Christian Living on Sickness

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O God, Giver of all good, and Fountain

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 118:24, James 1:17, Psalm 136:1, Philippians 4:19, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

O God, Giver of all good, and Fountain of all mercies, in whom are all the springs of our life; all glory, thanks and praise be unto thee for thine unfailing goodness; for thy faithfulness which is fr...

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Waiting: Leaning into the Pain

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:2–4, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25–26, Matthew 4:2–4, Romans 8:24–25, Psalm 130:5–6

With the global coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, life stopped. Overwhelmed by the threat of a disease we couldn’t stop and for which we didn’t have the hospital capacity, everyone moved work and s...

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Author

Dick Ryan

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 147:3, James 4:10

Healing begins when, in the face of our own darkness, we recognize our helplessness and surrender our need for control… we face what is, and we ask for mercy.

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Praising Slowness

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 37:7, Proverbs 19:2, Lamentations 3:25-26, 2 Peter 3:9, James 5:7-8, Ecclesiastes 3:1

In our culture slow is a pejorative. When somebody has a low IQ, we dub him or her slow. When the service at a restaurant is lousy, we call it slow. When a movie is boring, again, we complain that it’...

liturgy

Adapted from Psalm 103:1-5

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 103:1-5, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:22-23, Titus 3:5

Pastor: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! People: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, Pastor: who forgives all your iniquity, who h...

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Author

Mary Jane Moffat

Keywords

Healing

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 43:18-19, James 1:2-4, Philippians 1:6

Recovery is not a process we can will, but consists of experiencing many small deaths, the passing of significant anniversaries, until our identity is solid and natural in the pronoun “I.”

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Lord and God, you know what we are

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:3-4, Romans 8:34, Isaiah 53:4-5, Hebrews 7:25, Lamentations 3:22-23

Lord and God, you know what we are about to say in prayer, you know what we ought to say, and even what we need to say but cannot. Our sins trouble us, though they don’t trouble us as much as they sho...

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Author

Stanley Kunitz

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:3-4, Lamentations 3:31-32, Psalm 73:26, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 61:3

How shall my heart be reconciled to its feast of losses?

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Almighty God, we have failed to trust

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 41:10, Lamentations 3:22-23, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 8:28

Almighty God, we have failed to trust you. Overwhelmed by the pains of life, we have taken charge and pushed you aside. O God, be gracious to us. Remind us of your daily mercies and redemptive power t...

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Author

George Herbert

Keywords

Scripture

Hosea 14:7, Jeremiah 31:25, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 23:3, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 51:10, Ezekiel 36:26

Who would have thought my shrivel’d heart Could have recovered greenness?

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Author

Thomas Merton

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:17, Romans 3:23-24, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Lamentations 3:22-23, James 4:6

But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God's love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin...

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The Silence of God

Author

Shusaku Endo

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 22:1, Psalm 42:3, Habakkuk 1:2, Isaiah 45:15, Job 30:20, Lamentations 3:28-30

In the deeply moving novel Silence by Shusaku Endo, the protagonist, a young Jesuit priest named Sebastião Rodrigues describes in horror what it is like to watch two of his disciples, Japanese nationa...

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When your Good Christian World Falls Apart

Author

Tammy Maltby

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 19:1–18, Job 3:42 , Lamentations 3:17–26, Luke 15:11–32 , 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, Psalm 34:18

In her memoir, Confessions of a Good Christian Girl, Tammy describes the internal turmoil she experienced trying to be a good, rule-following Christian who had unexpectedly built an entire life arou...

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Faith and Feelings Can Go Together

Author

Casey K. Tygrett

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 42:5, Romans 12:15, Ephesians 4:26, Lamentations 3:19-23, James 4:8-9

Too often we are given a choice—emotions or faith and belief. Yet as Dan Allender and Tremper Longman observe, Emotion links our internal and external worlds. To be aware of what we feel can open ...

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Almighty God, you have surprised us

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 13:44, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 139:7-10, 1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Luke 2:1-20, John 4:7-26, John 21:1-14, Luke 24:13-35, Matthew 17:1-8, Luke 2:25-38, Luke 1:35-38, Hebrews 13:2, Isaiah 43:19

Almighty God, you have surprised us with your presence in unexpected ways. In the expectations of our routine, we have missed the treasure that you place before us. We come to worship you in community...

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The Mandelbrot Set

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Blessing

Scripture

1 Corinthians 12:4-6, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 139:13-14, Ephesians 2:10, Romans 12:6-8, Luke 24:50-51

In fractal geometry, there is a complex set of numbers that produces an infinitely intricate shape when plotted on a plane. It’s called a Mandelbrot set, after the founder of fractal geometry, Benoit ...

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Author

Tertullian

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 8:24-25, Hebrews 10:23, Psalm 27:13-14, Lamentations 3:25-26

Hope is patience with the lamp lit.

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Author

Charles Wesley

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Psalm 86:5, Isaiah 55:7, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Micah 7:18

Depth of mercy! Can there be Mercy still reserved for me?

liturgy

Lord, we confess that we do not love

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 57:15, Psalm 42:1-2, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Matthew 18:3-4, Lamentations 3:22-23, Matthew 5:3-12, Luke 19:1-10

Lord, we confess that we do not love you with our whole hearts And we do not love our neighbour as ourselves. We seek the blessing of others Rather than the blessing of your grace We seek comfort in w...

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Author

Jennie Allen

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 11:1, Romans 15:13, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 5:3-5, Lamentations 3:21-23

Doubt steals hope. And with no hope, everything that matters doesn’t feel as important anymore.

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New Mercies Each Day

Author

Paul David Tripp

Keywords

Mercy

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 103:17-18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 23:3, Romans 8:38-39

One of the stunning realities of the Christian life is that in a world where everything is in some state of decay, God’s mercies never grow old. They never run out. They never are ill timed. They neve...

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Author

Mal McKissock and Dianne McKissock

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, John 14:27, Revelation 21:4, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 147:3

One of the greatest needs of all bereaved people is to have access to someone who will take a risk and be involved—someone who is not afraid of intense feelings, but who will encourage their expressio...

liturgy

Loving God, you show us grace and

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Hebrews 12:28, Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 3:13, Lamentations 3:22-23, Luke 15:11-32, Jonah 3:1-10

Loving God, you show us grace and mercy, again and again and again. You shower gifts on us that we could never earn, and you are slow to punish us when we most deserve it. All too often, we forget to ...

liturgy

Standing Together: Pardon

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

John 17:21-23, Exodus 14:13-22, Lamentations 3:22-23, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 13:13, 2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 4:15-16

Nothing can stand against You Nothing No sin, no death No prejudice, no division Nothing can stand against our God You’re making us whole and holy in your mercy and grace Standing together in truth an...

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“No Fishing Allowed”

Author

Jerry Bridges

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 7:15-20, 1 John 1:9, Hebrews 10:26, Romans 8:1, 1 John 1:9, Lamentations 3:22-23

He hurls our sins overboard. What a picture of the way God treats our sins. Corrie ten Boom, a dear saint of the last century, used to say, “And then God put up a sign saying, `No fishing allowed.”‘ W...

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Author

J. R. R. Tolkein

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 29:11, Lamentations 3:21-23, 1 Peter 1:3-4, Psalm 27:13-14, Isaiah 40:31

It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. (Spoken by Galadriel)

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Author

Annie Johns Flint

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:1-36, 2 Corinthians 11:23-30, Matthew 14:13-21, 1 Kings 17:7-16, Lamentations 3:22-23, Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere that day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father’s full giving has only begun. His lo...

liturgy

Your mercies are new every morning, oh

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 51:10-12, 1 John 1:9, Romans 12:2, Isaiah 40:31

Your mercies are new every morning, oh Lord. You renew us on a regular basis. Every day we fall short. You have made us righteous through the power of Jesus, but take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted. Ple...

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Unfulfilled Prayers

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Lamentations 3:25-27, James 5:13-16

My son has seizures and intellectual disabilities. A couple of years into that journey, I organized a global prayer vigil for my son. I recruited friends and colleagues in North America, South America...

liturgy

The mercy of the Lord is from

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 103:17, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 John 1:9, Isaiah 43:25, Romans 5:8

The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. May the God of mercy, who forgives us all our sins, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life...

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