Author: Phil Rehberg

Weekly words of encouragement

The Least Are The Greatest – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” Luke 9:48, NIV. Once again Jesus declares that his kingdom is an upside-down kingdom. Humans strive to be great in this life but our status in the kingdom of God is not dependent on our status in this world. God is not interested. Instead, it is the one who is least among us who is the most important. In this passage Jesus was referring to children as being great. But based on his other teachings it appears that anyone who is willing to humble themselves like a child is great in the kingdom of God (Matt. 18:4). This is so encouraging to those who have no status in this world, who do not receive much honor from others, and who realize that we really are only children before God. You can take heart that God Continue Reading →

humility pride

The Challenge Of Humility

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Jesus described himself with the words: “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29, NIV). Humility is a trait of citizens of the kingdom: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3, NIV[). If we are becoming like Christ then we will be growing in gentleness and humility. Jesus is the ideal and by the Father’s grace we can relate to others with the same gentleness and humility that he had. This will be a huge challenge for us as we grow in Christ because we will be given positions of responsibility and we will be immediately tempted to think of ourselves or present ourselves as more mature and invulnerable than those around us. We will fear showing weakness because we might lose credibility. Specifically, we will begin to act less needy and become less teachable. We will become less willing to Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Extreme Fruitfulness – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:15 (NIV) This is Jesus’ promise at the end of the parable of the sower. The seeds that fell on good soil produced a huge harvest “a hundred times more than was sown.” We all want to live fruitful lives for God and produce as much as God allows us to produce. So how do we bear a bumper crop for God? This verse mentions five responsibilities. First, have a noble heart. That is, we desire what is excellent and honorable. Second, we have a good heart. That is, our heart actually embraces and abides in good. Third, we hear the word. So we need to expose ourselves to God’s word. Fourth, we retain God’s words. Thus, we need to believe God’s Continue Reading →

approval

The Pitfall Of Pleasing Others

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One of the biggest barriers to spiritual growth is the desire to please people more than God. This is a constant temptation for all of us. People are right in front of us. We can see their faces and we don’t want to disappoint them. And if we have a big heart for people then we are even more tempted to please them before we please God. It is hard to put into words how enormous this problem is. We watch unbelievers live wasted lives because they want to win the approval of people around them. They compromise and live meaningless lives because that’s the environment they are in and they want the approval of others. And there are plenty of people willing to give them this approval. Paul describes this in Romans Chapter 1 where he first lists various sins then says people who do them are “foolish, faithless, Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Withstanding The Floods – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  Luke 6:47-48 (NIV) Jesus didn’t say we could avoid floods. We will all have “floods” in our lives, some worse than others. Maybe you are in the middle of a flood right now. That is the time to hold Jesus’ words even more closely to your heart. His words really are the foundation for your soul. So it will be helpful to read through the Gospels and find the words of Jesus and practice them. Remember faith, hope and love. As you focus on the teachings of Jesus the flood loses Continue Reading →