Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders, and the founder of the De Pree Center’s Flourishing in the Third Third of Life Initiative. Previously, Mark was the Executive Director of the De Pree Center, the lead pastor of a church in Southern California, and the Senior Director of Laity Lodge in Texas. He has written eight books, dozens of articles, and over 2,500 devotions that help people discover the difference God makes in their daily life and leadership. With a Ph.D. in New Testament from Harvard, Mark teaches at Fuller Seminary, most recently in his D.Min. cohort on “Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation.” Mark is married to Linda, a marriage and family counselor, spiritual director, and executive coach. Their two grown children are educators on the high school and college level.
The Gift of Comfort
God continues to comfort us today in a variety of ways. When we take our worries to the Lord in prayer, God gives us the gift of supernatural peace. When we remember God’s faithfulness in the past, we are calmed in the present. Often God’s comfort comes through people who care for us, suffer with us, pray for us, and share God’s love with us in tangible ways.
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Pay Attention to Your Weaknesses
We all have weaknesses, and these weaknesses can be a real problem in our lives, especially in our exercise of leadership. We see a striking example of this truth in Isaiah 39, in the life of King Hezekiah. His pride contributed, not only to his personal downfall, but also the downfall of his nation. If we pay attention to our weaknesses, if we bring them honestly before God, we can structure our lives so as to minimize their negative impact.
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How Will I Be Remembered After I’m Gone? Part 2
Have you ever driven home from a memorial service wondering what might be said someday in your own service? This happened to me recently after a memorial service for a friend.
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Pickleball, Play, and Third Third Flourishing
“Now that you are retired, it’s time to play pickleball all day, every day.” That’s the message from the front of a retirement card.
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The Pleasure and the Puzzle of Prayer
We will never fully understand why God answers our prayers in the way God does, this side of Heaven, at any rate. Yet we continue to pray, trusting that God knows what is best even if we can’t figure out God’s ways.
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The Power of Praise
When we face overwhelming challenges to our faith, we can certainly be honest with God, asking for divine help. But the example of Hezekiah in Isaiah 37 encourages us to do something else. When we feel dwarfed by what’s hard in life and fearful of where things seem to be going, we should pause to praise the Lord, remembering the Lord’s greatness, goodness, and grace.
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How Can We Remain Faithful in the Face of Tough Challenges?
Centuries ago, the faith of God’s people was challenged by the logical taunts of the Assyrians. Though the challenges we face today are quite different in content, they are similar in effect. How can we remain faithful to God when tough challenges threaten to dismantle our faith?
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Living Today in Light of God’s Future
Centuries ago, the exiled Israelites were inspired by a vision of the day when God would set them free and bring them home. A similar vision inspires us today, even if we are not actual exiles. We look forward to the future when God’s shalom will cover the earth. This confident hope empowers us to live for God’s purposes today.
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Healing: Then and Now
Isaiah 35 envisions a time when God’s healing will touch all people and all things. Jesus began to fulfill this vision through his ministry of healing, which demonstrated the presence and power of the kingdom of God. If we live as citizens of God’s kingdom, healing is possible, though incompletely in this age. We long for the pervasive and perfect healing that is yet to come.
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The God of Justice and Love
Isaiah 34 points to God’s vengeance, reminding us of just how much God detests sin and loves justice. As people loved by God, we will seek to love what God loves, and this includes justice.
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The Judge, Ruler, and King Who Saves Us
God is our judge . . . but also our justifier. God is our ruler . . . and also the one who helps us to follow life-giving rules. God is the king . . . and also the one who humbled himself in Jesus for our sake. God our judge, ruler, and king is also our Savior.
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The Fear of the Lord is Your Treasure
Sometimes we avoid talking about “the fear of the Lord” because we don’t want people to be so afraid of God that they run away. Yet, by doing so we risk minimizing God’s awesomeness and neglecting God’s holiness. Isaiah 33 observes that “the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.” As it was for the Israelites, so it can be for us when we revere the holy God who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
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Be a Leader Under the Authority of King Jesus
If we want to be effective and godly leaders, then we will exercise our leadership under the authority of Jesus, the king who reigns in true righteousness. We will take our cues from Jesus, imitating his example and embodying his values.
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Is It Time For You to Turn Back?
Like the ancient Israelites, we can get off course and start heading in the wrong direction in life. When this happens, we need to turn back to the Lord, leaving behind all that is wrong so that we might walk in a right relationship with God.
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God Can Be Your Teacher
In difficult times it can feel as if God is absent. But, in fact, God is present not only to comfort us, but also to teach us. In adversity, we get better acquainted with God our Teacher.
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