Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

“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 →

David’s eternal blessings: “He asked life of you; you gave it to him,length of days forever and ever.5 His glory is great through your salvation;splendor and majesty you bestow on him.6 For you make him most blessed forever;you make him glad with the joy of your presence. (Psalms 21:-4-6, ESV) In this Psalm, the king of Israel, presumably David, is thanking God for the blessings he has given to him. The king asked for life and God gave him a long life. God brought glory to the king by saving him and clothed the king in splendor. God became present to him and gave him joy and eternal blessings. What does this have to do with us? Remember that God gave us eternal life; he made us immortal. And, we are a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9) and that God repeatedly promises in the New Testament that we will rule with Jesus. Continue Reading →

“The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart” (Psalm 19:8, NLT). We may not normally think of God’s commandments as sources of joy. We tend to think that they are challenging and that it may be a struggle to keep them. But if we reflect a little more, we realize that God’s commands bring joy and life. A few lines earlier in this Psalm, we learn that God’s instruction revives the soul (v. 7). So, God’s commands don’t just keep us from being destructive; they also guide us into peace and maturity. They guide us into communion with God in Christ. That is why God’s commands bring joy, they bring us closer to him. This is why Jesus said: “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15, NLT). He wants us to follow what he taught (the Sermon on the Mount and everything else) because Continue Reading →

“The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me…He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalms 18:4-5, 19, NIV). In this Psalm King David had been attacked by powerful enemies and his reign was in jeopardy but God powerfully intervened and strengthened the king and he was rescued from tribulation. How does this apply to Christians? Under the new covenant believers have no geographic kingdom in this world (John 18:36) and “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world” (Eph. 6:12, NIV). We also have the enemies of general corruption around us that damage us, the enemy of our old self which tries to take us from Christ and the Continue Reading →