Author: Phil Rehberg

Weekly words of encouragement

God Blesses Us When We Wait In Silence – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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For God alone my soul waits in silence; From him comes my salvation . . . For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, For my hope is from him. Psalm 62: 1, 5 (ESV) In these verses from Psalm 62 the psalmist recognizes that he needs to wait in silence for his deliverance (vv. 3-4). He recognizes that his future, his hope, comes from God and that this is not the time to be inwardly frantic or devising plans for overcoming his trials. God will act because the psalmist has chosen to rest his soul from his own efforts and depend on God. This practice of calming and silencing one’s soul while one remains in a receptive stance before God has traditionally been referred to as contemplation. This is in contrast to meditation in which one uses reasoning and imagination to actively gain a greater understanding of God Continue Reading →

seeing the unseen

Learning To See The Unseen

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An important element of our faith is learning to “see” God’s unseen realities. These realities shape our lives as we internalize them. As believers God enables us to “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18 ESV). “Look” is a present verb; it is continuous. It is a stance that our heart adopts.   What are some of the other unseen things around us, in addition to our destiny? The most obvious one is the exaltation of Christ. We see Christ enthroned as king over all kings and authorities of this age and as king over his church (Eph. 1:20-22). Moreover, with faith we can see that we sit with Christ, for God “seated us with him in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6, ESV). Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

God Hears Our Vows – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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For you, God, have heard my vows;you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. Psalms 61:5 (NIV) When we make commitments to God he really does hear us. He values them and remembers them. Whether it is a big or small commitment, if we follow through then he will bless us for it. God will give us the heritage reserved for those who fear and love him. Is not the inheritance that God gives greater than any worldly blessing? Is it not true that: All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future —all are yours. 1 Corinthians 3:21-22 (NIV) This is our heritage, that everything that is from God is ours. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven (Eph. 1:3). Moreover, he will reward individual believers for the good Continue Reading →

Christianity and society

Christianity In Society And Christian Nationalism – Part 3

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This is the third in a three-part series. The first post is here and the second one is here. We are called to be leaven in our society, but pursuing social change can sidetrack congregations if they are not vigilant. Congregations easily veer away from pursuing Christformation in their members because inner transformation is more challenging than any other calling on the body of Christ. The pursuit of social transformation is one of the great temptations that draws congregations away from their mission of making disciples (Christformation). Making it their top priority to achieve certain social results puts them on a path to spiritual decay. Some congregations pursue social transformation by engaging in “culture wars”; others try to gain political influence to Christianize their society; others find their identity in helping the needy and others focus on transforming institutions causing systemic damage to society. Congregations may not even be conscious Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Waiting For God – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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You are my strength, I watch for you;you, God, are my fortress, Psalms 59:9 (NIV) Waiting is hard. In this Psalm we know from the introduction that David is distressed because King Saul has sent his agents to watch over David’s house in order to kill him. David is crying out for help but he also has to wait for God’s deliverance. This reminds us of Psalm 130 where the Psalmist exclaims: I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lordmore than watchmen wait for the morning, Psalms 130:5-6 (NIV) Often we have to go through the refining fire of waiting and trusting, trusting that God will come and bring good out of our situation. We need to cooperate with God as we let go of our unbelief and learn to focus our hearts on him in the Continue Reading →