In Joshua 1:9 we read this word from Yahweh to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Moses was dead, giants and other unknown enemies awaited them across the Jordan river. From...
Author: Joshua Mathews
Suffering & Doubt – Chapter 6
When we find ourselves in seasons of suffering there are two primary perspectives we can have. Before we consider the two perspectives, let’s define perspective. In this context perspective describes the way you view your suffering. You might think of it as the lens through which you choose to view your suffering. One perspective is...
Suffering – Chapter Four
In chapter four of “Suffering” Paul Tripp addresses the issue of fear. In our seasons of suffering fear grows large as God grows smaller. When fear rules your heart, you don’t see or think about life accurately. You function with distorted vision that causes you to make wrong conclusions and bad decisions. And because fear...
Suffering – Chapter Three
As I am reading through Suffering by Paul Tripp I am simply picking out truths that are helpful for me and hopefully helpful for you. In chapter three Tripp tackles the deeper issues of our suffering – the way that our hearts react to suffering. As people made in God’s image, none of us lives...
Letter to Meadowview
It is 4am and my foot is a combination of throbbing, burning, and numb – so I can’t sleep. I have accepted that this will be the new normal for foreseeable future. And the truth of the matter is this is one area where God is challenging me to grow. Those who know me know...
Suffering – Chapter One
Nearly two weeks ago I broke my foot in what the orthopedic surgeons called “the strangest possible way.” I’ll spare you the details, but so far there have been two surgeries, which allowed them to place pins that are currently holding the Talus and Calcaneus bones in place. My final surgery is two days away....
Charles Spurgeon’s Prayer Upon Receiving God’s Word.
“O living Christ, make this a living word to me. Thy word is life, but not without the Holy Spirit. I may know this book of thine from beginning to end, and repeat it all from Genesis to Revelation, and yet it may be a dead book, and I may be a dead soul. But,...
Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!O Lord, hear my voice!Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul...
Centrality of the Church?
Through what lens do you view your walk with Jesus? Do you tend to view your walk with Jesus as a solo endeavor? Or, do you view your walk with Jesus as part of a larger community of people – the local church? When we consider the pattern of the early Christians it seems clear...
Hope from Psalm 93
Psalm 93 is short and full of hope for those who feel overwhelmed. Consider the picture the Psalmist paints in verses 3-4: The waves roar, O LORD, the waves roar, the waves roar and crash.Above the sound of the surging water, and the mighty waves of the sea, the LORD sits enthroned in majesty. Psalm...