Month: August 2020

Weekly words of encouragement

God Will Reveal Your Good Deeds – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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He will bring forth your righteousness as the lightAnd your judgment as the noonday. Psalms 37:6 (NASB) Our faithfulness to God and his way of virtue often goes unrewarded. At work we may swim against the current and choose honesty and integrity. We might go out of our way to do something extra for someone or help them in their work. But if our fellow workers are not followers of God we might be ignored or even pushed out to the margins. In general, our righteous actions may not be recognized because of the selfishness, resentment or suspicion of others. Humans are naturally self-centered so we need to accept this with grace. But God promises that one day, probably not until the next age, the truth about us will be revealed. The true judgment of our life will brightly shine for all to see. Then we have the satisfaction of Continue Reading →

prosperity

Are Believers Supposed To Be Prosperous? – Part 1

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Today there is much confusion about the relationship that believers should have to prosperity and wealth. In the Old Testament God promised material prosperity to his faithful followers. When he was bringing them to the promised land he promised prosperity if they followed his law. 12 “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. 13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples. Deuteronomy 7:12-14 (ESV) In Psalm 81:13, 16 God Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Our Father Fulfills Our Desires – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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Delight yourself in the Lord,and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4 (ESV) This promise may seem like an overstatement but I think that it is eventually true for those who delight themselves in the Lord. If we keep our hearts rejoicing in God in Christ, and what he has done for us and the blessing of following him, then he will give us the desires of our hearts sooner or later. Remember that the kingdom of God is already here but not yet complete. This means that most of God’s blessings are here in part but not yet completely fulfilled. Therefore, my desire for complete inner peace and joy is only partly fulfilled now, but will be completely fufilled on the New Earth. My prayers for financial stability is only partly fulfilled now but I will completely secure and prosperous in the next age. When Continue Reading →

maturity

Do You Passionately Pursue Maturity?

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Jesus and his Apostles clearly taught us that we should pursue maturity. But why? In an earlier post we listed five reasons for pursuing holiness, which is essentially the same as maturity. In this post, we want to focus mostly on the motivation of becoming what God made us to be. If your teenage child stopped growing intellectually and emotionally would you not consider this a cause for great concern and make an exhaustive search for an answer to the problem? Wouldn’t you realize that unless your child resumes their development that they will not become what they should become? Wouldn’t you make every effort to help them achieve adulthood along with its benefits? Likewise, if we allow ourselves to become complacent about our growth just because we have reached “teenage” maturity then are we not choosing to fall far short of what we are meant to be? Are we Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

God Gives Us The Gift Of Light – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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In your light we see light. Psalms 36:9 (NIV) One of the great privileges of being a child of God is that he opens up our eyes to more and more truth and wisdom. God is the source of light. He gives us spiritual light as well as physical light. Our old self, who still lingers inside us, can not see invisible reality. It can not see what forces are at work in the world, what God is doing, why he does what he does and what his goals are. Our old self can not see the glory and satisfaction of following Jesus, including the sacrifices we make. But as a child of God we escape the darkness in the world and in our old self and we live in God’s light. We actually get to see what countless philosophers and psychologists and activists and most of our neighbors never Continue Reading →