Better for Bending

While lunching at a friend's house, I had to borrow a spoon and have her bend it so it could be inserted in my hand splint and I could feed myself. ...

A Prayer for Affliction

O may God put me into one furnace after another, that my soul may be transparent; that I may see God as he is.

Let the Winds Blow

We cannot be established except by suffering. It is of no use our hoping that we shall be well-rooted if no March winds have passed over us. The young ...

Belmont Church Mission Statement

The Belmont Church exists to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoicing in him, as we bring believers to maturity, draw people to Jesus, equip them to serve, ...

The Advantages of Adversity

We grow and mature spiritually through adversity--not when everything is going smoothly. ... [I]n a time of adversity or trouble, the Christian has the ...

Seldom Heard Truth

That hardship can actually be a blessing--or "a severe mercy," to recall Sheldon Vanauken's book of that title--is a profoundly Christian ...

When God Says No

A young pastor friend has ... been through the trial of his life. When I saw him recently, he asked me, "What do you do when God doesn't say ...

Going Beyond Past Achievements

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.

In Support of Dreamers

The Tyranny of the Rigid

On May 24, 1965, a thirteen-and-a-half-foot boat quietly slipped out of the marina at Falmouth, Massachusetts. Its destination? ...

Seeing Things One Way

If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.