will be stronger, wiser, and tougher for having endured the long road! Speaking of this, it’s interesting how the younger you are, the harder it is for you to understand that for every great dream, there’s a great price to pay. You see this a lot in Disney films and in other fairy tales. Every story has a villain and every great

April 21, 2022 No Comments

Sudden Resurrection

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead?’” – Luke 24:1-5 What an awesome truth we celebrated this past Sunday! I can’t stop thinking about it! Though the road to the cross was dark and filled with pain and His death was bloody and horrible, Jesus’ resurrection overcame it all! Naturally, when His mother and friend came to the tomb to tend to

April 20, 2022 1 Comment

Intended Harm Transformed

“His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said. But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” – Genesis 50:18-21 Yesterday, we continued to look at the story of Joseph and we saw that after nearly twenty years of misfortune and trial, He finally witnessed the fulfillment of his prophetic dream. This is the culmination of his story. After interpreting Pharaoh’s vision, Joseph was elevated to a position wherein his power was almost equal to that of the king. This was truly a display of God’s divine favor! Through this promotion,

April 17, 2022 No Comments

Utterly Pure and Persecuted

“Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care…One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.” – Genesis 39:7-9,11,12 Yesterday, we looked at the beginning of the story of Joseph. He was a young and naive dreamer who was sold into slavery by his brothers in their jealousy. After being sold, Joseph’s saga progressed, and he ended up in the household of a wealthy Egyptian named

April 15, 2022 1 Comment

You Are Antifragile

The Power to Face Our Problems

Make Christ the Center of Your Life

Soften Your Heart

Blessings at the Back of the Line

You Have Many Callings!

In His Time

Sudden Resurrection

Intended Harm Transformed

Utterly Pure and Persecuted

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