George O. Wood
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When Coping With a Crisis, Follow This Example
I was halfway into my five-year service as assistant district superintendent for our denomination when I began to sink into depression. “Why am I in the ministry?” became the theme question of my spiritual downturn. I was in a substantial midlife crisis, wondering if the second half of my life should continue on the same …
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The Key to Overcoming Hopelessness in Your Life
When you’re depressed, about the last thing you want to do is get out of bed and rise to face the morning. Here’s a psalm to counteract hopelessness and help you welcome a new day with courage. If you think the words of Psalm 108 sound familiar—they are. Look back to Psalm 57 (vv. 7-11) and Psalm …
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How Jesus Dealt With Fame—and What That Means for You
“He told the disciples to have a small boat ready for Him because of the crowd, lest they should crush Him. For He had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed on Him to touch Him. When unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him, crying out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But …
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When Difficulty Arises, This Prayer Perspective Can Help
Two men stood next to one another on the crowded subway platform in New York City. It was rush hour. The train came to a stop and the doors flew open. As the men stepped forward to enter, a man who had become nauseous on the crowded, swaying train lost it, and soiled one of …
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How Christ Followers Should Respond to Unfair Treatment
Several years ago the athletic director of a major university fired the football coach. Asked by a reporter if he was bitter, the coach replied, “Not at all, but I plan to buy a glass-bottomed car so I can watch the look on his face when I run over him.” How do you handle unfair …
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Why You Need a Fresh Touch of the Holy Spirit Daily
Pentecostals are very good about asking, “Are you filled with the Spirit?” However, that immediately makes some people defensive. “Of course, I am filled with the Spirit. I spoke in tongues 30 years ago! Why would you ask me that question?” There are others who will answer, “Of course, I am filled with the Spirit. …
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When Your Heart Is Heavy, This Scripture Is Ideal
Tears well up in the eyes of my friend Everett Stenhouse when he talks about his daughter Judy, whose life was taken instantly in an automobile crash several years ago. He tells about the time when Judy was a 3-year-old. Everett, then pastoring a church, was working in his office when Judy showed up in …
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When Long-Term Adversity Puts a Dent in Your Faith
The late great American preacher Clarence McCartney recounted ministering at the funeral of a young husband. He stood by the coffin and listened as the young widow poured out her soul in grief. Finally he said to her: “God will give you strength and faith, and out of this will come good.” “No,” she answered, …
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Why You Should Praise God During Even Your Darkest Hour
We learn from Jesus that Communion is taken within community. It isn’t meant to be a solo act in which an individual goes off by himself to take it alone. Jesus broke the bread with His disciples as a group. Communion involves presence and participation. We take it together rather than by ourselves. Over the …
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3 Ways You Can Model God’s Merciful Love
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). An old man was walking the beach early one morning, bending down to pick up starfish and throwing them out into the ocean. A teenager came by and asked, “Old man, what are you doing?” “These starfish will die of dehydration once the sun comes up …
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7 Key Moments When Jesus Prayed
“They came to a place which was named Gethsemane. And He said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray'” (Mark 14:32). If your life is marked by prayer, then prayer will be your constant companion in crucial moments. If you’re grateful in ordinary times, you’ll be grateful in times of loss and stress. If you …
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Miracles Happen With the Marriage of Word and Holy Spirit Power
Jesus left His hometown, Nazareth, following their rejection of Him. He couldn’t do mighty works there except for the few who believed. So the Lord turned His attention next to an itinerant ministry from village to village—focusing on teaching rather than miracles. It’s easy to skip over this small reference in Mark, but it should …
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Why You Should Invite Sinners Into Your Inner Circle
“As Jesus was at supper in his house, many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples. For there were many, and they followed Him. When the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, ‘How is it that He eats and drinks with …
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The Believer’s Choice: Peter or Judas
Judas is always named last in the listings of the Twelve (Mark 3; Matthew 10; Luke 6). He is variously identified as the one “who betrayed him” (Mark, Matthew, John), or “became a traitor” (Luke). John tells us the name of his father, Simon Iscariot (John 6:71; 13:2). The term Iscariot most likely identifies his town …
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How to Deal With Nasty Religious People
I will never forget an incident that happened in a small church my dad pastored when I was 10 years old. Two deacons accosted my father one evening during the prayer time at the altar. One of them was big and the other was fat. The big deacon put his fist on my dad’s chin and told …
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