Category Archives: fear

FEAST WELL

WHEN TIMES ARE LEAN…

“February was a busy month, but not necessarily one of plenty.

Bills and time demands have piled up.

On one hand, there have been several occasions for celebration, from the courageous leaders of black and women’s history to the warmth of Valentine’s Day to the revivals sweeping across the nation’s colleges.

But if your schedule has been anything like mine, it can be hard to lift your head up to heavenly virtues when your nose stays fastened to the grindstone.

And all too often, that’s exactly where the enemy will set his trap. When circumstances swirl around us that seem to bring nothing but “no’s” and “not enough’s,” he will stealthily nudge us into a limitation-shaped outlook I’ll call “deprivation mentality…”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2023/03/10/feast-well

FEAR NOT

WHEN WORRY HITS…

“My daughter Katie just received her fifth college acceptance from the University of the South, the most prestigious school she’s been admitted to so far.

Every parent probably has a story of a door opening for their child that made them proud, but Katie’s story is a little different than most.

At the age of four, after an otherwise healthy childhood, Katie had her first epileptic seizure. Then another one. Then they began hitting her in clusters that her little body just couldn’t keep up with.

And they wouldn’t stop…”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2023/02/01/fear-not

TRAIN FOR YOUR DESTINY

WHEN A NEW YEAR DAWNS…

“New year, new me.

Sounds great on the surface.

But sometimes the weight of past disappointments can offset the hopeful impact built on the thin foundation of a single calendar date. Especially those of us who had our hopes up in New Year 2020.

But what if you had a hope built on the firmest foundation imaginable?”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2023/01/02/train-for-your-destiny

A SPIRIT OF GIVING

WHEN YOU’RE STRETCHED THIN…

“The holidays come with a special set of pressures.

Demands, obligations, and expectations swirl around us like no other time of year. Not to mention the potential for hurt feelings and conflict lurking around the corner of every close relationship.

And when our nerves inevitably get frayed, it’s easy to get down on ourselves for not having the kind of spirit we are supposed to.

But the key to navigating this hectic time of year is forged from the same source of every other guideline for life’s many challenges: the firm foundation of faith that the only Christmas gift who matters has already given us…”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2023/01/02/a-spirit-of-giving

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

WHEN THE BATTLE FINDS US…

“Halloween is a holiday that evokes mixed reactions from Christians.

Some welcome it with open arms as a harmless celebration for the young and young-at-heart. Others are repulsed by the darker supernatural elements associated with it.

While it may not be productive to debate the correct approach to Halloween, the holiday can present Christians an opportunity to contemplate the best way to confront the darkness we face in life, so we can understand how God is calling us to combat it.

Like Halloween, topics relating to the forces of evil draw a great deal of debate among Christians. In the introduction to one of his most popular and controversial works, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, C.S. Lewis puts it this way:

‘There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.’…”
Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2022/10/30/deliver-us-from-evil

LIFT YOUR LAMPSTAND

WHEN THE BUSHEL FEELS SAFER…

“Some of us don’t love the spotlight. And we’ve all been through seasons we don’t want displayed before the world.
 
Seasons that send you reeling as the hits just keep coming. Seasons that make you look “less than” in the eyes of the world. Seasons that raise more questions than answers.

These are the seasons when the glare of light can sting our eyes and leave us ducking for cover. These are the seasons when we want to run from the lampstand straight into the nearest bushel we can find.
 
But that is exactly what the enemy wants us to do…”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2022/10/08/lift-your-lampstand

VICTORY IN JESUS

3 LESSONS OF EASTER…

“Tomorrow is Easter. Resurrection Day. A day of triumph and redemption. Of joy and feasting.
 
The morning of deliverance that follows the darkness of sin and death.
 
This week, I have attempted a fairly extensive study of Jesus’s activities each day of Holy Week, and here are 3 messages of hope I have taken away from God’s Word about this time….”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2022/05/03/victory-in-jesus

BETTER THAN LUCK

THE POWER OF *YET* AND *ALREADY*…

“Everyone feels unlucky sometimes. And for the past two years, the entire world has felt the sting of less than favorable winds.

We might want to chime in with Job when he said, “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?”
 
The answer to that question, friends, lies in the power of two words: “yet” and “already…”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2022/03/21/better-than-luck

TRUSTING GOD

WHEN HE’S HARD TO FIND…

“Sometimes trusting God is easy.

In so many infinite and indescribable ways, he can show up when we least expect it and utterly transform our lives…

But there are other times when it’s much harder to trust him, or even find him.

Times when the trials and threats of the world sideline not only our circumstances but our sense of inner security and peace.

Times when we wonder what we are going to do, how much we will stand to lose, and why God seems so far away throughout it all…”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2022/03/05/trusting-god

INTO 2022

WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE THE SAME WILDERNESS…

“We’ve all seen the memes by now: 2020 was a trilogy.

And after a difficult duo, it’s hard to have much hope for another pandemic year.

At this stage, the only truly positive outcome would involve a magical way out. But, rapture beliefs aside, magic is one of the last things anyone is counting on this year.

Yet those in the family of Christ believe in a power much stronger than magic, and that is where our true hope for 2022 lies…”

Continue reading: https://cainspirations.blog/2022/01/21/into-2022