Endurance: The Encourager Magazine

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Encourager: Living In Light of Eternity

Articles

Putting It In Perspective

The Milan Cathedral is a stunning architectural work. Those who visit it are so amazed that they often overlook some of the finer details. One such detail, the three inscriptions that span the magnificent arched doorways, puts the whole issue of eternity in perspective.

Above one arch is carved a wreath of roses with the words, “All that pleases is but for a moment.”

Above the second is a cross with the words,“... (continued)

How Do You Keep An Eternal Perspective When You're Suffering?

Embracing an eternal perspective can at times seem very elusive. The truth is, whether we are suffering or not, the demands of life can distract us and keep us from having that perspective.This often happens because we focus on our circumstances and forget who we are to look to for the strength to endure our journey through those circumstances. The Bible makes this clear in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 where Paul encourages us to not lose heart even when we... (continued)

Learning To See The Big Picture

Learning to focus on the big picture isn’t easy.We are usually more comfortable focusing our attention on what’s in our immediate view, or on what we can control. But sooner or later reality has a way of turning our world upside down.

My world turned upside down in the waiting rooms and hallways of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital. All of my life I had avoided funeral homes and hospitals, but when Dave got sick, I got my wake-up call. I ... (continued)

Living In Light of Eternity

During the past year, The Encourager has dealt with a topic some of us think about from time to time but which all of us think about when we have to face our own mortality—that is, heaven!

Obviously it would take volumes to cover the whole subject in detail, and we would still be left with questions about heaven’s wonderful mysteries. But we have explored the r... (continued)

Nurturing An Eternal Perspective

The ability to view life, our losses, and our future from God’s eternal perspective doesn’t come naturally. It is a perspective we have to acquire. The best way to develop that perspective is to immerse ourselves in Scripture—to fill our minds with God’s thoughts on life, death, and eternal life. Here is a sampling of favorite Scripture passages that help us “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.”(continued)

From Pain To Peace - The Power Of An Eternal Perspective

Early in her art studies, Barbie Kolar learned about the fundamental principle of perspective.“You first have to look at something in perspective to the horizon,” she explains,“then you can put it in its proper place and size.”

Later in life, Barbie suffered a series of devastating losses that shattered her perspective on life.Within a short span of time she lost her 14 year-old son and 21 year old daughter in tragic accidents.In the afte... (continued)

Perspective Makes All The Difference

When we’re suffering, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. It’s easy to be consumed by the concerns of the day and lose the eternal perspective that enables us to go on. Once, when I was struggling to keep my head above water and focus on the eternal, a friend of mine greatly encouraged me. He asked me to imagine a scene in heaven and a conversation between God and me.

Suppose God said, “David, I am about to give you a choice. I’... (continued)

Made To Last Forever

This life is not all there is. At most, you will live a hundred years on earth, but you will spend forever in eternity.Your time on earth is, as Sir Thomas Brown said,“but a small parenthesis in eternity.”

God made you to last forever, and you will spend far more time on the other side of death—in eternity—than you will here. His plan for your life involves far more than the few decades you will spend on this planet. His purpose for you... (continued)

When Eternity Draws Near

Late in his long life, Moses penned the words, “So teach us to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom”(Psalm 90:12 NASB). This issue of The Encourager has focused on gaining the wisdom of living in light of eternity. That perspective becomes all the more important when we realize how quickly the... (continued)

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