Avoiding Bitterness In Suffering

When Ronda Chervin's son, Charles, ended his own life, he did so believing that it is pointless to endure inevitable suffering. In the wake of Charles's death, Dr. Chervin set out to discover some of the most basic - but all too often misunderstood - answers to why God allows us to suffer, and how we can bear it with perseverance and hope. She shares her discoveries in these pages, helping you understand that while there is no escape from pain, pain itself is the road into the heart of Christ where peace can be found. You'll be given encouragement and practical advice as you explore afflictions such as failure, fear, frustration, loneliness, loss, marital problems, physical pain, fatigue, and temptation. Dr. Chervin explains each affliction in detail and offers reflections on the lives of saints who suffered from the very same cross. Throughout each chapter you're given practical suggestions on how you can meet Christ in your particular pain. You'll draw wisdom from the lives and writings of saints who were addicted, depressed, exhausted, raped, and unhappily married. And among these saints, you'll discover within their responses a pattern that you can ponder and imitate. Avoiding Bitterness in Suffering will bring courage and hope that in Christ and in communion with his saints, you can - and will - triumph over every kind of adversity. You'll also learn: How you can overcome the pain associated with loneliness and isolationFive ways to overcome doubts about the FaithFour steps to liberation from the suffering of indecisionFive ways to meet Christ in the suffering of exploitationWhat St. Benedict teaches us about failure - and how it changed the worldHow to cope with failure and povertyFive ways you can transform fear into trust in ChristHow you can turn frustrations and anger into a Christian spiritHow you can respond in a holy way to marital discord, demanding spouses, physical abuse, psychological abuse, abandonment, and rageFour ways you can turn to Christ in times of temptation

Bitterness is a destructive poison, yet we all struggle with it sometimes due to circumstances our sovereign God has allowed. In a world full of struggle, we must take care that difficult circumstances do not feed a bitter spirit within us. In this honest and hopeful book, pastor and counselor Stephen Viars shows you how to avoid the pitfalls of a bitter heart as you walk through our fallen world. When we learn to process bitterness biblically and effectively, we can move from life's greatest hurts to a life filled with joy.

Pastor John Piper shows how to sever the clinging roots of sin that ensnare us, including anxiety, pride, shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust in Battling Unbelief. When faith flickers, stoke the fire. No one sins out of duty. We sin because it offers some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us, until we believe that God is more desirable than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Only the power of God’s superior promises in the gospel can emancipate our hearts from servitude to the shallow promises and fleeting pleasures of sin. Delighting in the bounty of God’s glorious gospel promises will free us for a less sin-encumbered life, to the glory of Christ. Rooted in solid biblical reflection, this book aims to help guide you through the battles to the joys of victory by the power of the gospel and its superior pleasure.

Equip your family for spiritual warfare. Few families are aware of the Devil's attacks. Fewer know how to withstand them. Is yours ready? Jim Logan used to think spiritual warfare was a radical idea. That was before he realized just how real it was, especially in the lives of families. Moved by this discovery, in a ten-year span he read over 400 books on spiritual warfare and counseled hundreds of families under satanic attack, soon emerging as a spiritual warfare expert. Reclaiming Surrendered Ground represents the insights gained in those years of study and ministry, and it contains the principles he turned to repeatedly in counseling families. Logan will help you and your family: Become alert to the enemy and his tactics Discover your areas of vulnerability Live freely in Christs victory Dont let the enemy gain ground in your family. Read Reclaiming Surrendered Ground and be equipped for battle. www.biblicalrestorationministries.org

In this stirring, passionate book, Chandler shows that Christian courage is needed like never before. He encourages believers not to be thwarted by fear, but to depend on God and have confidence that Christ will build his church, despite continual marginalization.

The astonishing, Job-like story of how an existence filled with loss, suffering, questioning, and anger became a life filled with shocking and incomprehensible peace and joy. Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for ten years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, and they did: carefree college days, a dream job in Boston, and an MBA from Stanford where she met and married a classmate. But life unraveled. Again. She had four miscarriages. Her son died because of a doctor's mistake. And Vaneetha was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, meaning she would likely become a quadriplegic. And then her husband betrayed her and moved out, leaving her to raise two adolescent daughters alone. This was not the abundant life she thought God had promised her. But, as Vaneetha discovered, everything she experienced was designed to draw her closer to Christ as she discovered "that intimacy with God in suffering can be breathtakingly beautiful."

A healing book for those in the wake of life’s devastating storms. We can never plan for the unexpected turns of this life that sometimes lead to great personal suffering. Sometimes that suffering can overshadow everything and threaten to pull us under. Nancy Guthrie knows what it is to be plunged into life’s abyss. Framing her own story of staggering loss and soaring hope with the biblical story of Job, she takes you by the hand and guides you on a pathway through pain—straight to the heart of God. Holding On to Hope offers an uplifting perspective, not only for those experiencing monumental loss, but for anyone going through difficulty and failure. (Includes an 8-week study on the book of Job for readers who want to dig deeper into what the Bible says about dealing with suffering and grief.)

Catholic Health Ministry Edited by Rachelle Barina, Nathaniel Hibner, and Tobias Winright Repair Work: Rethinking the Separation of Academic Moral Theologians and Catholic Health Care Ethicists Paul Wojda Catholic Bioethicists and Moral Theologians Drifting Apart?: A Sequela of Specialization and Professionalization Becket Gremmels Equally Strange Fruit: Catholic Health Care and the Appropriation of Residential Segregation Cory Mitchell and Therese Lysaught Hospital and Health System M&A: Is It Good for Community Health? Michael Panicola63 Accompaniment with the Sick: An Authentic Christian Vocation that Rejects the Fallacy of Prosperity Theology Ramon Luzarraga76 Grace at the End of Life: Rethinking Ordinary and Extraordinary Means in a Global Context Conor Kelly89 A Voice in the Wilderness: Reimagining the Role of Catholic Health Care Mission Leader Michael McCarthy114 Theologians in Catholic Healthcare Ministries: Breaking Beyond the Bond with Ethics Darren Henson130