Ravi Zacharias: The tragedy that shook Newtown, Connecticut, and indeed the entire nation, defies analysis. What must have gone on in the mind of this young man for him to walk into a school of little children and wreak such…
Thoughts on Grieving From a Mother
Several years ago, then unthinkable happened for the Terry and Juanita Stauffer family. Their teenage daughter, Emily, was murdered (watch the news story here). Unthinkable. On the day I am writing this post, I have prayed on my knees for…
Tim Keller: Four Wrong Answers to the Question, “Why Me?”
Tim Keller: When I was diagnosed with cancer, the question “Why me?” was a natural one. Later, when I survived but others with the same kind of cancer died, I also had to ask, “Why me?” Suffering and death seem…
Facing Death, a Christian Pastor Rethinks His Faith
Watch at least three minutes of this. When I was a seminary student, Ed Dobson was the pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids. He was one of the most well known pastors not only in Grand Rapids, but amongst…
Life Without Parents
Pastor Tom Anderst reflects on the loss of both of his parents: My mom died Wednesday, January 4, 2012. She had been ill for quite some time. We were surprised when it happened because she seemed to be doing better.…
Christians Suffer in the Delivery Room – Not the Cancer Ward
Romans 8:17 reminds us that we are co-heirs with Christ, “provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. No one enjoys the thought of suffering, but Christian suffering is a fundamentally different kind.…
How Luther comforted his wife on September 20, 1542
In 1542 Luther’s 14 year old daughter Magdalena lay gravely ill with the plague. “Luther knelt beside her bed and begged God to release her from the pain. When she died and the carpenters were nailing down the lid of…
A Lens Through Which We Can View 9/11 and All Suffering
As we anticipate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I point you to a thought Brian Chapell shared in a sermon he preached following 9/11.* Chapell points us to the tears of Christ as a lens through which we can view…
9/11, Good, Evil, and God
Glenn Lucke is posting a letter that he wrote in response to 9/11. An Introduction In the days immediately after 9/11, a friend in her mid-thirties wrote me an email wrestling with the question of how could God allow such…
A Cousin, Cancer and Decisions
“Today we are so thankful that we opted to go ahead with the 3rd surgery, because the results of the pathology report show that indeed there is more cancer.” My cousin Amy. Would you pray for her? ***** The below…