Trials and Temptations
“Trials should be distinguished from temptations. Trials come directly from the God of Providence, while temptations come directly from the evil spirits, although they are allowed by God. Trials are neither saving nor leading to spiritual death in themselves; they are only reasons for the manifestation of human will in relation to what the Lord gives us. The purpose of temptations is spiritual death, although they disguise themselves as something harmless and even good. Tempt
Meaning of Life
“Let us talk about life. Do you have anyone interesting to talk to about this? If not, then don’t worry as I have very few myself. If you...
Devour (Being Devoured/Devouring Each Other)
“…the Lord offers us the choice to “eat the good things of the land” or “be devoured by the sword” (Isaiah 1:19-20). What is inescapable...
Good and Evil
“An evil person is not someone who is nothing but evil, someone with no redeeming features or virtues whatsoever. An evil person is not a...
Crisis
“What is the peace of the world? Perhaps we would call it security or safety; the sense that physical walls and human strength,...
Condemnation
“If we look inside ourselves and try to see our tendencies, we will easily notice that we already have a developed habit of condemning...
Joy (Mystery of)
“The New Testament books tell us time and time again about such a human emotion as joy; we can read about joy in many literary works,...
Love (Toughness of Love)
“One of my students came to seminary when he was already middle-aged, after considerable success in the world. This student was later...
Sickness (Illness)
“Life itself is a form of ascesis. People just don’t recognize it, and lose heart.”…The fact [life], is ascetic in nature means it...
Love (Transactional and Reciprocal)
“…“Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). If love was the conscious goal for our every action, we would expect it...
