Author: Phil Rehberg

weekly words of encouragement

God Hears Our Tears – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping” (Psalms 6:8, ESV). We don’t have to be consciously communicating with God before God hears our tears. Of course, he wants us to pour out our hearts to him in conscious prayer, and this is our lifeline. But when we abide in Christ, then God hears our tears when we cry, and that moves his heart. He is like an earthly father who hears his child sobbing in their bedroom and goes to the door to listen for the reason. Will not the father try to rectify the situation in order to relieve the suffering? In the same way, our heavenly father hears our tears and they move him to action. Maybe he will rectify the problem, or maybe he will comfort us in our pain, reminding us of our ultimate destiny. (Tears won’t be eliminated until the second phase of Continue Reading →

searching God distant sky night telescope

If God Seems Distant, It’s An Opportunity!

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God is very big on faith. It is the way we connect with him, and it is even the way we are saved. In human relationships faith, or trust, is a precious commodity as well. We might love someone with all our hearts but still not trust them because we deem them untrustworthy. A mother may be willing to die for her wayward adult son, but not trust him enough to let him live with her because of his destructiveness. God is not destructive, but he is mysterious and challenging, and trusting him takes time. If God seems distant it is even more challenging. This is why he goes to great lengths to develop faith in us. After we have been following Jesus for several years, God will typically take away our sense of his presence in order that we might learn deeper faith. He does this because he loves Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

Wrapped Up In The Favor Of God – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield” (Psalms 5:12, ESV). In the same way that a shield covers our body God’s blessings blanket our soul. The favor of God wraps the righteous. Consider the immense favor of God in all he does for us. Even if our “outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16, ESV). We have friendship with God, he Fathers us and guides us, he guarantees a new destiny for us, his Spirit lives in us, he gives us the inner peace that the rest of the world seeks, he gives us a place in his family with gifts to bless others, he gives us joy because we live in his kingdom. In all these ways we are covered, wrapped and engulfed in the favor of God. How often Continue Reading →

weekly words of encouragement

We Belong To God – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him” (Psalms 4:3, ESV). We who have chosen godliness and holiness have been set apart by God as his personal friends; we belong to God. We are the ones whom he loves and cherishes and we belong to him. It is amazing that the infinitely good and powerful God would choose weak humans to belong to him. Doesn’t this tell us how much he values these majestic human creatures he made? And even though we are corrupted with sin, all who choose to follow him are in his family. This is our identity and destiny – being united with God. And so when we call to him he hears because he treasures his own. He makes us “more than conquerors” in a destructive world and beautifies our souls. How often do Continue Reading →

disciple saint francis

What Does a Maturing Disciple of Jesus Look Like?

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We agree that the mission of the church, and the mission of God in our lives, is to make (beautiful) disciples of Jesus. We also agree that discipling is a maturation process; believers are supposed to “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).[2] Another way of saying this is that we are partnering with God to help people follow Jesus and join his mission. All our doctrines, practices, and congregational lives are anchored in these ideas. Renew.org recently published my article on this topic. You can read the full article here. Below is part of the article. But in order to pursue this discipling process, do we not need to know what a maturing disciple of Jesus looks like? How do we know if we are traveling on the road of maturity unless we know what the road looks like? In other words, Continue Reading →