All of us face some measure of suffering in this life. It could be a physical challenge, a hard ministry task, an overwhelming and perplexing difficulty, a persecution for our faith, a deep burden, or simply the rigors of living a life of determined godliness. For some, this suffering is more intense. Paul was one of those who faced grave suffering in order to complete the task of the gospel that was entrusted to him. Yet, he was able to face it with courage and even joy. How?

Do you have what it takes? Do you worry about your inadequacy? Do you have an accurate assessment of your life? Have you found the secret of having confidence in any situation? Many people (perhaps most) are clueless about who they really are. One of the great secrets...

As we live in this fallen world, we encounter all kinds of sinfulness and its effects, both within and without. If we are not mindful, we lose hope as we suffer difficulties and trials. If we lose hope, we quit praying, thinking there is no use. And if we stop...

I have dealt with dissenters in the church for a good portion of my ministry, particularly during the first thirty years. Gratefully, since founding The Summit Church twenty-one years ago, I have not dealt with any of this in our church (so I now know it’s possible!),...

Every day, we make manifold decisions based on what we believe to be true. We must decide what voice we think offers the greatest reality: God’s Word or man’s? A Weather Prediction Paul was a prisoner of the Roman army and was headed for Rome. On the way, God...

When is a train free to run? When it’s on the tracks or off the tracks? On the tracks it can move at incredible speed, with perfect freedom, doing exactly what it was created to do. Off the tracks, it’s unable to run as designed. We were designed, as C. S. Lewis said,...

“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father” (John 8:37-38 NASB). Jesus had a running...

“From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised” (Psalm 113:3 NASB). A dear friend of mine, Stottler Starr, who was greatly used of God, recently died of cancer. The last year of his life was a time of great suffering, yet he seemed...

The story of Hannah and her husband, Elkanah, told in 1 Samuel 1, is fantastic. Hannah was barren, and it broke her heart. Other things complicated this, robbing her of joy. But there is one verse that changed everything: “She, greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD...