The Best Christian Teachings and Readings

We sat facing on her bed. I could see pictures of a little blond boy on her dresser. She was crying and I held in my pat answers. How could I relate to her pain? I knew Jesus could - but I couldn’t. I was barely a mother, my firstborn still kicking under my heart. Her three year old son was dead. It was a drowning accident, and she was devastated. Little did I know, four years later, the child I was pregnant with that day - my three year old son - would be dead as well. And, along with him, his two year old sister... and my husband. It was a flying accident, and this time I was the one who was devastated. Only then did I get a glimpse of my friend’s pain. And only then, did I fully understand God’s wisdom in keeping me from offering her a handful of easy answers. I found that sometimes there just aren’t any. There are many ways a heart can break - death, divorce, rejection, illness, abuse, sin, injustice, failure - the list goes on and on. Everyone will experience a broken hear...

We've all done things we regret. Sometimes, once we recognize our mistakes, we can go back and correct them. Other times we can't. The damage has been done. Memories and accusations flood our minds and we go through mental gymnastics with all the “if onlys.” Sometimes we plunge into a pit of despair and the weight of our sin seems to literally crush the breath out of us. Christians know the forgiveness of Jesus, but sometimes we've only accepted that truth in our minds - deep inside there's a nagging doubt that it really applies to our situation. What can you do with those feelings of guilt? Are they from God or the devil? Are you forgiven or just fooling yourself? Perhaps your struggles are with ongoing failures in your attitudes or actions. Or maybe your situation is so terribly painful you've thought, “Even if God has forgiven me - I'll never forgive myself!” The following letter, sent to me anonymously, tells a familiar story. “In June of 1982 ...

I think the main reason that God is letting me share a little bit with you about the problem of gossip is because I'm no stranger to it. I have not only listened to gossip... I've also spread it and been the victim of it . . . and let me say it's all equally as painful to the Lord. When I told people things I shouldn't have, I usually justified it by saying, "We really need to pray for so and so, they're having this terrible problem. But we usually didn't pray, we just "talked it through." Then, of course, it was great fun to listen to the latest tale about someone or some ministry. I again justified it by thinking, "Well, it's important to keep up with what's happening. Besides, I need to know how to pray . . ." which again, I hardly ever did. (In fact, if I had spent as much time on my knees talking to God as I did on my couch talking to friends, I would really be quite the woman of God by now.) My awareness of the pr...

This article is for you whether you are married or not. In fact, if you are single, it would be to your advantage to learn and practice good principles of communication before you "take the plunge" and make a lifelong commitment. I am writing about this because one of the most common problems I have seen in marriage is a lack of communication. By communication, I don't mean just talking (we all talk), but I mean the honest and transparent sharing of our hurts, hopes, frustrations, and fears. In other words, sharing from the depths of our hearts and giving each other a good look at the "real us." Now, I realize that the thought of such honesty utterly terrifies some of you, but that's exactly why I want to talk about it. I believe that everyone longs to be known and understood in an intimate way, by at least one other person in their life. And if you are married, it makes good sense that your husband or wife would be that loyal and loving friend you are ...