Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

The Lord is my light and my salvation —whom shall I fear?The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? Psalms 27:1 (NIV)This passage is a reminder that Yahweh is our light, our rescuer; God is our protector. His light enables us to see what is true and what is good. On our own we would just stumble. And he saves us, he rescues us, from ourselves and from everything that tries to steal our happiness. Finally, he is our protector, our fortress against attackers who slander us and damage our lives. Nothing can separate us from his love. That is why we don’t need to fear. And since he is Lord, Jesus is also the one who is our light. He is the light of the world (John 8:12). He is also our salvation because he is the door to salvation (John 10:9). Remember that Continue Reading →

He guides the humble in what is rightand teaches them his way. Psalms 25:9 (NIV)God wants to guide us and teach us, but if we allow pride to reside in us, then he is not so willing to guide and teach. Why? Perhaps because he doesn’t want to encourage and magnify our pride by giving us more blessings. Instead, God’s blessings flow when we keep in mind that all the good that we have began with God’s grace. He guides the humble, not the self-sufficient. We are weak and corrupt by nature, but he still accepts us. We can think of ourselves as students, not masters. We can remember that in our ministry, we are just messengers of his teachings; we did not create the truth. We can understand that we are servants of God and others, not kings over others. In short, if we embrace an attitude of the Continue Reading →

No one who hopes in youwill ever be put to shame.(Psalms 25:3, NIV)It is interesting how fear unconsciously and semi-consciously influences our lives. Is it not true that one of the reasons we do not trust God for difficult things is that we fear it will not turn out well? We fear he doesn’t hear us, or that he won’t act, or that we won’t like the way he acts. We fear letting go of our attachment to something in order to trust God in that area. We even fear that he won’t keep his promise to reward us in the next age for our sacrifices now. Yet God promises in his word that if we put our trust and hope in God, then we will not be put to shame. In the Old Testament, to hope in God meant that God will give faithful believers material blessings, prosperity or Continue Reading →

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?Who may stand in his holy place?The one who has clean hands and a pure heart. (Psalms 24:3-4, NIV)The Psalmist here speaks of hiking up Mount Zion to visit the temple, which is the “holy place” of God. This reminds me of Hebrews 10:22 which directs us to “draw near to God with a sincere heart” (NIV) just after mentioning that we have the privilege of entering the holy of holies (the innermost room of the temple where the presence of God dwelt) through the blood of Jesus. Also, remember Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” (NIV). These passages lead us to the value of holy viewing. God promises that those who come to him in sincerity and holiness will have the privilege of “standing” in his presence. We will see God better; we will have Continue Reading →

“The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him.” (Psalms 22:26, NIV). In the later Old Testament writings, the “poor” were people who not only lacked physical resources but also depended on Yahweh. Knowing that food and housing were limited, they turned to God for help. So the Psalmist of this psalm declares that the poor are blessed, and the Lord’s intention is to give to the poor the food they need. And those who “seek the Lord” live in dependence on Yahweh will praise him because of his provision. So, if we are “poor,” we can remember that the poor are blessed. In general, the physical things we need, God will provide (Matt. 6:33), and his indwelling comforts our hearts. Under the new covenant the poor are blessed even more than under the old covenant. Jesus promised: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,for Continue Reading →