"Lord Jesus, the thorns and thistles of the fallen and troubled life are everywhere I turn my eyes. Some days that’s all that I can see, all that I can feel. Their sharp spines tear at me. They steal all my attention." (For the complete prayer, click the link below.)
Tag: suffering
Quote of Note #251: Jesus our All in All
"For then God wills to be all things to us--home and friend, mother hand and food for the coming day, the place where we can lay our heads, the heart in which we can find rest and can be like the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field, and say, 'I have nothing, and now Thy hand must be all things.'" H. Thielicke (For the complete quote, click the link below.)
Quote of Note #250: Jesus Knows our Sufferings
"By my own suffering, I understood a fraction of Jesus' suffering. And that gave me strength. Now I could bear my own suffering." Corrie ten Boom (For complete quote, click link below.)
Quote of Note #220: In the Face of Trials
"Almost anything that happens to us may be woven into the purposes of God. It may lengthen our cords of sympathy. It may break our self-centered pride. The cross, which was willed by wicked men, was woven by God into the tapestry of world redemption." ML King
Quote of Note #178: Our Broken Selves
"I understand why people work so hard to conceal their suffering. They don't want other people to think something is wrong with them. But, beloved, there is something wrong with all of us. We live in a fallen, sin-stained world, we all suffer its effects--yes, even those of us who call Jesus Christ our Lord … Continue reading Quote of Note #178: Our Broken Selves
Quote of Note #137: Bearing the Cross
photo by GAC "Honesty impels me to admit that transformed nonconformity, which is always costly and never altogether comfortable, may mean walking through the valley of the shadow of suffering, losing a job, or having a six-year-old daughter ask, 'Daddy, why do you have to go to jail so much?' But we are gravely mistaken … Continue reading Quote of Note #137: Bearing the Cross
Pastor Note #99: Following Jesus in a Time of Pandemic, Poisonous Politics, and Social Unrest
In a recent e-mail to a friend, I described some of the challenges of church ministry in this time of pandemic, political divisiveness, and social unrest. I told him, “During the past six months, pastoring a church feels like jumping out of an airplane and trying to sew your parachute as you fall.” That experience … Continue reading Pastor Note #99: Following Jesus in a Time of Pandemic, Poisonous Politics, and Social Unrest
Quote of Note #104: God’s Response to Disasters
Dutch Fork Lake in the fog; photo by GAC "After all, so often when people look out on the world and its disasters they wonder why God doesn't just march in and take over. Why, they ask, does he permit it? Why doesn't he send a thunderbolt (or perhaps something a little less like what … Continue reading Quote of Note #104: God’s Response to Disasters
Quote of Note #100: No Panic in Heaven
"The Lord never makes a mistake. One day, when we are in heaven, I'm sure we shall see the answers to the whys. My, how often I have asked, 'Why?' In heaven, we shall see God's side of the embroidery. God has no problems--only plans. There is never panic in heaven." Corrie ten Boom, He … Continue reading Quote of Note #100: No Panic in Heaven
Bible Note #36 — Why Do the Just Suffer? — Ecclesiastes 8:14
"Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said, “This also is an enigma.” Ecclesiastes 8:14 [NET] Who can’t relate to this? Who hasn’t … Continue reading Bible Note #36 — Why Do the Just Suffer? — Ecclesiastes 8:14
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 