Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

“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 →

“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 →

“[God] is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (Jude 1:24, NIV). Sometimes when we are weak and faced with temptation it feels like we are going to fail. But God really does provide keys to overcoming temptation. The first thing we can do is refocus our hearts on Jesus; in other words, practice “fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Heb. 12:2). Then we can focus on walking in the Spirit. We can redirect our mind to God’s Spirit inside us and let him become the influence in the moment. Finally, we can choose to live from our new self, the part of us that desires to be close to God. These three sources of power are keys to overcoming temptation. If we practice them, we can look forward to the next age when we will appear before Continue Reading →

“Having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7, NIV). When we believed God announced an important verdict: we are now adopted as children of God. We did not earn it; it was by his grace. This legal declaration means that we are also heirs of our Father, just as an adopted child on earth becomes a legal heir of their parents. One big difference is that our Father will never die and will never give up his “possessions”; rather, he gives his inheritance when we die, and he has infinite possessions to bequeath. And what do we inherit? Eternal life. That is, we inherit from him a participation in his joyful eternal life. We inherit his bliss, his love, his harmony, his freedom from corruption, his freedom to always choose good, his glory (1 Cor. 15:43), and his image (1Cor. Continue Reading →

“Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13, ESV). Our present stance in this life is a stance of waiting for Jesus. When we look forward to something really good that we know for certain is coming, it fills us with energy to get through our days. It lifts our hearts to know that soon we are going to experience something very exciting. For example, when we know we are going to see a loved one we haven’t seen in a long time, we have joy in the anticipation of seeing them soon. So, waiting for something wonderful is not a bad thing; rather, it encourages us and keeps us focused on something good. Likewise, waiting for Jesus to appear with all his majesty and goodness on display strengthens us, knowing that our destiny is to live with Continue Reading →