The Bible, as with so many things, gives us a framework to help us manage our anxiety. The anxious person often finds themselves in a particular state of mind, one in which it feels imperative to have control or know ALL the possible outcomes. They cling to control whatever they can because they often feel their world is out of control. They may become hyper-aware of every possible and imagined danger because of past trauma, so they cling to control in order to prevent future

There are a number of places throughout the New Testament where Paul writes about individuals by name. Sometimes he is praising their faith and willingness to serve; other times he condemns people by name as false teachers or selfish. This got me thinking: if Paul mentioned you or me in a letter, what would he say?...

Have you ever thought about how we all live in circumstances? That may sound rather obvious, but so often we blame circumstances for our attitude, our sin, or our lack of involvement with the church. We could fill a book with the circumstance-based excuses people make. However, the plain fact is that we all live in circumstances, and everyone’s circumstances are challenging in their own way. If we all used our challenging circumstances as excuses, then the church would...

We all have preferences, opinions, and desires. Sometimes we are very passionate about our preferences on topics such as the order of the worship service, personal dress, features of a new church building, and many more. While strong preferences are fine, problems arise when we treat opposing opinions as personal affronts. This happens when someone allows their ego to dictate their attitude...

Numerous lessons, articles, books, and classes focus on how the world’s view of love differs from God’s view of love. We know the world’s definition of love does not match God’s definition. Yet we live life constantly bombarded with worldly viewpoints. It is no wonder that we will sometimes fall back on the world’s view of love. One topic in which this often happens is “loving sinners.” In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus challenges us to love our enemies and pray for those who pers

Most of us have come upon situations where a person has done something (or many things) that are simply evil. Take abusers, murderers, and those who swindle the elderly, for example. In our righteous indignation, or simple anger, we might wish that those people were dead so that they could not hurt anyone else. Or maybe we wish that someone would inflict on them the same suffering they have caused others... ...is it the way God’s people should conduct themselves?...

Few healthy things in life are “one-and-done.” Consistency is needed in nearly everything! Do you want to have healthy teeth? You cannot just brush them occasionally. You must brush and floss every day, twice a day, for the rest of your life. Do you want to have a healthy relationship with your spouse? You cannot just put effort in randomly. You must put effort into your marriage day-in and day-out for the rest of your life. Similarly, if you want to have a healthy spiritua

People-pleasing is often confused with showing Christian love. Christian love intentionally puts the needs of others above one’s own selfish desires. Christian love serves a person’s NEED; however, it does not obey every whim or request that someone might make. By contrast, a people-pleaser feels an inability to say “no” to any request. A people-pleaser is...

Living in New Hampshire, Christians often end up feeling very isolated. After all, few congregations of the Lord’s church exist here, so it is hard to have much fellowship with other congregations. On top of that, because of the intense winters, many people become hermits through the winter months. That level of isolation appeals to some. However, there are serious dangers in succumbing to the temptation of indulging isolationism...

Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician and physicist, is quoted as saying, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." With this statement, he was discussing the physical advantage of proper leverage. In many ways, when dealing with people, patience is like Archimedes’ lever. Proverbs 25:15 teaches us that “By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone.” To understand this, let’s build some an

Some days just don’t go your way. Maybe you don’t sleep well, so you start the day tired. Everyone in the family seems to be extra annoying. You burn breakfast. Your car will not start. Traffic is heavy. Someone insults you. Your kid gets in trouble at school. That difficult coworker will not leave you alone. A customer loses their temper at you. Whatever it may be. The day is simply FRUSTRATING! Let’s see what the Proverbs have to say on this topic...

Lying as a form of kindness is a very old idea. Some believe that if the truth can hurt a person’s feelings or lead to uncomfortable situations, it should be avoided. If telling a “little white lie” means uncomfortable situations are averted and everyone is happy, this is obviously best. This way of thinking comes from the idea that hurt feelings and discomfort are the absolute worst things ever, and must be avoided at any cost. But, does that hold up to scrutiny?

A comfort zone is where you feel safe and unchallenged. We all have comfort zones in which things feel familiar and safe: certain people and social situations, certain jobs, preferred topics, etc. We get comfortable with a certain academic depth (or shallowness). While there is nothing wrong or sinful about having comfort zones, exclusively staying within our comfort zone naturally leads to stagnation...

We all know how important it is to be obedient to God and follow His word. These facts should not be news to any off us. Yet, sometimes obedience feels difficult. Sometimes we try to find every excuse we can to avoid obedience to God and His word. Why is that? You would think that if we know how important obedience is, then actually obeying would be easy. But it often is not easy. For many, the reason obedience is difficult is because of their attitude about the concept of ob

A while back, I watched a video about a woman explaining why she left her husband. He did not cheat on her. He was not abusive. She left him because he was “boring,” and she felt she could “do better.” Apparently, after a year of trying to catch a “higher value man” she was left lonely and depressed, aware now that the husband she threw away was actually a really good husband, even though he was not “exciting.” This is sadly common among both husbands and wives...

Many people seem to experience a mental disconnect regarding who they spend time with and the resulting situations in which they find themselves. A person who spends most of their time with negative people may wonder why they are so depressed. A person who spends a lot of time around heavy drinkers may wonder why they can’t stay sober. Someone who spends a considerable amount of time around the chronically unemployed may wonder why they can’t get motivated to get a job...

Everyone will come upon difficult times in their lives: Emotional difficulties, financial difficulties, relationship difficulties, difficulties with sin, and more. When these difficulties come, many people ask, “Why would God let this happen to me?” However, in most cases, these troubles don’t just materialize out of nowhere. They come about because of decisions we, or those around us, have made. Sure, there are situations where a person faces difficulties that they had no pa

You may have been there before. You disagree with a friend over something. Neither of you is willing to change your view, neither is having success convincing the other. So, rather than push the disagreement to the point of straining your friendship, one of you says “Well, let’s just agree to disagree.” This means that you will accept that you disagree on this topic and not try to convince the other anymore, which sounds very inclusive and accepting! But when it comes to theo

One of the unpleasant facts about evangelism is that sometimes people will reject the gospel. That is not the outcome we want, nor the outcome we expect, but it is a possibility. For many people, that fact will send them into a spiral of negativity. They might think “why even try if the effort will be worthless?” However, if we don’t try, then the gospel will never be spread...

For nearly a decade studies have been reported on “the loneliness epidemic.” People have become increasingly isolated and lonely, a trend which contributes to problems such as depression, anxiety, lack of motivation, increased substance use, and more. This only got worse during the 2020 COVID lock downs. To alleviate loneliness, people often turn to social media to gain some sense of connection with others. However, this generally intensifies their symptoms because...