Author: Phil Rehberg

“that you may know … his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Eph 1:18-19 (NIV) God has power for us that is so enormous that no other kind of power can even compare to it. It is power to give new life. It is power to give peace and hope. It is power to purify us. It is power to change our circumstances. It is power for spiritual formation and growth. It is power to transform us into a reflection of God. Think for a moment: what other power is like this power? Is there some other power that is proven to do all these things? This is the evidence of God’s tremendous power towards us. This is the power we can trust. May you receive and embrace these words of encouragement!  Simple application: put your name in the verse instead of “us” or “we”. Then say it out Continue Reading →

“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” Eph 1:13-14 (NIV) The Holy Spirit is a mark, a seal, a deposit, and a guarantee! Christians experience the Holy Spirit in different ways. Some feel Him strongly, others feel Him in a subtle way. Regardless of how we experience Him, the Spirit is a living presence deep inside us who encourages us in following Jesus. And the point of this passage is that His presence is a guarantee of our present gifts and of our future eternity in a new perfect creation. If the Holy Spirit is real then everything else is certain. He is the “proof” of the truth of Jesus. Since we have the Spirit we know we have all things. May you receive and embrace these words of encouragement!  Simple application: put your name in Continue Reading →

“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.” Rom 12:4-5  (NLT) Everyone gets to play.  God loves us enough to make everyone important. He does this by giving everyone specific gifts and functions in the body of Christ. This encourages us because we know that regardless of whatever limitations we think we have we are still valuable in the church. But this is also a powerful tool for encouraging others. We see people come into our congregation who are new to Jesus and all beaten up by the world and they are wondering if they even fit in. They feel completely inferior to whoever is speaking up front. But when we Continue Reading →