Tag Archives: whybadthingshappen

Life’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A mixture of good and bad. Of treats and terrors; happiness and horror; pleasure and pain. We call the bad “evil.” Sometimes it’s particularly bad. Think, for example, of victims of terrorism, pedophilia, or a drunk driver. When particularly bad evil happens a question rises, demanding an answer […]

When evil goes public as it did in Las Vegas last week—brazenly, tragically, and fatally—many Christians feel they need to do for God something God doesn’t feel the need to do for Himself. They become His Perry Mason’s. They make Him their client and seek to defend Him in the court of human opinion. That court’s […]

It happens to just about every Christian. For some reason, prayer flies standby in most of our lives. Something happens and it gets bumped from the day’s flight. So, family stresses or business demands or spiritual laziness make you skip prayer one day. And before you know it you’re on a slippery slope. And five […]

How do you stay optimistic about God in a painful situation that isn’t going to change? For example: arthritis that laughs at Aleve; singleness making you bluer than George Jones’s He Stopped Loving Her Today; a job so boring it makes watching someone else’s home movies seem like skydiving; a Pharaoh oppressive boss. You get the point. […]

I can because Jesus can is a single sentence pep talk we ought to give ourselves whenever life makes us feel like a team in the locker room at halftime down by three touchdowns. Sometimes a command from God makes us feel this way doesn’t it? Orders from Him like forgive someone who’s wronged you […]

Michael Jordan was the “go-to” player for the Chicago Bulls. He was the one the Bulls went to when they needed a basket on offense or a stop of defense. Every Christian needs a Michael Jordan truth—a go-to sentence—to turn to at a moment’s notice. We need something that can energize, inspire, motivate, and strengthen […]

Motivational speakers tell us that we need to know how to be our own coach and give ourselves a pep talk when necessary. They advocate cultivating a crisp sentence we can speak to our hearts when we need a boost. A stimulant to get our psychological adrenaline flowing. Wind in which to spread our emotional […]

In the death-defeating language of the Bible, last week Andrew James Chase—beloved son and grandson—fell asleep in Jesus. He was 4½ days young. He came into the world early. He entered by C-Section three months before his due date. Weight: 1 lb. 12 oz. Length: 12 inches. He entered wounded and gutsy. Wounded because he […]

In our three previous posts on Hebrews 12:5-13 we’ve seen that trials are as certain as rain in Seattle; as potentially profitable as a big day on Wall Street; yet as easily mishandled as a poisonous snake in the hands of a frightened faith healer. The Truth About Optimism So, the question: How do we […]

To paraphrase Paul, before God saved me, “for me to live was basketball.” I was so dedicated that after I became a Christian an older minister friend told me, “Charley, if you follow Jesus the way you followed basketball you’ll be someone God really uses.” God says something similar to us about our trials. As […]