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Our focus this week in Crisis Counsels is this verse in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Fear not, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 After the initial... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are looking at the following verse in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Fear not, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 After the... Read More →

Even when we have experienced God’s providence, it is easy to lose heart when new challenges arise; we need to persevere in faith and support one another in the process. Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we will be looking at a single verse in the book of the prophet Isaiah: Fear not, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 This is a... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we have been looking at verses in the book of Proverbs, one of the “wisdom books” in the Bible. Our final verses this week are: Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for wisdom is more profitable than silver and yields... Read More →

In Crisis Counsels this week we are considering a section of verses in the center of Proverbs chapter 3. Verses 5 through 8 read: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge God, and he will make straight your paths.... Read More →

We continue our reflection this week about a passage in the book of Proverbs. In the previous days we have looked at these two verses: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge God, and he will make straight your... Read More →

In a time of deprivation and uncertainty, with no clarity how this is all going to work out, we are led to trust God on a daily basis and keep on in faith. God supplies our need, supremely through Jesus, the bread of life. Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are drawing insights from one of the “wisdom books” of the Bible, the book of Proverbs. Yesterday we looked at chapter 3, verse 5, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.” The next verse says: In all... Read More →

The book of Proverbs contains many wise counsels for living. This week in Crisis Counsels we will focus on some of the insights shared in Proverbs chapter 3. Verse 5 says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. There is a higher wisdom that... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we have focused on a passage in the book of Lamentations in which Jeremiah looks in faith to God out of a situation of enormous trouble. The final verse in our passage is Lamentations 3:26: It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are looking at the main “bright spot” in the book of Lamentations, where, out of the midst of a time of great anguish, Jeremiah looks to God and finds reason for hope. We have looked so far at chapter 3, verses 19 through 24. The next verse says:... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels our focus is on Jeremiah’s book of Lamentations, which is essentially one long lament over one of the worst disasters in the history of Israel — the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, which resulted in the destruction of the city and the... Read More →

Do we get “riled up” about things that really should get us fired up? The book of Jonah challenges us to be “appropriately aggrieved,” and become passionate about the purposes of God. Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are looking at a passage in the book of Lamentations, which was written by the prophet Jeremiah in the midst of one of the most trying times in the history of history – the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of many people into... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we will look at Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire. Lamentations is so named because most of the short book is a “lament” – an expression of sorrow over the devastation that... Read More →

Today we come to the conclusion of Psalm 3, a psalm written by King David after he had fled from Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion.  In the psalm, David trusts in God for protection and help.  He concludes by saying, Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing... Read More →

In this week’s Crisis Counsels our focus is Psalm 3, a psalm written by King David during the rebellion of his son Absalom. Absalom had advanced on Jerusalem with a large armed force, and David, who escaped from the city, was forced to try to quickly assemble his followers. In... Read More →

We continue our journey this week in Crisis Counsels through Psalm 3, a psalm written by King David after he had fled from Jerusalem during the rebellion of Absalom. Absalom had superior forces, and David was under serious threat. Yet he says in the psalm: I lie down and sleep; I... Read More →

God’s desire is for all to turn and be saved from sin and death. Read More →

Our focus this week in Crisis Counsels is Psalm 3, which was written by King David when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during the rebellion of Absalom. David was in dire circumstances, but in the Psalm he says, But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one... Read More →

Our focus this week in Crisis Counsels will be Psalm 3, which begins, O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying to me,“There is no help for you in God.” Psalm 3:1–2 Prior to verse 1, the Psalm begins with an opening note which says, “A Psalm of... Read More →

This week our focus has been on this well-known passage from James: Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be mature and complete,... Read More →

We have been reflecting this week about this passage in James:  Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be mature and complete,... Read More →

Our Scripture for this week in Crisis Counsels is this passage in the letter of James:  Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may... Read More →

When we find ourselves deep in trouble, it can be a time of coming afresh into the presence of God. Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are looking at the following passage in the letter of James:  Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are looking at a passage in the New Testament letter of James:  Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that... Read More →

The final verse in Psalm 42 is an exact repeat of a verse that appears in the center of the Psalm: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. Psalm 42:11 The same words are in verse 5. In... Read More →

In Psalm 42 the Psalmist swings between feelings of despair and affirmations of faith. He says near the end of the Psalm: I say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?” As with a deadly wound in my body, my... Read More →

Sometimes God calls us in ways that leave us feeling we want to run in the opposite direction, as did Jonah! But in fact God would lead us in directions that bring fulfillment. Read More →

Psalm 42 expresses the situation of a person who is in great trouble and despair. The Psalmist appears to be sinking; as he says in verse 7: “Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me.” But as he lifts his soul to God,... Read More →

The powerful poetry of Psalm 42 comes to a crescendo in verse 7, which says: Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. The image of being overwhelmed by mighty waters expresses the feeling of the Psalmist, who has... Read More →

If you are feeling down, Psalm 42 is a perfect Psalm to read, because the Psalmist connects deeply with what you are feeling. The sixth verse says, “My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember You, from the land of the Jordan, and from Mt Hermon, and from Mount Mizar.”... Read More →

In Crisis Counsels we are considering Psalm 42, where the Psalmist confronts a time of great trouble. At the center of the Psalm is this verse: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.... Read More →

In Crisis Counsels we are following the spiritual journey of the Psalmist in Psalm 42, as he wrestles with a time of great trouble. As he seeks to find spiritual direction, he says, “These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are moving verse by verse through Psalm 42, a Psalm which speaks directly to difficult times. The third verse of the Psalm reads, “My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?” In a time of great... Read More →

Easter is the movement from forsakenness – the feeling that God is absent – to the triumph of God’s redeeming power! Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we journey through Psalm 42, which begins – in the verse we considered yesterday – with one of the most beautiful images in the Psalms: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God.” (Psalm 42:1) It is the theme verse of one... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we begin a journey through Psalm 42, in which the Psalmist calls to God in the midst of distress. We will find that this Psalm connects in many ways to our present circumstances. The Psalm begins, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul... Read More →

In Crisis Counsels this week we are reflecting about the events on each day of Holy Week. Tomorrow there will be no issue of Crisis Counsels, and I invite you instead to connect with the online Good Friday meditation that we will be presenting at noon on Facebook Live. Today is... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are reflecting about what took place on each day of Holy Week. On Wednesday, the major event was an anointing of Jesus by an unnamed woman, described in the gospels of Matthew and Mark as follows: “It was two days before the Passover and the... Read More →

In the moment of greatest challenge and finally in the moment of death, we can entrust ourselves with confidence into God’s hands. Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we are reflecting about the events that took place each day of Holy Week. On Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus delivered the Olivet Discourse – so named because it is a set of teachings that Jesus spoke on the Mount of Olives. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus... Read More →

This week in Crisis Counsels we will be following the course of events during Holy Week. Yesterday, Palm Sunday, we remembered how Jesus entered triumphantly into Jerusalem. Monday of Holy Week was the day that Jesus cleansed the temple. The gospels report, “Jesus entered the... Read More →

Today’s Crisis Counsels brings the story we have been considering from II Chronicles 20 to its conclusion. The story began with messengers reporting to King Jehoshaphat of Judah that three nations – the Ammonites, Moabites, and Meunites (also known as the inhabitants of Mount... Read More →

Using Psalm 46 as inspiration, Dr. Palmer reminds us how we can look to God in faith during the darkest of times. Read More →

In Crisis Counsels we have been considering a story from II Chronicles 20, where the people of Judah, faced with a terrifying invasion, were led by the musician/prophet Jahaziel to march out to meet the invading forces. Even though the people of Judah were woefully outnumbered,... Read More →

In Crisis Counsels we have been tracking a story about a great crisis that confronted the land of Judah in the mid-9th century B.C. Faced with a huge invasion, King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah looked to God in faith. The musician/prophet Jahaziel proclaimed a message from... Read More →

In Crisis Counsels we have been following the story of the people of Judah in a time of great crisis, when they faced an invasion by an overwhelming army. God spoke to the people through the musician/prophet Jahaziel, who told the people to go out and confront the invaders in the... Read More →