Suffering often raises deep questions about God’s purpose and our place in His plan. This year’s Sanctity of Life radio special brings a message of hope and healing to listeners facing life’s hardest challenges.
We highlight how faith in Jesus provides strength and purpose amidst chronic physical suffering.
As one who also suffers with chronic pain for over two decades, scripture is often my go-to place to find solace, grace, and encouragement. Over the years I’ve compiled a personal list of comforting Bible passages (with a little help from my fellow Pain Pals) and pray that this free download will help you whether or not you struggle with pain.
~ Bradley Mattes
If God loves us, why do we suffer? Christian or not, it’s a question that comes up repeatedly during times of grief and tragedy. In times of distress, we want to know that our suffering matters to God and that He cares about our pain.
“Sometimes a fresh word may, in fact, be a very old one,” write Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes in When God Weeps‚ Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty.
The Beyond Suffering Bible was carefully crafted by our team at Joni and Friends in partnership with Tyndale House Publishers to specifically address the needs of people affected by disability and those facing chronic conditions. We invite you to help us put the Beyond Suffering Bible into the hands of people who greatly need Godís infinite hope. The Beyond Suffering Bible includes: Book Intros, Profiles, Devotionals, Connection Points. Bible Version: New Living Translation.
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.
But when life unraveled. – again – 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.”
While reading this book, your eyes may be opened to an invisible land that exists all around you. Have you ever met a suffering person who was still smiling? Do you understand why distress and anguish crush some folks and not others? Come and meet the pilgrims in this Land of Affliction who have learned the eternal key to being joyful, hopeful, and patient through peril. Meet Miss Wisdom, Lady Peace, and Young Courage (among others) and learn who gives them peace and calms their fears of decline and death. Read and be comforted.
Britain is facing a significant controversy. Members of Parliament are currently debating a law to legalize assisted suicide.
Life Issues Institute has a new tool to assist MPs who want to protect life.
Click here for more information →
The slippery slope of euthanasia continues to loom large. As states pass or attempt to pass laws legalizing varying degrees of euthanasia, it is important to look to countries that have passed euthanasia legislation.
AP recently reported that the Netherlands has been euthanizing autistic people and others with intellectual disabilities.
Joni Eareckson Tada is founder and CEO of Joni and Friends, an organization that provides Christian outreach in the disability community. Joni and Friends provides practical support and spiritual help to special needs families worldwide. Joni is the author of numerous bestselling books, including Joni and Ken: An Untold Love Story, Diamonds in the Dust, and the Gold Medallion Award-winning When God Weeps. Joni and her husband, Ken, reside in Calabasas, CA.
Veneetha Rendall Risner writes and speaks about finding hope in suffering. Her Bible study, Desperate for Hope as well as her memoir, Walking Through Fire, and her devotional The Scars That Have Shaped Me all encourage readers to turn to Christ in their pain. Her story includes childhood bullying, losing an infant son, living with a painful and debilitating physical condition and going through an unwanted divorce.
Barbara Coleman married her Young Life leader when she was 18 years old. Together she and Mike have been in ministry for over 50 years. During that time, she led Bible Studies, spoke at Women’s Retreats, and opened her home to hundreds of folks, feeding most of them. She was misdiagnosed and left untreated for three decades. She’s had 20 diagnoses including arsenic poisoning, cancer, Lyme disease, its co-infections, and other vector-borne diseases.
A veteran of the pro-life cause . . .
With 50 years of significant contributions and recognitions in the pro-life movement, Brad Mattes is widely known in the United States and worldwide for his passion for the preborn and is the co-founder and president of Life Issues Institute.
Since 2003 he has been the host of the daily radio commentary Life Issues, heard on over 1,300 radio outlets nationwide. He has also hosted a wide variety of half-hour radio specials on topics raging from men and abortion to the US Supreme Court.
Brad was also the host and executive producer of a weekly half-hour TV program Facing Life Head-On that ran for eight seasons garnering three Emmy Awards and other accolades.
His extensive media experience makes him an excellent choice to host this weekly program designed to cover breaking stories and impart foundational educational topics on the life issues.
