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For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit… --1 Peter 3:18 What difficulties are you facing in your life right now? Do you have challenges in your family or business? Is there a physical or emotional illness? Well, in the verse above, Peter is saying that regardless of the pain and suffering in our lives, Jesus is the ultimate answer. Peter is describing a conquering Jesus!   The day Jesus died on the cross, heaven cried and hell celebrated. It was mankind’s darkest day. But it didn’t stay that way. No, Jesus invaded the forces of hell and conquered death. And he now rules and reigns preeminent as Lord and King! And in those conquering actions, Jesus died not only for your sin, but for your pain and suffering, too. He died and rose again for the wounded, the brokenhearted, the hurting, and for those in pain. He died for all. Now Jesus wants us to take courage in who he is and what he has done for us. You and I have a Savior who lives. And for that reason, your hope lives, too. Jesus is the living source of our confidence, courage, and faith. Whatever your challenge today, take heart! Trust in Jesus. There is no greater hope and no greater promise in the world than that which is found in the conquering Jesus.  YOUR HOPE LIVES, SO TAKE HEART! Healed Slightly​ Monday, July 15, 2019 by Dr. Paul Chappell “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them? Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 8:9-11 Imagine if you sat across from an oncologist who was giving you the bad news that you had cancer. Immediately you would want to know what the prognosis was. Then you would want to know what the treatment plan would entail. How would you respond if that doctor said, “Well I think if you put a wrap on your wrist and a sling around your arm, that will take care of it”? You’d be looking for a new doctor immediately, because you would recognize the course of care he suggested would have no impact on your disease. This is what Jeremiah was referencing when he condemned the false prophets—they prescribed a cure that wouldn’t work. The only “healing” they offered was a false assurance that brought temporary peace. We live in a world diseased and broken by sin. We have the cure for the deadly problem of sin that works every time it is applied. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). And yet many times, like a child spitting out a medicine that tastes bad, people reject the cure for something that doesn’t make them uncomfortable. Many churches, including some that are very large, offer kind words that people want to hear rather than diagnosing and effectively treating the problem. This may be popular, but it kills. Today's Growth Principle:  Only the truth of the Bible faithfully believed and followed offers a genuine cure for sin.