Author: Phil Rehberg

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Rom. 8:28 (ESV) This is one of the most popular encouragement verses in the Bible, and rightly so. This is such a great all-encompassing encouragement for our lives, that no matter what happens God will bring good out of it as we follow him. But it doesn’t mean we will only have good things in our life. A few sentences later Paul comforts believers by saying that things like persecution, famine and sword can not separate us from the love of Jesus. Paul himself experienced many sufferings. So we know that Rom. 8:28 is not saying that believers will only experience good things – famine and death are not good. (Besides, if “all things” mean good things then the verse is saying that good things work Continue Reading →

Many seek an audience with a ruler,but it is from the Lord that one gets justice. Proverbs 29:26 (NIV) It is okay to try to obtain justice through other people, such as officials, ministers, friends or managers; hopefully they will be fair. But, much of life is not fair and complete justice for us will not arrive until Jesus returns. Then he will judge all people and their actions and repay everyone according to their deeds (2 Cor. 5:10). Thus, God will give you justice in the end. It is easy to be distressed or even angry about all the injustices in the world or in our lives, but do we really need to embrace such reactions? We see people hurting others or hurting us simply out of selfishness or foolish thinking, and we are tempted to react with retribution. But, God has already promised many times in Scripture to Continue Reading →

Fear of man will prove to be a snare,but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25 (NIV) The desire to be safe and secure is a very fundamental and powerful human drive. We make many of our decisions based on what we think will give us true safety. This can lead to many faults. We depend on ourselves and we “fear” others and depend on them for our ultimate safety. But humans do not have the power to keep themselves safe. We cannot control what others do, we cannot control circumstances and we cannot control the evil one. Only the one who trusts in the Lord is safe. He may be invisible, and more difficult to trust, but his infinite power and invisible presence are the traits that make him the one to depend on. We want good health, and God is the ultimate healer. We want Continue Reading →