Courage For Life publishes a weekly blog to encourage you to embrace your God-given courage and live the abundant life God intended for you. Bookmark this page, check back weekly for new posts, and follow Courage For Life on Instagram @GodGivesCourage.
When I was young, I remember hearing adults say there are two constants in life: death and taxes. They never said it lovingly but rather sadly, as if one must accept the inevitable. As I aged, I realized the list could be expanded, certainly the negative ones. Being a person…
Have you ever felt dissatisfied with your life? Perhaps you were frustrated and thought… If I only had just a little bit more money, … or a bigger house, … or if only I got that promotion at work…. It’s easy to slip into thinking that “more” will make us…
Our past can really complicate our present—if we let it. Sadly, we can’t change our past, but we can work to identify how and why we have allowed past issues to affect our lives today. We can stop the vicious cycle that keeps us from walking in freedom and living…
Courage For Life creates emotional health, spiritual growth, and Bible study resources with the expectation of obedience to Jesus’ teachings. David Guzik notes, “In the ancient world, it was common for people to hear a teacher. But if you followed the teacher and tried to live what he said, you…
In the United States criminal justice system, there are around two million offenders incarcerated in federal, state, local, and tribal systems at any time. According to PrisonPolicy.Org, “In a typical year, about 600,000 people enter prison gates, but people go to jail over 10 million times each year.” The United…
Suppose I told you that the sun will rise in the west tomorrow. (For those directionally challenged this is not true, because of the rotation of the earth the sun appears to rise in the east each day.) Almost everyone would disagree because of experience. But imagine there was breaking…
Many religions practice meditation, but what a specific religion means by the term “meditation” may be drastically different from another belief system. The meditation practices of New Age and Eastern religions are very different from what the Christian scriptures describe. The Bible refers to meditating on scripture in many passages.…
Our ability to make fearless, healthy choices is directly related to what we believe. Author Chris Thurman says, “Every lie that goes through your mind is slow, self-inflicted psychological and spiritual death.” Isn’t it time to blow these lies out of the water? But how do we know if something…
During the month of May, Courage For Life would like to encourage you to celebrate the courageous women in your life. This month provides a beautiful opportunity for you to acknowledge and thank the women God has allowed you to encounter and influence your life for the better. You may…
Eating a slice of chocolate cake every night before bedtime would delight our tastebuds, but this routine would soon supersize our waistlines! For optimal physical health, we must intentionally build healthy habits into our lifestyles. Likewise, if we want optimal spiritual health, we must intentionally build godly habits into our…
Christianity is based on the event of Jesus’ resurrection. Without Jesus’ resurrection, there is no Christianity. The apostle Paul told the followers of Jesus in the city of Corinth that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, their faith was in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14). Paul proclaimed the object…
Christianity is based on the event of Jesus’ resurrection. What if Jesus predicted or foretold His resurrection before it happened? Would knowing beforehand the certainty of an event add credibility to the trustworthiness of the person making the prediction? Would witnessing the event after the event had been predicted validate…
Christianity is based on the event of Jesus’ resurrection. You may be wondering why Christians celebrate Jesus’ death as Good Friday. What could be “good” about an innocent person (Jesus) being wrongly arrested, falsely tried, unjustly sentenced to death, and killed by crucifixion? Christians celebrate Jesus’ death as Good Friday…
Christianity is based on the event of Jesus’ resurrection. For Jesus to rise from the dead, He first needed to die and be buried. The soldiers confirmed Jesus’ death at the crucifixion and pierced His side with a sword. John 19:33-34 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that…
Christianity is based on the event of Jesus’ resurrection. All four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) present three core components of Jesus’ death and burial. Joseph of Arimathea takes Jesus’ body and lays Jesus’ body in a tomb. Three days later, Mary Magdalene and other women arrive at Jesus’…
Christianity is based on the event of Jesus’ resurrection. Eyewitnesses seeing Jesus after he died and was buried provide further proof that Jesus had risen from the dead. In fact, many people encountered Jesus after his resurrection from the dead. John 20:11-18 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and…
Growing up, one of mom’s most memorable quotes was, “it is better to give than to receive.” But, by focusing on just one side of the “act of giving,” a life-long habit of guilt can be born. Although we must never ignore the value and importance of generosity and selfless…
This week will celebrate a century-old holiday known as April Fools’ Day. While the day entails playing practical jokes on others, life can sometimes feel like it’s playing a practical joke on us. One of the contributions to painful life experiences is derived from self-reliance instead of relying on God.…
Have you ever had the opportunity to hear a recording of your voice? Were you surprised by how you sounded? Personally, I’m a bit shocked and certainly not so pleased with how I sound on a recording. What I have discovered is that the resonance of my voice in my…
When you were a child, how did you spend your free time? Playing sports with friends in the neighborhood? Reading books under a favorite tree? Pretending to be a great explorer? Serving your stuffed animals tea? Childhood passions give us a glimpse into the uniqueness of each person. God creates…
Like most little girls growing up, I wanted to be accepted by my peers. I didn’t dare let any of my friends know about the trouble in my home life. I believed I couldn’t share any of it with anyone, so when I went to school or hung out with…
Did you know that more than 43 million individuals speak Spanish as a first language in the United States? That’s about 13 percent of the population. Right now, Spanish-speaking individuals are searching for courage in the midst of chaos. A female inmate desperately longs to hear her heart language in…
Have you ever met someone who seems to just sail through life? They have an ideal life with no struggles or cares. Don’t they make you feel jealous, insecure, miserable, defeated, and defective? It seems like you always hit a pothole or roadblock in life, and they never even hit…
Have you ever hiked a rugged trail through the forest? My sister and I went hiking a few months ago at a state park in the mountains of Tennessee. We rambled up steep trails composed more of rocks than dirt, scrambled over boulders, and stepped around or over fallen trees.…
Many of us caught up in the dysfunctional dance of fear-based choices can trace the roots of our distorted thinking back to a time when the baggage we carried was no more than the size of a small tote bag. But those days are long gone, as many of us…
The following is a sneak peek of the first session of our in-depth study of the book of James via Instagram Live (@GodGivesCourage). Join Courage For Life each Wednesday beginning February 16 at 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT), where we will walk verse-by-verse through the book of James. This…
Some people embrace change. More power to them! For many of us, change is challenging, frightening, overwhelming, or just downright uncomfortable. Babies cry when they need a “change,” and so do we. We are creatures of habit and receive comfort from things familiar, even if they are not healthy and…
At times he deeply regretted his lack of self-control. A fisherman by trade, Simon Peter worked long hours alongside his brother Andrew sailing across the Sea of Galilee. Sometimes they worked through the night hoping to haul in nets full of tilapia or carp. Outgoing and passionate in his beliefs,…
It’s been said that the hardest part of any unfamiliar journey is the first step. Once we take this monumental first step, we may find there are more things to change than we anticipated. For example, we may need to change how we view and respond to others in our…
“But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” Isaiah 43:18-19a, NLT Has anyone ever asked, “What’s new with you?” How would you answer this question?…