It's hard to find the purpose of suffering when you're in the middle of it. However, it's essential that we consider all that God is doing amidst our sufferings. In this article, Paul Pitts III reminds us that with Jesus, suffering is never for nothing.

When the trials of life unexpectedly come knocking at your door, the last thing you may be thinking about is joy. Yet, the Bible repeatedly calls us to have joy in life’s most turbulent times (James 1:2-3). How in the world is this possible? Is it realistic that a Christian can still smile, pray, rejoice, and serve when the weight of the world is squeezing the last drops of joy from their heart? 

When we search through the pages of Scripture we quickly find that God is good no matter what we’re going through, and that His purposes and methods are beyond what we can comprehend. That doesn’t change the reality of our pain at certain times, but as real as the suffering is, the rewards and blessings for those who remain faithful are monumentally greater – and priceless.

I’ll never forget meeting Mark Anderson. Our common ground went beyond our faith in Christ: we both had ice running through our veins. Hockey ice, that is. Being that I’m a Canadian-bred, hockey-loving pastor in Southern California, it’s not every day that I meet Michigan-bred, hockey-loving people like Mark.

Jesus is getting a lot of really confusing press when it comes to physical healing these days. This post will answer one of the biggest questions that arises from all of the confusion. As of right now, miraculous healing is one of the most popular subjects inside and outside the church. Preachers are preaching it, televangelists are guaranteeing, desperate people need it – it’s a healing-hungry world out there.

One Sunday a teaching-pastor dared to go where few pastors are willing to go. He called marriage, “work”, and had the audacity to compare a delicate bride and handsome groom to two dirty, bulky, yoke-pulling oxen. Of all the nerve!