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Taking the Initiative Against Daydreaming
Daydreaming about something in order to do it properly is right, but daydreaming about it when we should be doing it is wrong. In this passage, after having said these wonderful things to His disciples, we might have expected our Lord to tell them to go away and meditate over them all. But Jesus never allowed idle daydreaming. When our purpose is to seek God and to discover His will for us, daydreaming is right and acceptable. But when our inclination is to spend time daydreaming over what we have already been told to do, it is unacceptable and God’s blessing is never on it.
Taking the Initiative Against Despair
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair. The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, “Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore.” If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair. But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, “Sleep on now.
Taking the Initiative Against Depression
The angel in this passage did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable. He simply told Elijah to do a very ordinary thing, that is, to get up and eat. If we were never depressed, we would not be alive—only material things don’t suffer depression. If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression.
Seeing to Tomorrow
I enjoy gazing up at a cloudless blue sky. The sky is a beautiful part of our great Creator’s masterpiece, given for us to enjoy. Imagine how much pilots must love the view. They use several aeronautical terms to describe a perfect sky for flying, but my favorite is, “You can see to tomorrow.”
Actually, “seeing to tomorrow” is something even pilots cannot do. Sometimes we even struggle to see or understand what life is throwing at us today. The Bible tells us, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist…
The Christian’s dilemma of having dual citizenship
Christians face an interesting dilemma, living as dual citizens of both the country of their residence and the kingdom of God. So, how can we respect those in authority over us on earth, while also being faithful to the God of heaven? That’s a problem that Elisha faced in the book of Second Kings. Tune in […]
Scriptures that beg the question, “Why did we need to know that?”
Sometimes, you come across a section of the Bible that makes you do a double-take. Why did we need to know that? Today on Discover the Word, we’ll have a conversation on one such passage. It’s a disturbing part of “The Miraculous Life of Elisha.” Don’t miss it today on Discover the Word!
Discover how brokenness can lead to abundant life
Today on Discover the Word, the team welcomes bestselling author Ann Voskamp to the table. They’ll be kicking off a new series of conversations based on Ann’s new book, called “The Broken Way.” It’s a discussion that reveals how it’s brokenness that can actually lead to the abundant life. Join the fascinating conversations the group has […]
Trading guilt and shame for rescue and relief
Have you ever practiced “self-protection,” where you hide your failures and try to control how people perceive you? Today on Discover the Word, the group talks about how King David’s attempt to hide his sins put him in a precarious place with God. That is, until he confessed and was able to trade his songs […]
I Have Depression and This Is What I Want You to Know
I never thought that I would have depression. It seemed like something only strangers had. Even when a close friend of mine struggled with depression a few years ago, I couldn’t relate to what she was going through. I just thought of it as a really low period some people had and would eventually get out of, if only they tried hard enough.
“Because You Prayed”
What do you do with your worries? Do you turn them inward, or turn them upward? When the brutal Assyrian King Sennacherib was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, he sent a message to King Hezekiah saying that Judah would be no different from all the other nations he had conquered. Hezekiah took this message to the […]
God’s not put off by our honest complaints
Any pastor can tell you that too much whining in the wilderness wears a leader down. It did for Moses. He complained to God and told Him the load of leadership was too much to bear! Today on Discover the Word, the group and pastor and author Jeff Manion discuss how God’s not put off […]
Complaining is more than just a bad habit
What, manna again? Complaining about their food and everything else they didn’t like, kept the Israelites wandering in the desert for forty years, delaying their destiny. Today on Discover the Word, we discuss with our guest, Jeff Manion, why complaining and grumbling is more than just a bad habit, it’s an enemy of our trust in […]
Stuck in your own “shame fest”
Ever been to a “shame fest” where you get stuck focusing on your regrets, mistakes, and disappointments? Today on Discover the Word, the group shares a candid conversation on their personal experiences with pity parties and how to decline those invitations. “The Beauty of Broken”—be listening today on Discover the Word!
Embracing the pain
Has a broken relationship left a hole in your heart? Perhaps a recent hurt has crushed your defenses. Today on Discover the Word, we explain how embracing the pain can open us up to more of God’s love and healing. Don’t miss this encouraging discussion today on Discover the Word!
“The Beauty of Broken”
Maybe our family portrait isn’t what we thought it would be. And even when we try to touch up the picture of our home life the flaws still show through. Today on Discover the Word, the group shows us how to see God’s goodness through the cracks of our family relationships. We’re talking about “The […]
