Posts with the tag “1-john-1-9”

When your story is dotted or defined by painful events, losses, abuses, traumas, failures, and sins committed against or by you it is easy to retreat to the hiding place. Hiding people are everywhere. Like a wound under a bandage, the pain doesn’t go away in the hiding place. It can fester and manifest itself in all kinds of distorted beliefs and behaviors - sometimes for years or decades. Emotional wounds left uncared for may become a silent or violent war that rages within and outward toward others. You really can’t hide it; you just learn to disguise it – we “mask the pain”. Here's the second step to emotional healing...   Read More

What do we do when a good man has a moral failure? What does the otherwise good person do when they fail? People fail - good people. You’ve probably heard it said, “Failure is prerequisite to success.” “Failure is success in progress.” “Fail forward”. “You fail because you’re trying.” “You haven’t failed until you stop trying”. Some people fail because of success. It goes to their head. Or it goes to their heart: The fear or stress of success causes them to sabotage their progress. Failure is part of life. Every great person of accomplishment “failed” to get there! God uses failures. Let’s look at a good man who failed, the provision God has made for it, and face failure together. How you handle failure makes all the difference in your world (From Gen. 9:18-29):  Read More

In my years pastoring I’ve seen many running from God. They might be angry about some hurt or hardship in their life. Or they’ve experienced injustice and blame God. Others get entangled in sin and are ashamed. For some, they know what God wants, refuse to do it, and so they run. The prophet Jonah feels God is asking too much and runs. In the process he gets himself and others in deep peril. He’d rather die than do what God wants. Ever been there? (From Jonah 1:12-3:3):  Read More